Baking Abridged

It's been a while since I last blogged; I have been baking, I just haven't found the time to write about it so I thought I would do a quick blog showing the things I've made in the last few weeks.

It's going to go quick - pay attention!

Lemon & Lime Drizzle Cupcakes

A few weeks ago I attempted a large version of this recipe, it was going swimmingly until I ran out of icing sugar for the drizzle. Lemon Drizzle cake without the drizzle is, well, just a cake.

This time I made sure I had icing sugar in abundance, and they turned out great. I think I actually prefer the mini version.

Verdict: They didn't hang around long at work, so they must have been good.

Poppy Seed Bagels 

I've always wondered how bagels were made, then the glorious programme that is The Great British Bake Off showed me a couple of weeks ago. The secret is that they are poached before being baked; I had to give them a try.

The hardest part of the process for me was the shaping; I tried a few different methods.  Very few of them looked anything near acceptable (why do you think there is only one in the picture!) I think my dough was a bit too dry, which made it tricky to shape them.

Verdict: They tasted more like English muffins (no bad thing - I hear you cry) and weren't much to look at but not bad for a first attempt! Will definitely be revisiting this one!

Two-Chocolate Zebra Biscuits 

This recipe in the Great British Bake Off book caught my eye from the first time I looked through it, but I knew it would not be straight forward. The hardest part is definitely assembling the biscuits. It took a fair bit of 'fannying around' and the results are far from perfect looking! I'm pretty sure the dough needed to be even more chilled than it was, to make the assembling and cutting easier.

Verdict: The real verdict will be tomorrow when my work mates get to taste them, but I think they taste pretty good - worth the hassle!