Enby Baking

Just a non binary baker documenting my bakes , cakes and takes.

[nbbaking]

So , I know it's late but here's last week's bakes.

The first thing I made was some shortbread but I wanted to get fancy with it. So these are "tropical" shortbread , filled with dessicated coconut and lime zest. Overall it's kind of coconutty and has a nice subtle citrus finish.

The second thing I made also had lime within it. This is a Gin and tonic flavoured cheeese cake. It's covered in crushed up meringue. While it wasn't my cup of tea , not being fond of anything with alcohol in it ( this does contain alcohol as there was no baking for the cheese part which had a good 50 ml of gin) but apparently it went down a treat.

Next week which is only a couple days away , I shall be showing off a delicious mistake and a burning Hazzard.

[nbbaking]

So I've been gone for like three weeks which was not the plan whatsoever. I ment to pose a few weeks ago but the thing I baked was so draining I forgot to and the fortnight following I was incredibly busy with personal stuff.

But I have been baking so prepare for a double stuffed blog of goodies.

First thing I made was Inspired my Markipliers video reviewing MREs . I made the Korean dish bibimbap. Although I did not do it justice. I botched the sauce so bad it didn't exist , forgot the ginger and sesame seeds and had way too much steak on it. But on the upside , I finally started to not hate rice. Which is great because I can actually eat most foods now.

Second thing I made was donuts and honestly it was kind of depressing. They where okay but where such faffing around . It's not like most other things where store bought is worse or like marshmellow where it's fun to make. It's just hassle and not with the effort.

Thirdly , I made scotch pancakes with homemade batter. I wasn't sure at first but the recipe was so simple and it's much nicer than premade batter . It's sweeter and I'd say it's got a more pleasent Denser texture. More pancake hyjinx to come soon I hope.

Then finally I made not only some food but a god damn DISCOVERY. putting peanut butter Into your flapjack is the absolute bomb. I don't like peanuts much, or peanut butter for that fact. But it adds to the flavor and texture so well I won't be making it standard again . Geuninly! Give it a go if your not allergic. If you are... I'm sorry. Regular flapjack still good!

Hopefully next week I won't be two extra weeks.

[nbbaking]

This week was in all honesty a bloody triumph for me. For most of a year I have been daunted by a single cake and this week I revisited and I absolutely crushed it.

But first , the new bake. I made a bakewell slice. Which is basically a bakewell tart made into a traybake. I've never had bakewell tart before and it's rather nice and tastes exactly like it smells. Which is , fun fact , the smell of almond extract. Figured that out by trial by fire.

This thing as stubborn though, I tested it at least five times before it was baked. Came out all good though.

Next was my nemesis. My enemy. My fav cake I've ever made and perhaps even in general. The red velvet. Oh my god I love this cake so much it's so dence and rich. Nothing comes close honestly.

If you can guess the Tv show that plates from , I will bake something of your request .

That aside , it was fun to make and even more fun to eat . My only complaint is the recipe I used was for a double batch which threw me off a spell.

Next week I'm going to some Asian cuisine in tribute to one of my favorite YouTubers and I'm making something I've wanted to try for a long time.

[nbbaking]

So this week was a difficult one for sure. But not for the reasons I expected. The two things I was to make was Jaffa cakes and sausage rolls. The sausage rolls where relatively simple, homemade ruff puff ( someday I may make propper puff but bugger that for now) around some sausage meat. It was quite nice cause I threw fennel seeds into one of them and sprinkled Nigella seeds into the other. Both where delicious and I will make it again

I even had so much left over pastry I made this massive pie that I've been having left overs for lunch this week.

That was lovely!

But then came the struggles. The Jaffa cakes. The first batch went absolutlely horrendously.

For some reason the jelly/jello didn't dissolve at all until I added more water which made it far to fragile in the long run . With the sponge , the first batch stuck to the tin cause I forgot to grease it then the second batch was far too thick in the pan. And they where not wide enough, the jelly ontop covered it near completely . This ment the chocolate didn't stick to them whatsoever.

Which in the end made this mess. I was not happy about how this went so I tried again. Instead if making them in a muffin tin as recommended , I tray bakes the sponge and used a cookie cutter to get the base. Then to that I added the propperly made jelly and pink chocolate for these

Not perfect , the sponge could have used more colour and the chocolate could have been neater but I'm happy with it so huzzah! I shall likely revisit them at some point. However I have a old rival I must revisit. A cake I have messed up in the past an don't revisited since.

[nbbaking]

Look at that. Actually posting on a Sunday. What black magic is this?

Anyways this week I made white chocolate and raspberry muffins , cinnamon rolls and a walnut and coffee cake.

The muffins where nothing special , although I had batter left over so I put it into my bunny molds. My dad says it's good and of course , I haven't tried it myself cause I hate fruit.

Next was cinnomon rolls , which where not the best . They where a self raising flower based instead of yeast . They didn't rise that much and ended up much harder. They are nice but not amazing. I also had some small issues with the icing ontop

Then was the coffee and walnut cake, which went great beside the frosting which the recipe told to put into the fridge which made it hard to spread over the cake. So it looked kinda messy . It was for my aunt and she loved it so another sucsess by my measure.

[nbbaking]

So this week ( and yes. Im late again. I have a exceptional sence of schedule. ) I have made some absolutlely dirty food.

First things first , smore pie. Of my own design. A digestive biscuit base , topped with a thick layer of homemade marshmallow fluff and then finished with a layer of chocolate ganache. It's so sweet yet not overwhelmingly. The ganache is a dark chocolate so is moderatrly bitter. The base was also salty so it was lovely.

Secondly , I made a pineapple upside down cake. It's apparently good but unfortunately I just hate fruit. My dad liked it though so thats good.

This week I also had a massive undertaking. A request for a double batch of both brownies and hotcross buns as seen before. That was .... Fun.

Next week, or I guess this week, more stuff I don't like but make anyway.

[nbbaking]

Seems I have a slight addiction to making spreads. Last week it was a apple jam and this week I made a chocolate hazelnut spread. Along side that , I also made a load of bread and a quiche , surprisingly the bread had more eggs in it.

The bread was a bit of a nightmare as it WOULD NOT come from the pan it was baked in. I had to use a small spatula to try pry it out and it just broke apart. But it's quite delicious, a almost half way point between the rich butteryness of a brioche and a standard white bread.

The quiche was a bit of a mess up. I forgot to poke my pastry with a fork Which ment it rose a god deal in the tin. Which ment I didnt have space for much egg. Unfortunately I poured it all in , causing it to overflow and completely just smother eveything in egg. That kinda took all the crisp from the pastry and turned it into a uniform mess. Thankfully saved by the pancetta.

The chocolate spread as a little dissapointing honestly. The chocolate drastically overpowered the hazelnut. I'd maybe double the hazel nuts if I where to do it again. Although in the process of making the spread , I made hazelnut butter and oh my god it was delicious! I could have eaten it off a spoon it was so good..the reason why evaded me until I remembered it was nearly half sugar.

[nbbaking]

So , this week had a surprise for me. My dad asked me to make some hot cross buns for a family freind and I couldn't say no. As well as that , I also made a pistachio and almond nougat and cinnomon apple "jammy dodgers" with homemade jam!

Homemade jam is not my favorite thing to make ,as I find it's alot of time.for something thats not much better than store bought. But that's mainly for the common jams like raspberry and strawberry. Apple jam was absolutlely wondeful and I was so pleased to get propper jam after two failed attempts ( both literally rock solid.)

The biscuits where lovely but very hard. Probably needed to be thinner to a better overall texture but still great.

I never tried the hotcross buns as I do not like fruit and it was loaded with currents and apple. But I've had nothing but compliments from my dad's freind so yay.

The nougat was good, certainly Intresting. Fluffy and lovely. The nuts was a nice paring and I'll definitely make it again.

Overall a great week. It was great to do more confectionary .

[nbbaking]

This week past was a doozy as not only did I have my weekly challenge with my mum, but I also had a two bake commission from my Nan. First was my victoria sponge, which I made for the challenge (but also because I had a freind coming to hang out) which I made into bunnies . Again. I can't be stopped this mold is my absolutle favorite . My only note is the cake needs to be a little extra cooked to ensure it holds its shape. The first batch of these , which passes the skewer test , fell apart on the way out. A few more minutes to a darker gold and it came out perfectly

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My second bake was naan bread. Which... I don't honestly know . I never had naan bread before so I'm not really sure how it's supposed to be. Mine ended up quite crisp which was really nice but I have no idea if that was as intended. If you are a naan bread fan, I'd appreciate your input.

My third bake was a set of iced buns. Which are my most baked recipe by a far margins. Not had them go wrong once although the decoration on this batch where perhaps a slight sloppy on count of I left it to the last minute and had to do both it and the cake in a day. ( Well I got a few minutes to decorate my cake In the morning of the next day before being picked up but it was close).

My fourth bake was a chocolate orange cake with a chocolate ganache covering and some whipped cream . It went quite well although I will say I could not get the Seville orange it demanded . I ended up using a more typical orange and then a lemons zest to give it some of the punch it misses. It went down a absolutle treat.

Next week will contain confection and some lucky buiscuits.

[nbbaking]

So this week ( yes I was late again I'm sorry I always forget. Beg forgiveness from you lovely people) was Anzac biscuits and pasties. For my pastie I did a steak, mushroom and ale mix. I wanted to thicken it so it didn't leak out of the pie and I ended up using

AN INTIRE CUP OF FLOWER

But they where delicious so it's all good. The Anzacs ( which I love cause it sounds like a prescription med. Take two Anzacs and call me in the morning) where standard but delicious.

Now y'all in for a treat next week as I'm baking FOUR THINGS! Not just two. As a bonus for this week however , rainbow sponge bunnies! They had a nice lemon flavour . And absolutlely adorable!

[nbbaking]

So this week was a Easter celebration and it was chocolate fudge cake and hot cross buns. In the spirit of Easter however , both are chocolate hwhahahh.

The chocolate hot cross buns where absolutlely delicious but the star was the cake. LOOK AT THESE CUTE LITTLE BUNNIES !

I got a new mold and it's absolutlely goregous! I'm going to be using them again and again. So pretty!.

Next week , something more eclectic.

[nbbaking]

So this week's challenge when significantly better than last weeks. The challenges where a fudge and pop tarts. For the fudge it was a simple chocolate afair and while it's not the prettiest it's absolutlely devine in how smooth it is to the taste. Absolutlely will be made again. For the poptarts I went with a "rolo" style filled with a caramel sauce and topped with Chocolate. They are lush but the sauce was a little lumpy here and there as I had accidentally turned the stove off mid bake which messed up the sugar crystalization. Overall, top notch week.

Next week is a Easter afair .

[nbbaking]

Because @scarletteflamerald asked , here is the recipe for the brownie I made. It's a recipe I found on BBC good food (https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/best-ever-chocolate-brownies-recipe) but adapted slightly.

Things you'll need :

- 1 cup ( roughly 110 grams) of pecans ( if you want a different nut , that's fine.)

-185 grams of unsalted butter

- 185 grams of chocolate ( my best trick is go half and half with milk chocolate and dark)

- 85 grams of plain flower

-40 grams of coco powder

- rolos ( or whatever your fancy is) . I'd recommend to have enough to ensure that you get some in every peice or so . Two rolls of full sized should be alright.

- 3 large eggs.

-275 grams of golden caster sugar.

Method

1) place the pecans on a baking tray ( lines with parchment) for 8-10 minuets at 350 F/177C/157c fan . They should be lightly brown and fragrant.

2) leave to cool , then chop roughly. I made mine around the size of a pea but this is to your taste.

3) cut the 185 grams of butter into cubes and add to a metal bowl. Chop up your chocolate as well and add that to the bowl.

4) gently put the bowl over a saucepan about a quarter full. You want to make sure that when the bowl is set on the saucepan the bottom of the bowl does not touch water. Gently heat the water to melt the chocolate and butter and mix occasionally . You don't need a high heat or water that's on a rolling boil , you just want to delicately melt them. When melted , leave to cool to room temperature.

(If you want , you can put the butter and chocolate in the microwave to melt them but you'll need to use a microwave safe bowl and be careful not to burn the chocolate.)

5) line a 20cm by 20cm tin with parchment and preheat the oven to 356 F/ 180C /160 C fan

6) seive the coco powder and flower together into a medium bowl and be sure to get rid of any lumps.

7) In a large bowl add the sugar to the eggs and ( using a electic whisk if you have one) whisk the two together. It shall look thick and creamy . It shall be pale and around double it's volume. A final test is that if when you pull the whisk out and move it from side to side , the battery dripping from the whisk leaves a trail within the rest.

8) pour the cooled chocolate mixture into the eggy batter and gently fold the two together until the colour becomes uniform. You'll need to be gentle as you don't want to loose the air you whipped into it.

9) re-sieve all of the flower and coco powder over the battery and fold that in too. It will look dry st first but it'll be fine by the end.

10) add your rolos and your nuts to the mix and fold them in until they are dispersed evenly.

11) put the mix into the tray and bake for around 25 minutes. The brownie should not have a wiggle to its centre , have a shiny "papery" crust and be pulling away from the tray a bit. Take out of the oven and leave to cool in the tin completely before removing. From there , cut and enjoy as you please.

[nbbaking]

So this week's challenge was brownies and pecan pie. The brownies where delicious but the pie was a series of errors. First I took it out of the blind bake to early so the base bubbled up a great deal. Then in my mighty wisdom I decided to flatten the bottom by breaking these bubbles whiiich out a whole in the bottom of the pie. When I put the filling in and set it to bake , alllll the actual filling beyond the pecans drizzled out onto the bottom of my oven. I may have to do it again to get it right but I shall see.

The brownies had roasted pecans and rolos in them and where absolutlely marvelous.

Next week, a sweet tooth .

[nbbaking]

Late again , I'm really dumb some times.. but , what ya gonna do. This week was a heavily savoury affair as we had to make both spicy cheese straws with chorizo and pork pies. It was a incredibly fun bake and I shall be making more meat pies in the spirit of it soon.

Next week shall be quite nutty.

[nbbaking]

Hahahaha! I'm on time this week . And I bring not two bakes but three! There was a small issue which I shall go into below. These bakes where a batch of pecan and chocolate chip oatmeal cookies , a batch of lemon merangue profiteroles and a lemon merangue pie.

The pie was not planned whatsoever , but in making the profiteroles I had SO MUCH left over curd and merangue that I just had to whip it into a hasty prepared shortcrust pastry base and make a pie.

Next week is much more savoury, and should hopefully be on time again.

[nbbaking]

So me and mother decided to up the ante by doing two bakes every week . And this week didn't start of on easy ones thats for sure . This week's bakes was brandy snaps and cheesy scones. The scones didn't rise much but they where delicious so ehh not mad about it. The brandy snaps where perhapse a bit bigger than intended but still good. Very crunchy . Next week , expect something that's sort of from my own mind.