Cloudy Kitchen

menu icon
search icon

Brown Butter Oatmeal Pie

This is basically a pecan pie but without the pecans, which makes it the perfect pie for those who can't have nuts but still want the pecan pie experience. Toasted oats are mixed with brown butter and golden syrup for a chewy, perfect pie.

Brown Butter Oatmeal Pie - this is a pecan pie but without the pecans, which makes it the perfect pie for those who can't have nuts but still want the pecan pie experience. Toasted oats are mixed with brown butter and golden syrup for a chewy, perfect pie.

Hi hi! Happy Wednesday! We continue our week of late to the party pie posts with this beauty - a Brown Butter Oatmeal Pie. I found it when I was flicking through one of my favourite books of all time, The Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book. It is written by two sisters who have a pie shop here in Brooklyn, and it’s one of my most turned to when I’m looking for pie inspiration or exciting flavour combinations.

This recipe for Brown Butter Oatmeal Pie has some serious pecan pie vibes. Because I’m not from America, I didn’t grow up eating Pecan Pie, but I love the concept of it so much - toasty nuts in a sweet, custardy filling. This pie follows that same route - Oats are toasted, and then stirred into a sweet custard situation. I only made a few tweaks by browning the butter that goes into the pie, and subbing corn syrup for golden syrup (I love the taste so much), and I was amazed at how easy it comes together. This would be a great option if you are using a pre-purchased pie crust too - all you have to do is toast up the Oats and then stir everything together and bake it off.

Brown Butter Oatmeal Pie - this is a pecan pie but without the pecans, which makes it the perfect pie for those who can't have nuts but still want the pecan pie experience. Toasted oats are mixed with brown butter and golden syrup for a chewy, perfect pie.

Brown Butter Oatmeal Pie - Pecan Pie without the Pecans!

The top of the pie is slightly crispy, and the interior is custardy, with beautiful chew from the oats, and sweetness from the filling. I love it as an alternative to a Pecan Pie (it would be perfect if you are in a nut free home), or even as an alongside if there are people who don’t like pecan pie. The original recipe has a black bottom, so a layer of bittersweet ganache on the bottom, which I am absolutely going to try next time I made this!

Brown Butter Oatmeal Pie - this is a pecan pie but without the pecans, which makes it the perfect pie for those who can't have nuts but still want the pecan pie experience. Toasted oats are mixed with brown butter and golden syrup for a chewy, perfect pie.

A few wee tips for Brown Butter Oatmeal Pie

  • Because this pie bakes at quite a low temperature, you are going to want to blind bake it a little more than a regular blind baked pie to ensure that the pastry cooks completely. I neglected this step a little this time around, and learnt from my mistake - don’t make the same mistake that I did!
  • This needs a few hours to cool before you cut into it to ensure that it is cooked. It would do well made the day before and stored at room temperature overnight
  • If you don’t have golden syrup, use corn syrup, or this would be so good with honey too.
  • The pie dough recipe makes a double crust - so enough for two pies. You might as well make the extra while you are at it in my opinion - pie dough freezes well, tightly wrapped, for at least a few months, or lasts a few days in the fridge. Defrost overnight if using from frozen.
  • A pie dough trick I learnt from my friend Erin that is now firmly in my repertoire : After you mix the dough and shape it into discs, rest it in the fridge for about an hour, and then roll it out on a floured surface into a rectangle, fold it in thirds like a letter, then roll again and repeat the folding. Then you shape it into a disc by folding the edges under, rewrap tightly in plastic, and rest for at least two hours before using. What this step does is make the dough homogenous and therefore easy to work with, but also adds layers through the rolling and folding - the same way puff pastry is laminated. It is definitely an optional step but from my experience it makes the world of difference when it comes to rolling out the dough and getting a nice even crimp or lattice work.
  • When you are par baking your pie crust, chill your crust in the fridge rather than the freezer if you can - a longer chill in the fridge is preferable to a short chill in the freezer
  • I have 115g butter written in the recipe - the actual recipe uses 75g butter (I have noted it in the method) but I have you start with 115 to account for the loss in volume when you brown the butter.

I know that making brown butter can be intimidating. Don't be scared, I will hold your hand the whole way through in my post and you'll be nailing it in no time: Brown Butter 101: The Ultimate Guide

Brown Butter Oatmeal Pie - this is a pecan pie but without the pecans, which makes it the perfect pie for those who can't have nuts but still want the pecan pie experience. Toasted oats are mixed with brown butter and golden syrup for a chewy, perfect pie.
Brown Butter Oatmeal Pie - this is a pecan pie but without the pecans, which makes it the perfect pie for those who can't have nuts but still want the pecan pie experience. Toasted oats are mixed with brown butter and golden syrup for a chewy, perfect pie.

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

No-Bake Peppermint Slice

No-bake peppermint slice. A coconut chocolate graham crust is topped with a peppermint icing layer, then finished with a thin, smooth layer of chocolate. This no bake take on a New Zealand classic is perfect for the holidays or any time sweet treat snacking.

No-bake peppermint slice. A coconut chocolate graham crust is topped with a pepperminty icing layer, then finished with a thin, smooth layer of chocolate. This no bake take on a New Zealand classic is perfect for the holidays or any time sweet treat snacking. #peppermintslice #nobake

No-Bake Peppermint Slice

Happy Sunday! I’ve been busting to share this recipe with you as it’s one of my favourites I’ve ever developed - it’s a No-bake Peppermint Slice! I developed this for the Holiday Cookie issue of Bake From Scratch, along with three other recipes which you should check out in the issue, but this one was maybe the simplest but most definitely my favourite.

One thing that I miss the most about home is the mint slice biscuits. I think they are technically Australian, but they were my favourite growing up, and something that still comes out when it’s cup of tea time at home. It’s a crunchy chocolate base, then a super minty filling, and a dark chocolate coating. I can eat about 10 of them in one go, and they are always on the list of things to have brought over when people come and ask if we want anything.

There’s also a bakery peppermint slice that is a NZ sweet staple, but the biscuit is absolutely my favourite, so I wanted to get that flavour profile and turn it into a slice / bar for all the Americans here. I think I managed to get the balance just right - I used a chocolate graham cracker base, with a teeny bit of coconut for some texture, then a super minty topping which is basically just a stir together situation, and then a super smooth, super satisfying smooth chocolate topping. The whole thing is no-bake, and super fuss free, which makes it perfect for anytime, but particularly for the upcoming holiday season. It keeps forever in the fridge, however judging on how many pieces I have eaten since I re-made this this week, it doesn’t last long in my house, and it won’t last long in yours either. I hope you give this guy a try if you’re in the market for a super easy chocolate peppermint slice recipe - this one is a keeper. x

  • no-bake peppermint slice side shot
  • no-bake peppermint slice on parchment paper

Components of No-Bake Peppermint Slice

This recipe is super easy to make, and has a few components to it. You can make it all at once or spread out your timing a little to fit your schedule. It keeps super well in the fridge in an airtight container, although I find it never lasts long around my house!

  • Chocolate Graham Cracker Base - I added some coconut to the chocolate crumb crust base. If you're in NZ and you can't get graham crackers, digestives or a mixture of digestives and wine biscuits would work great. The base gets made and then hangs out in the freezer while the topping is made.
  • Peppermint Icing - This is what gives peppermint slice the super minty flavour. A thin layer of peppermint icing, which is just a mix together situation and comes together really quickly! Powdered sugar, vanilla, a wee bit of salt and peppermint extract are mixed with boiling water to form a smooth filling which is poured over the base.
  • Chocolate Topping - I just make this in the microwave! It's dark chocolate mixed with just a wee bit of neutral oil, which gives it some shine and also helps to prevent cracking when you cut the slice up.
No-bake peppermint slice. A coconut chocolate graham crust is topped with a pepperminty icing layer, then finished with a thin, smooth layer of chocolate. This no bake take on a New Zealand classic is perfect for the holidays or any time sweet treat snacking. #peppermintslice #nobake

A few wee tips for No-Bake Peppermint Slice:

  • These don’t really need toooo many notes, but I will say - make sure that they are nice and cold before you cut them. You can wait until the chocolate is set and then throw them in the freezer for a bit if you need to, or a few hours in the fridge will do well. If you don’t wait long enough then it’s no worries at all, but they might get a little squishy as you cut them.
  • Start with 3 tablespoon water in the filling. It won’t seem like much, but you don’t need too too much to melt down the powdered sugar. Add in an extra teaspoon of water at a time if it’s too thick - I usually need one or two to get it to the right consistency.
  • If you wanted to make mega amounts of this (which would work great), then you could double the mixture and make it in a 9x13 pan. It keeps for yonks in the fridge so would be perfect for keeping on hand.

For more Bar and Slice recipes, check out:

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Apple Frangipane Pie

Apple Frangipane Pie with Honey frangipane. This apple slab pie is a super easy variation on an apple pie, and has a frangipane filling and a shingled apple top.

Open Apple Slab Pie with Honey Vanilla Bean Frangipane. Crispy, flaky pie dough is topped with a honey and vanilla bean frangipane mixture, covered with sliced apples, and baked to golden perfection. This is the perfect alternative to an apple pie for this holiday season. #appletart #applepie #frangipane #honeyfrangipane

Apple Frangipane Pie

It’s nearly Thanksgiving time here in the States, which means everyone is getting ready to amp up their pie game, and I wanted to have a couple of alternative options to the traditional pies here on the site. This Open Apple Slab pie would be a perfect alternative to a regular apple pie - slab pies are great because they are super easy to make, and are so perfect for feeding a crowd. This one is particularly easy to make as I ditched the top crust in favour of a Honey Vanilla Bean Frangipane filling, topped with fanned out slices of apple. No latticing required, but still all the deliciousness of a flaky pie crust.

close up of apple slices
honey in a jar

  • Make the pie crust. I use my regular pie crust recipe, and make a full batch to fill a 9"x13" pan for a slab pie.
  • Make the frangipane layer. Assemble the honey frangipane - this is super easy and comes together just in the mixer.
  • Assemble the pie. This step does take a little bit of working, but take your time. Spread your pie crust with the frangipane then top with the shingled apples.
  • Bake. Bake the pie - the apples will sink into the frangipane pie filling a little and the pastry will brown.
  • Glaze. When the pie comes out of the oven, glaze it with a honey syrup to make things nice and shiny.
Open Apple Slab Pie with Honey Vanilla Bean Frangipane. Crispy, flaky pie dough is topped with a honey and vanilla bean frangipane mixture, covered with sliced apples, and baked to golden perfection. This is the perfect alternative to an apple pie for this holiday season. #appletart #applepie #frangipane #honeyfrangipane

How to make Homemade Pie Crust

A pie dough trick I learnt from my friend Erin that is now firmly in my repertoire : After you mix the dough and shape it into discs, rest it in the fridge for about an hour, and then roll it out on a floured surface into a rectangle, fold it in thirds like a letter, then roll again and repeat the folding. Then you shape it into a rectangle, re-wrap tightly in plastic, and rest for at least two hours before using. What this step does is make the dough homogenous and therefore easy to work with, but also adds layers through the rolling and folding - the same way puff pastry is laminated. It is definitely an optional step but from my experience it makes the world of difference when it comes to rolling out the dough and getting a nice even crimp or lattice work.

To read more about pie crust along with tips and tricks, check out my post which is all about making a perfect homemade pie crust

Open Apple Slab Pie with Honey Vanilla Bean Frangipane. Crispy, flaky pie dough is topped with a honey and vanilla bean frangipane mixture, covered with sliced apples, and baked to golden perfection. This is the perfect alternative to an apple pie for this holiday season. #appletart #applepie #frangipane #honeyfrangipane

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Tahini Sheet Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Tahini Brown Sugar Sheet Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting. A perfectly moist stir together sheet cake, with brown sugar and tahini, is topped with a simple chocolate fudge frosting that comes together quickly in the food processor. This recipe is from Michelle Lopez's latest book, Weeknight baking.

Tahini Brown Sugar Sheet Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting. A perfectly moist stir together sheet cake, with brown sugar and tahini, is topped with a simple chocolate fudge frosting that comes together quickly in the food processor. This recipe is from Michelle Lopez's latest book, Weeknight baking. #sheetcake #tahinicake
Tahini Brown Sugar Sheet Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting. A perfectly moist stir together sheet cake, with brown sugar and tahini, is topped with a simple chocolate fudge frosting that comes together quickly in the food processor. This recipe is from Michelle Lopez's latest book, Weeknight baking. #sheetcake #tahinicake
Tahini Brown Sugar Sheet Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting. A perfectly moist stir together sheet cake, with brown sugar and tahini, is topped with a simple chocolate fudge frosting that comes together quickly in the food processor. This recipe is from Michelle Lopez's latest book, Weeknight baking. #sheetcake #tahinicake
Tahini Brown Sugar Sheet Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting. A perfectly moist stir together sheet cake, with brown sugar and tahini, is topped with a simple chocolate fudge frosting that comes together quickly in the food processor. This recipe is from Michelle Lopez's latest book, Weeknight baking. #sheetcake #tahinicake
Tahini Brown Sugar Sheet Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting. A perfectly moist stir together sheet cake, with brown sugar and tahini, is topped with a simple chocolate fudge frosting that comes together quickly in the food processor. This recipe is from Michelle Lopez's latest book, Weeknight baking. #sheetcake #tahinicake
Tahini Brown Sugar Sheet Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting. A perfectly moist stir together sheet cake, with brown sugar and tahini, is topped with a simple chocolate fudge frosting that comes together quickly in the food processor. This recipe is from Michelle Lopez's latest book, Weeknight baking. #sheetcake #tahinicake

Tahini Brown Sugar Sheet Cake

Hi! I feel like I’ve been waiting two years to write this post - my Internet / IRL friend Michelle wrote a book, and it comes out today!!! I met Michelle when we were both living in NYC - where her book journey began! It’s been amazing see the whole process from start to finish, and Michelle busted it out like an absolute champ while serving up some very honest realities of how writing a book really is, so I was so, so excited to have it arrive in my home in all its beauty!

Weeknight Baking by Michelle Lopez

Michelle’s book concept is very simple but also extremely clever - it’s all about weeknight baking! For most of her blogging career, Michelle has had a day job as WELL as running an incredible blog, making her somewhat of a time management wizard who somehow conjures up treats in little bits and pieces throughout the week to put together into an amazing recipe. The book follows this theme - the recipes are broken down into steps, making them extremely approachable and fuss free. There are so many amazing recipes in there that I can’t wait to make, and the photography is so, so beautiful, but my favourite part is the front part of each section, where Michelle drops gem after gem of essential baking knowledge - little tips and tricks that are going to make your life so easy. Make sure you pick up a copy ASAP, as it really is a must-own baking book!

Super Easy Sheet Cake - Tahini Chocolate Sheet Cake

I knew I wanted to make a sheet cake from the book, but had a really hard time deciding what to make. I knew it would be paired with Michelle’s amazing chocolate fudge frosting, which comes together super easily in the food processor, but couldn’t decide on the cake, so turned to Instagram for a hunger games style decision process - and the internet chose this tahini brown sugar cake! This cake is so amazing for a couple of reasons - not only is is incredibly flavourful and the most perfect texture, but the tahini can be subbed for peanut butter for a PB and chocolate vibe. The whole thing can actually be made without a stand mixer, making it super quick and easy to put together. I actually went back and checked my process because I was worried that I had missed a step in the recipe because it had almost been TOO easy to put together. I love a good sheet cake - they are so easy to transport and serve, and I love swirling frosting more than anything ever. Michelle includes with each cake recipe in her book steps to make each into a layer cake, sheet cake, or cupcakes, and then has a whole bunch of different frostings, meaning you can mix and match to your heart’s content.

Congrats lady - I’m so proud, and the book is just so, so beautiful! xx

A few wee tips for Tahini Sheet Cake

  • Michelle’s instructions in the book ask you to make the cake in the stand mixer, but the process is super simple so I did it in two bowls and it worked perfectly, no mixer required!
  • I also melted the chocolate in the microwave - I popped it in in 30 second increments, stirring between each, and then set it aside to cool slightly.
  • If the fudge frosting looks super sloppy when you finish processing, don’t worry - it will just be because the chocolate was a little warm. I just popped it in the fridge, right in the food processor bowl, for 5-10 minutes, until it was the perfect texture to work with.

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Olive Oil Chocolate Tart with Press In Crust

This Olive Oil chocolate tart is great for feeding a crowd and you can make it the day before and have it ready to go in the fridge. It’s super rich and luscious so you can get a load of slices out of one tart - because of how low fuss it is, it is the perfect dessert for the upcoming holiday season.

Olive Oil Chocolate Tart with Olive Oil Chocolate Press In Crust. This Olive oil tart has a super easy press in cookie crust made with olive oil, and is filled with a silky chocolate olive oil filling. The olive oil adds a beautiful depth of flavour, and the chocolate tart is finished with flaky sea salt. This is a perfect make ahead chocolate dessert that is great for feeding a crowd! #chocolatetart #chocolateoliveoiltart #pressincrust
Olive Oil Chocolate Tart with Olive Oil Chocolate Press In Crust. This Olive oil tart has a super easy press in cookie crust made with olive oil, and is filled with a silky chocolate olive oil filling. The olive oil adds a beautiful depth of flavour, and the chocolate tart is finished with flaky sea salt. This is a perfect make ahead chocolate dessert that is great for feeding a crowd! #chocolatetart #chocolateoliveoiltart #pressincrust

This tart is super simple to make! The crust is an olive oil chocolate press-in crust, so there’s no rolling out of dough required, just some play-doh style pressing it into the bottom and sides of a loose bottomed tart pan (I use this one and it is great). The crust comes together super easily, and after a quick hangout in the freezer, it is blind baked, brushed with a layer of egg wash, and allowed to cool. That’s basically all the hard work done at that point - the filling is extremely easy to make. Hot cream is poured over chopped chocolate and a little more olive oil, and then stirred together to form a super silky, smooth filling, which is poured into the tart crust and left to set. After that the choice is yours how you finish it - I chose to go the flaky sea salt and crispy pearl route, but this would also be so, so good served with a simple dollop of whipped cream.

Olive Oil Chocolate Tart with Olive Oil Chocolate Press In Crust. This Olive oil tart has a super easy press in cookie crust made with olive oil, and is filled with a silky chocolate olive oil filling. The olive oil adds a beautiful depth of flavour, and the chocolate tart is finished with flaky sea salt. This is a perfect make ahead chocolate dessert that is great for feeding a crowd! #chocolatetart #chocolateoliveoiltart #pressincrust

A few wee tips:

  • I used a mixture of milk and dark chocolate in the filling - it’s pretty rich, so feel free to up the milk chocolate content if you would like.
  • Make sure that you chop up your chocolate even if it is already in callets or wafers - I find that it really helps to melt it evenly to give you as smooth of a finish as possible.
  • The raw tart shell can be done the night before and frozen overnight if you like.
  • Leave the tart to stand for 15-20 minutes before you cut and serve, just to let the filling soften a tiny bit.
Olive Oil Chocolate Tart with Olive Oil Chocolate Press In Crust. This Olive oil tart has a super easy press in cookie crust made with olive oil, and is filled with a silky chocolate olive oil filling. The olive oil adds a beautiful depth of flavour, and the chocolate tart is finished with flaky sea salt. This is a perfect make ahead chocolate dessert that is great for feeding a crowd! #chocolatetart #chocolateoliveoiltart #pressincrust

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Olive Oil Chocolate Tart with Olive Oil Chocolate Press In Crust. This Olive oil tart has a super easy press in cookie crust made with olive oil, and is filled with a silky chocolate olive oil filling. The olive oil adds a beautiful depth of flavour, and the chocolate tart is finished with flaky sea salt. This is a perfect make ahead chocolate dessert that is great for feeding a crowd! #chocolatetart #chocolateoliveoiltart #pressincrust

Chocolate Strawberry Cake

Super delicious chocolate strawberry cake. Layers of homemade chocolate cake are stacked with strawberry jam and are finished with a silky strawberry frosting.

Chocolate Layer Cake with Jam Filling and Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream from Amanda Faber's book, Cake Portfolio. Layers of Rich chocolate cake are layered up with mixed berry jam, and then the cake is finished with a strawberry swiss meringue buttercream made with freeze dried strawberry powder. This is the perfect birthday or celebration cake for anyone who loves strawberry or chocolate. #strawberryswissmeringuebuttercream #chocolatelayercake #layercake
Chocolate Layer Cake with Jam Filling and Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream from Amanda Faber's book, Cake Portfolio. Layers of Rich chocolate cake are layered up with mixed berry jam, and then the cake is finished with a strawberry swiss meringue buttercream made with freeze dried strawberry powder. This is the perfect birthday or celebration cake for anyone who loves strawberry or chocolate. #strawberryswissmeringuebuttercream #chocolatelayercake #layercake
Chocolate Layer Cake with Jam Filling and Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream from Amanda Faber's book, Cake Portfolio. Layers of Rich chocolate cake are layered up with mixed berry jam, and then the cake is finished with a strawberry swiss meringue buttercream made with freeze dried strawberry powder. This is the perfect birthday or celebration cake for anyone who loves strawberry or chocolate. #strawberryswissmeringuebuttercream #chocolatelayercake #layercake
Chocolate Layer Cake with Jam Filling and Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream from Amanda Faber's book, Cake Portfolio. Layers of Rich chocolate cake are layered up with mixed berry jam, and then the cake is finished with a strawberry swiss meringue buttercream made with freeze dried strawberry powder. This is the perfect birthday or celebration cake for anyone who loves strawberry or chocolate. #strawberryswissmeringuebuttercream #chocolatelayercake #layercake
Chocolate Layer Cake with Jam Filling and Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream from Amanda Faber's book, Cake Portfolio. Layers of Rich chocolate cake are layered up with mixed berry jam, and then the cake is finished with a strawberry swiss meringue buttercream made with freeze dried strawberry powder. This is the perfect birthday or celebration cake for anyone who loves strawberry or chocolate. #strawberryswissmeringuebuttercream #chocolatelayercake #layercake

Hi! Happy Happy Sunday! I am just popping on here to share a super fun new recipe from a very talented friend of mine, Amanda, who just wrote a book!! I’ve never actually met Amanda IRL but we’ve chatted loads on the internet and I’ve been a guest on her podcast, so I’m pretty sure that counts as being real friends.

Amanda’s book is called Cake Portfolio, and the concept is simple and very genius - there are basically a whole bunch of base recipes, and then loads of different combinations and decorating suggestions where you can combine the techniques, recipes, and finishing methods to your heart’s content. It’s such a good idea - so often I make a ‘new’ recipe by combining a couple of my base recipes, and this is exactly the purpose of the book. There are 26 cake designs with flavour suggestions and combinations, but Amanda encourages you to combine things and go a little rogue and see what happens - which is exactly what I did with this cake!

I took the concept of her ‘Surprise Party’ cake, which is 6 layers of Vanilla Cake, sandwiched with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Strawberry Jam, and riffed on it slightly, swapping out the vanilla cake for Amanda’s Chocolate cake (which is amazing, super easy to make and bakes up like a dream with the most perfect texture), then filled it with a mixed berry jam (we didn’t have any strawberry and I didn’t want to leave the house so here we are), and then finished it with Amanda’s STRAWBERRY SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM which is so good that it’s absolutely worth yelling about. It’s basically a vanilla SMBC, but transformed into the most dreamy strawberry frosting using Freeze-dried strawberries. I ate some of it with a spoon, and kept sneaking into the fridge to get little bites of it once the cake was finished, because it’s so good. It’s like the stuff of your childhood dreams, but if your childhood dreams knew that SMBC existed (mine did not).

I couldn’t decide on all the amazing finishing techniques in the book, so I went for a pretty simple but very pretty pattern on the side, which you basically make by holding an offset spatula to the side of the cake and then spinning the turn table, making all these amazing spiral swirly patterns on the side. It’s super simple to make, and a lot of fun, and takes some of the stress of getting a very smooth side out of the decorating process. I then finished off the top with a quick line of ‘shell’ piping, and that was all it needed!

Amanda’s book is so inspiring and full of endless combinations of cakes to make. I will absolutely be turning to it again and again when I need a little bit of inspo, or just a really good base recipe. Congrats lady - I can’t wait to make everything! x

A few wee tips:

  • Make the cakes ahead of time if you can - I levelled mine off and wrapped them tightly in plastic wrap, then froze them overnight and frosted them frozen.
  • I cheated just a little here and used my Swiss meringue buttercream recipe, because it’s what i’m used to (very very similar to Amanda’s), and then followed her instructions to make it strawberry flavoured. I also increased the amount slightly because I like to have more buttercream between the layers, and I like having a little as back up in case I end up doing a fancy design or the outside coat ends up a bit thicker.
  • I used Fresh As freeze dried strawberry powder, but you can also use ground up freeze dried strawberries!
  • Make sure you get your wee butt over to Amanda’s site to buy a copy of this book!!

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Basic Apple Pie

Basic Apple Pie - Sweet and tart apples are finely sliced, tossed with some flour and vanilla bean paste, then nestled inside a super easy homemade pie crust and topped with a lattice and baked to perfection. This is the perfect fall pie, with a pie crust that is very quick and very easy to make - it is basically foolproof.





Basic Apple Pie - Sweet and tart apples are finely sliced, tossed with some flour and vanilla bean paste, then nestled inside a super easy pie crust and topped with a lattice and baked to perfection. This is the perfect fall pie, with a pie crust that is very quick and very easy to make - it is basically foolproof. #applepie #easyapplepie

Table of contents

Basic Apple Pie recipe

Hi hi! Just popping in to share this recipe for a 'basic' apple pie. There are a fair few fun and fancy apple pie recipes on Cloudy Kitchen but this is basic one that I go back to time and time again. It has an easy homemade pie crust recipe, and is filled with slices of fresh apple. It's basic, but a classic, and I just love it so much. There really is nothing better than a good homemade apple pie.

I made this when Nz Chef Josh Emett and his lovely wife Helen were in NYC, promoting Josh’s new book, ‘The Recipe’. It’s a collection of recipes from top chefs around the world - all the recipes look incredible, and the photography is so, so beautiful. Josh has some amazing restaurants back home in NZ, and does an incredible cooking segment on his IG stories, so we decided to join forces and make something together - an epic apple pie! My teeny NYC kitchen is a far cry from Josh’s insane kitchen back in Auckland, but we made it work!

Basic Apple Pie - Sweet and tart apples are finely sliced, tossed with some flour and vanilla bean paste, then nestled inside a super easy pie crust and topped with a lattice and baked to perfection. This is the perfect fall pie, with a pie crust that is very quick and very easy to make - it is basically foolproof. #applepie #easyapplepie

Easy Homemade Pie Crust

I use a little tip that my baking bestie Erin Mcdowell taught me - to laminate my pie dough after making it but before rolling it out for use. What this does it pops a few layers within the pie dough. This makes it homogenous and easy to work with but also still nice and flaky. So you get the best of both worlds - flaky AF pie dough which is super easy to work with. Here's how you do this:

  • Make your pie dough - For this recipe I make the dough then form it into a rectangle. Then I wrap tightly in plastic and chill for only an hour. This gives the butter time to chill down enough that it won't melt everywhere when you roll it out.
  • Roll out and perform turn 1 - Roll the dough into a large rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Then brush off any excess flour and perform a letter fold - where you fold it like a business letter.
  • Perform turns 2 and 3 - Repeat the process again two more times. Your dough should be super homogenous at this point!
  • Divide and shape - At this point I split the dough in two and shape each into a disc rather than roll out and laminate each piece individually. Works much better. If you're using it for a lattice top, shape into a rectangle. Starting with the shape you are wanting to achieve makes rolling out much easier! I like to divide the pie dough into ⅓ and ⅔ - shape the smaller one into a disc as it will be your bottom crust, and shape the top into a rectangle so it’s the right shape when it comes to cutting out lattices.
  • Chill again - Either chill your dough for at least 2 hours or overnight, or freeze for another time.




Basic Apple Pie - Sweet and tart apples are finely sliced, tossed with some flour and vanilla bean paste, then nestled inside a super easy pie crust and topped with a lattice and baked to perfection. This is the perfect fall pie, with a pie crust that is very quick and very easy to make - it is basically foolproof. #applepie #easyapplepie

The Best Apples to use for Apple Pie

I love to use a mixture of apples to make apple pie. We used three - Mutsu, Honeycrisp and another green variety. The variation in flavour and texture makes for a super delicious pie - go for something a little sweeter, and something a little more tart. If you’re in NZ, a mixture of Braeburn and Gala would be great. Braeburn hold their shape nicely in the oven and provide the tartness, and gala is more sweet.

You want to ‘shingle’ in the apples when you are adding them to the pie, in order to have as few gaps as possible. Apples cook down in the oven, so layering them tightly ensures that they bake evenly.

How to lattice an apple pie

It is no surprise that I am a touch extra when it comes to finishing pies. I love making a really beautiful, fancy lattice, and spending time making cut outs and things to add to the top. The quantity of dough in the recipe accounts for that - if you do not want to do a fancy topping and want to keep it simple, you can make a regular batch of dough such as the one in this recipe.

We used pie stamps to cut out the shapes for the edge of the pie - I have collected a whole bunch over the years - I have this set and this set of leaves, and then this set is where the flowers are from. I think I also have this set! I also love a plain lattice made with a pastry cutter and a ruler - you do you here and do whatever you like!

The importance of a good bake for a pie

Often people worry about getting a soggy bottom on their apple pie and lots of the time it is because the pie is not baked well enough. Pies, particularly double crusted pies such as this apple pie that does not have a par bake, require a really good bake to ensure that they are properly done.

Don't be afraid to bake this pie until it is deep golden brown. If you are worried about the crust looking too done, you can tent it with foil while the filling finishes off. You want to be able to see the filling bubbling through to know that it is done.

Basic Apple Pie - Sweet and tart apples are finely sliced, tossed with some flour and vanilla bean paste, then nestled inside a super easy pie crust and topped with a lattice and baked to perfection. This is the perfect fall pie, with a pie crust that is very quick and very easy to make - it is basically foolproof. #applepie #easyapplepie

For more recipes with Apples, Check out:

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls

Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting. Fluffy Brioche is filled with a spiced brown sugar and brown butter cinnamon filing, then rolled up and formed into perfect rolls. The rolls are then baked to perfection, and slathered in a brown butter cream cheese frosting, loaded up with specks of vanilla bean and brown butter. These are the perfect take on a cinnamon roll - the extra effort is well worth it!

Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting. Fluffy Brioche is filled with a spiced brown sugar and brown butter cinnamon filing, then rolled up and formed into perfect rolls. The rolls are then baked to perfection, and slathered in a brown butter cream cheese frosting, loaded up with specks of vanilla bean and brown butter. These are the perfect take on a cinnamon roll - the extra effort is well worth it! #brownbuttercinnamonroll #brownbutter #creamcheesefrosting

Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls

Hi hi! Happy Saturday! I am SO EXCITED to share this post and to make a wee announcement about a year long special project I am going to be working on - I’ve been busting at the seams to tell you all this and now it’s FINALLY TIME!!

I started this blog about four years ago as a way to combat homesickness in the big, scary city that is New York. I moved here only knowing rich, and we started our design business shortly after, which was (and still is), a huge amount of work, so I didn’t have a huge amount of time to go out and about and do things, or much time to socialise and make new friends. Turns out making new friends is really hard and scary as an adult, moving to a new city when you don’t really know anyone is really hard, winter in NYC sucks, and all of those things are a recipe for a solid dose of homesickness. I started baking recipes from home as a way to overcome the homesickness. Spoiler alert - it didn’t really work and I was still homesick, but along the way I managed to carve out my own wee corner of the internet that I love so much and am so lucky to have to call mine.

close up shot of brown butter cinnamon rolls ready for the oven
side on angle shot of cinnamon rolls

Why Browning the Butter makes these the best cinnamon rolls

These are cinnamon rolls, but taken up a notch. Adding in the browned butter to the filling adds a huge dimension of flavour which plays off against the cinnamon so well. I cooled the butter to a spreadable temperature and then mixed it with some cinnamon, dark brown sugar and vanilla bean paste, then slathered it all over the dough before rolling it up in to a tight spiral and cutting it into perfect swirly buns.

I then doubled up on the brown butter flavour with a brown butter cream cheese frosting, which is the sleeper hit in my opinion - brown butter and cream cheese is the most perfect combo, and is so, so amazing spread all over the brown butter cinnamon rolls. Browning the butter is a teeny bit more work, but you get a huge amount of pay off for just a little more effort.

Corner shot brown butter cinnamon rolls ready to bake

How to make Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls

These are super easy to make, and just so, so good. The steps are below:

  • Make the dough - The base of these Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls is a super squishy brioche dough which comes together pretty quickly in the mixer. It is my go-to dough I use for almost everything!
  • Rise the Brioche - You can either do this in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours, or up to overnight, or you can rise the brioche at room temperature. Both work great.
  • Brown the Butter - There's brown butter in both the filling and the frosting of these, so you do it all at once to save dishes. The butter is browned then transferred to the freezer and chilled until spreadable. You can pop it in the fridge too if you've got the time, the freezer is just quick and efficient. Make sure you stir it a few times while it's chilling so that all the brown parts get mixed in while it's chilling. If you don't they all set on the bottom, which is fine, it's just a little annoying to stir up.
  • Make the Filling - The brown butter gets mixed up with some brown sugar, cinnamon, and a wee bit of salt, and then is mixed until a paste forms.
  • Roll out the dough and assemble the rolls - The dough is rolled out into a rectangle and spread with the filling, then rolled up tightly again and cut into rolls.
  • Do a second rise - The rolls hang out until puffy and ready for the oven. This usually takes about 45 minutes to an hour, but can be done overnight if needed! (See tips for making cinnamon rolls ahead of time)
  • Bake the rolls - Bake them until beautiful and golden brown.
  • Make the frosting and finish the rolls - While the rolls are finishing baking, make the frosting. The rest of the brown butter goes into the mixer with some cream cheese, and then powdered sugar, vanilla, and a wee bit of salt are added. The frosting is mixed up until fluffy, then spread over the slightly cooled rolls. Just the best.

Tips for making Cinnamon Rolls ahead of time

There are a few options for making these ahead of time. Personally, I will usually do the first rise overnight in the fridge and brown the butter the night before, then assemble the morning of. However I know some people love to do as much prep as possible, which is totally understandable. If you're making these for Christmas morning, it is so helpful to be able to just pop them into the oven and have them ready. Here are a few options for making these ahead of time:

  1. Do the first rise overnight and assemble on the morning you are baking. For this option, the first rise is done in the fridge overnight, then the rolls assembled and given their second rise and baked the same day as serving.
  2. Do the first rise and assembly the day before. This works great too - you can do the first rise then assemble your rolls, and do the second rise overnight, so that when you are ready to bake the next morning, the rolls are all ready to go. Pull them out of the fridge and leave to sit on the counter while the oven preheats.
  3. Partially bake the rolls and then freeze. Disclaimer: I haven't tried this method, but I have heard from a few places that it works. You make the rolls as directed, then bake them just until they are puffed and are starting to set, about 15-20 minutes, then pull from the oven and leave to cool, then wrap and freeze. You then can either let them defrost in the fridge overnight and finish off the baking, or bake straight from frozen. Please be careful with the type of pan you use if you plan on freezing as glass and ceramic do not like going from frozen to a hot oven. Use a metal pan.

How to get a super neat cut on cinnamon rolls

I don't know about you, but it's always nice to have a super neat cut on cinnamon rolls to expose the spiral. There are a few ways of doing this to make sure that you get a nice cut

  • Use Dental Floss - People use unflavoured dental floss to cut the cinnamon rolls, which gives a really neat cut on them. However, I do find it a little harder to get the floss in the exact spot that I want, which can lead to unevenly sized rolls.
  • Use a Bread Knife - This is my preferred method. I use a sharp serrated knife, which gives super clean cuts and is especially helpful for if your rolls have a filling in them with nuts or fruit that dental floss cannot slice cleanly through.
  • Chill your log of dough - Chilling down your log of dough also helps to give super clean cuts. There is more about this in the recipe card.
  • Trim your ends if you want - After I have rolled up the dough, I often trim the ends off just so there's a flat surface for the roll to sit on. You don't have to do this!
  • Don't stress, rising fixes everything - Even if your rolls come out a bit wonky, don't worry. As they rise the dough will puff up and they will look so much better than they did before rising. Trust me on this one. Also, who cares if they are wonky, they are going to be SO GOOD.
Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting. Fluffy Brioche is filled with a spiced brown sugar and brown butter cinnamon filing, then rolled up and formed into perfect rolls. The rolls are then baked to perfection, and slathered in a brown butter cream cheese frosting, loaded up with specks of vanilla bean and brown butter. These are the perfect take on a cinnamon roll - the extra effort is well worth it! #brownbuttercinnamonroll #brownbutter #creamcheesefrosting

A few wee tips for Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls:

  • To get the flavour of the brown butter into the rolls but still have the structure of softened butter, I browned the butter, then poured it into a bowl and froze it to solidify it. I then brought it back to room temperature, stirring often, until it was soft and spreadable for using in the filling of the rolls and again for the frosting. Make sure you allow time for this - I would brown the butter before you start making the dough just to make sure there’s enough time to chill. This can also be done ahead of time - store the brown butter in a container in the fridge and bring to room temperature when you need.
  • I’m going to get you to brown all of the butter at once and then it can just easily be divided up for the filling and the frosting. Saves browning two sets of butter.
  • The brioche can have the first rise done overnight in the fridge if you like - this splits up the task a little and also makes it a little easier to roll out.
  • If you roll up your dough and then cut the rolls and some are a little fatter than others, don't worry. To help make sure the rolls rise evenly, mix up where you put them in the baking pan - so put some big ones by small ones so that they all have space to expand.
  • The quantity of the brown butter called for in the recipe for is less than the quantity of butter called for making the brown butter. This is because the butter browning process cooks moisture off from the butter, so it therefore reduces in quantity. I have accounted for this in the recipe, so you will see 500g butter called for to make the butter, but only 350g worth of brown butter used in the filling and the frosting. This is not an error - I just accounted for moisture loss when calculating the initial quantity.
side on shot brown butter cinnamon rolls
Frosted brown butter cinnamon rolls

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Banoffee Doughnuts - Brioche Doughnuts with Banana Salted Caramel Ganache and Honeycomb

Banoffee Doughnuts - Brioche Doughnuts with Banana Salted Caramel Ganache and Honeycomb #banoffee #doughnuts #briochedoughnuts
Banoffee Doughnuts - Brioche Doughnuts with Banana Salted Caramel Ganache and Honeycomb #banoffee #doughnuts #briochedoughnuts
Banoffee Doughnuts - Brioche Doughnuts with Banana Salted Caramel Ganache and Honeycomb #banoffee #doughnuts #briochedoughnuts
Banoffee Doughnuts - Brioche Doughnuts with Banana Salted Caramel Ganache and Honeycomb #banoffee #doughnuts #briochedoughnuts
Banoffee Doughnuts - Brioche Doughnuts with Banana Salted Caramel Ganache and Honeycomb #banoffee #doughnuts #briochedoughnuts
Banoffee Doughnuts - Brioche Doughnuts with Banana Salted Caramel Ganache and Honeycomb #banoffee #doughnuts #briochedoughnuts

Hi! Happy happy Friday! Just popping by with a quick doughnut recipe which I made earlier this week - a take on a banoffee pie, but as a doughnut. Banoffee pie gets its name from “banana toffee” - it was my favourite thing to make when I was younger using a can of caramel condensed milk and some crushed biscuits and cream. We used to make it in the halls of residence when I was at university because it was no bake situation and we could put it together in a tin foil baking dish. Definitely very rustic, but so, so good.

I stuck with my regular brioche fried doughnuts, then I played up the banoffee vibe by making a banana salted caramel ganache to fill the doughnuts. The recipe came from my friend Lisa, who suggested that rather than making a caramel and then also stuffing in the banana, I incorporate the banana right into the caramel itself. It wasn’t a concept I had heard of before, but I gave it a go, and oh my, I love how it came out. Incorporating in the banana means that the banana flavour is super strong, and also helps cut through the sweetness of the caramel. I poured the finished caramel over some white chocolate to form a ganache and to help add some thickness, and it makes the most perfect doughnut filling - all the flavour of banana and caramel and no having to deal with slimy bananas.

I finished these off with a chunk of my favourite candy to make - honeycomb, or hokey pokey as we call it in New Zealand. It’s sugar and golden syrup cooked together, and then baking soda is added at the very last second to make it foamy and delicious. It’s super fun and easy to make, and so, so delicious. I just popped a chunk on the top of each doughnut to give a little textural element. It’s totally an optional step, but a fun and delicious one. Happy Doughnutting!

A few wee tips:

  • The honeycomb is super humidity sensitive, so make sure you store it in an airtight container as soon as it is set. I usually make it on a sheet pan but this time I poured the hot honeycomb into a loaf pan which gave me huge bubbles and much thicker pieces.
  • The Ganache needs a while to set - I like to make it the night before and leave it to chill overnight in the fridge. Don’t worry if it looks really runny, it will set up!
  • An immersion / stick blender will be your good friend when making the caramel and then when incorporating in the chocolate.
  • Because of the bananas in the caramel, the ganache does have a bit more of a ‘slimy’ texture than a regular salted caramel ganache. It’s super delicious, I just wanted to note!
  • If you wanted other filling options, I have a bunch more here on the site - Roasted Strawberry and custard, Salted Caramel Milk Chocolate Ganache, and a Passionfruit filling. All so, so good!

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Cardamom Sour Cream Bundt Cake with Cardamom Syrup Glaze

Cardamom Sour Cream Bundt Cake with Cardamom Syrup glaze - this super versatile cardamom sour cream cake is full of warming cardamom spices, both from within the cake and from the simple cardamom bundt syrup glaze that is brushed on top. You can leave the cardamom out for a perfect vanilla sour cream bundt cake, or leave it in there for a cozy, warming bundt cake. #bundtcake #bundtrecipe #cardamombuntcake
Cardamom Bundt Cake with Cardamom Syrup glaze - this super versatile cardamom sour cream cake is full of warming cardamom spices, both from within the cake and from the simple cardamom bundt syrup glaze that is brushed on top. You can leave the cardamom out for a perfect vanilla sour cream bundt cake, or leave it in there for a cozy, warming bundt cake. #bundtcake #bundtrecipe #cardamombuntcake
Cardamom Bundt Cake with Cardamom Syrup glaze - this super versatile cardamom sour cream cake is full of warming cardamom spices, both from within the cake and from the simple cardamom bundt syrup glaze that is brushed on top. You can leave the cardamom out for a perfect vanilla sour cream bundt cake, or leave it in there for a cozy, warming bundt cake. #bundtcake #bundtrecipe #cardamombuntcake
Cardamom Bundt Cake with Cardamom Syrup glaze - this super versatile cardamom sour cream cake is full of warming cardamom spices, both from within the cake and from the simple cardamom bundt syrup glaze that is brushed on top. You can leave the cardamom out for a perfect vanilla sour cream bundt cake, or leave it in there for a cozy, warming bundt cake. #bundtcake #bundtrecipe #cardamombuntcake

Hi hi! Just popping on here today to share this quick and easy bundt cake recipe - a cardamom bundt cake with a cardamom syrup glaze. This is essentially just a slightly gussied up version of a vanilla sour cream bundt cake with a simple glaze, which I love because of how versatile it is. This is a great base vanilla bundt cake recipe, which you can basically add whatever you like to to make it your own!

In this situation I just added a whole bunch of cardamom, both to the cake and to the syrup that I brushed on while the cake was still warm. The base is a cardamom sour cream bundt cake, which gets its moisture from the sour cream, and the slightly spicy warm flavour from the cardamom in the batter. This cake keeps super well, and is actually better the day after you make it, which makes it ideal for preparing ahead if you know you are going to need something quick and easy to please a crowd! You can really do your own thing here with the flavour, as it is a super easy base recipe - add in some lemon zest and make it a lemon glaze for a vanilla lemon cake (or make this lemon cake because it’s really really good), or you could probably add in some chocolate chips if you wanted (i’ll try it and report back, watch this space), and you could even serve it with a super simple raspberry sauce, fresh fruit, and whipped cream if you wanted to make it a bit more fancy and serve it as a dessert. This cake is an easy one, it’s a new favourite of mine, and I promise that it will be a new favourite of yours soon too. Happy Bundting!

A few wee tips:

  • I used this bundt pan for this cake, but any 10 cup bundt pan will work! Make sure that you really spray it well with baking spray - ideally use one that has flour in it if you can!
  • This tastes good the day it is made, but it gets better as time goes on too and the cardamom flavour develops.
  • Don’t skip the syrup part, it really really helps with the moisture of the cake. I like to make the syrup just toward the end of the baking process, so that it is ready to brush onto the cake as soon as it is out of the pan.

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Cookies and Cream Cookies

These Cookies and Cream Cookies are the perfect black cocoa cookie. They have a black cocoa base and chunks of white chocolate and caramelised white chocolate. They are chewy in the centre and the perfect treat.

Cookies and Cream Cookies - Black Cocoa Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks. Fudgy, chewy Black cocoa cookies are stuffed full of white chocolate chunks. These are the most perfect cookies and cream cookie, and are so amazing on their own or with a glass of cold milk. #cookies #cookiesandcream #whitechocolate
Cookies and Cream Cookies - Black Cocoa Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks. Fudgy, chewy Black cocoa cookies are stuffed full of white chocolate chunks. These are the most perfect cookies and cream cookie, and are so amazing on their own or with a glass of cold milk. #cookies #cookiesandcream #whitechocolate
Cookies and Cream Cookies - Black Cocoa Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks. Fudgy, chewy Black cocoa cookies are stuffed full of white chocolate chunks. These are the most perfect cookies and cream cookie, and are so amazing on their own or with a glass of cold milk. #cookies #cookiesandcream #whitechocolate
Cookies and Cream Cookies - Black Cocoa Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks. Fudgy, chewy Black cocoa cookies are stuffed full of white chocolate chunks. These are the most perfect cookies and cream cookie, and are so amazing on their own or with a glass of cold milk. #cookies #cookiesandcream #whitechocolate
Cookies and Cream Cookies - Black Cocoa Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks. Fudgy, chewy Black cocoa cookies are stuffed full of white chocolate chunks. These are the most perfect cookies and cream cookie, and are so amazing on their own or with a glass of cold milk. #cookies #cookiesandcream #whitechocolate
Cookies and Cream Cookies - Black Cocoa Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks. Fudgy, chewy Black cocoa cookies are stuffed full of white chocolate chunks. These are the most perfect cookies and cream cookie, and are so amazing on their own or with a glass of cold milk. #cookies #cookiesandcream #whitechocolate
Cookies and Cream Cookies - Black Cocoa Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks. Fudgy, chewy Black cocoa cookies are stuffed full of white chocolate chunks. These are the most perfect cookies and cream cookie, and are so amazing on their own or with a glass of cold milk. #cookies #cookiesandcream #whitechocolate

Hi hi! I am just popping on here to share a quick recipe with you - these Cookies and Cream Cookies from the newest gem from Brian Hart Hoffman and the team from Bake From Scratch - The Cookie Collection! The book is a compilation of all their cookie recipes from their magazines (which are amazing and you need to subscribe to if you don’t already get), and is divided into chapters to help you easily find the perfect cookie to fulfill your cookie cravings! I have a couple of recipes in the book, but wanted to share this one with you today as I made them yesterday, and OH MY.

There is a chapter in the book called FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) Cookies, which is a term I came up with a few years ago to describe the internet’s fascination with particular cookie recipes. Although this particular recipe isn’t in the FOMO section of the book, it absolutely should be. So, as chairwoman of the FOMO council, I’m claiming is as an honorary FOMO cookie, because you’re going to need to stop what you are doing, and make these right now.

These Cookies and Cream Cookies are everything you need in a chocolate cookie. The base is super fudgy, and is made with black cocoa, for an Oreo flavour, and it is jam packed with white chocolate chunks. The cookie is soft and chewy (with the option to bake it a little more for a crispy situation), and the white chocolate and black cocoa is the best combo ever. I used two types of white chocolate (see notes) just to make it a little bit exciting, and I can happily say that these have made their way directly into the cookie rotation. They would be amazing with different types of chocolate (milk would be so good), and the dough is soft and versatile, meaning that it would be perfect to add in some mix-ins, just in case you’re a pretzel or caramel or nuts in a cookie type of person too.

A few wee tips:

  • I used a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop here - they suggest a 3 tablespoon in the book, but I don’t have one, and a 2 tablespoon worked great. I fitted 8 2 tablespoon scoop cookies per baking sheet - a row of 3, then a row of 2, then a row of 3 again.
  • There’s something about mixing fancy chocolate with not as fancy chocolate and I’m all about it. I used 300g Valrhona Orely’s which have vanilla and muscovado sugar in them, and made up the rest of the weight with white chocolate drops. I love using different chocolates in cookies, as it makes each bite different. Bake from Scratch suggests using Valrhona Ovoire 35% baking bars, or Guittard Choc au Lait Baking chips.
  • I like holding back some of the chocolate to pop on the top about 3 minutes before the cookies are finished baking to give some surface chocolate.
  • The dough will be super soft when you finish mixing it - it firms up nicely after an hour or two in the fridge!
  • If you can’t find black cocoa, extra dutched cocoa will work great too.

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Cardamom Macarons

Golden Sugar Macarons with Cardamom Cream Cheese Filling. These French macarons are made with golden sugar, sprinkled with the sugar to give them a sparkly top, and filled with a smooth cardamom cream cheese filling. These are an easy gluten free treat, and this is a great go-to macaron recipe, filled with tips and tricks to help you master french macarons! #frenchmacarons #goldensugar #cardamomcreamcheese
Golden Sugar Macarons with Cardamom Cream Cheese Filling. These French macarons are made with golden sugar, sprinkled with the sugar to give them a sparkly top, and filled with a smooth cardamom cream cheese filling. These are an easy gluten free treat, and this is a great go-to macaron recipe, filled with tips and tricks to help you master french macarons! #frenchmacarons #goldensugar #cardamomcreamcheese
Golden Sugar Macarons with Cardamom Cream Cheese Filling. These French macarons are made with golden sugar, sprinkled with the sugar to give them a sparkly top, and filled with a smooth cardamom cream cheese filling. These are an easy gluten free treat, and this is a great go-to macaron recipe, filled with tips and tricks to help you master french macarons! #frenchmacarons #goldensugar #cardamomcreamcheese
Golden Sugar Macarons with Cardamom Cream Cheese Filling. These French macarons are made with golden sugar, sprinkled with the sugar to give them a sparkly top, and filled with a smooth cardamom cream cheese filling. These are an easy gluten free treat, and this is a great go-to macaron recipe, filled with tips and tricks to help you master french macarons! #frenchmacarons #goldensugar #cardamomcreamcheese
Golden Sugar Macarons with Cardamom Cream Cheese Filling. These French macarons are made with golden sugar, sprinkled with the sugar to give them a sparkly top, and filled with a smooth cardamom cream cheese filling. These are an easy gluten free treat, and this is a great go-to macaron recipe, filled with tips and tricks to help you master french macarons! #frenchmacarons #goldensugar #cardamomcreamcheese
Golden Sugar Macarons with Cardamom Cream Cheese Filling. These French macarons are made with golden sugar, sprinkled with the sugar to give them a sparkly top, and filled with a smooth cardamom cream cheese filling. These are an easy gluten free treat, and this is a great go-to macaron recipe, filled with tips and tricks to help you master french macarons! #frenchmacarons #goldensugar #cardamomcreamcheese
Golden Sugar Macarons with Cardamom Cream Cheese Filling. These French macarons are made with golden sugar, sprinkled with the sugar to give them a sparkly top, and filled with a smooth cardamom cream cheese filling. These are an easy gluten free treat, and this is a great go-to macaron recipe, filled with tips and tricks to help you master french macarons! #frenchmacarons #goldensugar #cardamomcreamcheese
Golden Sugar Macarons with Cardamom Cream Cheese Filling. These French macarons are made with golden sugar, sprinkled with the sugar to give them a sparkly top, and filled with a smooth cardamom cream cheese filling. These are an easy gluten free treat, and this is a great go-to macaron recipe, filled with tips and tricks to help you master french macarons! #frenchmacarons #goldensugar #cardamomcreamcheese

Hi hi! I am back sharing another recipe with my friends at Domino® Sugar today with these Golden Sugar Macarons with a Cardamom Cream Cheese Filling! These guys have a sweet, warming cream cheese filling, and the shells are sprinkled with extra Golden Sugar to give them a little extra sparkle and crunch on the outside of the shells. If you’ve been following along at home, (and by at home I mean on Instagram), I recently got a new oven, which has been a game changer for multiple reasons, the main one being that I can now see into the oven (!!), but another massive perk from my shiny new friend is that I can bake two trays of macarons at once! Very, very exciting.

I’ve been playing around with Domino® Golden Sugar in my kitchen for the last few weeks, and I’ve been loving how it performs. If you haven’t tried new Domino® Golden Sugar yet, it is a less processed alternative to white sugar that still works cup for cup in baking! It has the most beautiful golden colour, and a slight molasses hint in the flavouring. I’ve thrown it at a lot of things recently, including a couple of recipes which can be a little finicky, and they have come out amazingly! I started with these Salted Caramel Cream Puffs, but this week I put it to the ultimate test, with one of the more finicky recipes I know - French Macarons.

Macarons are known to be tricky wee things - make one change and the whole batch can turn wonky on you, so I figured that this would be a great test for the Golden Sugar, and it performed perfectly! The Golden Sugar gave the macaron shells a super pretty golden hue, and I sprinkled a little extra sugar on the top - the slightly coarser texture of cane sugar is perfect for giving the shells a sparkly finish. I just also love anything sugar coated.

I kept things pretty simple filling wise and went with one of my faves - a cream cheese buttercream. I added a teeny hint of cardamom just to give it a little warmth, and some vanilla bean, because that goes into everything I make. You can absolutely leave out the cardamom, but I loved how it tasted against the slightly tangy cream cheese and sweet crunchy shells.

A few wee tips:

  • All of my best macaron tips (there’s loads of them - I add to the doc every time I discover a new one) are in this post
  • You may be able to bake two sheets of macs at once - depending on your oven. My old one wouldn’t let me, but I just got a new oven and I did two trays at once no worries - just make sure you rotate them half way through. If you bake two, make sure you you use a spare sheet pan under each.
  • You can fill these with anything that you like! The Domino® Golden Sugar shells are essentially just ‘plain’ vanilla bean shells, so they would be perfect for pairing with almost any filling.

Thank you so much to Domino Sugar for Sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Peanut Butter Ripple Philadelphia Style Ice Cream with Peanut Brittle and Pretzels

Peanut Butter Ripple Philadelphia Style Ice Cream with Peanut Brittle and Pretzels. This extra chunky philadelphia style ice cream is filled with crunchy peanut brittle, salty pretzels, and a creamy peanut butter swirl, making it the perfect treat for peanut butter lovers! #peanutbuttericecream #vanillaicecream #peanutbrittle #pretzelicecream
Peanut Butter Ripple Philadelphia Style Ice Cream with Peanut Brittle and Pretzels. This extra chunky philadelphia style ice cream is filled with crunchy peanut brittle, salty pretzels, and a creamy peanut butter swirl, making it the perfect treat for peanut butter lovers! #peanutbuttericecream #vanillaicecream #peanutbrittle #pretzelicecream
Peanut Butter Ripple Philadelphia Style Ice Cream with Peanut Brittle and Pretzels. This extra chunky philadelphia style ice cream is filled with crunchy peanut brittle, salty pretzels, and a creamy peanut butter swirl, making it the perfect treat for peanut butter lovers! #peanutbuttericecream #vanillaicecream #peanutbrittle #pretzelicecream
Peanut Butter Ripple Philadelphia Style Ice Cream with Peanut Brittle and Pretzels. This extra chunky philadelphia style ice cream is filled with crunchy peanut brittle, salty pretzels, and a creamy peanut butter swirl, making it the perfect treat for peanut butter lovers! #peanutbuttericecream #vanillaicecream #peanutbrittle #pretzelicecream
Peanut Butter Ripple Philadelphia Style Ice Cream with Peanut Brittle and Pretzels. This extra chunky philadelphia style ice cream is filled with crunchy peanut brittle, salty pretzels, and a creamy peanut butter swirl, making it the perfect treat for peanut butter lovers! #peanutbuttericecream #vanillaicecream #peanutbrittle #pretzelicecream

Hi hi! Happy Friday! I’ve been working loads this week on some really fun projects I’m excited to share with you! All of them will be live in the next month or so, and I just sent the last thing off for approval - it’s a kind of weird feeling because I’ve shot about five things this week, but it feels like I have nothing to show for it because none of them are posted yet. Instead I’ll share this with you - it’s a Peanut Butter Ripple Philadelphia Style Ice Cream with Peanut Brittle and Pretzels. And it’s a massive mouthful, but in the best way possible.

This ice cream isn’t really something that you can scoop. It’s basically all kinds of yum stuff, held together by a philadelphia ice cream base. We’ve talked about Philadelphia style ice cream here before - it’s egg free, so it’s easy to make, and super super yum. You do need an ice cream machine to make it, but as far as preparing the base goes, it’s a super easy from scratch ice cream base. You should definitely try it.

As far as the yum stuff goes, there’s a whole lot of peanutty, sweet, salty, goodness. I really wanted to make a peanut butter ice cream, but when it came to churning it, things got weird and the mixture came out a super strange texture - likely from all of the oil in the peanut butter. A quick workaround was to ditch the peanut butter ice cream base, and replace it with a peanut butter swirl throughout the ice cream. I also added in a couple more things - some peanut brittle, which is sweet, and salty, and super delicious even on its own, and a healthy dose of salty, crunchy pretzels. This is super chunky ice cream. But it’s also super delicious ice cream. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

A few wee tips:

  • You want to stay away from Natural peanut butter in this recipe as it will separate and freeze weirdly. Go for the stuff that comes out homogenous from the container. It stays smooth when you warm it and freeze it.
  • This is definitely more of a chunky ice cream than a smooth, scoopable one. Just bear this in mind if you make it - we ended up using a knife to cut slices and eat them with a spoon instead of trying to scoop it. The taste makes it 100% worth it, I promise!
  • The peanut brittle goes quickly, so you will want to have your baking soda all ready to go!

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Salted Caramel Cream Puffs

These Salted Caramel Cream puffs are super easy to make. A Choux au craquelin with a crisp craquelin top and hollow interior is filled with a salted caramel diplomat cream. Diplomat cream is salted caramel pastry cream lightened with whipped cream. These are the perfect caramel cream puffs!

Golden Sugar Choux au Craquelin - Cream Puffs with Salted Caramel Diplomat Cream. These easy cream puffs, topped with crispy craquelin, are stuffed full with a salted caramel pastry cream, which is folded into softly whipped cream to form salted caramel diplomat cream. #creampuffs #chouxaucraquelin #saltedcaramel #diplomatcream
Golden Sugar Choux au Craquelin - Cream Puffs with Salted Caramel Diplomat Cream. These easy cream puffs, topped with crispy craquelin, are stuffed full with a salted caramel pastry cream, which is folded into softly whipped cream to form salted caramel diplomat cream. #creampuffs #chouxaucraquelin #saltedcaramel #diplomatcream
Golden Sugar Choux au Craquelin - Cream Puffs with Salted Caramel Diplomat Cream. These easy cream puffs, topped with crispy craquelin, are stuffed full with a salted caramel pastry cream, which is folded into softly whipped cream to form salted caramel diplomat cream. #creampuffs #chouxaucraquelin #saltedcaramel #diplomatcream
Golden Sugar Choux au Craquelin - Cream Puffs with Salted Caramel Diplomat Cream. These easy cream puffs, topped with crispy craquelin, are stuffed full with a salted caramel pastry cream, which is folded into softly whipped cream to form salted caramel diplomat cream. #creampuffs #chouxaucraquelin #saltedcaramel #diplomatcream
Golden Sugar Choux au Craquelin - Cream Puffs with Salted Caramel Diplomat Cream. These easy cream puffs, topped with crispy craquelin, are stuffed full with a salted caramel pastry cream, which is folded into softly whipped cream to form salted caramel diplomat cream. #creampuffs #chouxaucraquelin #saltedcaramel #diplomatcream
Golden Sugar Choux au Craquelin - Cream Puffs with Salted Caramel Diplomat Cream. These easy cream puffs, topped with crispy craquelin, are stuffed full with a salted caramel pastry cream, which is folded into softly whipped cream to form salted caramel diplomat cream. #creampuffs #chouxaucraquelin #saltedcaramel #diplomatcream
Golden Sugar Choux au Craquelin - Cream Puffs with Salted Caramel Diplomat Cream. These easy cream puffs, topped with crispy craquelin, are stuffed full with a salted caramel pastry cream, which is folded into softly whipped cream to form salted caramel diplomat cream. #creampuffs #chouxaucraquelin #saltedcaramel #diplomatcream
Golden Sugar Choux au Craquelin - Cream Puffs with Salted Caramel Diplomat Cream. These easy cream puffs, topped with crispy craquelin, are stuffed full with a salted caramel pastry cream, which is folded into softly whipped cream to form salted caramel diplomat cream. #creampuffs #chouxaucraquelin #saltedcaramel #diplomatcream
Golden Sugar Choux au Craquelin - Cream Puffs with Salted Caramel Diplomat Cream. These easy cream puffs, topped with crispy craquelin, are stuffed full with a salted caramel pastry cream, which is folded into softly whipped cream to form salted caramel diplomat cream. #creampuffs #chouxaucraquelin #saltedcaramel #diplomatcream

Hi hi! I am popping on here to share a super fun recipe that I am really excited about - Golden Sugar Choux au Craquelin, aka Cream Puffs with a Salted Caramel Diplomat Cream! Cream puffs really are one of my favourite things to make. There’s something just so fascinating about putting little blobs of dough into the oven and seeing them come out as light, airy, crunchy balls of deliciousness, ready to be filled with anything that you like!

The real magic comes from the craquelin layer on the top of these wee dudes. Basically it is a simple cookie dough, that you roll out super thin, then freeze, cut into discs, and place onto the tops of the piped out choux dough. As the choux buns bake, the craquelin drapes over the bun, helping it to rise in a perfect circle (which is why they are always nice and round compared to their knobbly cream puff friends), and baking up into a crispy, crackly layer that is so hard to resist, and is the perfect textural element to go along with the crisp choux pastry and the silky filling - in this particular case, a salted caramel diplomat cream, which is essentially a pastry cream which has been lightened with whipped cream. To make a salted caramel pastry cream, you make a very liquidy caramel, and then use that in the place of the milk in a pastry cream. It’s an extra wee step, but oh my is it worth it - the pastry cream itself is out of this world, but is elevated even more when it is folded through mounds of whipped cream, to create the most perfect salted caramel cream puff filling you could ever imagine.

These wee choux au craquelin have a very special ingredient in them - the brand spanking new Domino® Golden Sugar! Golden sugar is essentially a less processed version of the sugar that we know and love. It is made from pure cane sugar, and because it is less processed, it has the most beautiful golden colour, and slight hint of molasses flavour. It can be used as a cup for cup sub in all baking applications where white sugar can be used - I used it in all of the elements of these choux au craquelin!

The Domino® Golden Sugar made the most beautiful toasty salted caramel which was the base of the salted caramel pastry cream, and I used it in the craquelin where I would usually use brown sugar, and was so amazed at the results - the delicious flavour from the sugar really shone through in the crackly tops, and the light golden colour was such a nice contrast against the golden brown choux buns, which baked up perfectly with the golden sugar added into the choux dough. I can’t wait to use it in more ways in my kitchen!

A few wee tips:

  • The process of making the salted caramel pastry cream is pretty similar to a regular pastry cream, except that the caramel acts as the ‘milk’ in the pastry cream - so instead of pouring warm milk into the yolk mix to make the pastry cream and temper the eggs, the caramel is used instead.
  • Use a bigger pot than you think you need for the caramel, as the quantity of cream and milk needed to deglaze the caramel is quite a lot, so you need the space - I learnt this the hard way!
  • In the ingredients, I have added in a ‘just in case’ egg. Sometimes when you are making choux dough you will need to add an extra egg to the mixture in order to get it to the right consistency - you want it to form a ‘v’ that eventually breaks off when you lift the paddle from the mixture. If it is not wet enough (ie you need to add more egg), you won’t get that nice v shape and the dough will be stiff and break off easily. I usually start with the 240g called for in the recipe, test it, then add the extra beaten egg if needed.
  • I just got a new oven, so I was able to bake both of these trays of choux buns at the same time - I switched the trays around half way through the first 15 minutes at 400°f, and again during the final bake at 350°f. If your oven isn’t super consistent, you can absolutely bake these off one at a time - what you want to do is to pipe out both trays of choux dough, but only top the one you are going to bake with craquelin. The ones without craquelin can be held at room temp until you are ready to bake - just add the craquelin just before you pop them into the oven. Don’t forget to increase the temperature back to 400°f before you bake the second tray.
  • If you can, leave the filling of the cream puffs until close to when you are planning on serving them. I like to prepare the diplomat cream, place a clip just above the piping tip of the piping bag, and then add the cream into the bag. I then give the top a quick twist, and secure with another clip - this way the cream is in the bag, ready to go, making the assembly step easy. However if you are in a pinch and need to prepare these earlier, store them in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve.

Thank you so much to Domino Sugar for Sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Peach and Vanilla Bean Pie with Fresh Rosemary Pie Crust

Peach and Vanilla Bean Pie with Fresh Rosemary Pie Crust - sweet, summer peaches are elevated with vanilla bean paste, and wrapped up in a sweet pie crust filled with fresh rosemary. #peachpie #peachandrosemarypie
Peach and Vanilla Bean Pie with Fresh Rosemary Pie Crust - sweet, summer peaches are elevated with vanilla bean paste, and wrapped up in a sweet pie crust filled with fresh rosemary. #peachpie #peachandrosemarypie
Peach and Vanilla Bean Pie with Fresh Rosemary Pie Crust - sweet, summer peaches are elevated with vanilla bean paste, and wrapped up in a sweet pie crust filled with fresh rosemary. #peachpie #peachandrosemarypie
Peach and Vanilla Bean Pie with Fresh Rosemary Pie Crust - sweet, summer peaches are elevated with vanilla bean paste, and wrapped up in a sweet pie crust filled with fresh rosemary. #peachpie #peachandrosemarypie
Peach and Vanilla Bean Pie with Fresh Rosemary Pie Crust - sweet, summer peaches are elevated with vanilla bean paste, and wrapped up in a sweet pie crust filled with fresh rosemary. #peachpie #peachandrosemarypie

Hi hi! I wanted to just sneak in with one more peach recipe while we are still hanging onto the end of summer with this Peach and vanilla bean pie, with a fresh rosemary crust. I have a couple of peach pies hanging out here on the site - these little peach and thyme hand pies, this peach and blueberry pie, and these mini peach pies from a while back, but realised that until now, there wasn’t a recipe for just a regular old peach pie! I think peach pie, made during peach season, would have to be one of my absolute favourites.

I ramped it up a touch with this guy by adding some fresh rosemary into the pie crust. Adding fresh herbs into pie crust is one of my favourite ways to add flavour to the pie crust, and stone fruit goes so beautifully with the woody flavour of the rosemary. You can absolutely leave it out, but I love the little variation that it gives. I kept everything else pretty simple - peaches, sweetener and starch in the filling, elevated with a little vanilla bean paste. Simple, but so, so delicious. Happy peach Pie-ing!

A few wee tips:

  • The recipe for the pie dough I have listed here makes quite a lot - I needed almost all of it for this lattice. If you are making a less complicated top for your pie and just want a standard double crust recipe, reduce the quantities by ⅓ - so you will use 2 ½ cups flour, and 225g butter, 1 teaspoon cardamom etc.
  • I like using a wee tip that my friend Erin taught me to make the pie dough nice and smooth and easy to work with. I make the dough, shape it into two rectangles, rest it in the fridge wrapped for about an hour, then remove it and roll it out into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface. I then give it a letter fold (as you would a letter), roll out to a rectangle, letter fold again, then roll out slightly, and shape into a disc. I then re-wrap it, and leave it to rest overnight. This makes the dough more homogenous without compromising the flaky texture that you want in the pie dough, and it makes it a total dream to work with. For me, it’s a game changer.
  • When I am making a lattice pie I know I will need more dough for the top crust than the bottom, so I usually make one portion of dough bigger than the other when I initially divide it after mixing to account for this. For this dough I split it ⅓ to ⅔. I usually shape the dough for the bottom crust into a disc, and the dough for the top crust into a rectangle which makes for an easy roll-out for cutting strips for lattice.
  • The quantity of rosemary called for in the recipe seems like a lot, but it is just enough to give a nice subtle taste to the pie. Feel free to leave it out, or this pie would also be amazing with this cardamom crust.
  • I peeled my peaches for this because I prefer them unpeeled - to do this, you boil a large pot of water, and set up a large bowl with ice water. Score an x in the bottom of each peach, and boil them, 3 or 4 at a time, for 30 to 45 seconds. Remove using a slotted spoon and transfer to the ice bath. The skins should slip off. Non-peeled peaches are fine too - this process can be a bit of a pain, but I think it’s worth it (and it’s pretty satisfying!)
  • I finished this pie with a super easy ‘lattice’ - a bunch of braids laid across the pie, and then some cut-outs around the edge to form a border. Cut-outs are my favourite way to finish off a pie like this, as spaced out braids can be hard to neatly crimp. Pie stamps fix all your issues!

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Sour Cream Ganache Frosting

One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Sour Cream Ganache Frosting. This recipe for easy chocolate cupcakes topped with a sour cream ganache which is perfect for piping, are so easy and simple to make. #chocolatecupcakes #easychocolatecupcakes #ganachefrosting
One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Sour Cream Ganache Frosting. This recipe for easy chocolate cupcakes topped with a sour cream ganache which is perfect for piping, are so easy and simple to make. #chocolatecupcakes #easychocolatecupcakes #ganachefrosting
One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Sour Cream Ganache Frosting. This recipe for easy chocolate cupcakes topped with a sour cream ganache which is perfect for piping, are so easy and simple to make. #chocolatecupcakes #easychocolatecupcakes #ganachefrosting
One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Sour Cream Ganache Frosting. This recipe for easy chocolate cupcakes topped with a sour cream ganache which is perfect for piping, are so easy and simple to make. #chocolatecupcakes #easychocolatecupcakes #ganachefrosting
One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Sour Cream Ganache Frosting. This recipe for easy chocolate cupcakes topped with a sour cream ganache which is perfect for piping, are so easy and simple to make. #chocolatecupcakes #easychocolatecupcakes #ganachefrosting
One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Sour Cream Ganache Frosting. This recipe for easy chocolate cupcakes topped with a sour cream ganache which is perfect for piping, are so easy and simple to make. #chocolatecupcakes #easychocolatecupcakes #ganachefrosting
One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Sour Cream Ganache Frosting. This recipe for easy chocolate cupcakes topped with a sour cream ganache which is perfect for piping, are so easy and simple to make. #chocolatecupcakes #easychocolatecupcakes #ganachefrosting

I just wanted to pop on here and share the recipe for these super easy, super delicious one bowl chocolate cupcakes with dark chocolate sour cream ganache frosting. The cupcakes themselves are crazy easy to make - everything comes together in the one bowl. The ganache is something that I am super excited to share with you. I was so excited that it worked when I tried it a few weeks ago, and I think that it is going to be a game changer when it comes to a pipable ganache. I often have a few issues with getting a ganache that is the perfect texture for piping without having to whip it a lot, but I think I have come across a winner here. Basically what you do is melt together sour cream and dark chocolate, and the result is a beautiful, silky, easy chocolate ganache that is so perfect for piping, but also has the most amazing tang from the sour cream.

I used a dark chocolate in this ganache, but I think that it would be so, so delicious with a milk chocolate too, which would really bring out the flavour of the sour cream. I’m super pumped to put this ganache on so many more things - it’s so easy to make, comes out so beautifully silky, and sets up firm in the fridge, sour cream truffles are next on my list!

A few wee tips:

  • The Sour Cream ganache takes a few hours to firm up to a piping consistency, so make sure that you account for this. I like to make it first before I preheat the oven for the cupcakes, so there is enough time for it to firm up.
  • I used an ateco #826 piping tip for this because the ganache, while perfect for piping onto these cupcakes, can be a touch less forgiving than a buttercream for piping, so I used a tip that is really easy to make ruffles with - you just hold the tip above the cupcake and it does most of the work for you! If you are using another tip just keep this in mind, as the ganache doesn’t behave just like a buttercream does.
  • This recipe also bakes into a 9” square sheet cake - it takes about 35 minutes to bake.

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Chocolate Olive Oil Sheet Cake with Milk Chocolate German Buttercream

I think we’ve talked here before about how much I love sheet cakes. It’s all the flavour of a layer cake, but just way, way more laid back. They are super easy to transport (you just take the whole pan with you), are the best for loading up with sprinkles, and, I don’t know about you, but I LOVE making the swirls with my little offset spatula. I could seriously do it all day - it’s so relaxing to me.

Chocolate sheet cake with milk chocolate german buttercream. This easy, from scratch chocolate sheet cake is enhanced with the flavour of olive oil, and bakes up nice and flat, making it the perfect sheet cake for decorating. It is topped with a silky, milk chocolate german buttercream. #sheetcake #germanbuttercream #chocolateoliveoilcake
Chocolate sheet cake with milk chocolate german buttercream. This easy, from scratch chocolate sheet cake is enhanced with the flavour of olive oil, and bakes up nice and flat, making it the perfect sheet cake for decorating. It is topped with a silky, milk chocolate german buttercream. #sheetcake #germanbuttercream #chocolateoliveoilcake
Chocolate sheet cake with milk chocolate german buttercream. This easy, from scratch chocolate sheet cake is enhanced with the flavour of olive oil, and bakes up nice and flat, making it the perfect sheet cake for decorating. It is topped with a silky, milk chocolate german buttercream. #sheetcake #germanbuttercream #chocolateoliveoilcake
Chocolate sheet cake with milk chocolate german buttercream. This easy, from scratch chocolate sheet cake is enhanced with the flavour of olive oil, and bakes up nice and flat, making it the perfect sheet cake for decorating. It is topped with a silky, milk chocolate german buttercream. #sheetcake #germanbuttercream #chocolateoliveoilcake
Chocolate sheet cake with milk chocolate german buttercream. This easy, from scratch chocolate sheet cake is enhanced with the flavour of olive oil, and bakes up nice and flat, making it the perfect sheet cake for decorating. It is topped with a silky, milk chocolate german buttercream. #sheetcake #germanbuttercream #chocolateoliveoilcake
Chocolate sheet cake with milk chocolate german buttercream. This easy, from scratch chocolate sheet cake is enhanced with the flavour of olive oil, and bakes up nice and flat, making it the perfect sheet cake for decorating. It is topped with a silky, milk chocolate german buttercream. #sheetcake #germanbuttercream #chocolateoliveoilcake
Chocolate sheet cake with milk chocolate german buttercream. This easy, from scratch chocolate sheet cake is enhanced with the flavour of olive oil, and bakes up nice and flat, making it the perfect sheet cake for decorating. It is topped with a silky, milk chocolate german buttercream. #sheetcake #germanbuttercream #chocolateoliveoilcake

Today’s recipe is a chance for me to love on the sheet cake just a little more, with this double chocolate situation. There’s a chocolate olive oil sheet cake on the bottom - it’s rich and moist, but still has a lovely springy texture, and a depth of flavour from the olive oil in the recipe. I then topped it with a fave of mine - milk chocolate german buttercream. Chocolate has got to be one of my all time faves when it comes to German buttercream. Someone once described it as room temperature ice cream, which I think is really just the perfect description. The chocolate goes so nicely with the silky buttercream, giving you this smooth, decadent topping to the cake. This cake would go great with a load of different buttercreams - in fact, there are a heap on the site here for you, but I can’t go past a good double chocolate pairing, and sprinkles are optional but also kind of necessary.

A few wee tips:

  • I used a milk chocolate in the buttercream, which gave a very light taste, but if you wanted something a bit darker, sub the milk chocolate for a good quality dark chocolate.
  • Ideally the pastry cream for the German buttercream needs to chill down - I like leaving it for at least a few hours, or overnight if I can.
  • This cake is great as it comes together all in the one bowl - you end up with quite a bit of mixture, so make sure that you have a big enough bowl!

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Cereal Milk Macarons

These Cereal Milk Macarons have a Vanilla Bean French Macaron shell, and then are filled with Cereal Milk German Buttercream. There are three flavour options of cereal milk macarons - Trix, Lucky Charms, and Frosted Flakes. These taste just like a bowl of your favourite cereal!

French Macarons with Cereal Milk German Buttercream. These Easy French Macarons are filled with a cereal infused german buttercream. They are an elevated version of your favourite childhood cereal. Frosted Flakes, Lucky Charms, Trix. #frenchmacarons #easymacarons #macaronrecipe

Cereal French Macarons

Hi hi! Just popping in to share the recipe for these cereal milk macarons with you! These easy homemade macarons have a vanilla bean shell and a cereal milk german buttercream. Making French macarons at home can be fun and easy once you get the hang of it.

These french macarons have the same base shell, but we mixed up the fillings by infusing the milk used for the base of the buttercream with different cereals to make Lucky Charms Macarons, Trix Macarons, and Frosted Flakes Macarons!

Get all my tips and tricks for making perfect homemade French Macarons

What is Cereal Milk? 

Cereal milk was made a thing by Christina Tosi a while back - it’s basically meant to be a nod to that milk that is left at the bottom of your cereal bowl. The original recipe uses cornflakes and brown sugar, but we took it in a different direction - infusing the milk and then using it as the base of a German buttercream, which we used to fill cereal inspired macaron shells.

French Macarons with Cereal Milk German Buttercream. These Easy French Macarons are filled with a cereal infused german buttercream. They are an elevated version of your favourite childhood cereal. Frosted Flakes, Lucky Charms, Trix. #frenchmacarons #easymacarons #macaronrecipe

Keep it easy - use the same shell base!

Here's a wee secret - I use the same shell for all of my macarons, and then just switch up the macaron filling flavour. We kept the shells pretty simple, with our standard vanilla bean shell, and then sprinkled some of them with crushed cereal once they had been piped out.

They all turned out super, super cute, and all different looking, it was so hard to choose a favourite! We actually ended up making three batches (we have it down now and can pump them out), so the recipe below shows just the quantities used for one batch - we infused all the milk separately to yield three batches of German buttercream, and followed the macaron recipe to give three batches of shells.

  • pulled back shot of cereal milk macarons
  • cereal milk macarons on cooling rack

A few wee tips for making Cereal Milk Macarons:

  • All my mac tips are in this post!
  • We made three types of cereal macarons here. The process is essentially the same, except for varying the cereal that you use to infuse the milk, and colouring and finishing the shells depending on what flavour you are using. In the ‘flavour variations’ section of the shells part of the recipe, I have outlined what we did for each flavour.
  • Same goes with the German Buttercream - the recipe here is for one batch, in which you can infuse the milk with the cereal. We made three batches, one for Trix, one for Lucky Charms, and one for Frosted Flakes.
  • We did end up adding a tiny drop of food colouring to the lucky charms and Trix buttercreams, just because the yellow of the egg yolk and butter offset the colour of the milk a little.
French Macarons with Cereal Milk German Buttercream. These Easy French Macarons are filled with a cereal infused german buttercream. They are an elevated version of your favourite childhood cereal. Frosted Flakes, Lucky Charms, Trix. #frenchmacarons #easymacarons #macaronrecipe

Flavour / Colour Variations for Cereal Milk Macarons

  • For Frosted Flakes Macarons, Sprinkle the shells with crushed frosted flakes once you have piped them out and banged them.
  • To make Lucky Charms Macarons, colour the shells with mint green / avocado green gel food colouring
  • For Trix Macarons, colour the shells with deep pink gel food colour, and then sprinkle some of the piped and banged shells with crushed trix.
French Macarons with Cereal Milk German Buttercream. These Easy French Macarons are filled with a cereal infused german buttercream. They are an elevated version of your favourite childhood cereal. Frosted Flakes, Lucky Charms, Trix. #frenchmacarons #easymacarons #macaronrecipe

For more Macaron Recipes, Check out:

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Recipe for Cereal Milk Macarons

Mixed Berry and Cream Cheese Hand Pies

Mixed Berry and Cream Cheese Hand Pies - an easy flaky pie dough encases a mixed berry and vanilla bean cream cheese filling. These miniature pies are perfect for using up surplus cream cheese or jam that you may have, or for making use of slightly sad or tired berries. #handpies #easyhandpies #mixedberryjam
Mixed Berry and Cream Cheese Hand Pies - an easy flaky pie dough encases a mixed berry and vanilla bean cream cheese filling. These miniature pies are perfect for using up surplus cream cheese or jam that you may have, or for making use of slightly sad or tired berries. #handpies #easyhandpies #mixedberryjam
Mixed Berry and Cream Cheese Hand Pies - an easy flaky pie dough encases a mixed berry and vanilla bean cream cheese filling. These miniature pies are perfect for using up surplus cream cheese or jam that you may have, or for making use of slightly sad or tired berries. #handpies #easyhandpies #mixedberryjam
Mixed Berry and Cream Cheese Hand Pies - an easy flaky pie dough encases a mixed berry and vanilla bean cream cheese filling. These miniature pies are perfect for using up surplus cream cheese or jam that you may have, or for making use of slightly sad or tired berries. #handpies #easyhandpies #mixedberryjam
Mixed Berry and Cream Cheese Hand Pies - an easy flaky pie dough encases a mixed berry and vanilla bean cream cheese filling. These miniature pies are perfect for using up surplus cream cheese or jam that you may have, or for making use of slightly sad or tired berries. #handpies #easyhandpies #mixedberryjam
Mixed Berry and Cream Cheese Hand Pies - an easy flaky pie dough encases a mixed berry and vanilla bean cream cheese filling. These miniature pies are perfect for using up surplus cream cheese or jam that you may have, or for making use of slightly sad or tired berries. #handpies #easyhandpies #mixedberryjam
Mixed Berry and Cream Cheese Hand Pies - an easy flaky pie dough encases a mixed berry and vanilla bean cream cheese filling. These miniature pies are perfect for using up surplus cream cheese or jam that you may have, or for making use of slightly sad or tired berries. #handpies #easyhandpies #mixedberryjam

Hi! I am writing this to you from a cute little coffee shop up in Rhinebeck - a few friends and I have escaped for a little mid-week work holiday. For some reason getting work done while you’re tucked away in a little air bnb (we got one with a pool, it is dope) is so much more satisfying than working at home. Don’t get me wrong, I love both, but it’s real cute up here.

I made these just before we left for Canada as a way to use up a couple of things in my fridge - a brick of cream cheese, and half a jar of jam. I had some pie dough in the freezer, so I whipped up these little hand pies, and ohhhh man. I used the cream cheese to act as a bit of a dam to hold in the filling, and the combination of vanilla bean flavoured cream cheese, and sweet mixed berry jam filling is just so good. I didn’t add any additional sugar to the cream cheese, and the super flaky pie dough isn’t sweet, so the jam centre is so, so good against the slightly tangy cream cheese. These are crazy easy to make - they have serious pop tart vibes, and can very easily be scaled up to make a bunch. You could also do them as little circle hand pies rather than the rectangles, and another great thing about them is that you can freeze them ahead of time, store them in an airtight container in your freezer, and bake them off as you need.

Use whatever flavour of jam you like in these - I used mixed berry, but they would also be so, so good with a stone fruit jam or anything berry. You could also use a store bought puff pastry - this is a choose your own adventure here, you can make as many or as few components as you like.

A few wee tips:

  • A pie dough trick I learnt from my friend Erin that is now firmly in my repertoire : After you mix the dough and shape it into discs, rest it in the fridge for about an hour, and then roll it out on a floured surface into a rectangle, fold it in thirds like a letter, then roll again and repeat the folding. Then you shape it into a disc by folding the edges under, rewrap tightly in plastic, and rest for at least two hours before using. What this step does is make the dough homogenous and therefore easy to work with, but also adds layers through the rolling and folding - the same way puff pastry is laminated. It is definitely an optional step but from my experience it makes the world of difference when it comes to rolling out the dough and getting a nice even crimp or lattice work.
  • These come out of the oven HOT. Like, take skin off the inside of your mouth hot. Make sure you let them cool down before you eat it. You’ve been warned.
  • I used homemade jam to make these because I had it on hand, but store bought is great too!
  • I added a couple of flowers I cut out from some excess pie dough. To make these I like to roll out the scrap dough and freeze briefly on a baking sheet, then cut out the shapes with pastry stamps - I have these and love them!

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Caramelised Onion, Goat Cheese, and Sundried Tomato Pesto Pretzel Buns

I love anything pretzel, which could be to do with my love of chewy bread, but is likely to do with my love of everything salty. If you haven’t made pretzels at home before, they are pretty easy, and super fun to make, and just so, so good.

Caramelised Onion, Goat Cheese, and Sundried Tomato Pesto Pretzel Buns - chewy, golden brown pretzel buns are filled with a flavourful filling before being baked to golden brown perfection. These would make the most perfect snack or light meal, and are great for feeding a crowd! #pretzelbun #pesto #sundriedtomatopesto
Caramelised Onion, Goat Cheese, and Sundried Tomato Pesto Pretzel Buns - chewy, golden brown pretzel buns are filled with a flavourful filling before being baked to golden brown perfection. These would make the most perfect snack or light meal, and are great for feeding a crowd! #pretzelbun #pesto #sundriedtomatopesto
Caramelised Onion, Goat Cheese, and Sundried Tomato Pesto Pretzel Buns - chewy, golden brown pretzel buns are filled with a flavourful filling before being baked to golden brown perfection. These would make the most perfect snack or light meal, and are great for feeding a crowd! #pretzelbun #pesto #sundriedtomatopesto
Caramelised Onion, Goat Cheese, and Sundried Tomato Pesto Pretzel Buns - chewy, golden brown pretzel buns are filled with a flavourful filling before being baked to golden brown perfection. These would make the most perfect snack or light meal, and are great for feeding a crowd! #pretzelbun #pesto #sundriedtomatopesto
Caramelised Onion, Goat Cheese, and Sundried Tomato Pesto Pretzel Buns - chewy, golden brown pretzel buns are filled with a flavourful filling before being baked to golden brown perfection. These would make the most perfect snack or light meal, and are great for feeding a crowd! #pretzelbun #pesto #sundriedtomatopesto

I was initially going to attempt a stuffed pretzel for this recipe, but I tried it once and it was a stage 12 disaster, so after an SOS text to my good friend Erin, I settled on these buns, which really ended up being the best of both worlds, because you can load them up with the filling, giving you a very ideal bun to filling ratio.

I used my standard pretzel dough with a couple of tweaks, but instead of rolling it out and shaping it into a twisty pretzel, I made little rounds of dough which I then added the filling to. These wee dudes are rolled out, given a second rise uncovered to help develop a little skin, and then are given the pretzel treatment - a soak in a baking soda bath, which gives them the golden brown and chew characteristic of a pretzel. They then get given a quick egg wash and a sprinkle with pretzel salt (best stuff ever), before being filled with the most delicious filling.

For the filling I kept it pretty simple - I caramelised off some onions, added in some soft, fresh goat cheese, and then hit it with a burst of flavour by way of some tomato pesto. These Pretzel buns would make a perfect light meal, or would be incredible served alongside a soup, or for a little starter or mid day snack. I’m a huge fan, and I hope you are too! x

A few wee tips:

  • Some pretzel recipes will have you use lye to soak the pretzels in. Giving the pretzels a wee bath in lye (sodium hydroxide) helps to speed up the Maillard reaction, which gives the pretzels that lovely brown colour and chew. However, lye is caustic (alkaline) and you have to take a lot of safety precautions such as safety goggles, so I used something a little less alkaline but still very effective - baked baking soda. Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is moderately alkaline, but baking it produces sodium carbonate, which is slightly more alkaline, so therefore perfect for dipping your pretzels without having to worry about the safety risk of using Lye.
  • To make baked baking soda: Line a sheet pan with foil, and spread 1 cup of baking soda evenly over it. Bake at 250˚f / 121˚c for one hour, then transfer to an airtight container. This will be enough for four batches of pretzels - you use ¼ cup at a time.
  • I bake these on silicone mats as I find it is easiest. If you take the pretzels straight out of the water bath and put them directly onto parchment paper, it makes the paper soggy, and it sticks. There are two ways around this - either transfer them onto a wire rack to dry off slightly before you transfer them to the parchment paper, or bake on a silicone mat, in which case you can transfer straight onto the baking sheet because there isn’t a risk of sticking.
  • I baked these off one tray at a time because my oven can be a little finicky - if you do this too, leave the tray that aren’t baked yet in the fridge, and start the soaking and filling process while the first tray is baking. Most ovens should be fine though - just make sure that you rotate the pans half way through the cooking process.
  • If you want to make the dough the night before, this dough rises beautifully in the fridge.
  • Usually the second rise of a bread is done lightly covered - I do my second rise for the pretzels uncovered, which allows them to develop a little bit of a skin, which helps them to keep their structure in the baking soda soak. I also pop them into the fridge for about 15 minutes before I soak them, just to help them hold up nicely once they hit the warm water soak.
  • Making caramelised onions can kind of be a pain, but I promise that it is worth it! I like to put them on while I’m doing something else in the kitchen and just have them on low on the back of the stove - I always make more than I need as they are so good added into scrambled eggs, a quiche, scones, a dip, etc. They are super versatile and it’s not much more work to make more than you need for one recipe! If you don’t want to make them and you have access to a good store bought onion jam or jarred caramelised onions, then that will work great too.
  • Make the Caramelised onions with enough time to allow them to cool - I usually need at least 45 minutes to get them properly caramelised, so I like to get them going before I make the dough, and then finish them off while the dough is rising, then spread them out in a shallow container to cool before making into the filling. Alternatively you can make them a day or few days before.

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Strawberry Shortcake Macaron Philadelphia Style Ice Cream

Strawberry shortcake macaron ice cream - the makings of strawberry shortcake macarons are layered up in a creamy philadelphia style ice cream base and frozen up into the perfect treat #philadelphiastyle #icecream #macaronicecream
Strawberry shortcake macaron ice cream - the makings of strawberry shortcake macarons are layered up in a creamy philadelphia style ice cream base and frozen up into the perfect treat #philadelphiastyle #icecream #macaronicecream
Strawberry shortcake macaron ice cream - the makings of strawberry shortcake macarons are layered up in a creamy philadelphia style ice cream base and frozen up into the perfect treat #philadelphiastyle #icecream #macaronicecream
Strawberry shortcake macaron ice cream - the makings of strawberry shortcake macarons are layered up in a creamy philadelphia style ice cream base and frozen up into the perfect treat #philadelphiastyle #icecream #macaronicecream
Strawberry shortcake macaron ice cream - the makings of strawberry shortcake macarons are layered up in a creamy philadelphia style ice cream base and frozen up into the perfect treat #philadelphiastyle #icecream #macaronicecream
Strawberry shortcake macaron ice cream - the makings of strawberry shortcake macarons are layered up in a creamy philadelphia style ice cream base and frozen up into the perfect treat #philadelphiastyle #icecream #macaronicecream
Strawberry shortcake macaron ice cream - the makings of strawberry shortcake macarons are layered up in a creamy philadelphia style ice cream base and frozen up into the perfect treat #philadelphiastyle #icecream #macaronicecream

Hi hi! We just realised that today is #nationalicecreamday (who decides these things?!), so thought would be a perfect time to share this recipe we shot a while back! Jase and I have been meaning to throw the leftovers from our Macaron making into an ice cream for a while now, and finally got around to it! We found that we always have a lot of little bits and bobs floating around after we finish shooting - never quite enough to do anything with, but too much to throw away. Enter macaron ice cream!

This is somewhat of a non recipe recipe in that I am not going to give you specific proportions or recipes for the mix-ins. You can literally just throw whatever you have into the base, layering up mix ins with the churned ice cream. I did something similar with this S’mores ice cream last year, using up leftovers from these macarons, but we haven’t added shells to the mix before, which turned out to be a great idea, as they added a lovely chewy texture to the ice cream. We used the rest of the leftovers from these Strawberry Shortcake macarons, so layered the base up with the pink shells and the strawberry filing, along with the pie crumb to give an additional texture element. The creamy base paired perfectly with the chewy shells, crunchy crumb, and sweet strawberry ripple - I think that throwing random ingredients at an ice cream base is going to be my new go to (watch this space - there’s a peanut butter pretzel situation coming your way soon where I utilised this exact technique)

Let’s take a quick sec to talk about Philadelphia style ice cream because I get a lot of questions about it whenever I post about it! Basically, it differs to a traditional ice cream base in that it is not custard based, so doesn’t have any egg yolks, but it also doesn’t require the making of a custard. You simply dissolve the sugar into the cream, then incorporate in the milk and vanilla, and churn it up. The result is a slightly lighter ice cream, both in flavour and in colour, but it is super simple to make, and by removing the step of making and chilling the custard, which often puts people off, it is a great wee mini shortcut to take to get ice cream faster! I always use David Leibovitz’s recipe from his book - it’s a great go to and so easy to make variations of!

A few wee tips:

  • There aren't many ingredients in this, so for the base, if possible, use the best quality ingredients that you can.
  • This is absolutely a choose your own adventure situation - add whatever you like to it!
  • Don’t forget to freeze your ice cream bowl if your machine requires it!
  • This would also work great with a no-churn ice cream base! (here is a link to a base - please excuse the super old pics!)

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Mocha Cream Pie with Espresso Whipped Cream

Mocha Cream pie with espresso whipped cream - a crispy blind baked pie crust is filled with a mocha pudding filling and topped with clouds of espresso flavoured whipped cream, before being finished off with coffee beans and espresso powder. This pie is super simple to make and is a coffee lover's dream.

Mocha Cream pie with espresso whipped cream - a crispy blind baked pie crust is filled with a mocha pudding filling and topped with clouds of espresso flavoured whipped cream, before being finished off with coffee beans and espresso powder. This pie is super simple to make and is a coffee lover's dream. #mochapie #creampie #mocha #cloudykitchenpie
Mocha Cream pie with espresso whipped cream - a crispy blind baked pie crust is filled with a mocha pudding filling and topped with clouds of espresso flavoured whipped cream, before being finished off with coffee beans and espresso powder. This pie is super simple to make and is a coffee lover's dream. #mochapie #creampie #mocha #cloudykitchenpie
Mocha Cream pie with espresso whipped cream - a crispy blind baked pie crust is filled with a mocha pudding filling and topped with clouds of espresso flavoured whipped cream, before being finished off with coffee beans and espresso powder. This pie is super simple to make and is a coffee lover's dream. #mochapie #creampie #mocha #cloudykitchenpie
Mocha Cream pie with espresso whipped cream - a crispy blind baked pie crust is filled with a mocha pudding filling and topped with clouds of espresso flavoured whipped cream, before being finished off with coffee beans and espresso powder. This pie is super simple to make and is a coffee lover's dream. #mochapie #creampie #mocha #cloudykitchenpie
Mocha Cream pie with espresso whipped cream - a crispy blind baked pie crust is filled with a mocha pudding filling and topped with clouds of espresso flavoured whipped cream, before being finished off with coffee beans and espresso powder. This pie is super simple to make and is a coffee lover's dream. #mochapie #creampie #mocha #cloudykitchenpie
Mocha Cream pie with espresso whipped cream - a crispy blind baked pie crust is filled with a mocha pudding filling and topped with clouds of espresso flavoured whipped cream, before being finished off with coffee beans and espresso powder. This pie is super simple to make and is a coffee lover's dream. #mochapie #creampie #mocha #cloudykitchenpie
Mocha Cream pie with espresso whipped cream - a crispy blind baked pie crust is filled with a mocha pudding filling and topped with clouds of espresso flavoured whipped cream, before being finished off with coffee beans and espresso powder. This pie is super simple to make and is a coffee lover's dream. #mochapie #creampie #mocha #cloudykitchenpie

Mocha Cream Pie

Hi hi! Sorry it has been a wee bit quiet around here - I had big plans to post lots this week while we are on holiday on Vancouver Island, but I’ve been having too much of a good time hanging out with family, reading books, baking (there’s still rhubarb here!!), and taking things a bit slow, which is such a nice change from our regular life back in Brooklyn. It’s been so nice to catch up on sleep and to just have some days where we can relax a little. I honestly can’t remember the last time I had more than one day off in a row - I absolutely love what I do, both here and the studio, but we aren’t at all good at that work life balance thing. Maybe we will get there one day, but for now, it’s so nice to have some time off, even though I do miss my cat.

I hauled ass big time to get some stuff shot before I left so that I would have things to work on while I am here, so I will hopefully get myself a teeny bit ahead of schedule on blog content and can keep posting regularly!

The Process behind Mocha Cream Pie

The credit for this pie goes to my sweet friend Chelsea, who is an amazing baker, makes THE most incredible cakes, and is in the process of sowing the seeds for starting her very own sweet shop! We text back and forth all the time, and when I mentioned recently that I was feeling a little uninspired and didn’t have many ideas of what to bake to get some content, she sent through a big list of ideas she has had floating round in her head and goes “here, I don’t have the time for these but here’s some ideas!”. Dream friend.

One of the things on her list was a cold brew pie, which I immediately decided I had to make! I took my fave chocolate cream pie and infused the pudding with coffee, making a mocha filling, which I set into a blind baked pie crust. The whole thing then got finished off with mounds of fluffy espresso whipped cream, which pairs so nicely with the chocolate coffee filling. This one is a winner - my sister who apparently doesn’t like coffee, had two slices.

Tips for the best Pie Crust

A pie dough trick I learnt from my friend Erin that is now firmly in my repertoire : After you mix the dough and shape it into discs, rest it in the fridge for about an hour, and then roll it out on a floured surface into a rectangle, fold it in thirds like a letter, then roll again and repeat the folding. Then you shape it into a disc by folding the edges under, rewrap tightly in plastic, and rest for at least two hours before using.

What this step does is make the dough homogenous and therefore easy to work with, but also adds layers through the rolling and folding - the same way puff pastry is laminated. It is definitely an optional step but from my experience it makes the world of difference when it comes to rolling out the dough and getting a nice even crimp or lattice work.

The pie dough recipe makes a double crust - so enough for two pies. You might as well make the extra while you are at it in my opinion - pie dough freezes well, tightly wrapped, for at least a few months, or lasts a few days in the fridge. Defrost overnight if using from frozen.

A few wee tips for Mocha Cream Pie

  • There are two different quantities of milk in the recipe - 750g in the recipe, and 650g in the directions. The additional milk is to account for the absorbtion of the coffee. You will need 650g of coffee infused milk in the pie filling!
  • When you are par baking your pie crust, chill your crust in the fridge rather than the freezer if you can - a longer chill in the fridge is preferable to a short chill in the freezer
  • I like to give this at least a few hours to set up - overnight if you can, otherwise 3-4 minimum. Make sure that the pie is completely cold before you add the cream.
  • There is 70% dark chocolate in this, which gives you a dark chocolate pie - feel free to mix in some milk chocolate too to lighten things up a little if needed.
  • I like to whip the cream for things like this by hand as it gives me so much more control, as opposed to in a stand mixer - you want peaks that just hold, that will be a good piping consistency.
  • I use this espresso powder, but finely ground instant coffee would work too. You can always dissolve the coffee in a little bit of the cream before adding to the rest if you only have larger granules of coffee.
  • I would have topped this with chocolate covered espresso beans but I didn’t have any (I composted mine after one too many times of having them for a quick snack at 5pm and then staying awake half the night because they are STRONG) so I used regular coffee beans.
  • If you don't want to make this a mocha cream pie and just a regular chocolate cream pie, use this filling!

For more Chocolate and Coffee Recipes, Check out:

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Cherry Slab Pie with Brown Butter Oat Streusel

Cherry Slab Pie with Brown Butter Oat Streusel - a thick cherry slab pie is topped with a layer of flaky pastry and finished with a brown butter oat streusel that gives the most perfect crunch. #slabpie #streusel #cherrypie #cherryslabpie
Cherry Slab Pie with Brown Butter Oat Streusel - a thick cherry slab pie is topped with a layer of flaky pastry and finished with a brown butter oat streusel that gives the most perfect crunch. #slabpie #streusel #cherrypie #cherryslabpie
Cherry Slab Pie with Brown Butter Oat Streusel - a thick cherry slab pie is topped with a layer of flaky pastry and finished with a brown butter oat streusel that gives the most perfect crunch. #slabpie #streusel #cherrypie #cherryslabpie
Cherry Slab Pie with Brown Butter Oat Streusel - a thick cherry slab pie is topped with a layer of flaky pastry and finished with a brown butter oat streusel that gives the most perfect crunch. #slabpie #streusel #cherrypie #cherryslabpie
Cherry Slab Pie with Brown Butter Oat Streusel - a thick cherry slab pie is topped with a layer of flaky pastry and finished with a brown butter oat streusel that gives the most perfect crunch. #slabpie #streusel #cherrypie #cherryslabpie
Cherry Slab Pie with Brown Butter Oat Streusel - a thick cherry slab pie is topped with a layer of flaky pastry and finished with a brown butter oat streusel that gives the most perfect crunch. #slabpie #streusel #cherrypie #cherryslabpie
Cherry Slab Pie with Brown Butter Oat Streusel - a thick cherry slab pie is topped with a layer of flaky pastry and finished with a brown butter oat streusel that gives the most perfect crunch. #slabpie #streusel #cherrypie #cherryslabpie
Cherry Slab Pie with Brown Butter Oat Streusel - a thick cherry slab pie is topped with a layer of flaky pastry and finished with a brown butter oat streusel that gives the most perfect crunch. #slabpie #streusel #cherrypie #cherryslabpie
Cherry Slab Pie with Brown Butter Oat Streusel - a thick cherry slab pie is topped with a layer of flaky pastry and finished with a brown butter oat streusel that gives the most perfect crunch. #slabpie #streusel #cherrypie #cherryslabpie

Hi hi! I am currently sitting in the middle of Toronto airport - my sister, Rich, and I are waiting for our connecting flight to Vancouver Island, where we will spend the next 10 days with family! I am so, so excited, and so ready for a wee break - it will also be peak fruit season, so I see a slab pie or two happening in the near future!

This Cherry Slab Pie with Brown Butter Oat Streusel is a little something that Jase and I whipped up a few weeks ago. Cherry pie is a fave of mine (I mean, I love all pie, but cherry is pretty high up there), and we amped it up a little by adding a brown butter oat streusel, which adds the most amazing crunch and texture to the edges, making it just a teeny bit more exciting than your average slab pie. I love slab pies for a whole lot of reasons - for starters they are amazing for feeding a crowd, but because they are a little shallower than your standard pie, you get the most amazing ratio of fruit filling to flaky pastry.

There’s not too many wee tips for this one - it’s a super simple pie, with the filling following the fruit, sugar, starch formula. When the fruit is good, you really don’t need much else. I can see this cherry pie happening at least a couple more times this stone fruit season!

A few wee tips:

  • For the pie dough, make the quantity listed twice (so make two batches of dough) rather than doing it all in one big batch. It makes it much easier to handle and greatly reduces the likelihood of over working the dough, which can give you a tough crust. You only need one quantity of water though, don’t double that.
  • I like using a wee tip that my friend Erin taught me to make the pie dough nice and smooth and easy to work with. I make the dough, shape it into two rectangles, rest it in the fridge wrapped for about an hour, then remove it and roll it out into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface. I then give it a letter fold (as you would a letter), roll out to a rectangle, letter fold again, then roll out slightly, and shape into a rectangle. I then re-wrap it, and leave it to rest overnight. This makes the dough more homogenous without compromising the flaky texture that you want in the pie dough, and it makes it a total dream to work with. For me, it’s a game changer.
  • Cherry pie can be a little wet, so you want to leave this to set up completely before you cut into it - it’s hard to wait but it is worth it, I promise!
  • We added the streusel onto the pie after about 20 min in the oven to ensure that it didn’t brown too much before the pie did, which would have resulted in burnt streusel and pale pie dough.
  • You can also leave the streusel off if you would like, and just make the cherry slab pie.

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Black Cocoa Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches with Oreo Mint Chip Philadelphia Style Ice Cream

Black cocoa brownie ice cream sandwiches - black cocoa brownies are baked thin and fudgy, then layered up with smooth oreo mint philadelphia style ice cream. These are the perfect summer treat and great for feeding a crowd, you can't go wrong with a good brownie ice cream sandwich. #brownie #icecreamsandwich #mintchip #philadelphiaicecream
Black cocoa brownie ice cream sandwiches - black cocoa brownies are baked thin and fudgy, then layered up with smooth oreo mint philadelphia style ice cream. These are the perfect summer treat and great for feeding a crowd, you can't go wrong with a good brownie ice cream sandwich. #brownie #icecreamsandwich #mintchip #philadelphiaicecream
Black cocoa brownie ice cream sandwiches - black cocoa brownies are baked thin and fudgy, then layered up with smooth oreo mint philadelphia style ice cream. These are the perfect summer treat and great for feeding a crowd, you can't go wrong with a good brownie ice cream sandwich. #brownie #icecreamsandwich #mintchip #philadelphiaicecream
Black cocoa brownie ice cream sandwiches - black cocoa brownies are baked thin and fudgy, then layered up with smooth oreo mint philadelphia style ice cream. These are the perfect summer treat and great for feeding a crowd, you can't go wrong with a good brownie ice cream sandwich. #brownie #icecreamsandwich #mintchip #philadelphiaicecream
Black cocoa brownie ice cream sandwiches - black cocoa brownies are baked thin and fudgy, then layered up with smooth oreo mint philadelphia style ice cream. These are the perfect summer treat and great for feeding a crowd, you can't go wrong with a good brownie ice cream sandwich. #brownie #icecreamsandwich #mintchip #philadelphiaicecream
Black cocoa brownie ice cream sandwiches - black cocoa brownies are baked thin and fudgy, then layered up with smooth oreo mint philadelphia style ice cream. These are the perfect summer treat and great for feeding a crowd, you can't go wrong with a good brownie ice cream sandwich. #brownie #icecreamsandwich #mintchip #philadelphiaicecream

Hi hi! Same old same old around here - we go to Canada on Saturday which I am SO excited about, but I am also trying to haul ass to get as much shot before I leave so that I have some sneaky computer work to do while I am there to hopefully get a wee bit of a backlog of posts ready so that I can plan ahead a little! I also just finished shooting a whole bunch of Christmas cookies (!!) for a little project that I can tell you about in a few months, so there’s a weird mix of summer desserts and Christmas cookies kicking around in my fridge right about now.

I made these Black Cocoa Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches a few weeks ago as sort of a procrastination situation, and OH BOY am I glad I did. I basically just mashed up two of my favourite recipes - these black cocoa brownies (which are adapted from the amazing Sarah Kieffer’s book), and a Philadelphia style ice cream, which I turned into a mint Oreo chip kind of thing, and combined them to make ice cream sandwiches! Philadelphia ice cream is made without eggs, so the process of making the base is super simple, as you don’t have to make a custard. I think there’s a place for both - I love custard based ice cream if you are serving it alone, but if you are pairing it with something else rich like these brownies, or you are after something a little lighter, Philadelphia is perfect!

Black cocoa is what is used to give Oreos their distinctive flavour, so it made sense to pair the brownies with an Oreo ice cream. Mint chip will be my forever fave ice cream flavour, so it made sense to add some peppermint extract in too. That is totally optional - these would also be amazing with a vanilla ice cream base with the Oreos added in. You could also ditch making your own ice cream all together and soften some store bought ice cream and freeze it between the brownies - you could even get super fancy and use two flavours, one on each half, for a bit of a choose your own adventure vibe.

The great thing about Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches is that they are super simple to assemble - you just layer up the brownie and the ice cream, and freeze it, and you have a dessert that will feed loads! They are a little less involved than a cookie sandwich which you have to assemble individually - with these you can just pop them together, then all you have to do is cut them up and you are ready to go! I conveniently timed the making of these with two BBQs that we were invited to, so I took half along to each, and they were a giant hit!

A few wee tips:

  • This needs overnight to freeze down. I made the ice cream base, then chilled that while I baked the brownies and allowed them to cool, then churned the ice cream and assembled, before freezing overnight. If you like, you can store the brownies in the freezer or fridge until you are ready to assemble to ensure that they are cool and there is minimal melting when you add the ice cream.
  • You need the brownie to be fudgy when you bake it, so you want it to come out of the oven juuuuust cooked so it doesn’t go rock solid when you freeze it.
  • The green food colouring is totally optional - it’s only a tiny bit and I love how it looks! I know some people don’t like green mint stuff, so you do you here.
  • These last for so long in the freezer! They are also super rich so I would cut them up into smaller pieces to serve (I just had them in larger pieces to shoot then ended up cutting them all in half before serving)
  • If you don’t want to make your own ice cream, then store bought works great! You can just let a litre / quart of ice cream soften slightly, spread it onto one layer of brownie, top with the second, and freeze it down!
  • When I am assembling these, I like to put the top layer of brownie onto the ice cream upside down to ensure that the outside edges of the sandwiches are flat and level. This is totally aesthetic, but just thought I would mention!

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Black Forest Bundt Cake (Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake with Whipped Cream and Cherries)

Black forest bundt cake - a rich, tender, chocolate cherry bundt cake that is studded with cherries is topped with fresh softly whipped cream, fresh cherries, and chocolate curls #blackforest #chocolatecherrybundt #chocolatebundtcake
Black forest bundt cake - a rich, tender, chocolate cherry bundt cake that is studded with cherries is topped with fresh softly whipped cream, fresh cherries, and chocolate curls #blackforest #chocolatecherrybundt #chocolatebundtcake
Black forest bundt cake - a rich, tender, chocolate cherry bundt cake that is studded with cherries is topped with fresh softly whipped cream, fresh cherries, and chocolate curls #blackforest #chocolatecherrybundt #chocolatebundtcake
Black forest bundt cake - a rich, tender, chocolate cherry bundt cake that is studded with cherries is topped with fresh softly whipped cream, fresh cherries, and chocolate curls #blackforest #chocolatecherrybundt #chocolatebundtcake
Black forest bundt cake - a rich, tender, chocolate cherry bundt cake that is studded with cherries is topped with fresh softly whipped cream, fresh cherries, and chocolate curls #blackforest #chocolatecherrybundt #chocolatebundtcake

I made this bundt cake last week and had loads of questions about the recipe, so I thought I would pop on here and share it with you today! It’s super simple - I riffed on this Nutella chocolate bundt cake from a few months back, playing around with quantities a little, and adding a good amount of chopped cherries into the batter. I was initially a little nervous as to how the cherries would go in the baking process, but they held up beautifully, and didn’t sink, resulting in a tender, rich chocolate cake, studded with pieces of fresh cherry. I went a little black forest inspired for the decorations, adding some softly whipped cream, fresh cherries and chocolate curls, but you could absolutely also just finish it with a dusting of powdered sugar. The whole cake comes together relatively quickly, with ingredients you likely have already, and would be perfect for a simple celebration cake, or for a slightly fancy morning or afternoon tea! I had a slice with a cup of coffee yesterday, and it was the perfect accompaniment!

I baked this guy in a bavaria bundt - this is one of my favourites I think! I love how subtle the design is, and it always releases beautifully. Because the design is a little less defined than others I do find you have to really give the pan a good bang on the counter a bunch of times before you put it in the oven, just to make sure all the batter has made it into the holes. I like to fill it up part way, then bang it a bunch, then fill again and hit it a few more times just to be sure. It released perfectly though - so so satisfying! I have popped some notes below on my tips for getting a bundt cake to release nicely, because I’ve had all kinds of disasters in the past so have a few tricks up my sleeve now!

A few wee tips:

  • I find that there are a few things necessary to get a bundt to release nicely. The first is the consistency of the batter - it has to be dense enough so that it won’t stick and can pull nicely from the pan.
  • The second is spraying the pan. You can either use baking spray and then a light dusting of flour, but if you can get your hands on some flour based baking spray (which tbh I think is kind of gross and I only use for bundts), then I like to use that for the best line of defence for greasing your ban! If I’m making a chocolate bundt I like giving it a little dust with cocoa powder.
  • The third is allowing it to cool just a little before you turn it out. I usually pull it out of the oven, then set the timer for 10 minutes before turning it onto a wire rack.
  • I used this bundt pan, but any 10 cup capacity bundt will work!
  • I made the chocolate curls using a block of chocolate and a potato peeler. You just shave the curls off!

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Rainbow Macarons (Vanilla Bean Macarons with Vanilla Bean Swiss Meringue Buttercream)

Rainbow macarons for pride - vanilla bean French macaron shells are filled with a vanilla bean swiss meringue buttercream, which is tinted the colours of the rainbow and piped around the shell. These are the perfect rainbow macaron for any occasion! #pride #Frenchmacarons #glutenfree #rainbowmacarons
Rainbow macarons for pride - vanilla bean French macaron shells are filled with a vanilla bean swiss meringue buttercream, which is tinted the colours of the rainbow and piped around the shell. These are the perfect rainbow macaron for any occasion! #pride #Frenchmacarons #glutenfree #rainbowmacarons
Rainbow macarons for pride - vanilla bean French macaron shells are filled with a vanilla bean swiss meringue buttercream, which is tinted the colours of the rainbow and piped around the shell. These are the perfect rainbow macaron for any occasion! #pride #Frenchmacarons #glutenfree #rainbowmacarons
Rainbow macarons for pride - vanilla bean French macaron shells are filled with a vanilla bean swiss meringue buttercream, which is tinted the colours of the rainbow and piped around the shell. These are the perfect rainbow macaron for any occasion! #pride #Frenchmacarons #glutenfree #rainbowmacarons
Rainbow macarons for pride - vanilla bean French macaron shells are filled with a vanilla bean swiss meringue buttercream, which is tinted the colours of the rainbow and piped around the shell. These are the perfect rainbow macaron for any occasion! #pride #Frenchmacarons #glutenfree #rainbowmacarons

Happy Saturday and Happy Pride! We are celebrating with these Rainbow French Macarons - basically our ultimate go to, a vanilla bean french macaron shell with a vanilla bean Swiss Meringue Buttercream. This year is 50 years since the riots at Stonewall Inn - i’ve found myself in many a rabbit hole reading about how rights have changed throughout the world. While there’s still so far to go, especially with some people’s views (we see you), on the whole the world has come a long way. I am so proud to have so many of my good friends a part of the LGBTQ community, and will forever be an ally - I’m here, standing in all the corners, standing up for all of the rights!

We certainly weren’t going to let pride go past without a rainbow macaron happening! We riffed on our fave - the basic macaron shell with a vanilla bean Swiss meringue buttercream. We divided the buttercream into seven - keeping some white for the middles, and then colouring the rest the colours of the rainbow, and piping them into the shells. I love how they turned out - such a fun and colourful riff on a classic!

A few wee tips:

  • All my macaron tips are here!
  • Because Swiss meringue buttercream has so much fat in it from the butter, it can be hard to get the colour to really take. To combat this we coloured the buttercream, then left it to sit overnight, which helped lots to brighten up the colour. My friend Chelsea says if you whip the shit out of it in your mixer after you add the colour that works well too - but I haven’t tried that out yet!
  • It’s hot here and pretty humid, which may affect drying time for your macs - just keep an eye on them!
  • Be careful when you are choosing sprinkles to use - if they are solid sugar or chocolate balls, they may get hot and melt through the shells. Go for small balls and baubles in your sprinkles mix if you can!

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

These Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches are the perfect treat. Thin and crispy olive oil chocolate chip cookies are sandwiched with a smooth and creamy olive oil ice cream. Cookie ice cream sandwiches are fun and easy to make and the olive oil ice cream recipe is amazing on its own.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches with Olive Oil Ice Cream. Thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies sandwich a creamy, smooth disc of olive oil ice cream. The perfect summer treat. #oliveoilicecream #icecreamsandwich #chocolatechipcookie
Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches with Olive Oil Ice Cream. Thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies sandwich a creamy, smooth disc of olive oil ice cream. The perfect summer treat. #oliveoilicecream #icecreamsandwich #chocolatechipcookie
Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches with Olive Oil Ice Cream. Thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies sandwich a creamy, smooth disc of olive oil ice cream. The perfect summer treat. #oliveoilicecream #icecreamsandwich #chocolatechipcookie
Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches with Olive Oil Ice Cream. Thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies sandwich a creamy, smooth disc of olive oil ice cream. The perfect summer treat. #oliveoilicecream #icecreamsandwich #chocolatechipcookie
Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches with Olive Oil Ice Cream. Thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies sandwich a creamy, smooth disc of olive oil ice cream. The perfect summer treat. #oliveoilicecream #icecreamsandwich #chocolatechipcookie
Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches with Olive Oil Ice Cream. Thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies sandwich a creamy, smooth disc of olive oil ice cream. The perfect summer treat. #oliveoilicecream #icecreamsandwich #chocolatechipcookie
Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches with Olive Oil Ice Cream. Thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies sandwich a creamy, smooth disc of olive oil ice cream. The perfect summer treat. #oliveoilicecream #icecreamsandwich #chocolatechipcookie
Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches with Olive Oil Ice Cream. Thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies sandwich a creamy, smooth disc of olive oil ice cream. The perfect summer treat. #oliveoilicecream #icecreamsandwich #chocolatechipcookie
Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches with Olive Oil Ice Cream. Thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies sandwich a creamy, smooth disc of olive oil ice cream. The perfect summer treat. #oliveoilicecream #icecreamsandwich #chocolatechipcookie

Ice cream sandwiches are the best type of sandwiches. There’s ice cream, and then there’s cookies holding it together - two of my favourite things, all mashed together. I’ve made a few in the past - frozen yoghurt versions, and an earl grey ice cream and chocolate cookie situation, but until now, hadn’t posted the classic chocolate chip ice cream sandwich, so figured it was about time. I didn’t really grow up eating them - for some reason they aren’t really a thing in Nz (our ice cream sandwich is a slice of ice cream between two pink wafers), but I think that making them at home is way better anyway.

For this Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich, I took my very favourite cookie recipe that I developed a while ago, which draws on all my favourite elements of a cookie, and tweaked it a little.

The really fun thing about making cookies is that you can change the ratio of the ingredients to manipulate the final product. I wanted these cookies to be a little thinner than the originals, so I increased the butter and decreased the flour to help with the spread, and then also changed up the ratio of the sugar.

White sugar in a cookie gives you spread and crispiness, while brown gives you chew and thickness, so by playing around with the amounts of different types of sugars, you can control how thick your final cookie is. Yay for science right?! I also added an extra yolk just to help give the cookies some chew, and skipped the resting step with the dough to help them spread a little more. This is what I love about baking - you can tweak a few things, check the outcome, and you have a whole new recipe. The cookies are amazingly delicious on their own, and I am so excited to have a new thinner cookie recipe for when I need it, but I wanted to amp it up a little bit, so they had to be sandwiched.

I tried Olive Oil Ice Cream for the first time just after I moved to NYC, and was blown away. It makes sense really - creamy ice cream and smooth olive oil is a great match. I just used my favourite ice cream base, then once the custard was made, added in a solid amount of extra virgin olive oil. The Olive Oil Ice Cream paired perfectly with the chocolate and sweetness of the cookie - its a delicious variation on the classic vanilla and chocolate chip combo.

I then set the ice cream into a sheet pan, which meant that when it came time to assemble, I was able to just cut circles of ice cream out rather than mucking round with a scoop, which gives you the perfect ratio of cookie to ice cream, and beautiful clean sides. These keep amazingly in the freezer, which means you can make these in advance and have delicious cookie sandwiches stashed in your freezer for whenever the need strikes!The

A few wee tips:

  • Make sure that you remember to freeze the bowl of your ice cream maker if it needs it - at least 24 hours is ideal.
  • The cookie dough freezes well - just scoop it onto a wax paper lined tray, then freeze solid, and store in an airtight container or bag in the freezer. You may need to add a minute or two onto the bake time.
  • You want your ice cream to be pretty firm, so if you can, give it overnight to set before you assemble.

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Ganache Tart with Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust and Earl Grey Mascarpone Whipped Cream

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Ganache Tart with Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust and Earl Grey Mascarpone Whipped Cream - this chocolate tart comes together quickly, and is the perfect easy dessert that easily feeds a crowd. A crunch base is topped with a silky smooth chocolate salted caramel filling, and finished with an earl grey mascarpone whipped cream. #chocolatetart #saltedcaramel #earlgreywhippedcream
Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Ganache Tart with Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust and Earl Grey Mascarpone Whipped Cream - this chocolate tart comes together quickly, and is the perfect easy dessert that easily feeds a crowd. A crunch base is topped with a silky smooth chocolate salted caramel filling, and finished with an earl grey mascarpone whipped cream. #chocolatetart #saltedcaramel #earlgreywhippedcream
Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Ganache Tart with Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust and Earl Grey Mascarpone Whipped Cream - this chocolate tart comes together quickly, and is the perfect easy dessert that easily feeds a crowd. A crunch base is topped with a silky smooth chocolate salted caramel filling, and finished with an earl grey mascarpone whipped cream. #chocolatetart #saltedcaramel #earlgreywhippedcream
Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Ganache Tart with Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust and Earl Grey Mascarpone Whipped Cream - this chocolate tart comes together quickly, and is the perfect easy dessert that easily feeds a crowd. A crunch base is topped with a silky smooth chocolate salted caramel filling, and finished with an earl grey mascarpone whipped cream. #chocolatetart #saltedcaramel #earlgreywhippedcream
Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Ganache Tart with Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust and Earl Grey Mascarpone Whipped Cream - this chocolate tart comes together quickly, and is the perfect easy dessert that easily feeds a crowd. A crunch base is topped with a silky smooth chocolate salted caramel filling, and finished with an earl grey mascarpone whipped cream. #chocolatetart #saltedcaramel #earlgreywhippedcream
Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Ganache Tart with Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust and Earl Grey Mascarpone Whipped Cream - this chocolate tart comes together quickly, and is the perfect easy dessert that easily feeds a crowd. A crunch base is topped with a silky smooth chocolate salted caramel filling, and finished with an earl grey mascarpone whipped cream. #chocolatetart #saltedcaramel #earlgreywhippedcream
Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Ganache Tart with Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust and Earl Grey Mascarpone Whipped Cream - this chocolate tart comes together quickly, and is the perfect easy dessert that easily feeds a crowd. A crunch base is topped with a silky smooth chocolate salted caramel filling, and finished with an earl grey mascarpone whipped cream. #chocolatetart #saltedcaramel #earlgreywhippedcream

It’s been a hot minute since I posted a chocolate tart, so I figured it was about time I fixed that. They are one of my favourite desserts to make - I’m not sure if that’s because pressing the graham cracker crust into the pan is super satisfying, or if it’s because I love how lovely and smooth they set up, or if it’s because I just love eating them so much. They are super simple to make, and can be customised any way you like to suit whatever flavour profile you are after - I love making a base tart (this but without the marshmallow is my go to) and topping it with fresh berries and cream for an easy summer twist!

I am a bit of a creature of habit when it comes to recipes - once I get a good base recipe, I tend to stick with it, and it makes its way into a whole bunch of recipes from there. Both the crust and the filling of this tart are snuck from other recipes of mine - the salted caramel dark chocolate ganache filling first made its debut in these doughnuts, then again in macarons, and I really wanted to see if it would work as a tart filling! Spoiler alert - it’s great, a little on the sweet side, but I balanced that nicely with a well salted chocolate crust, and a super creamy earl grey mascarpone whipped cream, which I was going to pipe all fancy, but went with my default french star tip instead.

I love flavouring whipped cream - you just have to warm it slightly, then add your flavour and let it steep, then strain it out, and chill the cream before whipping it up. I like to add mascarpoone to cream when I need it to be a little more stable - it gives it a lovely extra creamy texture, and holds its form much longer, so is also great if you need to make it ahead a little. The dark chocolate and the salted caramel in the filling go so beautifully with the earl grey in the cream, and it is all complimented perfectly by the slightly salty chocolate crust. This tart is great for feeding a crowd, as you really only need a teeny sliver of it - but I bet you catch yourself coming back for more. I had some for breakfast the other day and so can therefore confirm that it is great at any time of the day!

A few wee tips:

  • When you are making the ganache and mixing in the cream, make sure that you don’t blend on the surface. This aerates the mixture and will make loads and loads of tiny bubbles, which isn’t ideal. I like to mix the cream into the chocolate in a pyrex jug so that there is a little bit of depth so it’s easier to avoid blending on the surface!
  • You may have a teeny bit of ganache left - pour it into a small jar or something - it makes a lovely fridge treat! You can probably pour a bit more in if you like too - I was being careful!
  • If you don’t want to make the earl grey whipped cream, plain mascarpone whipped cream will do too - just skip the step where you infuse the cream, and use 320g cream.
  • The ganache needs time to set - I like to give it overnight if I can.
  • If you don’t want a chocolate crust on this, I have a great brown butter graham cracker crust here. You can use digestive biscuits too if you can’t find grahams!
  • Ideally, you want to add the whipped cream close ish to the time you are serving!

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Brown Butter Hazelnut Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars

Brown Butter Hazelnut Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars - a brown butter hazelnut shortbread is used as both the base and the crumble topping for these strawberry rhubarb crumb bars. These are the perfect early summer easy dessert! #crumbbars #strawberryrhubarb #brownbutter
Brown Butter Hazelnut Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars - a brown butter hazelnut shortbread is used as both the base and the crumble topping for these strawberry rhubarb crumb bars. These are the perfect early summer easy dessert! #crumbbars #strawberryrhubarb #brownbutter
Brown Butter Hazelnut Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars - a brown butter hazelnut shortbread is used as both the base and the crumble topping for these strawberry rhubarb crumb bars. These are the perfect early summer easy dessert! #crumbbars #strawberryrhubarb #brownbutter
Brown Butter Hazelnut Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars - a brown butter hazelnut shortbread is used as both the base and the crumble topping for these strawberry rhubarb crumb bars. These are the perfect early summer easy dessert! #crumbbars #strawberryrhubarb #brownbutter
Brown Butter Hazelnut Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars - a brown butter hazelnut shortbread is used as both the base and the crumble topping for these strawberry rhubarb crumb bars. These are the perfect early summer easy dessert! #crumbbars #strawberryrhubarb #brownbutter
Brown Butter Hazelnut Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars - a brown butter hazelnut shortbread is used as both the base and the crumble topping for these strawberry rhubarb crumb bars. These are the perfect early summer easy dessert! #crumbbars #strawberryrhubarb #brownbutter
Brown Butter Hazelnut Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars - a brown butter hazelnut shortbread is used as both the base and the crumble topping for these strawberry rhubarb crumb bars. These are the perfect early summer easy dessert! #crumbbars #strawberryrhubarb #brownbutter

Are you sick of Rhubarb yet? I am not. I don’t think that I will ever be, in fact. So here we are again with another rhubarb recipe - this time for Brown Butter Hazelnut Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars. That sounds super fancy, but essentially I took my favourite shortbread recipe (which we used in these mini egg bars), jacked it up even more with some brown butter, then used it as both the base and the topping for these strawberry rhubarb bars. The use of the shortbread in both the base and topping gives a double dose of texture either side of the jammy fruit filling, without having to make two separate components.

The filling for these is super simple - strawberries, rhubarb, a little sugar, and some starch to help bind things. There’s no cooking things down into a jam, it’s just the standard equation for a fruit filling I usually stick by : fruit plus sweetener plus starch. I love how rhubarb cooks down but still holds its shape in these bars - which gives not only that tartness that rhubarb is amazing for, but a little more texture than if you were to cook the fruit down prior to adding to the bars. As long as your base is cooked nicely before adding the fruit, you’re all good to avoid any sogginess.

I kept the ratio of rhubarb to strawberry a bit higher on the rhubarb side, as I wanted the flavour to really come through. You could absolutely switch it up, but be aware that strawberries are a lot more watery than rhubarb, so you may have to tweak the quantity of starch a bit to account for that.

I browned the butter in the shortbread, which is slightly more labour intensive than just using regular butter, but in my opinion is so, so worth it - the toasty brown butter plays off the hazelnuts and brown sugar in the shortbread base, which elevates the whole thing in the most amazing way.

I’ve included directions on how to just use regular butter if you are a little short on time and don’t have time for the butter to cool, or would like to skip that step. These would be perfect for taking to a picnic, or as a simple dessert for a summer dinner - they are so, so good with a scoop of ice cream!

A few wee tips:

  • This is important - each batch of brown butter will yield a slightly different amount of liquid. I have added milk into the recipe to account for the moisture loss - my brown butter came out at 180g, so I added 45g milk (to make it back up to 225g). You will need to weigh your brown butter and work out how much milk needs to be added (it’s probably around 45g) - to work this out, weigh your brown butter, then subtract the weight from 225 - that is your milk amount! Or if that’s too tricky, 45g milk will work just great too.
  • The brown butter needs a little bit of time (about 45 min) in the fridge to come back to a soft butter consistency so that you can cream it with the sugar
  • If you don’t want to brown the butter, you don’t have to, although I think it is a delicious step! If you don’t want to, you can just use 225g of unsalted butter, at room temperature, and you can leave out the milk (which accounts for the moisture loss while browning the butter)
  • I used pre-chopped hazelnuts, but if you can’t find those, finely chop some toasted hazelnuts. To toast them, place them on a baking sheet and roast for about 10 mins in the oven at 350°f / 180°c.
  • These definitely are easiest to cut once they are properly cool and have time to set - pop them in the fridge to speed this up if you need!
  • I actually shot the first test of these, before I tweaked the base a little - so it looks a little on the uncooked side. The final recipe has you cook it a little more!
  • The measurements for the fruit are taken after they were trimmed - so the ends chopped off the rhubarb, and the tops taken from the strawberries.

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Lavender Blackberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and a Piped Floral Wreath

Lavender Blackberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and a Piped Floral Wreath. Layers of delicately flavoured lavender cake are filled with a cream cheese frosting and blackberry jam, and topped with a beautiful floral wreath made from piped swiss meringue buttercream flowers. #pipedflowers #lavendercake #swissmeringuebuttercream #icingonthecakebook
Lavender Blackberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and a Piped Floral Wreath. Layers of delicately flavoured lavender cake are filled with a cream cheese frosting and blackberry jam, and topped with a beautiful floral wreath made from piped swiss meringue buttercream flowers. #pipedflowers #lavendercake #swissmeringuebuttercream #icingonthecakebook
Lavender Blackberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and a Piped Floral Wreath. Layers of delicately flavoured lavender cake are filled with a cream cheese frosting and blackberry jam, and topped with a beautiful floral wreath made from piped swiss meringue buttercream flowers. #pipedflowers #lavendercake #swissmeringuebuttercream #icingonthecakebook
Lavender Blackberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and a Piped Floral Wreath. Layers of delicately flavoured lavender cake are filled with a cream cheese frosting and blackberry jam, and topped with a beautiful floral wreath made from piped swiss meringue buttercream flowers. #pipedflowers #lavendercake #swissmeringuebuttercream #icingonthecakebook
Lavender Blackberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and a Piped Floral Wreath. Layers of delicately flavoured lavender cake are filled with a cream cheese frosting and blackberry jam, and topped with a beautiful floral wreath made from piped swiss meringue buttercream flowers. #pipedflowers #lavendercake #swissmeringuebuttercream #icingonthecakebook
Lavender Blackberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and a Piped Floral Wreath. Layers of delicately flavoured lavender cake are filled with a cream cheese frosting and blackberry jam, and topped with a beautiful floral wreath made from piped swiss meringue buttercream flowers. #pipedflowers #lavendercake #swissmeringuebuttercream #icingonthecakebook
Lavender Blackberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and a Piped Floral Wreath. Layers of delicately flavoured lavender cake are filled with a cream cheese frosting and blackberry jam, and topped with a beautiful floral wreath made from piped swiss meringue buttercream flowers. #pipedflowers #lavendercake #swissmeringuebuttercream #icingonthecakebook
Lavender Blackberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and a Piped Floral Wreath. Layers of delicately flavoured lavender cake are filled with a cream cheese frosting and blackberry jam, and topped with a beautiful floral wreath made from piped swiss meringue buttercream flowers. #pipedflowers #lavendercake #swissmeringuebuttercream #icingonthecakebook
Lavender Blackberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and a Piped Floral Wreath. Layers of delicately flavoured lavender cake are filled with a cream cheese frosting and blackberry jam, and topped with a beautiful floral wreath made from piped swiss meringue buttercream flowers. #pipedflowers #lavendercake #swissmeringuebuttercream #icingonthecakebook
Lavender Blackberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and a Piped Floral Wreath. Layers of delicately flavoured lavender cake are filled with a cream cheese frosting and blackberry jam, and topped with a beautiful floral wreath made from piped swiss meringue buttercream flowers. #pipedflowers #lavendercake #swissmeringuebuttercream #icingonthecakebook
Lavender Blackberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and a Piped Floral Wreath. Layers of delicately flavoured lavender cake are filled with a cream cheese frosting and blackberry jam, and topped with a beautiful floral wreath made from piped swiss meringue buttercream flowers. #pipedflowers #lavendercake #swissmeringuebuttercream #icingonthecakebook

Hi hi! Happy Friday! I am super excited to share this recipe from my amazing friend Tessa’s book - a Lavender Blackberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and a Piped Floral Wreath. This is Tessa’s second book, and is called “Icing on the Cake”, and is filled with not only a whole lot of incredible layer cakes, but other amazing desserts - there’s macarons, pies, marshies, eclairs, tarts, the whole nine yards. It’s an incredible go-to book if you need a show stopping dessert, whether it needs to be a quickie to whip up, or a more labour intensive recipe such as this cake!

I taught myself how to make buttercream flowers a while back, and did a quick wee 2 hour course with a friend a few years ago, and they are kind of something that I always forget that I can do, then get excited to make, spend a whole afternoon making them, get mad at myself for not making them more often because they really are learnt by repetition and I need to just sit down and make them more to learn, then do the exact opposite and not make them for ages. However, when I do sit down and take the time to do them, I am reminded how fun they are once you get the hang of them! They can be a teeny bit tricky to start off, but once you get going, they are a really fun and effective way to decorate cakes and cupcakes! I’m definitely going to make them more often if I can! I promise it’s worth all the little piping bags and couplers and tips. Tessa has a whole section in her book about how to make the different flowers, and how to pipe them directly onto cupcakes!

The flowers are great and pretty, but the cake underneath also deserves some spotlight time - it’s so, so good! It’s a pretty simple vanilla cake, but the milk in the cake is infused with lavender, giving it a super subtle floral taste. The lavender is then emphasised in the lavender syrup which is brushed on the layers, then the whole thing is stacked up with a cream cheese frosting and a blackberry jam filling. Lavender and blackberry go so beautifully together, and cream cheese icing is just the best in literally any occasion. There’s a fine line between not being able to taste lavender in desserts and accidentally adding too much and it tasting like hand cream (I’ve done both before), but when it’s good it’s AMAZING, and Tessa has absolutely nailed this one. Congrats lady - I’m so proud, and I can’t wait to bake my way through this bad boy! x

A few wee tips:

  • I’m not going to lie, the buttercream flowers on this take bloody ages. But, they are so, so worth it - It’s amazing seeing how you get better with practice, and I think that it’s a really fun thing to know how to do!
  • Tessa has a great tutorial on her instagram of how to make the flowers she used for this cake! I pretty much just followed that.
  • If you don’t want to pipe the flowers, Tessa has another cake topped with buttercream swirls and blobs that I love, that would also be perfect for this!
  • You need the Swiss buttercream to be slightly on the firm side for this - to help with this I kept the whisk attachment on my mixer and the bowl of buttercream in the fridge until I was ready for it, then gave it a quick whip to help smooth it out. I worked with one colour at a time. AC in your house will help too if it’s summer, but our foster cat has her bed on the AC, so we are still kinda working out how to let her know that she’s going to have to move. We aren’t there yet.
  • I made the cake and the lavender syrup the day before, which really helped to break up the process a bit.
  • Buy yourself a copy of Tessa’s book. Just do it - there’s so so many beautiful things in there!

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Strawberry Balsamic Pie

This homemade strawberry balsamic pie is perfect to take to a summer bbq as an easy dessert, and it is fairly quick to put together thanks to strawberries being fairly no-fuss when it comes to prep. The sweet fruit goes so well with the flaky crust, and then the balsamic vinegar rounds everything out.

Strawberry Balsamic Pie - sweet strawberries are balanced out by Balsamic Vinegar, then wrapped up in a super flaky pie crust. Strawberry pie is the perfect summer dessert, is easy to make, and is ideal for taking along to an evening bbq or gathering. #strawberrypie #strawberrybalsamic #summerpie
Strawberry Balsamic Pie - sweet strawberries are balanced out by Balsamic Vinegar, then wrapped up in a super flaky pie crust. Strawberry pie is the perfect summer dessert, is easy to make, and is ideal for taking along to an evening bbq or gathering. #strawberrypie #strawberrybalsamic #summerpie
Strawberry Balsamic Pie - sweet strawberries are balanced out by Balsamic Vinegar, then wrapped up in a super flaky pie crust. Strawberry pie is the perfect summer dessert, is easy to make, and is ideal for taking along to an evening bbq or gathering. #strawberrypie #strawberrybalsamic #summerpie
Strawberry Balsamic Pie - sweet strawberries are balanced out by Balsamic Vinegar, then wrapped up in a super flaky pie crust. Strawberry pie is the perfect summer dessert, is easy to make, and is ideal for taking along to an evening bbq or gathering. #strawberrypie #strawberrybalsamic #summerpie
Strawberry Balsamic Pie - sweet strawberries are balanced out by Balsamic Vinegar, then wrapped up in a super flaky pie crust. Strawberry pie is the perfect summer dessert, is easy to make, and is ideal for taking along to an evening bbq or gathering. #strawberrypie #strawberrybalsamic #summerpie
Strawberry Balsamic Pie - sweet strawberries are balanced out by Balsamic Vinegar, then wrapped up in a super flaky pie crust. Strawberry pie is the perfect summer dessert, is easy to make, and is ideal for taking along to an evening bbq or gathering. #strawberrypie #strawberrybalsamic #summerpie
Strawberry Balsamic Pie - sweet strawberries are balanced out by Balsamic Vinegar, then wrapped up in a super flaky pie crust. Strawberry pie is the perfect summer dessert, is easy to make, and is ideal for taking along to an evening bbq or gathering. #strawberrypie #strawberrybalsamic #summerpie

Strawberries are definitely on the sweet side, so when I bake with them I like to balance them out with something either tart or acidic, which is why you so often see them paired with rhubarb. Instead of using rhubarb, in order to really let the strawberry flavour shine through, I balanced out the sweetness with a little Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. It is the perfect pairing - the balsamic balances out the sweetness of the strawberries just enough, while not taking away from the flavour. The first test I found was a little soggy for my liking - strawberries are about 92% water, similar to that of watermelon, so you either need to remove some of the liquid, or add more starch than you think, or a combination of both, to avoid a sog fest! I went for a wee combo of both - macerating the strawberries to help draw out some moisture (which makes a super yum strawberry syrup), and then using more starch than I would for an apple or stone fruit pie.

I gave this a pretty easy lattice - using a multi-wheeled cutter (which I think is a pasta cutter), I just cut loads of strips, and used three small strips in the place of one larger strip when making my lattice. This is a super easy way to switch things up a little when it comes to latticing, without having to worry about any fancy weaving techniques or braiding. I think it is going to be my new go to, just like this pie! Happy pie making! x

A few wee tips:

  • I have included a recipe for a regular double crust pie here, but I sometimes like making a little extra so that I don’t have to worry about running out of crust - so if you like, you can make a 1.5x of the recipe to have some wiggle room.
  • I found that the first time I made this, it was a little on the soggy side, so I included a step of macerating the berries a little in some sugar to help draw out some excess moisture. I found 15 min was enough, but you can leave them up to an hour.
  • Berry pies do tend to be a bit wetter than other fruit pies, so make sure that your bottom crust is nice and thick, and gets nicely cooked - having the pie near the bottom of the oven at the start of the baking process helps this a lot.
  • Ideally, you want to give your dough an overnight rest so that it is easy to work with, but a few hours works in a pinch.
  • I like using a wee tip that my friend Erin taught me to make the pie dough nice and smooth and easy to work with. I make the dough, shape it into two rectangles, rest it in the fridge wrapped for about an hour, then remove it and roll it out into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface. I then give it a letter fold (as you would a letter), roll out to a rectangle, letter fold again, then roll out slightly, and shape into a disc or a rectangle (I usually do a disc for the bottom crust and a rectangle for the piece I will use for a lattice). I then re-wrap it, and leave it to rest overnight. This makes the dough more homogenous without compromising the flaky texture that you want in the pie dough, and it makes it a total dream to work with. For me, it’s a game changer.
  • You want to let this cool completely before slicing, or it’s going to juice everywhere. Trust me on this.
  • Don’t bake this without a sheet pan underneath. Strawberries are juicy, and will very likely leak. A sheet pan helps catch everything nicely and avoid an oven disaster.

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Lemon Crullers with Lemon and Honey Glaze

Lemon Crullers with Lemon and Honey Glaze - Fluffy, crispy lemon scented crullers are dipped in a lemon and honey glaze and finished with delicate gold leaf. Crullers are made by frying choux dough, and are a must-try if you haven't made them before! #crullers #doughnut #lemoncruller
Lemon Crullers with Lemon and Honey Glaze - Fluffy, crispy lemon scented crullers are dipped in a lemon and honey glaze and finished with delicate gold leaf. Crullers are made by frying choux dough, and are a must-try if you haven't made them before! #crullers #doughnut #lemoncruller
Lemon Crullers with Lemon and Honey Glaze - Fluffy, crispy lemon scented crullers are dipped in a lemon and honey glaze and finished with delicate gold leaf. Crullers are made by frying choux dough, and are a must-try if you haven't made them before! #crullers #doughnut #lemoncruller
Lemon Crullers with Lemon and Honey Glaze - Fluffy, crispy lemon scented crullers are dipped in a lemon and honey glaze and finished with delicate gold leaf. Crullers are made by frying choux dough, and are a must-try if you haven't made them before! #crullers #doughnut #lemoncruller
Lemon Crullers with Lemon and Honey Glaze - Fluffy, crispy lemon scented crullers are dipped in a lemon and honey glaze and finished with delicate gold leaf. Crullers are made by frying choux dough, and are a must-try if you haven't made them before! #crullers #doughnut #lemoncruller
Lemon Crullers with Lemon and Honey Glaze - Fluffy, crispy lemon scented crullers are dipped in a lemon and honey glaze and finished with delicate gold leaf. Crullers are made by frying choux dough, and are a must-try if you haven't made them before! #crullers #doughnut #lemoncruller
Lemon Crullers with Lemon and Honey Glaze - Fluffy, crispy lemon scented crullers are dipped in a lemon and honey glaze and finished with delicate gold leaf. Crullers are made by frying choux dough, and are a must-try if you haven't made them before! #crullers #doughnut #lemoncruller
Lemon Crullers with Lemon and Honey Glaze - Fluffy, crispy lemon scented crullers are dipped in a lemon and honey glaze and finished with delicate gold leaf. Crullers are made by frying choux dough, and are a must-try if you haven't made them before! #crullers #doughnut #lemoncruller

Hi hi! Continuing on my ‘must fry everything’ kick from last week, I am super jazzed to share this lemon cruller recipe with a super simple lemon and honey glaze. If you haven’t had a cruller before they are essentially fried choux dough (same as what is used for eclairs, which I still need to make), and they are ridiculously delicious. The great part about making choux dough is that you can make a whole bunch of different things all in one go, and it freezes super well, so if you don’t want 14 crullers all at once (not the worst thing to have happened to me), you can freeze some, or pipe some out into cream puffs or eclairs, and have a whole little choux family!

I kept things nice and easy this time, adding a little lemon zest to the choux dough, and dipping them in a lemon and honey glaze. My initial batch I was having super intense sog issues with, which I realised was from adding honey to the dough - the sugar was causing them to brown too fast, leaving me with an undercooked inside, soggy crullers, and seriously bummed out. Once I realised that I needed to nix the honey in the dough itself and just keep it in the glaze, and up the oil temp a bit, we were away laughing!

Like I mentioned earlier, I recently got a new deep fryer, which I am finding super useful to make doughnuts, as it saves a whole lot of fluffing around with oil temperatures. However, until now I had just been using a dutch oven and a thermometer, and it worked great - you just have to make sure that you are checking the oil between each batch. It may help to fry less at a time too to help you control this. Both methods work great!

A few wee tips:

  • I have included an extra 'just in case' egg in the ingredients. The reason that this is in there, is that sometimes you need to add extra egg to the pastry if necessary. You want the mixture to be at a consistency where if you dip in the beater of the mixer, the batter will form a 'v' shape and eventually break off. If it is too stiff, and breaks off very quickly, you may need to add another beaten egg, and mix again, before performing the test. 
  • I started making these by drawing a circle on each square of parchment paper, which takes way longer than it needs to. I watched a video and had a small mind blowing revelation - instead of drawing on each individual square of parchment, you draw on one, then use that as a template. When you pipe, you place the piece of parchment you are going to use over the master template, then pipe a circle, following the template, then pop it onto the sheet pan, and place the next piece over the master template. This way you only have to draw one circle, which you use over and over! Game changer.
  • Make sure that you do a test cruller when it comes to frying - if the oil is too cool they will go soggy or not cook properly inside, causing them to collapse. Test one, then take it out of the oil and rest for a few minutes to ensure that it does not collapse. If it does, it is not properly cooked inside - either increase your cooking time, or increase your oil temperature.

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Philadelphia Style Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream Pops with White Chocolate Magic Shell

A simple stir together raspberry philadelphia style ice-cream base is churned then elevated with a raspberry ripple, before being frozen into ice cream pops and finished with a super easy white chocolate magic shell and loads of sprinkles. The perfect fancy treat for summer just around the corner - these last for a long time in the freezer so are great to have on hand when the ice cream craving strikes! #icecreampop #raspberryicecream #raspberrywhitechocolate
A simple stir together raspberry philadelphia style ice-cream base is churned then elevated with a raspberry ripple, before being frozen into ice cream pops and finished with a super easy white chocolate magic shell and loads of sprinkles. The perfect fancy treat for summer just around the corner - these last for a long time in the freezer so are great to have on hand when the ice cream craving strikes! #icecreampop #raspberryicecream #raspberrywhitechocolate
A simple stir together raspberry philadelphia style ice-cream base is churned then elevated with a raspberry ripple, before being frozen into ice cream pops and finished with a super easy white chocolate magic shell and loads of sprinkles. The perfect fancy treat for summer just around the corner - these last for a long time in the freezer so are great to have on hand when the ice cream craving strikes! #icecreampop #raspberryicecream #raspberrywhitechocolate
A simple stir together raspberry philadelphia style ice-cream base is churned then elevated with a raspberry ripple, before being frozen into ice cream pops and finished with a super easy white chocolate magic shell and loads of sprinkles. The perfect fancy treat for summer just around the corner - these last for a long time in the freezer so are great to have on hand when the ice cream craving strikes! #icecreampop #raspberryicecream #raspberrywhitechocolate
A simple stir together raspberry philadelphia style ice-cream base is churned then elevated with a raspberry ripple, before being frozen into ice cream pops and finished with a super easy white chocolate magic shell and loads of sprinkles. The perfect fancy treat for summer just around the corner - these last for a long time in the freezer so are great to have on hand when the ice cream craving strikes! #icecreampop #raspberryicecream #raspberrywhitechocolate
A simple stir together raspberry philadelphia style ice-cream base is churned then elevated with a raspberry ripple, before being frozen into ice cream pops and finished with a super easy white chocolate magic shell and loads of sprinkles. The perfect fancy treat for summer just around the corner - these last for a long time in the freezer so are great to have on hand when the ice cream craving strikes! #icecreampop #raspberryicecream #raspberrywhitechocolate
A simple stir together raspberry philadelphia style ice-cream base is churned then elevated with a raspberry ripple, before being frozen into ice cream pops and finished with a super easy white chocolate magic shell and loads of sprinkles. The perfect fancy treat for summer just around the corner - these last for a long time in the freezer so are great to have on hand when the ice cream craving strikes! #icecreampop #raspberryicecream #raspberrywhitechocolate

Hiii! Sorry it’s been a bit more quiet around here than usual - things got a bit busy, and I dropped the ball on my regular posting I was doing so well with! We had a couple of hectic weeks, which meant I burnt through the backlog of posts I like to have as a wee buffer, annnnnd suddenly I had nothing to post! Whoopsies. I spent last week making our good friend’s wedding cakes (there were five layer cakes), and I can’t wait to share them all with you - I shot all of them and will write up a few things I learnt along the way in terms of time management and recipe planning for if you ever also want to make five cakes in two days in a shoebox apartment!

This recipe is a bit more simple than five layer cakes in two days, and it’s one I have had knocking round in my head for a while now - raspberry and white chocolate ice cream pops! I got a fancy set of ice cream moulds last year (if you get them, be aware that a ‘set of two’ as listed gives you four pops worth, so don’t get 3 sets like me and end up with 12), and I love love love how they look and the shape that they give the ice cream, so I have been itching to use them again!

I also discovered philadelphia style ice cream last year by way of David Leibovitz’s book and I am low key obsessed with it. It churns up super creamy (and super white), and doesn’t require the making of a custard base. I upped the flavour by adding some freeze dried raspberry powder, then added a raspberry ripple made with frozen raspberries which I turned into a sauce and reduced down. Once they were frozen I dipped them in a white chocolate magic shell, which is super easy to make - you essentially just melt together white chocolate and a neutral oil, and it sets amazingly smoothly and solidly on the pops. I love the flavour of the raspberry ice cream, and the ripple gives a delicious variaton in texture, and you really can’t go past a snappy white chocolate shell to tie everything together.

A few wee tips:

  • These are great even without the raspberry sauce, but if you want to take the extra time, it’s a super delicious step! You may end up with a bit extra, but it is amazing on ice cream.
  • You need an ice cream maker for this - mine connects to my stand mixer. Make sure that you freeze the bowl overnight first.
  • I found the easiest way to get the ripple into the ice cream was to pop it into a piping bag fitted with a bismarck tip, and kind of inject it in. If you don’t have an open top ice cream pop mould you could also stir some of the raspberry sauce through to make a ripple, then add it to your moulds.
  • If you wanted to make this just as a regular ice cream, you could layer the ice cream base and the raspberry sauce in a loaf pan with some white chocolate chips, and then swirl everything together to have it as a scoopable ice cream.
  • These are the pop moulds that I use! They are silicone, and they release so, so nicely!
  • I loaded these up with sprinkles - I used these ones from Sprinkle Pop!

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Nutella Chocolate Bundt Cake

Nutella Chocolate Bundt Cake - this easy stir together bundt cake would be perfect for Mother's day or for any time that you need a sweet treat. It comes together super quickly, and is the perfect density thanks to the sour cream and nutella in the recipe. No mixer required - this one is a total crowd pleaser. #nutella #chocolatebundt #bundtcake
Nutella Chocolate Bundt Cake - this easy stir together bundt cake would be perfect for Mother's day or for any time that you need a sweet treat. It comes together super quickly, and is the perfect density thanks to the sour cream and nutella in the recipe. No mixer required - this one is a total crowd pleaser. #nutella #chocolatebundt #bundtcake
Nutella Chocolate Bundt Cake - this easy stir together bundt cake would be perfect for Mother's day or for any time that you need a sweet treat. It comes together super quickly, and is the perfect density thanks to the sour cream and nutella in the recipe. No mixer required - this one is a total crowd pleaser. #nutella #chocolatebundt #bundtcake
Nutella Chocolate Bundt Cake - this easy stir together bundt cake would be perfect for Mother's day or for any time that you need a sweet treat. It comes together super quickly, and is the perfect density thanks to the sour cream and nutella in the recipe. No mixer required - this one is a total crowd pleaser. #nutella #chocolatebundt #bundtcake
Nutella Chocolate Bundt Cake - this easy stir together bundt cake would be perfect for Mother's day or for any time that you need a sweet treat. It comes together super quickly, and is the perfect density thanks to the sour cream and nutella in the recipe. No mixer required - this one is a total crowd pleaser. #nutella #chocolatebundt #bundtcake
Nutella Chocolate Bundt Cake - this easy stir together bundt cake would be perfect for Mother's day or for any time that you need a sweet treat. It comes together super quickly, and is the perfect density thanks to the sour cream and nutella in the recipe. No mixer required - this one is a total crowd pleaser. #nutella #chocolatebundt #bundtcake

I think it’s safe to say that bundt cakes and I are friends now. Although they can be a wee bit tricky to get sorted recipe testing wise (the last few have really taken me for a run), they are so satisfying once the recipe is nailed - the pan does all the fancy work for you, and they are often fairly uncomplicated to make (I have a few doozys coming your way though), which makes them a great back pocket recipe if you need to make something in a pinch. They also make a solid amount of cake - a bundt cake usually serves at least 8-10 people, or my full sized husband over the course of a few days, who seems to eat baked goods as if i’ve never baked for him before.

This is a pretty simple chocolate bundt cake. I took King Arthur’s recipe, which I have made a few times, and made a few tweaks - upping the cocoa a touch and adding in some Nutella. The recipe is the perfect density, and is nice and moist from the sour cream in the recipe, and the chocolate really shines from the addition of strong coffee. The Nutella lent another layer of fudginess, which was the perfect finisher. It’s not overly forward on the Nutella flavour but - this cake doesn’t need a glaze, although Rich would like me to tell you that he made a double of this icing recipe, spread it on thick, then drowned it in sprinkles and it was amazing, even if it does feel like your teeth are going to dissolve from the sugar. I added chocolate chips the first time and definitely don’t recommend it - they all sink and things get super weird.

I used this pan for this cake - I love the pattern on it, and the cake released easily. Any 10 cup bundt pan will work though! I find that the key to the cake releasing nicely is to grease the pan well (the baking spray with flour in it works a charm), and using a recipe which is dense enough. I’ve had some shockers with testing and the recipe not being dense enough - there’s nothing that bums you out more than half the cake still being in the pan.

A few wee tips:

  • I used two shots of coffee for the recipe because I wanted the coffee to really help the chocolate shine - I just used a nespresso machine and did two long shots. Make sure that you weigh it to make sure it’s the correct quantity.
  • Another key to getting the cake to pop out nicely is the cooling time. 10 minutes is perfect - set the timer when you bring the cake out of the oven, then carefully turn it out onto a rack and let it cool completely.
  • I like to let the batter sit for 5 mins in the bowl to help release any additional bubbles. During this time I grease the pan - you don’t want to grease too early, or the baking spray will settle in the grooves of the pan. I then give the bowl a good rap on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles, then transfer to the cake pan and give it another good rap.

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Olive Oil Layer Cake with Lemon Curd and Rosemary Buttercream

This olive oil layer cake is fruity from the olive oil and lemon zest, it has a beautiful texture and comes together super quickly with no mixer needed. Even if you weren’t going to layer this cake up, you could bake it off just as one 9” cake, finish it with some icing sugar, and you would have the perfect quick dessert!

Olive Oil Layer Cake with Meyer Lemon Curd and Rosemary German Buttercream. Fruity olive oil cake is filled with a zesty meyer lemon curd, and finished in a semi naked style with a rosemary german buttercream and spring flowers. #nakedcake #oliveoilcake #meyerlemon
Olive Oil Layer Cake with Meyer Lemon Curd and Rosemary German Buttercream. Fruity olive oil cake is filled with a zesty meyer lemon curd, and finished in a semi naked style with a rosemary german buttercream and spring flowers. #nakedcake #oliveoilcake #meyerlemon
Olive Oil Layer Cake with Meyer Lemon Curd and Rosemary German Buttercream. Fruity olive oil cake is filled with a zesty meyer lemon curd, and finished in a semi naked style with a rosemary german buttercream and spring flowers. #nakedcake #oliveoilcake #meyerlemon
Olive Oil Layer Cake with Meyer Lemon Curd and Rosemary German Buttercream. Fruity olive oil cake is filled with a zesty meyer lemon curd, and finished in a semi naked style with a rosemary german buttercream and spring flowers. #nakedcake #oliveoilcake #meyerlemon
Olive Oil Layer Cake with Meyer Lemon Curd and Rosemary German Buttercream. Fruity olive oil cake is filled with a zesty meyer lemon curd, and finished in a semi naked style with a rosemary german buttercream and spring flowers. #nakedcake #oliveoilcake #meyerlemon
Olive Oil Layer Cake with Meyer Lemon Curd and Rosemary German Buttercream. Fruity olive oil cake is filled with a zesty meyer lemon curd, and finished in a semi naked style with a rosemary german buttercream and spring flowers. #nakedcake #oliveoilcake #meyerlemon

Hi! I am super excited to be sharing this recipe today for this super springy Olive Oil Layer Cake with Meyer Lemon Curd and Rosemary German Buttercream! I have a wee list at the front of my diary (planner for anyone in the US), full of all the things that I want to make for the blog. It can be recipe ideas, concepts, or fully written out ideas, depending on how far along in the thought process I am before I write things down. I’ve had “Semi naked cake with flowers” written on it for the longest time, so I am excited to be sharing this with you, and crossing it off the list! Naked cakes came onto the scene a good few years ago now - I love them for how easy they are to decorate, how versatile they are, and how beautiful they look when they are decorated with flowers!

I paired the soft cake layers with a meyer lemon curd, which is a little more mellow than curd made with regular lemons, and then finished the whole thing off with a German buttercream, which I infused with some fresh rosemary. I was initially a little hesitant about the rosemary buttercream because it’s a delicate line of a nice infusion and something tasting like hand cream, but it is super subtle, and goes perfectly with the zesty curd and olive oil cake.

A few wee tips:

  • I find it easiest to bake layer cakes in three individual layers. I have three of these pans - they are amazing!
  • I put flowers on this cake - ensure that your flowers are either food safe, or you need to wrap the ends of the stems in floral tape so that they can go on the cake safely.
  • I used bake even strips to help stop my cake from doming. You can either use them, or you can make your own like this! They can be a pain to put on, but it made a huge difference in how much cake needed to be trimmed, giving slightly thicker layers.
  • I used meyer lemons in the curd. You can absolutely just use regular lemons if you can’t get hold of meyer lemons!
  • It will seem like quite a bit of fresh rosemary needed to infuse the milk for the pastry cream. Don’t worry if it seems super strong - remember that it is going to be mellowed out by the pastry cream ingredients, and again by the butter when you whip up the buttercream.
  • If you can, make the cakes, pastry cream for the buttercream, and the lemon curd ahead of time. I like to wrap the cakes tightly in plastic wrap and freeze overnight to make them easy to frost, but if you are making them the same day, just make sure that they are totally cooled. The pastry cream and curd need time to thicken and cool - either overnight, or if you are in a pinch, pop them into a shallow dish, cover the surface with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge or freezer. A larger surface area helps to cool them quicker.

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Brown Butter Carrot Cake

Brown Butter Carrot Sheet Cake is taken to the next level with a fluffy, whipped vanilla bean cream cheese german buttercream. This cake comes together super easily but is super delicious, and would make the perfect easter dessert. #brownbutter #carrotcake #sheetcake #germanbuttercream
Brown Butter Carrot Sheet Cake is taken to the next level with a fluffy, whipped vanilla bean cream cheese german buttercream. This cake comes together super easily but is super delicious, and would make the perfect easter dessert. #brownbutter #carrotcake #sheetcake #germanbuttercream
Brown Butter Carrot Sheet Cake is taken to the next level with a fluffy, whipped vanilla bean cream cheese german buttercream. This cake comes together super easily but is super delicious, and would make the perfect easter dessert. #brownbutter #carrotcake #sheetcake #germanbuttercream
Brown Butter Carrot Sheet Cake is taken to the next level with a fluffy, whipped vanilla bean cream cheese german buttercream. This cake comes together super easily but is super delicious, and would make the perfect easter dessert. #brownbutter #carrotcake #sheetcake #germanbuttercream
Brown Butter Carrot Sheet Cake is taken to the next level with a fluffy, whipped vanilla bean cream cheese german buttercream. This cake comes together super easily but is super delicious, and would make the perfect easter dessert. #brownbutter #carrotcake #sheetcake #germanbuttercream
Brown Butter Carrot Sheet Cake is taken to the next level with a fluffy, whipped vanilla bean cream cheese german buttercream. This cake comes together super easily but is super delicious, and would make the perfect easter dessert. #brownbutter #carrotcake #sheetcake #germanbuttercream
Brown Butter Carrot Sheet Cake is taken to the next level with a fluffy, whipped vanilla bean cream cheese german buttercream. This cake comes together super easily but is super delicious, and would make the perfect easter dessert. #brownbutter #carrotcake #sheetcake #germanbuttercream
Brown Butter Carrot Sheet Cake is taken to the next level with a fluffy, whipped vanilla bean cream cheese german buttercream. This cake comes together super easily but is super delicious, and would make the perfect easter dessert. #brownbutter #carrotcake #sheetcake #germanbuttercream
Brown Butter Carrot Sheet Cake is taken to the next level with a fluffy, whipped vanilla bean cream cheese german buttercream. This cake comes together super easily but is super delicious, and would make the perfect easter dessert. #brownbutter #carrotcake #sheetcake #germanbuttercream

Can we take a quick wee sec to talk about how AMAZING sheet cakes are?! Nothing on regular layer cakes, I love them too, but sheet cakes are the perfect combo of fancy and laid back (I like to think of myself as that, dreams are free right?!). There’s no stacking required, but you can still use a fancy buttercream, and you get the best buttercream to cake ratio, in my opinion anyway. You can also frost them directly in the pan, which makes them the best for transporting. When I offer to take cake places, I often will make a sheet cake if it’s a bit more of a casual situation. I’ve had my fair share of cake disasters in an uber in the NYC summer, so a stress free transport is a huge bonus for me too. Plus, you get to live your best buttercream swooping life, which is one of my favourite things to do.

Today’s recipe is one that I am so excited to share with you - it’s a brown butter carrot sheet cake, with a vanilla bean cream cheese german buttercream. I’ve teamed up with my faves at Heilala Vanilla to bring it to you - their amazing vanilla bean paste is in both the cake, and in the dreamy frosting. Not only is their product great, but they are run by the most amazing people, who are doing all kinds of incredible things by injecting money into the economy and providing jobs in the Kingdom of Tonga. They control the whole process from the growing to the processing of the beans, which results in an extremely ethical, high quality, organic product. I am super proud to be partnering with them again.

I started with a pretty simple cake - a fairly standard carrot cake, but upped my game a little by replacing some of the oil with brown butter, and adding some cardamom in along with the other spices. Cakes with both butter and oil are my new fave. You get the moistness from the oil, in this case a neutral oil, but you also get the richness and flavour from the butter, giving you a total win win situation. In this case I browned the butter, which gives it the most incredible depth of flavour to the cake, and plays perfectly with the spices.

And now let’s talk about the buttercream. Ohhhh my, this buttercream. Another thing that I love about sheet cakes is that you can load them up with buttercream that might typically be too unstable to stack a cake with - like soft peaks of whipped cream, or in this case, a German buttercream with a whole load of cream cheese whipped into it. I love cream cheese frosting, but I am not a huge fan of how sweet and gritty it can be from the powdered sugar, so instead I whipped cream cheese into a vanilla bean German buttercream. If you’re new round here, German buttercream is my absolute fave. It is custard or pastry cream (same thing) based, rather than the meringue base of an Italian or Swiss, or powdered sugar base of an American buttercream. This gives it a whole dimension of flavour that the others lack - a beautiful richness, with the pastry cream cutting the butter just perfectly.

Because this cake didn’t have to stack, the buttercream was able to tolerate much more cream cheese than it usually would. The cream cheese gives it a beautiful tang, and sits so nicely with the vanilla, and against the subtle spice of the cake. It is also pillowy soft, and impossibly smooth, making it the perfect pair for the slightly denser nature of a carrot cake. I know I say this a lot about a lot of things, but this buttercream might be my favourite so far. It’s just perfect.

This cake would make the most perfect Easter baking project - I can’t wait to see you enjoy it. Happy Sheet Caking! x

A few wee tips:

  • Heilala have given me a discount code for you to use on vanilla! You can purchase it here, and the code CLOUDY20 will get you 20% off any of their products!
  • Both the cake and the pastry cream need time to cool, so I like to make the pastry cream either the day before, or just before I start the cake, to give it plenty of time to cool. Putting it in a shallow dish to cool in the fridge helps too by increasing the surface area, meaning it cools a bit faster. Make sure your cream cheese and butter is also at room temp.
  • If you don’t like nuts in carrot cake, you can just leave them out!
  • If you haven’t made brown butter before, I have a great brown butter tutorial on my site. Make sure that you allow it to cool a little before using in your recipe. I like pouring it into my stand mixer then leaving it to cool, swirling occasionally to help distribute some of the heat.
  • I took the cake out of the pan to add the buttercream, but you can absolutely frost it in the pan if you like. Frosting it in the pan is perfect for if you are transporting it, as it makes it super, super easy to carry, because the pan protects it.

Thank you so much to Heilala Vanilla for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own,.

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

The Ultimate Easter Macaron Box

This is the ultimate Easter Macaron box, filled with the perfect Easter Macaron flavours. An easy French Macaron shell is filled with a variety of easter themed macaron fillings! This box has Creme Egg Macarons, Chocolate Peanut Butter Macarons, Coconut Macarons, Hot Cross Bun Macarons, and Peeps Macarons!

The ultimate Easter Macaron Box - creme egg macarons, hot cross bun macarons, coconut macarons, chocolate peanut butter macarons and peeps marshmallow macarons make up the most amazing Easter inspired box. This would make an incredible easter gift, and can be customised however you like!
The ultimate Easter Macaron Box - creme egg macarons, hot cross bun macarons, coconut macarons, chocolate peanut butter macarons and peeps marshmallow macarons make up the most amazing Easter inspired box. This would make an incredible easter gift, and can be customised however you like!

Easter Macarons

Hi hi! Just popping in to share this epic easter themed macaron box with you! I love Easter baking, and I love making homemade french macarons, so it made sense to combine the both of them!

There are some super cute Easter macaron flavours in this box, which all use the same base French macaron shell. Mix and match as you like!

The ultimate Easter Macaron Box - creme egg macarons, hot cross bun macarons, coconut macarons, chocolate peanut butter macarons and peeps marshmallow macarons make up the most amazing Easter inspired box. This would make an incredible easter gift, and can be customised however you like!

Easter French Macaron Flavours

Here’s what we ended up with:

  • Creme Egg Macarons - Speckled shell filled with a Creme Egg chocolate ganache
  • Hot Cross Bun Macaron - Vanilla bean shell filled with a spiced German buttercream
  • Coconut Macaron - Vanilla bean shell filled with a coconut Swiss Meringue Buttercream
  • Chocolate Peanut Butter Macaron - Chocolate shell filled with peanut butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream
  • Peeps Macaron - Sugared Vanilla bean shell filled with a vanilla bean marshmallow and rolled in sanding sugar
The ultimate Easter Macaron Box - creme egg macarons, hot cross bun macarons, coconut macarons, chocolate peanut butter macarons and peeps marshmallow macarons make up the most amazing Easter inspired box. This would make an incredible easter gift, and can be customised however you like!

Tips and Tricks for French Macarons

There are a lot of tips and tricks for making homemade french macarons. Check out my post on how to make french macarons at home for a full breakdown on how to make your own macarons.

We used a box from the craft store to make our macaron box. Anything similar would work such as a wooden gift box or a wooden wine box - you can use a cardboard box and make your own dividers, or just snuggle everything in. My husband cut us some wooden dividers on his laser cutter, but you could also just use a craft knife.

The ultimate Easter Macaron Box - creme egg macarons, hot cross bun macarons, coconut macarons, chocolate peanut butter macarons and peeps marshmallow macarons make up the most amazing Easter inspired box. This would make an incredible easter gift, and can be customised however you like!

How to make a batch of macarons into two colours

If you are colouring one batch of batter two different colours, mix it part of the way, then split the batter into separate bowls (half a batch of batter weighs 420g), then add the gel food colouring and finish the mixing process. For example we split a batch and coloured half for the creme egg macs, and half for the peeps macs, then did the same with the coconut macs and the hot cross bun macs. We made one bigger batch of the chocolate shells as the cocoa powder has to be mixed in with the ground almond mixture.

The ultimate Easter Macaron Box - creme egg macarons, hot cross bun macarons, coconut macarons, chocolate peanut butter macarons and peeps marshmallow macarons make up the most amazing Easter inspired box. This would make an incredible easter gift, and can be customised however you like!

Tips and tricks for making an Easter macaron box

  • I have added the base recipe we use for the shells down below, then at the end I have put the variations in food colouring or finishing that we did to make each shell ‘flavour’ (they are all vanilla bean flavour, except for the chocolate, and I have added in a note, or you can just refer to my chocolate french macaron shell recipe. The filling recipes and assembly instructions will be underneath the shell recipe.
  • We made all the shells except for the chocolate ones on one day (we could have done them all on the one day, we just got lazy), the mini egg ganache, and the pastry cream for the Hot Cross Bun German buttercream, and then the following day made the remainder of the fillings, filled the macarons, and filled and shot the box. If you break up your workload, and prep your ingredients before you start (having enough sheet pans is important), it isn’t too much work!
  • We worked it so that we could re-use some of the fillings - we made one larger batch of swiss meringue buttercream, then split it, and added the coconut to half and the peanut butter to the remaining half. This made the filling process super easy as we didn’t need to make five fillings from scratch
  • In terms of work flow, we were able to start the next batch of shells soon after piping out the previous ones. Like I mentioned before, this only works if you have lots of sheet pans!
  • Store all the shells in an airtight container until ready to fill.

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Salted Caramel Shortbread Bars

Salted Caramel Shortbread bars - buttery shortbread is topped with a creamy salted caramel, then finished off with a dark chocolate layer and flaky sea salt. The perfect sweet treat. #caramelslice #caramelshortbread
Salted Caramel Shortbread bars - buttery shortbread is topped with a creamy salted caramel, then finished off with a dark chocolate layer and flaky sea salt. The perfect sweet treat. #caramelslice #caramelshortbread
Salted Caramel Shortbread bars - buttery shortbread is topped with a creamy salted caramel, then finished off with a dark chocolate layer and flaky sea salt. The perfect sweet treat. #caramelslice #caramelshortbread
Salted Caramel Shortbread bars - buttery shortbread is topped with a creamy salted caramel, then finished off with a dark chocolate layer and flaky sea salt. The perfect sweet treat. #caramelslice #caramelshortbread
Salted Caramel Shortbread bars - buttery shortbread is topped with a creamy salted caramel, then finished off with a dark chocolate layer and flaky sea salt. The perfect sweet treat. #caramelslice #caramelshortbread
Salted Caramel Shortbread bars - buttery shortbread is topped with a creamy salted caramel, then finished off with a dark chocolate layer and flaky sea salt. The perfect sweet treat. #caramelslice #caramelshortbread
https://www.phaidon.com/store/food-cook/simple-and-classic-9780714878119/
Salted Caramel Shortbread bars - buttery shortbread is topped with a creamy salted caramel, then finished off with a dark chocolate layer and flaky sea salt. The perfect sweet treat. #caramelslice #caramelshortbread

Hi hi! I’ve been wanting to share a caramel slice recipe on here for the longest time! Caramel slice was a classic bakery treat I grew up eating (we call a ‘bar’ a slice in New Zealand), and they are an absolute favourite of mine. They are essentially a baked shortbread base, which then has a salted caramel mixture poured over it, followed by a dark chocolate ganache topping, and, if you like, a heavy sprinkling of salt. I love to get them out when I am at a bakery, but they are also super easy to make at home, and make the perfect sweet treat. From a quick google, it seems as if this is called a bunch of things - salted caramel shortbread, millionaire’s shortbread, caramel slice, etc. They all seem to be iterations of the same recipe, but all super delicious.

This version comes from a beautiful new book I was sent by the lovely folks at Phaidon - it is the newest from Jane Hornby, called ‘Simple and Classic - 123 Step by Step recipes’. The idea behind it is super clever - it is jam packed with recipes, ranging from sweet to savoury, all with step by step photos accompanying each recipe. So often in cook books there will only be one hero image of each recipe, so it is amazing to see not only step by step photos of each part of the recipe, but also broken down ingredient shots. This book would be perfect for a visual learner, or for someone who is beginning to cook and needs a little more guidance in terms of breaking down the recipe steps. I have my eye on a bunch more recipes, and have already sent one to a friend as a gift!

This recipe is super simple, but tastes anything but. It starts with a baked shortbread dough, which is baked until golden brown in the oven. Once it is slightly cooled, a thick layer of salted caramel is poured on, and left to set. The whole thing is then finished off with a layer of dark chocolate, and loaded up with flaky sea salt. A little goes a long way with this, but once you start snacking on it, you somehow find it disappearing much faster than you thought it would. The best.

A few wee tips:

  • This looks a little complicated, but I promise that it is not - each component is super simple.

  • I left my caramel to cool overnight, but you can probably just leave it for a few hours if you need - it does hold onto heat for longer than you think!

  • I wanted the top of my slice to have some texture in the chocolate, so I poured the chocolate on, then popped it in the fridge for about 10 minutes, then used an offset spatula to swirl up the chocolate, then left it to set completely.

  • According to Jane, to make this traditional Millionaire’s shortbread, you can add only a pinch of salt in the filling, and leave it out from the top, and then use semisweet chocolate on the top (about 30% milk solids)

Simple and Classic is copyright Phaidon Press Limited, and was written by Jane Hornby and published in 2019

Raspberry Ricotta Bundt Cake

Raspberry Ricotta bundt cake - a tender vanilla bean bundt cake is accented with tart raspberries. This easy, stir together cake is the perfect texture, is simple to put together, and is perfect for feeding a crowd. #bundtcake #ricottacake #raspberrybundt
Raspberry Ricotta bundt cake - a tender vanilla bean bundt cake is accented with tart raspberries. This easy, stir together cake is the perfect texture, is simple to put together, and is perfect for feeding a crowd. #bundtcake #ricottacake #raspberrybundt
Raspberry Ricotta bundt cake - a tender vanilla bean bundt cake is accented with tart raspberries. This easy, stir together cake is the perfect texture, is simple to put together, and is perfect for feeding a crowd. #bundtcake #ricottacake #raspberrybundt
Raspberry Ricotta bundt cake - a tender vanilla bean bundt cake is accented with tart raspberries. This easy, stir together cake is the perfect texture, is simple to put together, and is perfect for feeding a crowd. #bundtcake #ricottacake #raspberrybundt
Raspberry Ricotta bundt cake - a tender vanilla bean bundt cake is accented with tart raspberries. This easy, stir together cake is the perfect texture, is simple to put together, and is perfect for feeding a crowd. #bundtcake #ricottacake #raspberrybundt
Raspberry Ricotta bundt cake - a tender vanilla bean bundt cake is accented with tart raspberries. This easy, stir together cake is the perfect texture, is simple to put together, and is perfect for feeding a crowd. #bundtcake #ricottacake #raspberrybundt
Raspberry Ricotta bundt cake - a tender vanilla bean bundt cake is accented with tart raspberries. This easy, stir together cake is the perfect texture, is simple to put together, and is perfect for feeding a crowd. #bundtcake #ricottacake #raspberrybundt
Raspberry Ricotta bundt cake - a tender vanilla bean bundt cake is accented with tart raspberries. This easy, stir together cake is the perfect texture, is simple to put together, and is perfect for feeding a crowd. #bundtcake #ricottacake #raspberrybundt

This cake tested me a wee bit. The funny thing about recipe testing is that you never quite know which way it is going to go - sometimes I set out to make something I assume will need tweaking and nail it first try, other times I think I can quickly bring something together, like this cake, only to have it totally fail on me a whole bunch of times (6 to be exact). I love the process so much, but it is always good to remember that sometimes the things that seem the easiest are the ones which are going to trip you up the most!

I’m always so interested in the recipe testing process, so I thought I would share a little bit of it today! I started off knowing I wanted to make a raspberry bundt cake in this party pan, and that’s all I knew. My process was:

  1. Start with a bundt version of a vanilla cake recipe of mine that used the reverse creaming method. Giant, giant fail. Cake looked fine, then collapsed in on itself. Giant mess. Abort mission.

  2. Change direction completely. Go for a pound cake style bundt. Learn that pound cakes don’t have any leavening agent in them (we don’t have them in Nz!). Possibly densest cake I’ve ever made.
  3. Figure If I add leavening agent into it, it will help lighten it up. Still super dense. Abort mission.
  4. Go in another direction - adapting a loaf cake recipe of mine. Total flop. weird cooked parts and raw parts and a strange texture on the outside (super yum as a cake, clearly not meant to be a bundt).
  5. Not quite abort mission, but change almost all the components of the loaf cake recipe, tweaking and tweaking. Comes out ok texture, but super bland and big holes on the outside.
  6. Up the moisture, switch the milk to buttermilk, bang the shit out of the pan on the counter before it bakes. Ok, but kind of bland, texture is amazing.
  7. Switch out some of the oil for butter and add in some lemon zest. Waaaay better - switching out the butter was just what I needed to do. Super happy with the outcome. Done!

And that’s how it went down! The resulting cake is, to me, perfect - it is a dense bundt cake (not pound cake dense but just the right texture), with a tender crumb from ricotta and oil, but some richness of flavour from vanilla bean and butter. I added in some almond meal to help elevate the flavour, and folded some raspberries through the batter, which I managed to get to stay very nicely distributed! I was initially going to give this a glaze, but after the final test came out as well as it did, all it really needs is a light dusting of powdered sugar.

After all those tests, the cake itself is actually super simple. It is a stir together situation - all you have to do is combine your wet ingredients (plus sugar), then whisk together your dry ingredients, add the two together, then fold in raspberries which have been dusted in a little flour to stop them sinking. It all then goes into a well sprayed bundt pan, and is baked off, before having a wee cool in the pan, then turned out and allowed to finish cooling. Bundt cakes are my favourite in that they are generally super easy to make, with the fancy details coming from the shape of the pan. This one will most definitely be on heavy rotation from now on.

A few wee tips:

  • The recipe here is by weight - if you bake by weight you won’t have to use a single measuring cup, as everything can be weighed directly into the bowl. The best.
  • I tossed the raspberries lightly with flour before incorporating them into the batter, to help prevent them from sinking.
  • I used fresh berries, but frozen would also definitely work - make sure that if they are frozen they get a good coating of the flour!
  • The trick to getting a bundt cake out cleanly comes down to a few factors. The first is a well greased pan - you can either grease and flour your pan (make sure you get in all the crevices), or you can use a baking spray with flour in it, which is my preferred method for a bundt. The second is the cooling time - 10 minutes is the sweet spot to allow the cake to pull away from the sides enough to release cleanly. Too soon and it may not hold its structure if it is too warm, and too long in the pan and you run the risk of it sticking. Set your timer for 10 as soon as the cake comes out of the oven!
  • The cake needs to be baked enough that it will not stick to the sides - make sure that a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean - I like to stick it in a few different spots just to check
  • Make sure your ingredients are nice and room temp before you bake the cake - I like to take mine out an hour or so before.

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Cheese, Spring Onion, and Chive Brioche Buns

Fluffy brioche is rolled out thin, then spread with a cheese sauce filling, sprinkled with spring onion and chives, and rolled up into a tight spiral. It is then cut up into buns, snuggled into a skillet, and baked to golden perfection. The perfect savoury bun!

Cheese, Spring Onion, and Chive Brioche Buns - fluffy brioche is rolled out thin, then spread with a cheese sauce filling, sprinkled with spring onion and chives, and rolled up into a tight spiral. It is then cut up into buns, snuggled into a skillet, and baked to golden perfection. The perfect savoury bun! #cheesebuns #cheeserolls #cheeseandchive

Cheese Brioche Buns with Chive and Spring Onion

I think we all know by now my intense love for swirly bread. I developed a killer brioche recipe a few years back, and it sneaks its way onto here at least once a month - in doughnuts, babka, fancy knots, buns, rolls, pull-apart bread, you name it, it’s probably lurking around here somewhere. The thing I love the most about brioche is how versatile it is. You can switch up the filling or ingredients slightly, change up the baking or frying method, and you have a whole new recipe.

Today I am sharing the recipe for these Cheese, Spring Onion, and Chive Brioche Buns. These first came about when I was testing for another recipe and was left with a batch of brioche dough in the fridge. I also happened to have a batch of cheese sauce from another recipe test, so I combined them, and the result was magical. These are just essentially a savoury version of the cinnamon roll - enriched dough is spread with a chilled cheese sauce filling, sprinkled with spring onions (scallions for those in the US) and chives, and then rolled into a tight spiral and snuggled up in a skillet. They kind of taste like the pizza rolls that we grew up on as kids that we used to get from the supermarket. They are great on their own, or amazing served alongside a soup for an easy meal. The cheese sauce filling is also perfect for using up the weird odds and ends of cheese you have in your fridge (or is that just me). Either way, swirly bread is the best, and I think this is a recipe you are going to love. Enjoy! x

If you wanted a smaller batch version of these rolls, you could use my small batch cheese buns recipe!

Cheese, Spring Onion, and Chive Brioche Buns - fluffy brioche is rolled out thin, then spread with a cheese sauce filling, sprinkled with spring onion and chives, and rolled up into a tight spiral. It is then cut up into buns, snuggled into a skillet, and baked to golden perfection. The perfect savoury bun! #cheesebuns #cheeserolls #cheeseandchive

A few wee tips for making Cheese Brioche Buns

  • The great thing about the cheese sauce in this recipe is that you can use whatever you like in it - I usually have a whole range of cheese in my fridge, so use whatever you have! Just make sure that the total amount of cheese is the same as the weight in the recipe (250g).
  • The cream cheese in the recipe really helps to smooth out the filling.
  • Ideally the cheese sauce needs to be chilled overnight, but no worries at all if you don’t have time for that- just place it into a shallow container or bowl, chill for 20 min in the freezer, give it a good stir, then place in the fridge to continue chilling. Ideally make it before you get started on the bread dough so that it has as much time to chill as possible.
  • I like making my brioche dough the night before sometimes - it means that it’s super easy to roll out if it’s a little cooler, and it breaks up the tasks, making it a little more manageable.
  • baked cheese, scallion and chive buns
  • cheese, scallion and chive brioche buns ready for oven

Tips for making these buns ahead of time

If you want to do some of the work ahead of time for these buns that is totally fine! I like to prepare the cheese sauce filling the day before so that it has some time to chill down. You can also do the first rise for the brioche overnight in the fridge, or alternatively on the same day in the fridge - it will need a minimum of 3 hours. You can make these work to your schedule!

Cheese, Spring Onion, and Chive Brioche Buns - fluffy brioche is rolled out thin, then spread with a cheese sauce filling, sprinkled with spring onion and chives, and rolled up into a tight spiral. It is then cut up into buns, snuggled into a skillet, and baked to golden perfection. The perfect savoury bun! #cheesebuns #cheeserolls #cheeseandchive

More Cheese Bun Recipes:

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Malasadas with Liliko'i (Passionfruit) Pastry Cream Filling

Malasadas with Liliko'i (Passionfruit) Pastry Cream Filling from Alana Kysar's new book, Aloha Kitchen. Malasadas are Portuguese style doughnuts, which are soft and fluffy. They are fried off, then rolled in sugar, then filled with a silky liliko'i pastry cream. These are the perfect indulgent treat, and are super easy to make. #malasadas #doughnuts #lilikoi #passionfruit
Malasadas with Liliko'i (Passionfruit) Pastry Cream Filling from Alana Kysar's new book, Aloha Kitchen. Malasadas are Portuguese style doughnuts, which are soft and fluffy. They are fried off, then rolled in sugar, then filled with a silky liliko'i pastry cream. These are the perfect indulgent treat, and are super easy to make. #malasadas #doughnuts #lilikoi #passionfruit
Malasadas with Liliko'i (Passionfruit) Pastry Cream Filling from Alana Kysar's new book, Aloha Kitchen. Malasadas are Portuguese style doughnuts, which are soft and fluffy. They are fried off, then rolled in sugar, then filled with a silky liliko'i pastry cream. These are the perfect indulgent treat, and are super easy to make. #malasadas #doughnuts #lilikoi #passionfruit
Malasadas with Liliko'i (Passionfruit) Pastry Cream Filling from Alana Kysar's new book, Aloha Kitchen. Malasadas are Portuguese style doughnuts, which are soft and fluffy. They are fried off, then rolled in sugar, then filled with a silky liliko'i pastry cream. These are the perfect indulgent treat, and are super easy to make. #malasadas #doughnuts #lilikoi #passionfruit
Malasadas with Liliko'i (Passionfruit) Pastry Cream Filling from Alana Kysar's new book, Aloha Kitchen. Malasadas are Portuguese style doughnuts, which are soft and fluffy. They are fried off, then rolled in sugar, then filled with a silky liliko'i pastry cream. These are the perfect indulgent treat, and are super easy to make. #malasadas #doughnuts #lilikoi #passionfruit

Hi hi! My sweet friend Alana wrote a cookbook, and I am so, so excited to be sharing a recipe from it today! Although Alana and I have never actually met IRL (story of my life, this is what happens when you’re a hermit and lots of your friends don’t live in NYC), but we have been internet friends for a few years now, and I was so stoked to get a copy of her new beautiful book, Aloha Kitchen, in the mail recently!

Alana is originally from Hawai’i, and her book not only gives you an incredible history of Hawai’i, the food, and all the cultures that have made it their home, but it is filled with the most beautiful food and recipes. Most people don’t realise just how diverse the food in Hawai’i really is, and this is reflected so, so perfectly in the book. I can’t wait to explore it a little more - the book is already filled with post it notes. Congrats lady, the book is so incredible! x

I thought I was going to have a tough time choosing a recipe to share from the book, but as soon as I came across this recipe for Malasadas with Liliko’i Pastry Cream, my decision was made incredibly easily. I think we all know by now my obsession for a) doughnuts and b) passionfruit / liliko’i, and this ticks both boxes. Passionfruit is super hard to come by in NYC, so when we went to Hawai’i with family a few years ago, it took us a few days to realise that Liliko’i were passionfruit - they are round and yellow in Hawai’i, whereas they are weird purple shrivelled things in NZ, so we didn’t put two and two together! When we did realise, we went on a mad mission to buy a bunch from the local farmer’s market to bring back to NYC, stupidly not realising we weren’t allowed to take fruit off of Maui (I promise we aren’t as stupid tourist as we sound), so we stood outside airport security in Maui, and ate about 15 each in the space of 5 minutes, before leaving the rest of the giant bag with the dude working the scanner (he was stoked). I’ve never had a stomach ache more worth it.

Malasadas are Portuguese style doughnuts - it was my first time making them, but definitely won’t be my last. The process is a little different to making brioche doughnuts, in that the dough is much sweeter and softer than brioche, which results in the softest, most pillowy doughnuts. It uses evaporated milk, which only adds to the amazing flavour. I’m totally obsessed with the texture. Alana’s recipe includes a pastry cream filling, spiked with Liliko’i juice, which is tart and flavourful, and goes perfectly with the sugar rolled doughnuts. These would be perfect for a party, or for feeding a crowd, or for whenever you feel the need to make some incredible doughnuts.

A few wee tips:

  • I made both the dough for the Malasadas and the pastry cream the night before, giving the dough an overnight rest for it’s first rise in the fridge, and giving the pastry cream time to chill completely. Splitting up the process like this makes it super manageable.
  • The dough for the Malasadas is much wetter and softer than standard brioche dough - don’t freak out (I did, a classic me move)! Just keep kneading in the mixer - it will smooth out and become beautiful and super stretchy. You’re looking for it to pull away from the sides.
  • This recipe makes 20-24 doughnuts, which is lots if there aren’t too many of you. I am sure that it can be easily halved!
  • If you’re in NZ, Bread flour is the same as high grade 🙂

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Layer Cake with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Buttercream

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Layer Cake with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Buttercream - this party cake is from the latest book from Bake from Scratch Magazine. Soft chocolate and peanut butter cake layers are sandwiched with chocolate and peanut butter buttercream, then finished off with playful blobs of the buttercream to create the perfect chocolate ombre cake. This cake is easy to make and is great to serve a crowd - you can't go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate! #chocolatecake #peanutbuttercake #chocolatebuttercream #peanutbutterbuttercream
Chocolate and Peanut Butter Layer Cake with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Buttercream - this party cake is from the latest book from Bake from Scratch Magazine. Soft chocolate and peanut butter cake layers are sandwiched with chocolate and peanut butter buttercream, then finished off with playful blobs of the buttercream to create the perfect chocolate ombre cake. This cake is easy to make and is great to serve a crowd - you can't go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate! #chocolatecake #peanutbuttercake #chocolatebuttercream #peanutbutterbuttercream
Chocolate and Peanut Butter Layer Cake with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Buttercream - this party cake is from the latest book from Bake from Scratch Magazine. Soft chocolate and peanut butter cake layers are sandwiched with chocolate and peanut butter buttercream, then finished off with playful blobs of the buttercream to create the perfect chocolate ombre cake. This cake is easy to make and is great to serve a crowd - you can't go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate! #chocolatecake #peanutbuttercake #chocolatebuttercream #peanutbutterbuttercream
Chocolate and Peanut Butter Layer Cake with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Buttercream - this party cake is from the latest book from Bake from Scratch Magazine. Soft chocolate and peanut butter cake layers are sandwiched with chocolate and peanut butter buttercream, then finished off with playful blobs of the buttercream to create the perfect chocolate ombre cake. This cake is easy to make and is great to serve a crowd - you can't go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate! #chocolatecake #peanutbuttercake #chocolatebuttercream #peanutbutterbuttercream
Chocolate and Peanut Butter Layer Cake with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Buttercream - this party cake is from the latest book from Bake from Scratch Magazine. Soft chocolate and peanut butter cake layers are sandwiched with chocolate and peanut butter buttercream, then finished off with playful blobs of the buttercream to create the perfect chocolate ombre cake. This cake is easy to make and is great to serve a crowd - you can't go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate! #chocolatecake #peanutbuttercake #chocolatebuttercream #peanutbutterbuttercream
Chocolate and Peanut Butter Layer Cake with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Buttercream - this party cake is from the latest book from Bake from Scratch Magazine. Soft chocolate and peanut butter cake layers are sandwiched with chocolate and peanut butter buttercream, then finished off with playful blobs of the buttercream to create the perfect chocolate ombre cake. This cake is easy to make and is great to serve a crowd - you can't go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate! #chocolatecake #peanutbuttercake #chocolatebuttercream #peanutbutterbuttercream
Chocolate and Peanut Butter Layer Cake with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Buttercream - this party cake is from the latest book from Bake from Scratch Magazine. Soft chocolate and peanut butter cake layers are sandwiched with chocolate and peanut butter buttercream, then finished off with playful blobs of the buttercream to create the perfect chocolate ombre cake. This cake is easy to make and is great to serve a crowd - you can't go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate! #chocolatecake #peanutbuttercake #chocolatebuttercream #peanutbutterbuttercream
Chocolate and Peanut Butter Layer Cake with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Buttercream - this party cake is from the latest book from Bake from Scratch Magazine. Soft chocolate and peanut butter cake layers are sandwiched with chocolate and peanut butter buttercream, then finished off with playful blobs of the buttercream to create the perfect chocolate ombre cake. This cake is easy to make and is great to serve a crowd - you can't go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate! #chocolatecake #peanutbuttercake #chocolatebuttercream #peanutbutterbuttercream

Put your party pants on, because this is a party cake! I am super excited to be sharing the recipe for this dude - it comes from the newest book from Brian and Bake From Scratch! Each year they put together an incredible compilation of all the recipes from the last year, and turn them into one big, beautiful book. I have a couple of recipes in there from my contribution to the holiday cookie issue last year - it’s always so, so exciting to see my photographs in print alongside some of my fave bakers and bloggers. The book is such a lovely round up, but also an amazing idea if you live outside of the States and want all the recipes that were included this past year, rather than having to get the magazine sent overseas each month!

I couldn’t go past the classic peanut butter and chocolate combination for this cake. I made both the chocolate and the peanut butter cakes - both are stir together cakes (rather than needing a mixer), so come together super quickly. I made them the night before, then once they were cool, wrapped them up tightly and popped them in the freezer overnight - ideally if I have the time, this is my favourite way to frost a cake, but room temp or chilled cakes work great too! I then stacked them up, alternating not only the cake flavour, but the buttercream filling inside, which made for a super exciting cake interior.

I’m not usually a huge fan of American Buttercream (We all know I am a die hard German buttercream girl), but there are a two times when I absolutely love it: when it has peanut butter, and when it has chocolate. I used both of these to finish off this cake, both from the mix and match section I mentioned - I crumb coated it using both flavours, then couldn’t help but finish it off in a way that’s my ultimate go to, blobs of buttercream piped on using a french star tip. I was going to just do a sparse covering of the buttercream blobs, but always end up getting carried away (they are so, so fun), so covered the whole thing, which I’m super happy I did, as it ended up being the most perfect cake:buttercream ratio!

This cake looks super fancy but I promise that it is much easier than it looks - it’s two batches of cake, but both come together super easy, and bake up amazingly flat, with no levelling required. Then it’s just two quick batches of buttercream which you use to fill and crumb coat the cake, then transfer the remainder into your piping bags and blob away! I wanted to have three colours of buttercream so I mixed together some of the chocolate and peanut butter (I actually used the frosting that got scraped off in the crumb coating process), to give me a light brown choc peanut butter buttercream too, which worked so perfectly! This cake would be the most amazing thing to take to a celebration or for a birthday - it’s the perfect texture, and the flavour combination is just incredible.

A few wee tips:

  • I almost always add more heavy cream to american buttercream to get it to the texture I want - you want something smooth and silky that is going to be really nice to pipe, so I often add up to about a ¼ cup more than the recipe calls for. Once you have mixed up the buttercream, just keep adding heavy cream until it is a nice soft smooth texture, then crank up the speed of the mixer and let it go on high for a few minutes to make sure it is super fluffy.
  • Once I have the buttercream super fluffy, I then like to turn the mixer to low and let it go for a minute or two, just to help get rid of any big air pockets which will make bubbles when you’re frosting the cake.
  • I ended up with a wee ombre crumb coat situation which I kind of loved - to get this, I plopped some peanut butter buttercream in a piping bag, then a little chocolate, another scoop of peanut butter, then a big scoop of chocolate, then snipped the end off the bag and used that to cover the cake on the turntable. I then smoothed it off, and used any excess to fill in holes and to do the top. The ombre was a happy accident, but I will be definitely be doing it this way again!
  • As you can see in the photos I didn’t worry toooo much about making the cake super flat on the top or getting the edges super sharp, because I knew that I was going to be covering it in blobs of buttercream.
  • When I’m making two cakes in a row, I usually cool the pan quickly by running it under cold water when I wash it - this means you can get your second cake on the go as soon as you can!

❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️

I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!

Answers to your baking questions

Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:

I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!