Fuzzable Blogs: August 3 — Amateur Baking Recipes

My senior year of high school has strayed far from what I envisioned many years ago. While I have found myself neck-deep in school work, I have also found great solace in baking. It is mind numbing to an extent and allows my mind to be put on autopilot for just an hour or so. Plus the end products are delicious.

In an effort to provide other people with this avenue of relaxation, I’ve compiled a short list of great recipes for beginners (and I mean beginners like me).

Classic Cupcakes

The classic sweet treat — and perhaps the most difficult to nail — is the simple cupcake, as published on Taste.com. This recipe, which I’ve adapted slightly from online recipes, provides a basic starting point for amateur bakers, but also has the potential to be amazing with a bit of experimentation and experience.

To make 12 cupcakes, you’ll need:

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 125 grams melted butter
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
• Icing (you can prepare your own using icing sugar, butter and food colouring)

To bake:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius, fan-forced
2. Mix all cupcake ingredients in a bowl (there is a more sophisticated process here, but I’m interested in the amateur method if you can’t already tell)
3. Transfer mixture into greased muffin tray or bake-safe silicone moulds
4. Place muffin tray in oven and bake for 13 minutes or until golden brown

Try this with blueberries, chocolate chips or even citrus flavours.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another baking classic is the chocolate chip cookie. Warm and sweet, this adaptation of Taste.com’s recipe is easy to follow for beginners. Just be willing to get your hands dirty!

To make 15 medium-sized cookies, you’ll need:

• 150g melted butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• A whole heap of chocolate chips as desired

To bake:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. Mix sugar and butter before adding the rest of the ingredients, with chocolate chips last (Baking hint: throw your chocolate chips around in flour before adding to your mixture to ensure they don’t sink to the bottom of your cookies!)
3. Make two-tablespoon sized balls and roll in your palm until even
4. Place balls on tray lined with baking paper, leaving about 2 centimetres between each one
5. Press down gently on the top of each ball until slightly flattened
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown

Plain Pancakes

 

Finally, the ordinary pancake. Yes, I’m aware that pancakes are technically not baked goods, but I think this recipe is so easy to make that it would be a sin to keep to myself. If you’re looking for a simple breakfast, have a go at these and experiment with toppings like fresh fruit and chocolate chips.

To make 16 mini pancakes, you’ll need:

• 1 and 1/2 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter (or alternatively, coconut oil adds a delicious hint of sweetness)

To bake:

1. Mix all ingredients together
2. Heat a frying pan and melt butter (or coconut oil) until bottom is completely coated (be careful of spitting!)
3. Spoon a large tablespoon for each pancake into pan
4. Leave the pancakes to cook until bubbles form on the uncooked side and carefully flip
5. Repeat while re-coating the pan with butter between each batch

This piece is part of a series of blogs written by Fuzzable authors. Have a read of them here.

Have you tried these baking recipes? Let us know how it went on Twitter at @Fuzzable!