Jess & Brigette's Valley Baking

Ingredients

4 egg whites at room temperature

220g caster sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla essence 

pinch of salt

Method

Preheat oven to 120°C. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

Use an electric mixer to whisk egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, a tablespoon at a time, whisking well between each addition, until sugar dissolves.

Once all the sugar has been added, continue to whisk on high for 3 mins. Whisk in the vanilla essence.

Use two teaspoons (or I used a piping bag to get a more perfect shape) to spoon meringue onto lined trays. Reduce the oven temperature to 90°C.

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

360g plain flour

1 tsp baking soda

10g unsweetened natural cocoa powder

1/2 tsp salt

115g unsalted butter, softened

400g caster sugar

240ml canola or vegetable oil

4 large eggs, room temperature and separated

1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp distilled white vinegar

liquid or gel red food colouring

240ml buttermilk, at room temperature

Cream Cheese Frosting;

450g block cream cheese, softened to room temperature

170g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

660g soft icing sugar

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

pinch of salt, to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 177°C. Grease two 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper.

 Whisk the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.

Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until combined, about 1 minute. 

Add the oil, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and vinegar and beat on high for 2 minutes. (Set the egg whites aside.)

With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in 2-3 additions alternating with the buttermilk. Beat in your desired amount of food coloring just until combined. I use 1-2 teaspoons of gel food colouring.

Vigorously whisk or beat the 4 egg whites on high speed until fluffy peaks form. Gently fold into cake batter. The batter will be silky and slightly thick.

Divide batter between cake pans. Bake for 30-32 minutes or until the tops of the cakes spring back when gently touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

 Remove cakes from the oven and cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.

Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed until smooth. Add the icing sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes until completely combined and creamy.

Assemble and frost: Using a large serrated knife, or a cake leveller, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface and cut the cake into 2 even discs, repeat with other cake. Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with frosting. Repeat with the other 3 layers until you have four even layers of cake with frosting in between.

I then did a crumb coat with buttercream on my cake and let it cool for an hour, then doing a thicker layer of the buttercream for the cake to look nice and hold its shape better. 

Melt 200g of white chocolate and wait for it to slightly cool down, pour this on top of your cake and let the edges drizzle down sightly. While the chocolate is still runny, place toppings of choice, I chose berries and homemade meringues.

Homemade Churros

Ingredients 

225g water

113g butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp brown sugar

143g plain flour

3 eggs

Cinnamon sugar

Chocolate Sauce

Method

In a medium saucepan, add water, brown sugar, salt, and butter. Place over medium-high heat. Heat until butter is melted and mixture starts to simmer. As soon as it is simmering, whisk in the flour. Whisk until there are no flour lumps and a dough ball has formed.

Now, using a wooden spoon you want to stir the dough around your pot and cook it for about a minute over low heat. The mixture will clump and pull away from the sides of the pan. Just do it for a minute, then take it off the heat and set aside.

In a jug, combine eggs and vanilla and whisk together.

Using your wooden spoon add incorporate a little of your egg mixture into your dough. Stir and mash, breaking up the dough until loosened. Stir well until eggs are incorporated and mixture has the appearance of mashed potatoes.

Continue adding your eggs until combined.

Transfer your dough to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.

Preheat a deep pan of oil to 150*c and gently pipe long strips or donut shapes into the oil, wait until nice and golden brown and place directly into cinnamon sugar.

Simple Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

281g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

170g unsalted butter

150g caster sugar

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond oil (optional)

Method

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract (if using) and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Dough will be relatively soft. If the dough seems too soft and sticky for rolling, add 1 more Tablespoon of flour.

Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Place each portion onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper or a lightly floured silicone baking mat. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use more flour if the dough seems too sticky. The rolled-out dough can be any shape, as long as it is evenly 1/4-inch thick.

Lightly dust one of the rolled-out doughs with flour. Place a piece of parchment on top. (This prevents sticking.) Place the 2nd rolled-out dough on top. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours and up to 2 days.

Once chilled, preheat oven to 177°c. Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Carefully remove the top dough piece from the refrigerator. If it’s sticking to the bottom, run your hand under it to help remove it– see me do this in the video above. Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used. Repeat with 2nd piece of dough.

Homemade Bagels

Ingredients

360ml warm water

8g active dry yeast

500g bread flour

1 tbsp dark brown sugar

 2 tsp salt

For coating bowl: olive oil

Egg wash: 1 egg white beaten with 1 tbsp water

For Water Bath:

2L water

60g honey or malt syrup

Method

Whisk the warm water and yeast together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Add the flour, brown sugar, and salt. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. The dough is very stiff and will look somewhat dry.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 4-5 minutes. The dough is too heavy for the mixer to knead it!

Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel.  Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes or until double in size.

Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. (Just eyeball it– doesn’t need to be perfect!) Shape each piece into a ball. Press your index finger through the center of each ball to make a hole about 1.5 – 2 inches in diameter.  Loosely cover the shaped bagels with kitchen towel and rest for a few minutes as you prepare the water bath.

Preheat oven to 218°C.

Fill a large, wide pot with 2 litres of water. Whisk in the honey. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high. Drop bagels in, 2-4 at a time, making sure they have enough room to float around. Cook the bagels for 1 minute on each side.

Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash on top and around the sides of each bagel. Place 4 bagels onto each lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. You want the bagels to be a dark golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow bagels to cool on the baking sheets for 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mini Loaf Fruit Cakes

Ingredients

2 cups plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp mixed spice

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup milk

160g brown sugar

113g unsalted butter

375g sunbeam mixed fruit packet

Method

Mix together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until soft and creamy. Preheat oven to 180*c.

In a seperate bowl mix together the rest of the dry ingredients, sifting for lumps. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture, combing well. Add the egg and milk slowly into mixture. Then gently stir in the fruit and mix well ensuring all of the mixture has covered the fruit.

Line and spray a 8 panned mini loaf tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top and cooked in the middle. This can be tested with a clean tooth pick or skewer. 

Gingerbread Ladies

Ingredients

125g unsalted butter

100g brown sugar

125ml golden syrup

1 egg, separated

375g plain flour

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp bi-carb soda

Method

Preheat oven to 180*c, use an electric mixer to beat together the butter and sugar. Add the golden syrup and egg yolk, beat until well combined.

Stir in flour, ginger, mixed spice and bi carb soda. Turn dough onto a lightly dusted bench top and knead until smooth. This can also be done with a dough hook attachment in a mix master. Press dough into a flat disc and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Roll out dough to about 1/2 inch thickness and use any cookie cut outs to shape. Bake them in the oven for 10 minutes or until a golden brown. 

Easy Berry Jam

Ingredients

6 cups of any choice of berries

2 cups jam sugar

2 tbs lemon juice

Method

In a large saucepan, add the berries, sugar and lemon juice. Gently stir the berry mixture and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a soft boil on medium heat and cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes or until the jam has thickened.

To test the thickness of the jam, at the start of cooking time place a few spoons or ceramic ramekins in the freezer for 10 minutes. Take out one spoon or ramekin and add a dollop of jam to the back of the spoon or ramekin. If it mostly sets, you're ready to go. If it's too runny, cook and tests in 5 minute increments until the jam sets on the spoon. If the jam is not set, continue to cook for 5 minute increments.

Christmas Pudding Truffles

Ingredients

750g Christmas pudding to fruitcake

100g chopped dark chocolate

30g unsalted butter

200g white chocolate

2 tbsp brandy (optional)

red and green mini m’n’m’s

Method

Break up the Christmas pudding or fruitcake in the bowl of a food processor and blitz until it forms coarse crumbs.

Place the dark chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water. Stir until the ingredients melt together and the mixture becomes smooth. Add the melted chocolate and brandy to the Christmas pudding or fruitcake crumbs, and stir to combine.

Line a tray with baking paper. Roll large tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls, and place on the lined tray. Transfer into the fridge to chill for 45 minutes.

Traditional Shortbread

Ingredients

250g unsalted butter

100g caster sugar

300g plain flour

90g rice flour

Method

Preheat oven to 150°C. Brush 2 baking trays with melted butter to grease. Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy.

Gradually add the combined flour, beating on low speed until almost combined. Use your hands to bring the dough together in the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until smooth.

Roll out dough on a flat surface until about 1/2 inch thickness, cut out with cookie cutters or a sharp knife into squares. Transfer to lined baking tray. 

Spiced Holiday Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

490g plain flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp mixed spice

250g nuttalex

192g caster sugar

1 large mashed banana

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups icing sugar

Food gel/liquid - colour of choice

1 bag mini m’n’m’s

Method

Preheat oven to 160*c. Mix flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in medium bowl. Set aside. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed.

Roll out dough on generously floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into shapes with your favorite holiday cookie cutters. Place on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges start to brown lightly. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

For the Icing, mix icing sugar and milk with wire whisk until well blended and smooth.

To ice cookies, hold cookie by its edge and dip top of cookie into icing. (Or spoon the icing onto cookie using a teaspoon.) Place iced cookies on wire rack to dry.