Baking · Chocolate · Muffins

Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins

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Fluffy and moist muffins filled with tangy raspberry and creamy white chocolate. The perfect, easy recipe for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon sweet treat.

A sister recipe to my Blueberry White Chocolate Muffins, these Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins are effortlessly easy to prepare, take very little time to mix up, and have that unbeatable bakery-style taste!

Making use of the beautiful raspberries that are still in season for the remaining weeks of summer – I’m still lucky to be picking my own homegrown raspberries! Like my Raspberry Swirl Lemon Cheesecake Bars, you can still bake these muffins throughout the year. They’re not exclusive to just the summer, as frozen raspberries can also be used instead of fresh – but bear in mind that they might take longer to bake fully because the frozen fruit is wetter.

Just like the blueberry version, the raspberry version was well received by my taste testers too. They thoroughly enjoyed them (myself included), we managed to devour an entire batch in just about two days!

The creamy white chocolate and tangy bursts of fresh raspberry make for a sensational taste. This is a popular muffin flavour combination for a very good reason. You can add a touch of lemon zest to your batter for something different, or switch the white chocolate for dark/milk chocolate if you prefer to do that.

The muffins fill your kitchen with a delicious and enticing aroma.

Once baked, any further decoration is optional. I like to drizzle with some melted white chocolate, and top with a sprinkle of freeze-dried raspberries. That, for me, makes these muffins picture perfect, and adds even more flavour to the muffins!

These muffins have a lovely crisp, golden outside, but once you cut through and see the centre, the inside is incredibly moist and ultra soft. My not-so secret ingredient I always use in my muffin batter is yogurt. Plain, full-fat natural yogurt is the way to go! It really makes a difference.

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Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins

Fluffy and moist muffins filled with tangy raspberry and creamy white chocolate. The perfect, easy recipe for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon sweet treat.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 12
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 100 g butter (salted or unsalted)  or baking spread (I use Stork)  at room temperature
  • 140 g caster or granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 140 g natural yoghurt substitute with buttermilk or sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 250 g plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 150 g raspberries (fresh or frozen) if using frozen, don't thaw
  • 100 g white chocolate chips

Decoration:

  • 50 g white chocolate melted
  • freeze-dried raspberries

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 200°C / 180°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter/baking spread with the sugar for 2 minutes until fluffy and lighter in colour.
  • Now add the eggs and beat to combine - don't worry if it looks curdled at this point, as once you add the dry ingredients, they will come together. Mix in the vanilla extract along with the yoghurt and milk.
  • Now take one tablespoon of the weighed out flour and stir that through your chocolate chips (this stops the chocolate sinking to the bottom of the muffins. You don't need to do this with the raspberries though). In a medium sized bowl, stir together the remaining flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt (omit this if you're using salted butter).
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Now add the raspberries and white chocolate chips and gently fold to combine - be careful not to over mix at this point.
  • Divide the muffin batter between the paper liners. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 180°C / 160°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4 and continue baking the muffins for 15-18 more minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre.
  • Once the muffins are baked, allow them to cool for a few minutes and then transport them to a wire rack. Decorate further with a drizzle of melted white chocolate, and a sprinkle of freeze-dried raspberries.
    Serve warm or at room temperature. The muffins will keep for up to 3 days.

Many more tasty muffin recipes below!

Blueberry White Chocolate Muffins

Magdalenas (Spanish Lemon Muffins)

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Chocolate · Cookies · Ice Cream · No-Bake

No-Churn Cookie Dough Ice Cream

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Easy no-churn vanilla ice cream filled with chunks of edible cookie dough and milk chocolate chips. 

I’m back with another absolutely amazing no-churn ice cream recipe. A few months ago, I served you my Pistachio Ice Cream (3 Ingredient, No-Churn Recipe) – this recipe has been popular since posting. What’s not to love about an easy recipe that only needs 3 ingredients and one of them is pistachio paste?!

So because that ice cream recipe is still being thoroughly enjoyed, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to share maybe just one more ice cream recipe before the summer is over!

This new ice cream recipe I’ve made is cookie dough.

Cookie dough ice cream is a favourite flavour of mine, I always love a tub of cookie dough ice cream to eat straight from the tub. The tub, however, never seems big enough for the price tag. But, we can make double the amount for the same price from the supermarket. Can it get any better?

There’s a famous brand that makes great cookie dough ice cream, but this homemade recipe certainly rivals it and for me, tastes even better…

To start the recipe, we’re heat treating the flour. This makes sure the flour is free from any bacteria (a risk if it’s eaten raw). Heat treating flour is easy to do, either spread it out on a baking tray and bake for 5-7 minutes, or microwave the flour until it reaches a temperature of 75°C. This the same temperature we check our food is cooked to before serving in professional kitchens, so we’re applying that same approach with the flour for our cookie dough.

Once the flour is heated, leave it to cool completely. Once it’s cool, you can start preparing the cookie dough. Adding chocolate chips or chunks of chocolate. I went for a combination of milk and white chocolate chips in mine. Flatten your cookie dough on a piece of parchment paper and freeze while you make the ice cream base.

While the cookie dough is in the freezer firming up, now we make the vanilla ice cream base. Whip the cream and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form, then add in the can of sweetened condensed milk, and mix until combined. Now take the cookie dough from the freezer, and slice into 1/2-inch sized cubes. Reserve about 12-14 pieces of the cookie dough, roll these into balls and set aside to top the ice cream later on.

Fold the chunks of cookie dough through the ice cream, followed by the chocolate chips (also leave some of these to decorate later on). Pour the ice cream in your serving dish, top with the remaining cookie dough balls and chocolate chips. Cover and freeze!

Serve your Cookie Dough Ice Cream in bowls, waffle cones, or straight from the dish!

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No-Churn Cookie Dough Ice Cream

Easy no-churn vanilla ice cream filled with chunks of edible cookie dough and milk chocolate chips. 
Prep Time 45 minutes
Freezing Time 8 hours
Servings 8

Ingredients

Cookie Dough

  • 65 g plain flour
  • 55 g butter (salted or unsalted) softened
  • 70 g light brown sugar
  • pinch of salt omit if using salted butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon double cream use from the double cream in the recipe
  • 45 g chocolate chips mini or regular both work

Vanilla Ice Cream

  • 500 ml double cream chilled
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 397g can sweetened condensed milk
  • 45 g chocolate chips reserve some for decoration

Instructions

  • To make the cookie dough: Place the flour in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Test the temperature of the flour with a thermometer, it needs to register at least 75°C. If not, microwave for a further 10 seconds at a time until it’s at the correct temperature. Alternatively, you can bake the flour at 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4 for 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside to cool. I bake mine for the full 7 minutes.
  • Once the flour is cool, grab a mixing bowl and cream the butter and sugar together until smooth and fluffy. Add a generous pinch of salt (omit if using salted butter), the vanilla, and the tablespoon of cream, mix to combine. Now, fold through the flour along with the chocolate chips. Spread the cookie dough onto a parchment paper lined baking tray and press it down into one even layer. Press into a 7 to 8-inch square. Place in the freezer while you prepare the ice cream base.
  • To make the ice cream base: Whip the cream with the vanilla until stiff peaks form. Now fold through the can of sweetened condensed milk. Grab the cookie dough, cut into 1/2-inch sized chunks - reserve about 12-14 pieces for topping (you can roll these into balls for decoration). Fold through the chunks of cookie dough, along with the chocolate chips.
  • Transfer the ice cream mixture to a serving dish of your choice - we used a 26cm rectangular dish. Top with the remaining cookie dough balls and some extra chocolate chips, if desired. Cover the top of the ice cream directly with clingfilm and freeze for at least 8 hours.
  • When ready to serve, allow the ice cream to sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes, then scoop and serve.
    The ice cream will keep in the freezer for up to one month.

Recipe from Live Well Bake Often

We all scream for ice cream! Treat yourself to more delicious WJBN ice cream recipes!

No-Churn Oreo Ice Cream

Pistachio Ice Cream (3 Ingredient, No-Churn Recipe)

White Chocolate Ice Cream (Easy Three Ingredient Recipe)

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Baking · Cheesecake

Raspberry Swirl Lemon Cheesecake Bars

What Jessica Baked Next4 Comments

Zesty lemon cheesecake bars with a buttery digestive biscuit layer, and swirled with a tangy raspberry sauce. The taste of pure sunshine!

Another delicious summer recipe is headed your way today.

Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars are a divine cheesecake dessert. A recipe that tastes fabulous served on a summer evening for dessert, but one that can also be made in the cooler months to remind you of long summer days.

If you regularly visit my blog, then you’ll be well aware that cheesecake is one of my favourite desserts. I often celebrate summer berries, mainly with my strawberries ‘n’ cream recipes. But today, I wanted to allow raspberries to be the star of the show.

With summer in full swing, we’re nearly halfway through August, and I’m embracing all the tasty summer fruits while they’re still in season. These cheesecake bars combine tangy raspberry with zingy lemon; they taste like biting into sunshine!

These bars have a buttery digestive biscuit base. That’s topped with a creamy lemon cheesecake filling, then homemade raspberry puree is swirled through the top of the cheesecake batter.

These bars ended up being one of the quickest desserts to be eaten by my taste testers!

They’re perfect for all kinds of summer gatherings like BBQ’s and other outdoor get-togethers.

There’s yet another summertime recipe coming your way next week, so stay tuned for that!

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Raspberry Swirl Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Zesty lemon cheesecake bars with a buttery digestive biscuit layer, and swirled with a tangy raspberry sauce. The taste of pure sunshine!
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Servings 16
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

Biscuit Base

  • 140 g digestive biscuits
  • 85 g butter (salted or unsalted)

Raspberry Swirl

  • 170 g fresh or frozen raspberries if using frozen, thaw before using
  • 2 tablespoons caster or granulated sugar

Lemon Cheesecake

  • 450 g full-fat cream cheese softened - I leave mine out at room temperature for half an hour
  • 150 g caster or granulated sugar
  • zest from 2 lemons
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 3 eggs at room temperature
  • small pinch of salt

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Line a 8-inch / 20cm square cake tin with parchment paper and set aside.
  • To make the biscuit base, crush the digestive biscuits until they're a fine crumb. Melt the butter and mix the butter and biscuit crumbs together until moistened.
  • Tip the biscuit crumbs into the lined tin, and press in an even layer across the base of the tin. Bake for 10 minutes until slightly golden and toasted. Set aside to cool.
  • Now reduce the oven temperature to 170°C / 150°C Fan / 325°F / Gas Mark 3. To make the raspberry swirl, combine the raspberries in a food processor and blitz until pureed. Pass the raspberry puree through a fine mesh sieve that's sat above a bowl/jug. Scrape the underneath of the sieve to get all the maximum amount of puree. Cover this bowl and set aside for later.
  • To make the cheesecake filling, in a large mixing bowl beat the cream cheese for a minute to soften slightly. Mix the sugar and lemon zest together until fragrant, then add this to the bowl of cream cheese. Beat until combined. Now add the lemon juice, eggs, and salt and mix until combined.
  • Pour the cheesecake filling over the base, tap the baking tin on the countertop to release any air bubbles. Take spoonfuls of the raspberry puree, and dollop on top of the cheesecake filling. Taking a knife, cocktail stick, or a chopstick (like I do), create swirls.
  • Bake the cheesecake for 40-50 minutes, until the cheesecake is just set with a slight wobble in the centre. Now turn off the oven, leave the door open and allow the cheesecake to sit in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and leave to cool completely.
  • Once cool, cover the cheesecake and place in the fridge to set for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Slice up into 16 squares, or bigger/smaller pieces if you desire.
    The cheesecake bars will keep stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Recipe from Handle The Heat

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Baking · Candy and Sweets · Chocolate · Cookies

Smarties Cookies (Easy, No-Chill Dough)

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Fun Smarties Cookies recipe. Soft and chewy cookies filled with double chocolate chips and lots of colourful Smarties!

These fun Smarties Cookies are both easy and quick to make. With the school summer holidays approaching, this is a great bake to do with kids to take out on a picnic, or for an activity to keep the kids occupied.

I made these cookies as a celebration bake for my upcoming birthday later in the month. A plate of homemade cookies is my idea of the perfect birthday gift. I’ll take cookies in any shape or form.

The cookie dough doesn’t require any chilling time in the fridge, something a lot of my previous cookie recipes do require. I love that you can have cookies on your table ready to devour in under one hour!

If you don’t want to bake all the cookies straight away, then there is an option to freeze the rolled cookie dough. The cookie dough can be kept in the freezer for a few months, when ready to bake, just bake for a couple more minutes than the recipe states (if baked from frozen).

Once you’ve prepared the cookie dough, roll it into balls – these cookies are midi-sized, so if your appetite is larger, then help yourself to two!

After baking the cookies, we added a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream, and sandwiched that between another cookie. Top tip: when sandwiching the cookies together with ice cream, be really gentle, otherwise the cookie will break apart.

The cookie ice cream sandwich makes the ultimate summer dessert!

We recommend eating the baked cookies within 2–3 days, but they’re irresistibly good when eaten fresh from the oven with a little sprinkle of sea salt.

The Smarties can be switched for chocolate M&M’s, which will work equally well.

All that’s left to say, is enjoy!

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Smarties Cookies

No-chill cookie dough filled with double chocolate chips and lots of colourful Smarties!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
Servings 15
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 115 g butter (salted or unsalted) softened
  • 90 g dark or light brown sugar
  • 50 g granulated or caster sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 210 g plain flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 75 g dark or milk chocolate chips
  • 75 g white chocolate chips
  • 200 g Smarties plus extra for decoration

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 325°F / Gas Mark 4. Line two large baking trays with baking paper and set aside.
  • To make the cookie dough, cream the softened butter with both types of sugar until creamy. Now add the egg and vanilla extract, and mix to combine.
  • Now add the flour, the bicarbonate of soda and a generous pinch of salt (only add salt if using unsalted butter). Mix to combine. Finally, fold through the chocolate chips and Smarties until fully mixed.
  • Take 1 and 1/2 tablespoon measures of the cookie dough, and roll into balls. Place the cookie dough balls on the baking trays, spacing them apart to allow for spreading.
  • Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes, or until just lightly golden around the edges. Press a few extra chocolate chips and Smarties on top of the cookies while they're still warm. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
    The cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days. They're best enjoyed fresh from the oven.

Recipe from Sweetest Menu

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Ice Cream · No-Bake

Pistachio Ice Cream (3 Ingredient, No-Churn Recipe)

What Jessica Baked Next8 Comments

A summer recipe must! The creamiest, homemade pistachio ice cream made with 3 ingredients.

Ever since sharing my White Chocolate Ice Cream (Easy Three-Ingredient Recipe), this recipe has been a hit on my blog. I’ve been dreaming of creating a pistachio version for a long time.

Just three ingredients are needed. All you need is double cream (also known as heavy cream), a can of sweetened condensed milk, and some pistachio paste.

Feel free to stir in some chopped pistachios or even some small pieces of chocolate (like stracitatella).

Using the no-churn method, it’s simply made by whisking up the cream, and combining with the tin of condensed milk, and pistachio paste. Then the ice cream goes straight in to the freezer, where it’s left to freeze!

The ice cream will not freeze solid, it’ll be gorgeously smooth and easy to scoop straight from the freezer.

Pistachio is my go-to ice cream flavour. It’s not commonly found in ice cream shops in the UK, but is very popular abroad. Whenever I go on holiday, I love treating myself to a scoop of my favourite flavour!

Last year, the ice cream shop I love going to in Spain was selling an incredible ice cream flavour I’d never heard of before. It’s called ‘Green Forest’. Consisting of a plain ice cream base with swirls of berries and pistachio paste in each scoop. Heavenly!

This pistachio ice cream is soft, creamy and packed with amazing pistachio flavour. It’s extremely decadent, but you’ll be craving another scoop as soon as you’ve tried your first taste!

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Pistachio Ice Cream (3 Ingredient, No-Churn Recipe)

A summer recipe must! The creamiest, homemade pistachio ice cream made with 3 ingredients.
Prep Time 6 hours 10 minutes
Servings 8
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 500 ml double cream chilled
  • 300 g pistachio paste
  • 397 g can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk the cream until soft peaks form.
  • In a smaller bowl, whisk the pistachio paste with the can of sweetened condensed milk until combined. Add the pistachio mix to the bowl of whipped cream, and whisk until completely incorporated.
  • Spread the ice cream mixture out into a suitable container. Scatter over some chopped pistachios, if desired. Cover the top with a lid or a piece of clingfilm.
  • Freeze for at least 6 hours or until firm and scoopable. I recommend freezing it overnight for the best results. Once ready to serve, scoop into cones or bowls. The ice cream will store in the freezer for up to one month.

Pistachio Tiramisu (No-Bake, Eggless Recipe)

White Chocolate Ice Cream (Easy Three Ingredient Recipe)

No-Churn Oreo Ice Cream

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Dips and Sides · Gluten-Free · No-Bake · Vegan

Guacamole

What Jessica Baked Next3 Comments

Homemade guacamole recipe. This Mexican dip is an essential side served with a plate of nachos, alongside a burrito, tacos, quesadillas, or a bowl of homemade chilli con or sin carne. 

Mexican food is up there on my list of favourite cuisines. The use of fresh ingredients, wholesome food are exactly two reasons why I love this kind of food as much as I do.

I’ve been preparing homemade guacamole for years, the recipe I use is incredibly easy and quick to make. I hadn’t thought until now about sharing the recipe with you. But since the weather has been warming up, and summer is (hopefully) on the way, I thought now would be a great time to finally share it!

I believe everyone needs a good guacamole recipe in their repertoire.

As I mentioned near the top of this blog post, I love Mexican food.

A fun fact for you: Mexican Red Rice (Arroz Rojo) was the first recipe I ever shared! As much as I have quite the sweet tooth, I am truly a savoury person!

This simple and easy Guacamole recipe starts with some mis en place. You’ll need all your ingredients together ready. Start by chopping the add-in ingredients: finely diced onion (I always go for red onion), deseed and dice tomato, chop up some garlic and a green chilli (leave the seeds in if you like it spicy), along with some coriander, and a small pinch of ground cumin.

Mash the avocado with the lime juice until there’s just a few chunks left, then mix in the ingredients you chopped earlier. Finally, season well with salt and pepper, to taste.

I used homegrown coriander from my parents garden, we have an abundance of parsley in ours (hopefully to feature in lots more summer cooking), but for today’s recipe I needed some beautiful coriander to flavour the guacamole.

Guacamole is just thing I really cannot ever buy. The readymade guacamole is not fresh, this is one of the dips that just has to be made fresh and eaten on the day of making. The guacamole you get in those dip selections are lacking all the texture that’s traditional, and they often don’t have the best flavour.

This recipes like this one, homemade is most definitely the way to go! It’s my take on guacamole, everyone makes theirs differently, but we love it and hope you do too!

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Guacamole

Homemade guacamole recipe. This Mexican dip is an essential side served with a plate of nachos, alongside a burrito, tacos, quesadillas, or a bowl of homemade chilli con or sin carne. 
Prep Time 20 minutes
Servings 6
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 3 ripe avocados
  • juice from 1/2 a lime add more if you desire
  • 125 g tomato (deseeded and finely chopped) I use vine-ripened tomatoes for the best flavour
  • 1 small red onion finely diced
  • 1 garlic clove finely minced
  • 1 green chilli (deseeded and finely chopped)
  • small bunch of fresh coriander finely chopped
  • pinch of ground cumin optional
  • salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Start by prepping all your add-in ingredients. Deseed and chop the tomato, red onion, garlic clove, green chilli and coriander. Have these ready to mix in.
  • Halve and stone the avocados - leave one stone for storage later on. Scoop the flesh out from the skin and add to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Squeeze the lime juice in the bowl.
  • Smash slightly, leaving a few chunks of avocado. Add all the remaining ingredients to the bowl (the chopped tomato, red onion, garlic, green chilli, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper).
  • Stir to combine fully, then place the guacamole mixture in a serving bowl/dish of your choice. If not serving straight away, place the avocado stone you reserved earlier in the centre and cover tightly, before storing in the fridge.
  • The guacamole will keep for up to 2 days. It's best eaten on the day of making.

Want another dip recipe to try? Make our favourite Creamy Homemade Hummus next!

You haven’t eaten the BEST chilli until you’ve made my Chilli Con Carne

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Baking · Chocolate · Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

What Jessica Baked Next2 Comments

Homemade chocolate chip cookie bars are quick and easy to make. They’re thick, with a gooey centre and crisp outside. So good served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce! If you love cookies, you have to try these cookie bars made without a mixer.

It’s already pretty noticeable that I love cookies. Love is probably an understatement. Cookies are most certainly the way to my heart!

As much as I love devouring cookies, and enjoy making cookie dough, sometimes baking cookies can be time consuming. For one, with quite a few recipes, the cookie dough requires chilling, and secondly, it takes time rolling the cookie dough into portions.

So to speed up the process, I decided on baking cookie bars.

Cookie bars might just be my new favourite way to serve cookies, and soon yours!

Cookie dough is prepared, then pressed into a square cake tin, baked and then sliced into bars. Ready to dip in anything from Nutella, to pistachio cream, or even dunked into a glass of milk. It’s super fun, and you can customise the recipe however you desire!

All good cookie doughs start with butter, and a combination of caster/granulated sugar and brown sugar, but more of the brown sugar for a softer cookie texture. Then a couple of eggs are added, along with flour, bicarbonate of soda, and then lots of delicious chocolate chips are folded through the cookie dough.

I went for a combination of dark and milk chocolate chips. As with a few of my recipes, you can easily swap these around for a different chocolate – maybe white chocolate chips, or your go-to chocolate bar chopped up.

Once the bars are fully baked, leave them to cool for about half an hour, before serving, or even up to overnight and they still stay super fudgy in the centre. I highly recommend serving these bars with a little sprinkle of sea salt flakes, along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and some caramel sauce!

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Homemade chocolate chip cookie bars are quick and easy to make. They’re thick, with a gooey centre and crisp outside. So good served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce! If you love cookies, you have to try these cookie bars made without a mixer.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 16
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 225 g butter (salted or unsalted) softened
  • 150 g dark or light brown sugar
  • 75 g caster or granulated sugar
  • 2 medium or large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 300 g plain flour
  • Generous pinch of salt only add if using unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 300 g chocolate chips I went for a mixture of dark and milk chocolate chips - save 50g from this for the topping

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 6. Line a 20cm square cake tin with parchment paper. Set the tin aside for later.
  • Cream the softened butter and both sugars until creamy and fluffy. Add the eggs, mixing well to combine. Now add the vanilla.
  • Fold through the flour, pinch of salt (if using unsalted butter) and the bicarbonate of soda, and mix until just incorporated.
  • Add 250g of the chocolate chips, reserving 50g for the top. Mix the chocolate chips through the cookie dough until combined. Transfer the cookie dough to the lined tin, smooth over the top with a spatula. Top with the remaining chocolate chips.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden. Allow to cool in the tin completely, before slicing up into 16 pieces. These cookie bars can be enjoyed both warm, and at room temperature. They'll keep in an airtight container for up to one week.

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Baking · Brownies · Candy and Sweets · Chocolate

Chocolate Brownie Heart

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Heart-shaped dark chocolate brownie. Treat yourself and your loved ones to this decadent and fudgy brownie heart. With chocolate ganache topping and all the sprinkles of your choice!

It’s Friday, that means the weekend is nearly here! Let’s jump straight into the weekend with a scrumptious brownie recipe that will get you drooling!

A little while back my sister came up with the idea for this brownie. She wanted to bake brownies, but suggested we bake the brownie batter in a heart-shaped cake tin we had.

She also had some Valentine’s-themed M&M’s that she’d brought back from a trip to Florida earlier in the year. We wanted to bake with M&M Cupid’s Blend, but we didn’t get round to doing so when it was the lead up to Valentine’s Day.

This recipe is perfect for Galentine’s/Valentine’s Day, an anniversary, or any occasion that’s worth celebrating!

We used our go-to Chocolate Fudge Brownies; this recipe never fails to impress. It’s absolute brownie perfection for those of you who adore extremely fudgy brownies. I’m not a fan of cakey brownies; I want them squidgy and super fudgy. This recipe shares the same texture as a chocolate fondant when warmed up in the microwave, but when served at room temperature it’s also resembles a chocolate torte/fudge bar.

We went for a classic brownie flavour, but this recipe can be adapted in so many ways. Swirl some Biscoff, Nutella, peanut butter, or even pistachio paste through the top of the batter. Add chocolate chips or chunks, or even some nuts, such as walnuts.

Swap the ganache topping for chocolate buttercream. I might try some white chocolate buttercream next time, or you can even simply drizzle over some melted chocolate for an easy and quicker decoration.

Bake this recipe, and you’ll be one bite away from chocolate brownie heaven.

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Chocolate Brownie Heart

Heart-shaped dark chocolate brownie. Treat yourself and your loved ones to this decadent and fudgy brownie heart. With chocolate ganache topping and all the sprinkles of your choice! Bake this recipe and you'll be one bite away from chocolate brownie heaven...
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 12
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

Brownie Batter:

  • 200 g butter (salted or unsalted)
  • 200 g dark chocolate
  • 270 g caster or granulated sugar
  • 3 medium or large eggs
  • 2 medium or large egg yolks
  • 115 g plain flour
  • 35 g cocoa powder

Chocolate Ganache:

  • 100 g dark chocolate
  • 100 ml double cream

Decoration:

  • Chocolate or sprinkles of your choice

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 160°C / 140°C Fan / 325°F / Gas Mark 4. Line a 20cm heart-shaped tin with parchment paper on the base, and up the sides. Set the tin aside for later.
  • Melt the butter and chocolate over a bain-marie or in the microwave in 20-second intervals until completely melted and smooth. Set this mixture aside and leave it to cool for 5 minutes.
  • Meanwhile beat the eggs and egg yolks together until combined. Once the chocolate mixture has cooled slightly, add the egg mixture and stir to combine.
  • In large mixing bowl, mix together the flour and sugar, sift the cocoa powder over the top and mix until thoroughly combined and no lumps of flour remain. Now add the chocolate mixture and stir until combined, try not to over mix otherwise this may result in your baked brownie being tough. Transfer the brownie batter to the prepared tin and smooth the surface. Bake the brownies for 40-45 minutes, they’ll be ready when they’re risen, the top has started to slightly crack and a cake tester when inserted into the centre comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached - the brownie should still have a slight wobble in the centre.
  • Leave the brownie to cool completely in the tin, then once cooled leave them to set for at least 6 hours or overnight for best results.
  • Decorate further if desired by making a chocolate ganache topping. Chop the chocolate up into small pieces, and add to a small mixing bowl. Place the cream in a small saucepan on medium heat. Once the cream just starts to bubble, take off the heat and pour over the chocolate. Leave for a minute, then stir until you have a smooth, glossy mixture. Directly cover the top of the ganache with a piece of cling film, leave to set at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
  • To decorate, I filled a piping bag fitted with a nozzle with the cooled, thickened ganache. Piping around the edge with the ganache. I then decorated further with chocolate/sprinkles. The brownie will keep stored at room temperature for up to one week, if you can resist it!

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Baking · Curd and Jam · Scones

Classic British Scones

What Jessica Baked Next4 Comments

Classic British scone recipe. Buttery in flavour, with a soft and fluffy texture. Top generously with jam of your choice, and clotted cream for the very best scone experience. 

This is a recipe update from April 2016. The recipe and photographs updated in April 2024.

I really love eating scones, and lately I’ve been enjoying baking scones too. I love a freshly baked scone, still slightly warm from the oven, spread with butter and jam, or topped with clotted cream and jam.

Scones originate right here in the United Kingdom. We Brits are proud of this bake that’s popular all over the world, with many countries having their own variations.

In the UK, we traditionally make sultana/plain scones and cheese scones.

I’m revisiting an older blog recipe; the original recipe contained vanilla, but with this one we’ve left it out, and actually, it tastes more traditional and even nicer without any vanilla extract. If you love vanilla, then you can always add a teaspoon to this scone mix.

Classic British Scones are left plain or have sultanas added. I enjoy both plain and sultana scones, but as one of the taste testers I’m making these for prefers plain scones, I’m therefore baking mine without sultanas today. If you want to include sultanas, add roughly a couple of small handfuls.

These scones are super simple to mix up; they have just a few more ingredients compared to my Lemonade Scones (3 Ingredient Recipe), but they’re incredibly tasty, with more of a buttery flavour and texture than the 3-Ingredient Recipe.

The mix makes around a dozen scones; how many you manage to make depends on the size of your cutter. I went for a 5cm fluted cutter; this made the perfect-sized scones, leaving us all longing for more.

Once the scones are risen and lightly golden, leave them to cool before serving. Serving is when you really bring your batch of scones to life. I highly recommend some strawberry jam and Cornish clotted cream. There’s no better taste experience than this spread atop a homemade scone!

I’m holidaying in Cornwall this year, so I’m excited for a cream tea or two, clotted cream ice cream, and other delicious Cornish foods. I can’t wait to devour freshly baked scones filled with masses of clotted cream and the sweetest jam! The countdown is on!

But in the meantime, I’ll quite happily take these!

Print

Classic British Scones

Classic British scone recipe. Buttery in flavour, with a soft and fluffy texture. Top generously with jam of your choice, and clotted cream for the very best scone experience.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 12
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 350 g self-raising flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 85 g butter (salted or unsalted) cold and cut into cubes
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • Generous pinch of salt
  • 175 ml milk you might need to add more

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 220°C / 200°C Fan / 425°F / Gas Mark 7. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and butter. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a fine breadcrumb consistency.
  • Now mix through the sugar, along with a generous pinch of salt. Slowly add the milk, continuing to mix until a soft dough (that's holds together well) comes together. You might need to add more milk to bring the scone dough together.
  • Lightly flour a work surface, press the scone dough out to approx. 4cm in thickness. Using a 5cm cutter (I went for a fluted cutter), gently stamp out 12 pieces from the dough - you will need to reshape and re-roll.
  • Brush the tops of the scones with a little extra milk, then bake for 12-15 minutes, or until risen, and lightly golden on top. Leave to cool on the baking tray for about 15 minutes, then serve with butter, jam, and cream of your choice.
  • The scones will keep for up to 2 days, stored in an airtight container/covered plate at room temperature. They're at their best on the day of baking.

More British recipes to bake next!

Coffee and Walnut Cake

Eton Mess Cake

Scottish Shortbread

 

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Baking · Biscuits and Cookies · Chocolate

Millionaires Shortbread

What Jessica Baked Next5 Comments

Classic Millionaires Shortbread. This favourite sweet treat consists of three decadently delicious layers: buttery shortbread, creamy caramel, and chocolate. 

One recipe from over ten years of blogging that I’m yet to share is a recipe for Millionaires Shortbread. This is a classic treat, widely available in most bakeries, coffee shops, and tea rooms.

Millionaires shortbread consists of a layer of buttery shortbread, followed by a caramel layer, and then the caramel layer is topped with melted chocolate. There are so many amazing variations you’ll find all over the internet, but you can’t go wrong with the traditional flavour combination.

This bake will remind you of a Twix bar! So if you’re a fan of this chocolate bar, then you’ll love this homemade version even more!

Recipe Rundown:

  • Shortbread Layer: This mixture will look very crumbly or short before pressing it into the tin. Don’t worry, as this is how you want it to be. The crumblier your shortbread dough, the better. Also, always be super careful not to overmix shortbread dough; the general rule is to handle as little as possible. Press the mixture into the tin until it’s in an even layer, prick with a fork all over, and bake for 25–30 minutes until pale golden.
  • Caramel Layer: Making caramel requires patience and gentle heating; be extremely careful as caramel gets very hot and will burn if it touches skin. This caramel takes about 7–10 minutes to make. Start by mixing all the caramel ingredients listed together, gently heating until dissolved, then gradually increasing the heat until the caramel gets hotter and starts bubbling. When the caramel is a light golden colour and has thickened, it’s ready to pour over the cooled shortbread layer. Leave this to set in the fridge for about an hour before resuming.
  • Chocolate Layer: Your choice of chocolate is up to you. I went for Cadbury Dairy Milk, but equally, a combination of dark and milk chocolate is great—just dark chocolate, white chocolate, or even blonde or caramelised white chocolate.

We love our shortbread recipes on the blog, sharing an array of truly wonderful recipes. Scottish Shortbread, Valentine’s Shortbread Hearts, and even Chocolate Shortbread.

We gave our millionaire’s shortbread an Easter decoration, using a mixture of crushed/whole Cadbury Mini Eggs. Why not top an already decadent recipe with even more decadence? My taste testers (me included) loved the crunchy topping the mini eggs added. With Easter only a few days away, you can make this yummy bake and top with leftover (if any!) Easter chocolate!

Don’t worry at all if your chocolate cracks when you slice it up. In all honesty, my chocolate cracked, but this recipe was too tasty not to share. If you want to ensure the chocolate doesn’t crack, just warm up your knife in some hot water.

However, our bakes don’t need to look perfect; it’s 100% all about the taste here with every single recipe.

Print

Millionaires Shortbread

Classic Millionaires Shortbread. This favourite sweet treat consists of three decadently delicious layers: buttery shortbread, creamy caramel, and chocolate. 
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Chilling Time: 3 hours
Total Time 4 hours
Servings 16
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

Shortbread:

  • 225 g butter (salted or unsalted) softened
  • 110 g caster or granulated sugar
  • 320 g plain flour

Caramel:

  • 397 g can sweetened condensed milk
  • 90 g butter (salted or unsalted)
  • 100 g dark/light/demerara sugar
  • 1 tablespoon golden syrup this is 15g

Chocolate Layer:

  • 250 g dark/milk/white chocolate I used Cadbury Dairy Milk

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Line an 20cm/8-inch square cake tin with parchment paper - leaving some overhang ensuring it's easy to remove the finished bake from the tin.
  • Place the shortbread ingredients: softened butter, sugar, and flour in a large mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until a crumbly, slightly sticky dough forms.
  • Press the shortbread dough into the lined baking tin, making sure it's an even layer. Prick the shortbread all over with a fork, now bake for 25-30 minutes until pale golden in colour. Leave to cool completely.
  • Place the caramel ingredients in a medium saucepan/deep frying pan. Place the pan over a medium heat, gently heat until all the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted. Continue to stir until the mixture has started to bubble - turn the temperature down if it bubbles too much. Keep stirring until the caramel has turned a deeper golden colour and is thicker is texture. This should take about 7-10 minutes to achieve.
  • Carefully pour the hot caramel over the shortbread base. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
  • Melt your chosen chocolate, once melted pour over the set caramel layer. Decorate the top further with any other decorations you desire - we went for crushed/whole Cadbury Mini Eggs. Place the Millionaires Shortbread back in the fridge for at least 2 hours, before slicing into 9 larger pieces, or 16 smaller pieces.
  • The shortbread will keep for up to one week stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

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