Chocolate chip cookies are not only a delicious twist on the classic cut out sugar cookie, but they can also be beautifully decorated or filled. I’m going to tell you all about them today.
Making chocolate chip cookies is very easy. I combined the basic recipe for vanilla sugar cookies with chocolate chips. It’s that easy! To be honest, several batches went into the oven until I got the right ratio. Of course, you want to taste just the right amount of chocolate in your cookies.
So what do these chocolate chip sugar cookies taste like? Kind of like very crunchy chocolate chip cookies, actually. Delicious! Of course, an official chocolate chip cookie is supposed to be soft and a little crunchy around the edges. If this is what you are after, then you should definitely start with my chocolate chip cookie recipe, and save these chocolate chip sugar cookies for later.
You can choose to mix mini chocolate chips into your cookie dough, but I found it worked just as well to use a bar of chocolate and chop it finely. The pieces of chocolate in your cookies will be different sizes, but I didn’t find that to be a problem.
The great thing about baking sugar cookies is that they hold their shape in the oven. The dough is perfect for using a cookie cutter to cut into all sorts of pretty shapes and baking the cookies on a baking sheet.
For this recipe, I used a relatively small heart-shaped cookie cutter. But pick a shape (or several!) that you like, and keep in mind that it’s helpful to bake cookies of the same size on each baking sheet. That way, the cookies will bake and brown evenly.
My cookie cutter collection is already huge, but you can find lots of cute sugar cookie cutters here. Personally, I love having the 12-piece round cookie cutter set around the house. They come in handy for many recipes.
Because sugar cookies hold their shape so well, they are great for decorating with a glaze or royal icing after baking.
Another fun idea is to melt chocolate and put it in a piping bag. Then decorate the cookies with it. The taste is perfect, too.
Cookies come out of the oven soft and get firmer as they cool. So you cannot “feel” when they are done. The best way to bake cookies is to use your eyes and trust the recipe. When your cookies have golden brown edges, they are done.
I used dark chocolate, but you can also use milk chocolate.
You absolutely can! You can store cookie dough for a long time, especially in the freezer. Packaged in an airtight container, cookie dough will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator and up to three months in the freezer.
You certainly can. If you omit the chocolate from this recipe, you will be making classic cut-out sugar cookies. There are many more flavors, I will share them with you soon!
Chocolate chip cookies are not only a delicious twist on the classic cut out sugar cookie, but they can also be beautifully decorated or filled. I’m going to tell you all about them today.
Making chocolate chip cookies is very easy. I combined the basic recipe for vanilla sugar cookies with chocolate chips. It’s that easy! To be honest, several batches went into the oven until I got the right ratio. Of course, you want to taste just the right amount of chocolate in your cookies.
So what do these chocolate chip sugar cookies taste like? Kind of like very crunchy chocolate chip cookies, actually. Delicious! Of course, an official chocolate chip cookie is supposed to be soft and a little crunchy around the edges. If this is what you are after, then you should definitely start with my chocolate chip cookie recipe, and save these chocolate chip sugar cookies for later.
You can choose to mix mini chocolate chips into your cookie dough, but I found it worked just as well to use a bar of chocolate and chop it finely. The pieces of chocolate in your cookies will be different sizes, but I didn’t find that to be a problem.
The great thing about baking sugar cookies is that they hold their shape in the oven. The dough is perfect for using a cookie cutter to cut into all sorts of pretty shapes and baking the cookies on a baking sheet.
For this recipe, I used a relatively small heart-shaped cookie cutter. But pick a shape (or several!) that you like, and keep in mind that it’s helpful to bake cookies of the same size on each baking sheet. That way, the cookies will bake and brown evenly.
My cookie cutter collection is already huge, but you can find lots of cute sugar cookie cutters here. Personally, I love having the 12-piece round cookie cutter set around the house. They come in handy for many recipes.
Because sugar cookies hold their shape so well, they are great for decorating with a glaze or royal icing after baking.
Another fun idea is to melt chocolate and put it in a piping bag. Then decorate the cookies with it. The taste is perfect, too.
Cookies come out of the oven soft and get firmer as they cool. So you cannot “feel” when they are done. The best way to bake cookies is to use your eyes and trust the recipe. When your cookies have golden brown edges, they are done.
I used dark chocolate, but you can also use milk chocolate.
You absolutely can! You can store cookie dough for a long time, especially in the freezer. Packaged in an airtight container, cookie dough will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator and up to three months in the freezer.
You certainly can. If you omit the chocolate from this recipe, you will be making classic cut-out sugar cookies. There are many more flavors, I will share them with you soon!
For years I have been baking the most delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies with this easy recipe. With all of my baking tips in this chocolate chip cookie recipe, you can bake them at home too!
This recipe is my basic recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I have made all kinds of variations on this recipe, but a good starter recipe is essential. To be honest, this is also the cookie recipe I make the most.
I like to tell you more about this recipe, the ingredients and of course I also give baking tips and answer frequently asked questions about these chocolate chip cookies.
My recipe for homemade chocolate chip cookies contains 8 ingredients. If you’re lucky, you’ll have all the ingrediënts in stock and can bake these cookies right away.
To get your cookies perfectly round, use a round cutter immediately after they come out of the oven. I always use a large cutter from this set of round metal cutters. You put the cutter around the cookie and spin it around so the cookies get a nice round shape.
Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature. This is an important rule for baking (unless the recipe states otherwise, of course).
You can buy these ready-made, but chopping up a bar of chocolate is also fine. I did the latter myself this time, for a rustic look. Just don’t chop it too finely.
I always use brown sugar, but if you can’t find it, you can use dark brown sugar or white sugar as well. Just remember that this affects the color of the cookies as well as the taste and texture.
Most cookie recipes say to let the dough rest in the fridge for at least an hour, but it’s better to allow even more time for this. I left my dough in the fridge all night and did not proceed with it until a day later, which made for the most beautiful and tasty. They rise more, and the texture is also better
Time for another Dutch recipe: egg cakes! We call them ‘eierkoeken’ in The Netherlands and they are sort of a ligt and airy sponge cakes, very fluffy. You could even call it an egg sponge cake. They are known as a snack. Just plain, or with whipped cream and fresh berries.
Baking egg cakes is actually a bit like making a very airy sponge cake for a delicious cake. In fact, just like a sponge cake, the base for an egg cake batter is eggs, sugar, and flour. And perhaps more importantly (and to the surprise of many), you don’t use butter to bake these small cakes.
Some people separate the egg whites and egg yolks, but i don’t do that. I just put the whole eggs in a large bowl and mis them several minutes on high speed until they are light and fluffy. I always have the best results this way.
Eierkoeken were made famous by the Dutch Sonja Bakker, she is a well known dietician and advices to eat egg cakes as a healthy snack when following her program. I wouldn’t say eierkoeken are very healthy, but they are a good snack indeed.
You can even make a nice treat out of them by piping a nice swirl of whipped cream on an egg cake and add some fresh fruit. Not a healthy snack, but many people think it’s a nice alternative to a slice of cake or pie. And I do agree with that.
A homemade egg cake is best stored on room temperature. Don’t store them in de fridge, as they will dry out faster in here. I always store the egg cakes in an airtight container or a plastic bag. Packed airtight and stored out of the refrigerator, the egg cakes will keep for up to 4 days.
If you’ve made a lot of egg cakes, it’s a good idea to freeze them. That way, you can take an egg cake out of the freezer every day to enjoy as a snack later in the day.
Freezing an egg cake works the same way, wrap it tightly airtight. Personally, I like to put a piece of baking paper between each cake so they don’t stick together and I can easily take a single cake out of the freezer and let it thaw.
Over the years, I have made many different flavors eierkoeken. With apple and cinnamon, blueberries and even chocolate egg cakes. I will share some more egge cake recipes in the future, but here are some ideas in the mean time:
No, I would not, as this will add (too much) moisture to the recipe and will not improve the end result. Optionally, you could add a few drops of lemon extract to replace the lemon zest.
I have been asked this question many times. I’ve never tried it, and since I like these homemade egg cakes better than store-bought, I don’t expect I will try this anytime soon.
The egg cakes you’ll find in stores are often made with ammonium carbonate, but it’s an ingredient which many home bakers can’t find easily. I don’t miss it in my recipe and it makes it a lot easier.
You can replace the flour and some of the baking powder with self-rising flour, but you will still need to add baking powder to get the right airy effect.
The egg cakes were baked a bit too long, I recommend you try to bake them a bit shorter next time. Every oven is different. By the way, these homemade egg cakes are a little more chewy after cooling than the ones you’re used to from the store.
Please note that I use an convention, so if you have a fan oven, lower the temperature by 10-20%.
Oh dear, that’s not intentional. This can happen for several reasons:
Looking from more authentic recipes form The Netherlands? Make sure to check my collection of Dutch recipes!
Do you love cheesecake and cookies? Then this recipe for delicious Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies is for you. Delicious soft and chewy cookies with that creamy cheesecake filling that taste great. You will want to try these!
The combination of strawberries and cheesecake is always a good idea. Just look at these no-bake strawberry cheesecake bites. Then imagine a cheesecake inside of a cookie with fresh strawberries, it’s incredibly delicious. I know what I’m going to bake multiple times this strawberry season!
These cheesecake cookies are certainly not difficult to make yourself. But to be honest, it can get a little messy when you wrap the cheesecake filling in the dough. Let me tell you, it’s totally worth it! And I’ll share my tips for making the least amount of mess possible.
I use a dough similar to chocolate chip cookie dough for the base of these cookies. A favorite of many! This dough makes these cheesecake cookies deliciously creamy and they stay a little chewy and soft. Personally, I really like that about these cookies. And even better: you only need a few simple ingredients.
I first made cheesecake cookies for my cookbook ’50x Koekjes’ (50x Cookies in Dutch) and they were so good, I just had to make more. With a strawberry twist!
Of course, you can vary the flavors of these strawberry cookies even more. Think of different kinds of fruit or white chocolate in them. I can’t wait to make more cheesecake cookies.
I made a simple cream cheese filling for these cookies. As for cream cheese, I like to use Philadelphia, but you can use any kind of regular cream cheese for these cookies. Just use a brand that’s not too watery or thin.
Once you have made the cream cheese mixture, use a teaspoon to make small dollops of cheesecake filling on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You don’t need the chopped strawberries yet, I add them together with the cheesecake filling in the cookies dough. That gave me the best results.
Keep the portions of cheesecake filling in the freezer until you fill the cookies. It melts quickly, so it’s best to take it out of the freezer one (pair) at a time. Believe me, otherwise it will be messy 😉 .
I used fresh strawberries for this recipe, which are a little less moist than frozen strawberries.
You can also use frozen strawberries, but be aware that they may be a bit more moist. If you decide to use frozen strawberries, I would use them frozen in the cookies and not let them thaw first.
Keep in mind that the cookies may need a 1-2 minutes extra in the oven.
Another option: freeze-dried strawberries! I did not try this, but I have baked with them before and I know -almost- certain this would work as well.
Once you have you cookie dough balls, frozen cream cheese balls and chopped strawberries, it is time to make them into strawberry cheesecake cookies.
Take a ball of cookie dough and remove about a third of the dough. Make a ball of the bigger piece of dough, flatten it a bit and make a dimple in the dough.
Put a piece of frozen cheesecake in this simple. Add some strawberry pieces and use the small piece of dough to cover it up. Press the edges together, form into a nice round ball and place on a prepared baking sheet.
It’s totally fine if there are soms cracks in the dough where you can see the filling. If you like, you can press some extra strawberry pieces into the dough.
After you have a cookie sheet full of freshly baked cookies, you probably won’t eat them all in one sitting. Fortunately, you can keep them well.
In a jar or airtight container, they will keep for about a week. Where I normally don’t store cookies in the fridge, these cookies will stay best in de refrigerator due to the cheesecake filling.
In an airtight container, the cookies will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer. I like to store them between layer of parchment paper so they don’t stick to each other.
It is certainly possible to make these strawberry cream cheese cookies ahead of time. The dough should rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, but longer is fine. Take it out of the fridge 1-2 hours ahead of time to allow it to come to room temperature before forming into balls.
You can make the dollops of cream cheese ahead of time too.
Want to make really nice round cookies? Use a big round cookie cutter. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, place the ring around the still-warm cookie and rotate in a circle until the cookie form is nice and round. Repeat with all the cookies.
Of course! I would recommend to use white chocolate chips. The combination of white chocolate and strawberries is really good!
Yes! You could use strawberry jam to flavor the cream cheese filling or to replace the fresh strawberries. No matter what you choose, the cookies will have a perfect strawberry flavor.
Imagine this: a delicious, creamy banana bread that tastes like a real treat. Look no further, this is the right recipe for you! The cream cheese mixed into the batter makes the most perfect cream cheese banana bread. You will love it!
I love a good banana bread. I make my recipe for healthy banana bread the most, but sometimes I love to make this banana bread with cream cheese. Where my healthy banana bread has no sugar of butter in it, this one does call for butter and sugar. And more important: cream cheese! It really takes a banana bread to the next level.
There are multiple ways of incorporating cream cheese into you banana bread. I chose to add it to the batter for that perfect creamy and moist results. But you could also make a banana bread with cream cheese filling by adding a sort of a cheese cake mixture in the batter before baking.
Another delicious variation: add a cream cheese frosting to your banana loaf after baking! To be honest, you could even do that with the recipe for my cream cheese banana bread. I’ll promise it will taste amazing with a cream cheese layer!
The recipe speaks for itself, but I will share some tips with you so you get the best results and this will become your favorite banana bread recipe!
Most important: the bananas! I always use overripe bananas for the best result. Mash the bananas with a fork or use a hand blender. It’s perfectly fine to have some lumps in your mashed banana. But if you like a more smooth batter, use a hand blender.
For my healthy banana bread I only use a whisk or spatula to make the batter, but for this recipe you will need an electric mixer. It’s important to mix butter, cream cheese and sugar into a creamy mixture and a electric hand- or stand mixer with the paddle attachment is best for that. Unless you have very strong arms 😉 .
The entire recipe is in the recipe card down below. But it’s actually no more than mix all the wet ingredients together and then add your dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. After that, you’ll pour the batter into a prepared loaf pan and your easy banana bread recipe is ready for the oven!
Oh and for preparing you loaf pan: you can use a nonstick spray, grease it with butter and dust with flour or just line it with parchment paper. Just pick you favorite way for a prepared baking pan.
And after baking: enjoy you best homemade banana bread recipe ever!
I’ve written a separate blog post about this subject. So if you want to know everything about storing banana bread, I recommend to read that post. Just looking for some quick tips? I will share them here!
I like to store my banana bread in slices. If you store them together in a container or freezer bag, make sure to put some pieces of parchment paper between the slices. This will prevent them from sticking together.
Before you wrap up you loaf for storing on room temperature or in the freezer: make sure you have let it cool to room temperature on a wire rack.
You can, but it is possible that the baking time will change a bit. I haven’t tried this myself, so I can’t tell you exactly how long it will need.
Of course! Just add in some chocolate chips, a swirl of peanut butter or some nuts. I bet it will taste amazing! I think I’m gonna try a chocolate chip banana bread myself the next time!
Yes it is. You can just replace the caster sugar with the same amount of brown sugar.
Again: yes you can! The recipe will make about 10-12 muffins. Bake them for 20-22 minutes (or until done).
Although both are a leaving agent, they are not the same in ‘strenght’. It is possible to make this recipe with baking soda, but the recipe will need a few adjustments. I haven’t tried this myself and therefore can’t share these adjustments.
Time for an easy banana bread recipe. This recipe is delicious, but also perfect for making even more banana bread recipes in all kinds of flavors!
It’s time for a good recipe for one of the baked goods I make incredibly often, my go-to banana bread recipe! It’s one of the most popular recipes over on my Dutch blog. Over the past few years, I’ve tweaked the recipe a bit, especially in the proportions of different flours. Now I have found a combination that I never deviate from. And that’s when I know I have a good basic recipe. It’s a perfect destination for those overripe bananas on you kitchen counter.
A bowl, fork, spatula and some basic ingredients is all you need for making this recipe. No need for a hand or stand mixer. As always, all ingredients need to be at room temperature. Just follow the steps in the recipe card for the best moist banana bread recipe you’ve ever tried.
For my banana bread recipe, I use both all purpose flour and almond flour. You can make it with almond flour alone, but I find it a little too dense, and you can make it with all-purpose flour alone, but it gets a little less creamy and a little too firm for my taste. This combination works perfectly and results in an airy and creamy banana bread.
If you want to learn more about baking with almond flour, check out this article with a recipe for making your own almond flour.
Actually, the term is silly because I can’t really call it bread. Rather, it has the texture of a cake. Since there is no butter or sugar in this recipe, it is still more banana bread than banana cake. And that makes banana bread an instant healthy snack! Or as I like to eat it: a slice for breakfast with a scoop of yogurt on top. Delicious.
People often ask me if this is a healthy banana bread. I always tell them first of all that I am a (home) baker and not a nutritionist 😉 And although I don’t usually dare to make such statements, I would definitely dare to say that this is a pretty healthy banana bread! Simply because you won’t find any butter, oil or sugar in this recipe.
The banana bread is sweetened by ripe bananas, it stays nice and creamy thanks to the eggs and almond flour, but still airy thanks to the combination of baking powder and baking soda (and the eggs). A deliciously responsible snack! Can it be even healthier? Yes, by substituting whole wheat flour.
As stated before: I have made many different kinds of banana bread. Although I think this is de best banana bread recipe ever, I still love to make different flavors. Here are a few of my favorite tweaks to this recipe:
Don’t want to make a banana bread? Scoop the batter in a muffin tin for delicious banana muffins.
No, bananas are really the base of banana bread. Other fruits would require changing the entire recipe.
I find it hard to determine if this recipe is sweet enough for someone else. Let’s assume that this is a healthy snack, so the base doesn’t taste that sweet. That’s the idea. It’s definitely sweet enough for me.
If the sweetness disappoints you, you can try adding 50 grams of sugar to the recipe next time. Or you can add some chocolate spread or Biscoff. Of course, that makes it much less healthy 😉.
I advise against omitting it, but you can substitute 1 teaspoon of baking soda for 3 teaspoons of baking powder. The combination of baking soda and baking powder gives the best results.
Personally, I do not like bananas. Not at all, in fact. However, I really like this recipe. Even though the banana flavor is present. It’s not overpowering at all for me (and trust me, that says something.)
You can, by substituting rice flour, for example. Any other gluten-free flour should work too.
That depends on what you are using it for, see the tip above. It is also possible to replace the flour with oat flour or whole wheat flour. You will keep the same weight of flour.
I love chocolate cake and so there are many variations on my blog, but a basic chocolate loaf cake recipe was missing. Until now, because with this chocolate loaf cake recipe as a base, you can make any cake you want.
This chocolate cake is delicious without any additives. It is really light and creamy at the same time, just the way I like my cake. The chocolate flavor is present but not overpowering. Add a dollop of whipped cream and you have a delicious treat.
With this basic chocolate cake recipe, you can make any variation you like. For example, you can add chocolate chips or nuts. You can also add other flavorings like dried fruit or cookies. You can make it as tasty as you want!
Another delicious loaf cake is my recipe for lemon loaf. While I make the lemon cake on a regular basis, especially in the summer, this chocolate cake is often in the oven in the fall and winter.
Chocolate cake is not difficult to make, and it doesn’t take many ingredients! The ingredients are the same as a “regular” vanilla cake, except I add cocoa powder for a chocolate flavor. It’s that simple.
The preparation is the same as for a regular cake. First mix the butter and sugar until fluffy and creamy, then add the eggs, then fold in the dry ingredients with a spatula until completely incorporated. And your cake is ready!
A tip of mine: When I want to make a chocolate version of a recipe, I substitute 10% of the (self-rising) flour with cocoa powder. It always works great for me! Conversely, you could make a vanilla cake from this recipe by omitting the cocoa powder and using 200 grams of self-rising flour.
Bake the cake in the oven at 175 degrees Celsius or 345 degrees Fahrenheit (conventional heat). The cake will be done in 55 to 60 minutes.
You can always do a cake test just before the cake is done. Use a skewer or cake tester to poke the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done.
Do you have an oven that is often faster than the recipe says? Then you can test a little earlier, because every oven is different and a cake that is baked too long often gets dry. At the same time, the cake needs to bake well.
Properly wrapped, you can store this cake outside the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Do not store the cake in the refrigerator as it will dry out. You can also freeze it and the chocolate cake will keep for up to 3 months.
For this recipe, I use a 10″ loaf pan. This pan has been my favorite for years. A similar one is this set of 2 loaf pans. Of course, you can use a different pan, just be aware that the baking time may change.
There are several reasons for this, but often the batter is too airy. This can be caused by too much mixing or too much leavening agent. It can also happen if you open the oven too early or remove the cake from the oven when it is not quite done.
Is making your own scones difficult? Absolutely not! With this recipe for English scones you can easily make them yourself for a high tea or brunch, and serve them with clotted cream of course. Today I give you the recipe and all the baking tips you need.
After I once made scones years back that failed miserably, I was postponing baking them again. With about 6 or 7 years to be exact. I then made a chocolate chip variety that ended up being more like bricks than scones. They really were complete failures.
But every time I ate scones again, I started to feel the urge to make them myself. Last week I finally got around to making my own! At the time, it must have been because of the recipe I had, because actually, making scones yourself is extremely simple. With the right scones recipe to be exact.
There are lots of delicious things you can put on these easy scones, but this is the most important: clotted cream. If you have enough time (and patience) then it is wonderful to make clotted cream yourself (I will share my recipe soon). But you can also buy it at the store.
The clotted cream is usually combined with jam. Usually this is strawberry jam, but I also like raspberry jam very much for my homemade scones.
What is really delicious too: lemon curd! A combination that makes it nice and fresh, perfect for Easter or a summer brunch.
As you can see, there is no egg in this recipe which makes it egg free scones. Here in The Netherlands, it is more common to make English scones and those often don’t require eggs in the recipe. You really don’t need eggs to make perfectly delicious scones yourself.
What do you actually need if you’re going to make a scones recipe? Not much. I can tell you that in advance. You probably have the ingredients already in your house, so hopefully after reading this post, there’s nothing stopping you from baking these delicious, slightly sweet scones yourself.
It’s best to bake them right away and then store them in a container for a day. The next day they are still delicious! You can reheat the scones for about 8-10 minutes. If I don’t eat them right away (or the next day), I always freeze them. That works perfectly.
Several of you have informed me that soy milk or rice milk works fine in this recipe as a substitute for the cow’s milk. If you want, you can use whipping cream too. It makes the flavor and structure even more rich.
If so, they were probably baked too long and/or hot. Try baking the scones a little less long or hot.
If you prefer to use flour you can, but you will need baking powder. Without leavening agent, you won’t get the desired results in this recipe.
Would you like to replace the self-rising baking flour with a gluten-free alternative? Pay attention to what it says on the package of the gluten-free flour, I have no experience with this.
You can, but then you quickly over-knead it, making it sticky and unworkable.
Delicious for breakfast, lunch or just in between: American Pancakes. This simple recipe for American-style pancakes is an absolute hit, and you can vary it endlessly.
First of all a bit of explanation on the difference between Dutch pancakes and American pancakes. As you may know I am born in the Netherlands and live there, so our ‘regular’ pancakes are the Dutch ones which look more like a french crepe, than fluffy american pancakes do.
The difference is pretty apparent if you look at the cooked pancakes. American pancakes are thick and fluffy and Dutch pancakes are flat and can easily be filled if you want to. They are also much larger and another big difference is that american pancakes use a rising agent. Usually baking powder. That makes the pancakes much thicker and fluffier.
Now you can’t really make American pancakes without maple syrup (well you could if you wanted to but it kind of belongs together) Personally, I often use regular Dutch pancake syrup, which is also very tasty but a bit more like golden syrup. But these pancakes will be delicious with powdered sugar or make them savory with some cheese or bacon! Nothing wrong with that.
This is really a basic recipe for American pancakes, so you can go either way with the flavor variations. Personally, I always use Nigella Lawson’s recipe as a base for these easy pancakes, although these days I add a little baking soda. It makes them even fluffier, which is very nice. Do you need more reasons to make them?
First let’s gather all the ingredients for making the pancakes. You will need the following:
First you mix all the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients as well. Mix it well together until you have a smooth batter. It will be thicker than regular Dutch pancakes but that’s how it should be! Baking them is best done in a non-stick frying pan on medium heat. If you turn the heat up too high the pancakes will burn before they’re cooked and you want them to be golden brown.
Since they are small you can add more than one pancake to the pan. My pan usually hold three at one time. First add a small knob of butter to the pan and once the melted butter is hot you add some batter to the pan.
When the top of the pancake starts to bubble your pancake is ready to be turned. It just takes a couple of minutes. Place them on a hot plate until you’re ready to eat.
Now the fun part about homemade pancakes is that you can make endless variations. Blueberry pancakes are a classic, but adding some streaky bacon or chocolate chips to the batter is also delicious! Or how about adding some peanut butter? And fresh fruit is good with any pancake right?
Maybe you made pancakes for a brunch that’s not until tomorrow, or maybe you didn’t finish all the pancakes you made. Luckily, American pancakes are great for storing! In the refrigerator, just wrap the leftover pancakes in aluminum foil and they will keep for at least two days.
In the freezer, I would put a piece of parchment paper between each pancake to keep them from sticking together or freeze them in freezer bags in a single layer. Then wrap them in aluminum foil again and you can freeze them for up to three months.
Before you eat your frozen (and defrosted) pancakes, you should heat them up. You can easily do this in the microwave, but they will get a little limp. Personally, I like to heat them up in a frying pan, then they are at their tastiest and it is just like you made them fresh 😉. Still with the fluffy consistency intact!
I wouldn’t. This will reduce the effectiveness of the leavening agents. Basically, making the batter is very little work. I think it will take you less than five minutes, baking will take a little longer. So the best way is to make the batter fresh. You can store the baked pancakes very easily.
Yes, in theory you can. But it is not necessary to get fluffy pancakes. The baking soda in this recipe is activated by the baking powder, which already contains the “acid”. So while it won’t hurt to add buttermilk you don’t have to.
Yes, it is! American pancake batter is much thicker than we are used to from Dutch pancakes.
I wouldn’t, the combination of these two baking agents is what makes the pancakes so nice and fluffy. Don’t have either of these ingredients on hand, but still want to make this recipe? Consider the following:
You can, but the butter is a flavor enhancer.
I personally use a pancake pan or large frying pan to make the pancakes. I can make about 3 pancakes at a time.
The perfect base recipe for vanilla cupcakes. With this easy cupcake recipe you have the perfect starting point for all your cupcakes. Add a vanilla frosting or any other kind of topping to your liking.
Cupcakes are simply small (one-person) cakes baked in cupcake liners or in a cupcake tin. In the past, cupcakes were served at high tea and baked in teacups, which is probably where the name ‘cupcake’ comes from.
Instead of a scale most people also used a measuring cup, which is another reason for the name. While a lot of people still use cups for measuring dry and wet ingredients, for the most accurate result I would always suggest using a weighing scale instead.
Cupcakes are the perfect little treat to bake for many different occasions. From baby showers to birthday parties and whenever you feel like having a small treat. Decorating them in a variety of different ways is also great and a fun activity with kids (or adults!) as well.
Making a basic vanilla cupcakes recipe is a good start if you want to learn how to make the perfect cupcake. This cupcake recipe makes exactly 12 cupcakes in a regular cupcake tin. I used my vanilla loaf cake recipe as the base of this recipe but I have adjust the quantities to match the tin and changed some of the proportions.
Another change is the fact that these vanilla cupcakes use less sugar. While you will eat your regular loaf cake usually without frosting, most cupcakes will contain a frosting like a vanilla buttercream frosting or a chocolate frosting. Since those are also quite sweet, it makes sense to make the cupcake batter less sweet.
The recipe calls for simple ingredients which you will be able to find in most grocery stores. I list them below for easy reference:
Other than that you need a large mixing bowl or use a stand mixer to mix the batter. An electric mixer will work as well.
You start by adding the butter, sugar and vanilla together in the bowl of the stand mixer or whatever other large bowl you’re using. Mix this together until the color starts to get light and the texture creamy.
Now add the eggs one by one and make sure to mix the batter in between until the egg is fully absorbed into the batter. Now add the self-raising flour and the salt bit by bit until fully mixed. And that’s it. Batter is ready!
Now all you have to do is to add the vanilla cupcake batter into the cupcake liners. You can scoop the batter into the liners with a spoon but an ice cream scoop is a handy accessory to use for equal measured cupcakes.
Pop them into the preheated oven (350˚F or 175˚C. Top and bottom heat/conventional oven) for around 20 minutes and they are ready! Keep the oven door closed until they are baked.
Make sure to place them on a cooling rack before adding buttercream or another frosting.
As far as cupcake recipes go, this is the perfect base recipe with which you can create endless flavors. Think about adding some chocolate chips to the batter or a tablespoon of cocoa powder for a chocolate batter.
Or vary the flavor by adding a different kind of sugar, like brown sugar or coconut sugar. The fluffy texture of these cupcakes is perfect for many different variations. I will soon be sharing lots of different flavors.
Baking the vanilla cupcakes is step 1 of the process. Step 2 – and the most fun – is to decorate them. You don’t need to decorate them if you don’t want to. They are delicious just as they are but any cupcake will look better with a pretty frosting on top. How the frosting looks is also greatly depending on which frosting tip you use. So you can definitely vary that as well.
And who doesn’t love a pretty decorated cupcake? You can decorate with buttercream, vegan buttercream or with fondant or marzipan. You can fill them with jam or fruit or decorate them in another way.
The most basic frosting is simply a glaze of icing sugar combined with a little bit of lemon juice (or water). Takes no time at all and is always tasty. Just drizzle it over the cooled cupcakes Or try and make these strawberry cupcakes. Adding some fresh fruit on top of the frosting is delicious and looks good too!
This recipe makes exactly 12 cupcakes, so it is handy to use a muffin & cupcake tin that holds 12 cupcakes at a time. Of course if you have other cake pans you can use those as well. Keep in mind that different shapes of cake pans or cupcake pans might mean that the total baking time can vary.
The rule I always follow is to fill the moulds two-thirds with batter, this way I always get a good height. However, I usually have a little dome on top of my cupcakes. If you don’t want this, you can put a cutting board on top of the cupcakes after baking. This only works if you have baked them in a cupcake tin.
The oven temperature was too high. Due to the temperature being to high, the batter will rise too fast causing it to crack. I will explain more about this in a future article.
You can buy cupcake liners just about anywhere. From the grocery stores to specialty baking stores. Both online and offline. I have an enormous amount of colorful cupcake liners in stock. I like my paper liners to be a bit firmer than the really cheap ones. I do always place them in a muffin tin to make sure they don’t fall apart when baking in the oven.
Baked cupcakes are supposed to sag (or shrink) a little as they cool. But if they collapse too much, it could be because you over-mixed the batter, the batter was too moist, or the cupcakes just weren’t ready. Make sure to always test if they are done before taking them out of the oven.
When your cupcakes are done (always check that a skewer or cake tester comes out clean), you can remove them from the oven. Leave them to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then take them out and place them on a wire rack to cool completely. This also works for cakes and biscuits.
If you want to add a buttercream to the vanilla cupcake it is essential that the cupcakes are completely cooled. Imagine adding butter(cream) to a warm cupcake. You can probably see what would happen.
The environment in the fridge is not ideal for cupcakes. It is best to keep them outside of the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week. If you have ‘wrapped’ your cupcake in fondant you can keep them even longer, as the wrapping ensures the cupcakes stay moist and delicious for longer.
As per above you can keep cupcake for about a week. But you can also add 3 to 4 cupcakes together in a freezer bag and freeze them. That way you can keep them for three months. Check this article on how to store cupcakes.
If you want to make dairy-free vanilla cupcakes you can simply replace the unsalted butter for a plant-based alternative. Since these are already vanilla cupcakes without milk that is an easy fix. The flavor of the final cupcakes will be slightly different but no less delicious.
This easy recipe for a chocolate mug cake without eggs can be made in minutes! Just stir a handful of simple ingredients, pop your mug in the microwave and enjoy. If you love mug cake recipes, this chocolate mug cake will be definitely one of your favorites. And even better: no eggs needed for this recipe!
In the early 2000s, mug cakes became very popular in America and a few years later they were popular in The Netherlands too. I thought the idea of a cake in a mug that you could microwave in just two minutes was brilliant for a sweet tooth like me and made it for the first time a few years ago.
Unfortunately, my first chocolate microwave cake recipe didn’t turn out so well. It was not tasty at all and not even close to a fluffy mug cake. At that moment, I was done with mug cakes and didn’t think about them for a long time. It took me a few years to try again and develop a recipe for this small batch dessert.
My first (new) attempt at making a chocolate mug cake was pretty okay, but I decided to make some changes to the recipe. A few mug cakes later, I came up with a recipe that is similar to a regular chocolate cake. It’s the best mug cake I’ve ever tried. Very tasty!
It’s not exactly the same, of course. It can’t be, because the ingredients are different. Still, I was pleasantly surprised, and it proves that a microwave mug cake can be really tasty! And more important: I don’t need to bake an entire cake when I’m craving some chocolate cake.
This question came up so often that I really had test it for you. With a simple adjustment in the recipe, you can bake this chocolate mug cake in the oven. You add 2 grams of baking powder (a little less than half a teaspoon) to the cake batter and then bake your little cake in the oven at 180°C/350°F (top and bottom heat) for 20-25 minutes until done.
Test the cake with a cake skewer to make sure it is done, otherwise leave it in the oven for a few more minutes. It’s a great recipe with a little adjustment to bake in the oven.
Want to bake more than one cupcake in the oven? Take my recipe for chocolate cake and divide it by four, for example, to make two to three cup cakes. In my opinion, this is still the most perfect recipe for baking a delicious cake in the oven.
I have made many mug cakes over the years and I will absolutely translate those recipes for you and share them here. But did you know you could also add some ingredients to this chocolate mug cake for some variation? Some of my favorites:
The most important thing is to choose a microwave-safe mug that is large enough (250-300 ml/8,5-10 oz). The cake rises in the oven, so make sure there is enough room for the batter to rise.
No, it doesn’t taste the same, and frankly, I think real chocolate cake tastes the best. But now imagine you have an incredible craving for chocolate cake and want to eat it right now, this chocolate mug cake is a great idea! You always have the ingredients, and to make it a real party, you can serve it with some whipped cream.
Yes, you can! In this case, use a combination of all purpose flour and baking powder to replace the self rising flour.
Yes, substitute the dairy milk for almond milk, oat milk or soy milk and you will have a vegan mug cake with chocolate.
Most likely your microwave was not set to the correct wattage. When cooking in the microwave, a small adjustment in wattage, or 10-20 seconds more or less, can make a huge difference in the result. Next time, you can lower the wattage or shorten the time you microwave your chocolate mug cake.
I mostly use caster sugar for my mug cakes, but you could also use brown sugar for this recipe.
It doesn’t happen often that I have made a recipe many times before, but it hasn’t been online at Laura’s Bakery at all. Time to change that I thought, because these strawberry cupcakes are way too delicious not to share!
So I recently stocked up on a whole load of fresh and flavorful strawberries that are now in season. Way more than I needed for this cupcake recipe, but I just love strawberries. During strawberry season I eat some of this red fruit almost every day. For breakfast, dessert or just in between.
For this cupcake recipe, I bake simple but oh-so-delicious vanilla cupcakes as a base. With an apple corer I take out some cake to fill with strawberry jam. Small pieces of strawberry can also be used by the way, but I personally like the jam very much.
If you like, you can also fold small pieces of strawberry through the batter. Keep in mind that the cupcakes might need some extra time in the oven. This is because with this fresh red fruit, you are also adding extra moisture to the batter.
TIP: If you clean your strawberries, do so before removing the crowns. This is because otherwise the strawberries will suck up the water and then your strawberries will have less flavor.
You can also make the topping several ways. I have made strawberry cupcake with buttercream before, but these days I often choose mascarpone frosting as the topping.
In this case, I also flavor this mascarpone cream, with strawberry jam. This not only makes it very tasty, but also gives it a nice color right away. You can choose to give the frosting more color with some red or pink food coloring. I never do this, I like the subtle color.
On top of the frosting, place half a strawberry. Gorgeous cupcake, isn’t it? You can go a little further with the decoration and add sprinkles, or chocolate sprinkles. Ooh, now I have an idea for chocolate chip cupcakes with strawberries. Now you know how I come up with my new recipes. Often they just pop into my head. Out of the blue, or because I am working on another recipe.
If, like me, you always have strawberries in the house at the moment, you probably want to bake with them. Lucky for you, I’ve made many more recipes with strawberries; these are a few favorites:
