Baked Lemon and Ginger Cheesecake

My next recipe, baked cheesecake, is something I've eaten at restaurants a million times, but until today had next actually made myself! I've made dozens of no bake cheesecakes in the past, but really wanted to try out a recipe like this, I love the texture of baked cheesecake, and after trawling through hundreds of recipes I think I've come up with the perfect ratio of ingredients and flavours. Ginger and lemon really are a match made in heaven.

(I'm away this weekend and attempting to find my way around a new kitchen, hence the slightly different pictures in this post).

Ingredients

200g caster sugar

100g plain flour

600g soft cheese

75ml double cream

75ml soured cream

200g ginger biscuits *

75g unsalted butter

Rind and juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp vanilla extract, or seeds from 1/2 vanilla pod

2 eggs plus 1 extra egg yolk

Mixed fruit to decorate (optional)
1 tbsp icing sugar to decorate (optional)

* Now this is where I cheated a little bit, you can of course make your own biscuits and use those, but I went for shop bought biscuits because it is soooooo much quicker, and in my opinion just as lovely... don't tell me off! You could use digestive biscuits instead if you wanted a more classic cheesecake base.

Method

- Start by preheating the oven to 200C/180C Fan/400F/Gas 6.

- Grease and line a 23cm cake tin.

- Crush your biscuits to form fine crumbs, I do this by placing them in a plastic bag and breaking them up with a rolling pin, but you could also use a food processor. 

- Over a low heat melt the butter, and mix this into the biscuit crumbs until completely combined.

- Press the biscuit mixture into the base of your cake tin and smooth down as much as possible, then leave to chill in the fridge until you need it.

- In a large bowl whisk the rest of your ingredients (except the fruit) until smooth, try not to over whisk as this will add too much air.

- Pour the mix into the cake tin, over the biscuit base, and place on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for 20 mins, then turn the heat down to 160C/140C Fan/325F/Gas 2 and bake for a further 30-35 mins, or until the cheesecake is firm on top but with a slight wobble.

- Turn off the heat and leave the cheesecake to cool for at least an hour in the oven. Then decorate with the mixed fruit and a sprinkling of icing sugar and enjoy.

I was so happy with how this turned out on my first try, it's so delicious and I think that this recipe works really well! Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

🍰

Salted Caramel Brownies

As you'll find out over the coming months I am a self proclaimed chocoholic, and in the weeks following Easter there always seems to be an abundance of chocolate in my house. I think the best way to use up those those last few Easter eggs is by throwing them into these luscious salted caramel brownies. I've come across a few variations of these brownies, but this recipe is my absolute favourite, and the result is the most gooey and delicious treat.

Ingredients

225g unsalted butter

225g chocolate *

225g golden caster sugar

4 eggs

140g plain flour

200g caramel **

1 tsp sea salt flakes

50g chopped nuts (optional)

* dark chocolate with around 70% cocoa solids usually works better for this recipe, but if you haven't got any to hand then you can use any chocolate you've got lying around

** I always prefer to use homemade caramel when baking, follow this link for a basic caramel sauce recipe. But if you're short of time then shop bought caramel will do.

Method

- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F/Gas 4

- Grease and line a 25cm square baking tin

- Melt the butter over a low heat. Break up the chocolate and stir into the butter. Be careful not to burn it. Remove from the heat and stir until all of the chocolate has melted.

- In a bowl mix together your caramel and sea salt until completely incorporated. Split this mixture in half and set one half to the side.

-Add the caster sugar and eggs to one half of your salted caramel and whisk together.

-To this, sift in the flour and pour in the butter and chocolate mixture. Add the chopped nuts and mix this altogether until you have lovely, smooth brownie batter.

- Poor this batter into the prepared tin and carefully top with the remaining salted caramel. I like to create a rough, decorative pattern on the top using a fork or skewer.

- Top with a little sprinkle of sea salt and a few more chopped nuts before putting it in the oven to bake for 25 minutes.

-When cooked the brownies should be crisp on top but lovely and gooey on the inside.

- Leave the brownies to cool then slice them up and enjoy!

Please comment below and tell me your thoughts on this recipe. Let me if you try out these brownies too, I'd love to see how they turn out.

Homemade Caramel Sauce

A few of my upcoming recipes call for caramel to be used. As someone with a sweet tooth I absolutely adore all things caramel. And although Carnation caramel is wonderful, there is nothing quite a satisfying as rich, sticky, homemade caramel sauce.

This is an incredibly simple caramel sauce recipe that can be used as an ingredient for endless baking recipes, or served as a delicious topping.

Ingredients

100g caster sugar
60g golden syrup
60ml double cream
1 tbsp butter

- Start by melting the butter in a pan and add in the double cream. Stir until heated through and set to the side.

- In a separate pan mix the sugar and syrup, shake the pan occasionally to prevent the sugar from sticking.

- Once the sugar has begun to melt stir continuously until you have a thick glossy caramel.

- Combine this with the cream mixture and stir until completely incorporated.

I like to store this caramel sauce in an air tight mason jar in the fridge.

Why not tweak this recipe by adding vanilla essence or seeds from a vanilla pod for extra sweetness, or add a teaspoon of sea salt flakes for a delicious salted caramel.

If there are any other basic recipes like this that you'd like me to post then please let me know in the comments.

Happy baking!

Nutella Chocolate Cupcakes

"Nutella," "Chocolate" and "Cupcakes." Three words that bring me infinite amounts of joy! 

I've seen lots of Nutella cupcake recipes that incorporate the Nutella into the cake mix, and while I love the moist, fudgey result that this gives, I think that you lose a lot of the flavour when it bakes. So instead, I've decided to share with you my all time favourite chocolate cupcake recipe, stuffed full of Nutella just before decorating, so every bite oozes with that delicious Nutella flavour!

Ingredients

(Makes 12 big cupcakes)

6 tbsp freshly brewed coffee*

160g self raising flour

160g golden caster sugar

175g unsalted butter (at room temperature)

3 eggs

50g cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

200g Nutella**

Hazelnuts to decorate (optional)
Chocolate buttercream to decorate (optional)

*coffee is optional, you could use 4tbsp boiling water instead (ala Mary Berry). But, even if you're not a big coffee fan, I think it really makes these cupcakes tastes amazing, there's something about coffee that makes chocolate taste so much better!

**You can use shop bought or home made Nutella for this recipe. Home made Nutella gives a much nuttier taste to the cupcakes, click here for my recipe.

Method

- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/400F/Gas 6 and line a cupcake tin with 12 paper cases.

- Sift in the cocoa powder into the coffee and mix until smooth (this bit will smell amazing!)

- Sift the flour into a separate bowl, then add the sugar, butter, eggs, salt and baking powder and combine (this will be a lot easier with an electric whisk).

- Add the coffee and chocolate mix and beat everything together to make a smooth cake batter.

- Divide the mix equally between the 12 cupcake cases (this is around about that time that I lick the spatula...), and bake for 15 minutes, or until they are risen and cooked through (they should spring back when you touch them). Remove them from the tin and leave them to cool completely, preferably on a wire rack.

- Once cool, use a knife or apple corer to remove the centre of the cake, so you have a small well in the top of the cupcakes.

- Use a spoon or piping bag to fill the hole to the brim with a big dollop of Nutella.

- To decorate I made a chocolate butter cream (let me know if you'd like me to upload a recipe for this) and topped with hazelnuts. But you could also spread over a bit more Nutella, and top with anything you like! Ferrero Rochers are delicious in place of hazelnuts for a more decadent treat.

Let me know how yours turn out!

x

Fresh Fruit Pavlova

Now that the sun is creeping out it's time to start pulling out the spring and summer recipes! Pavlova is the perfect recipe to go for if you've got a BBQ or garden party planned anytime soon! It can feed lots of people to feed, it requires very few ingredients and is super easy to make. It's also gluten free and if you pile it up with lots of fresh fruits it makes a beautiful looking dessert.

Ingredients

5 eggs whites
280g caster sugar
1/2 vanilla pod (seeds)
300ml double cream
Selection of fresh fruits
1 tbsp icing sugar to decorate (optional)

* I like to use a lot more fruit than I've shown in this picture so that I can really pile it up high on top of the pavlova, I think that this makes it looks so much more impressive!

Method

- Preheat oven to 150C/130C Fan/300F/Gas 2.

- Prepare two pieces of baking parchment by drawing a circle on each, approximately 20cm in diameter, then place on two baking trays.

- Whisk your egg whites until they form firm white peaks.

- Add the sugar bit by bit, and continue to whisk until the mixture becomes glossy and thick.

- Spoon the mixture onto the baking parchment, carefully spreading it to fill the circles.

*If you're making a single layer pavlova, I'd recommend making a shallow crater in the meringue so that the edges are higher than the centre, this way you have a frame to fill with fruit at the end!



- Bake the meringues for 1 hour, or until they start to look golden on top with a lovely chewy centre.

- This is an important step (which I chose to skip) that prevents your meringue from cracking. Once you've baked the meringues in the oven, turn off the heat and leave them to cool completely inside the oven. I prefer to make them in the evening and leave them in there to cool over night.

- Whip together the cream and vanilla until it forms medium stiff peaks.

- Layer your meringue with the cream and lots of fresh summer fruits and sprinkle over your icing sugar. I sometimes like to add a fruit coulis on top, I'll be uploading some easy coulis recipes very soon!


If you try out this recipe, please share your photos on social media and tag me @babbleandbake.

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Introduction

I’m Sophie, I’m a 22 year old home baker living in Chester, England. I am currently studying Interior Design at the University of Chester.

Babble and Bake perfectly combines my love of baking and my interest in blogging. There will also be a few lifestyle posts in amongst it all so you get to see a little bit more of my life, rather than just my kitchen…

This is my first time blogging and I’d really love to hear feedback, so please comment, share and follow my social media accounts.

Thank you so much for being here, I hope you enjoy reading my posts and trying out my recipes!

Sophie x