In the Bakery:
April Baking Club Subscriptions
Spring has Sprung! We’re feeling sprightly and ready for the (occasional day of) sunshine.
We can’t lie – April is a month of fairly complex bakes, however the rewards are DELICIOUS. Don’t worry, we’re here to give you tips, and talk you through all the little extra baking knowledge we gained during our test bakes.
This blog gives you a peek at what goes on here in the bakery, behind the scenes when developing the recipes which arrive on your doorstep each month – we’ve even included some of our own development fails too (hey, it happens to the best of us!).
*SPOILER ALERT*
If you haven’t received your box yet, and you would rather savour the surprise, read no further, or hop onto this link and read this instead 😉
www.honeywellbakes.com/mango-caramel-popcorn-blondies-recipes
Bread Club
Chocolate & Hazelnut Babka
Babka is a traditional Easter sweet dough – a little like brioche, and we’ve thrown in some chocolate and hazelnuts for good measure!
I first made this bread around a year ago when I was on maternity leave with my 2nd child. I really, really love Nutella and that decadent chocolate/hazelnut flavour and wanted to create something delicious for the whole family to enjoy. My eldest really likes to help me bake, and she loved eating this yummy bread, which really does look beautiful with the chocolate swirls in each slice.
Here are a few tips and tricks to help with this bake:
- This bread requires a lot of kneading – it doesn’t always feel like it’s coming together at first, but stick with it. It’s a labour of love!
- For added texture and flavour, feel free to add a variety of other nuts to your babka – we tried a mix of pecans and hazelnuts which produced a really rich, buttery flavour.
- It’s a messy one – be prepared to get stuck in, and just go with it.
Bakers Club
Rose & Pistachio Macarons
Subscription Manager Kayley LOVES macarons! Only joking – she actually really dislikes making macarons, even though she’s pretty darn good at it.
It took a few tries to get the flavour balance on these jussssst right. Too much rose, and they can start to taste like a bar of soap – but too little and you miss that ‘je ne sais quoi’ that helps to elevate the pistachio.
We have a few tips to share to help ensure a successful bake:
- Age your egg whites! One of the secret tips to a successful macaron is to age your egg whites to reduce any excess water/moisture they store when first cracking. You can do this by separating your whites a day in advance into a bowl, and storing this for 24 hours +. If you don’t have time to age your egg whites, just make sure your eggs are cracked when they are at room temp.
- Add the tiniest sprinkle of red food colouring! Trust us – the colour is very strong – so little by little.
- Taste test when you are adding the rose water to your buttercream – find the balance that is right for you and your preference.
Young Bakers Club
Spring Chocolate Lambs
We wanted to create a fun bake for the Young Bakers this month – with a spring feel and some fun decoration too!
We honestly had such fun making these biscuits – and we each had a go at icing our own sheep, and the results were great! There’s no hard or fast way to decorate these, have fun and see how many ways you can decorate them.
We have the following top tips to help with this months recipe:
- Pop your dough in the fridge once you’ve cut the shapes to help them hold their shape once baking.
- You can turn the cutter over, so you have a few lambs facing different directions.
- Keep the chocolate buttercream at room temp so it is easier to pipe in-between your sandwiched biscuits – if this goes cold, it can be a little tough to squeeze out!
