Baking · Bread · Main Meals

Naan Bread Pizza (Easy 15 Minute Recipe)

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Easy Naan Bread Pizzas! Speedy homemade pizza made in just 15 minutes. Top however you desire with all your favourite pizza toppings! A great kid-friendly recipe too.

Homemade pizza is one of the best foods, but can be a lengthy process and take a fair bit of time to prepare. That’s why today, we’re cutting some corners and making homemade pizza in just 15 minutes!

I usually enjoy a naan bread alongside a delicious plateful of curry, but I soon discovered they also make fantastic pizza bases.

As with lots of pizzas, the topping choices are endless. I went for a classic American-style hot pizza with pepperoni slices and homegrown jalapeños. You can keep these pizzas simple with just tomato and cheese, or top with cooked chicken, bell pepper slices, and some Cajun spice (one of our other favourites), or even just with a combination of roasted vegetables.

In my household, we work different shifts, so sometimes we eat dinner later in the evening. Easy and super speedy dinners like this are great when we’re eating later and don’t have a lot of time on our hands to make something extravagant. It also stops us ordering food in, so we eat a healthier version of our takeaway favourites.

Plus, when you get a pizza craving but don’t want the cost that comes with ordering a takeaway, then this recipe will save you both time and money!

With this simple and easy recipe you’ll need just a handful of ingredients.

Naan Bread/Flatbread – This is a really quick and easier alternative to preparing homemade pizza dough. I went for a supermarket’s own brand of naan bread. You could also use a flatbread instead of naan bread – baking time might differ by a couple of minutes.

Pizza Sauce/Passata – I use pizza sauce, but add additional seasonings. These seasonings include garlic granules/powder and dried oregano. If you can’t find pizza sauce, passata makes a great substitution.

Mozzarella – I use a mozzarella and cheddar blend, but just mozzarella will work too. I go for ready grated cheese, which saves time!

Toppings – These are down to personal preference. I went for a pepperoni pizza topper, sliced jalapeño, plus an extra sprinkle of dried oregano.

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Naan Bread Pizza (Easy 15 Minute Recipe)

Easy Naan Bread Pizzas! Speedy homemade pizza made in just 15 minutes. Top however you desire with all your favourite pizza toppings! A great kid-friendly recipe too.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 4
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 4 naan breads mine weighed 260g each
  • 250 g pizza sauce or passata
  • 1 teaspoon garlic granules/powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 200 g grated mozzarella I use a mozzarella and cheddar blend

Toppings

  • pepperoni
  • jalapeño

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 220°C / 200°F / 425°F / Gas Mark 7. Once the oven is heated, place two large baking trays in to heat up.
  • In a jug or small bowl, mix the pizza sauce/passata with the garlic granules/powder and dried oregano. Season with black pepper and salt. Evenly spread the sauce over each naan bread base.
  • Now top with the grated cheese and additional toppings.
  • Carefully remove the hot baking trays from the oven, line each tray with a piece of parchment paper and place two naan bread pizzas on each tray.
  • Bake for 10 minutes, until crisp and lightly golden around the edges. Allow to cool for a minute or two and serve immediately.

This recipe was inspired by Taming Twins

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Baking · Buttercream and Frosting · Cakes · Chocolate

Best Chocolate Cake

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The BEST Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake. This is the one and only chocolate fudge cake recipe you need. Decorate this stunning cake as you desire and get ready to receive many compliments! 

When it comes to chocolate cake, this recipe I have for you today is simply the best. Yes, that’s a bold statement, but once you’ve had a slice, then you’ll be raving about just how fabulous it is.

Ina Garten (aka The Barefoot Contessa) is the author of this recipe. It’s quite frankly the absolute queen of chocolate cakes on the internet. I’m a great fan of Ina, and the summer before I started my professional cookery course at culinary school, I watched episode after episode of her programmes that were on Food Network. I love her simple, timeless approach to cookery.

A cookbook of Ina’s I own has a recipe for Beatty’s Chocolate Cake. This is the recipe I’m using today, but I’ve used a different buttercream to decorate mine. The cocoa buttercream is divine, with just the right amount of richness and creaminess. It’s a standard American-style buttercream and tastes great paired with the fudgy chocolate cake.

I’ve shared chocolate cakes and cupcakes on my blog, but never a classic layered chocolate fudge cake with buttercream.

There are a few ingredients that make this chocolate cake superior to many other recipes. The delectable, fudgy and moist texture is thanks to the use of oil instead of butter in the cake batter. Also, the addition of buttermilk and hot coffee keeps this cake from being anything but dry.

To tell you just how GOOD this cake is, I baked and decorated my cake in the morning and by the evening we only had a quarter of it left! It’s the kind of cake you just can’t help but go back for more of.

Once you bake the cake, get ready for all the compliments and glory you receive. I know myself first hand. For a short time, I baked numerous cakes for customers and quite a few of my orders were for this chocolate cake. I loved hearing my customers enjoying the cakes – it’s the best feeling when someone enjoys something you’ve put a lot of effort into.

I kept my decoration simple. I spread half the buttercream on one cake layer, and then I topped that with the other cake layer. Finally, I spread the remaining buttercream on the top – placing a little bit of it in a piping bag fitted with a star nip nozzle. I piped swirls of the buttercream around the edge of the cake, then further decorated my cake with white chocolate truffles, triple chocolate curls and some crunchy shimmered biscuit balls.

So I say it just one more time. Here you have the BEST American-Style Chocolate Fudge Cake. Have a great time baking this one!

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Best Chocolate Fudge Cake

The BEST Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake. This is the one and only chocolate fudge cake recipe you need. Decorate this stunning cake as you desire and get ready to receive many compliments! This cake can be made either as a 2 or 3 layer cake.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 12
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

Chocolate Fudge Cake Batter

  • 210 g plain flour
  • 400 g caster or granulated sugar
  • 90 g cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 240 ml buttermilk
  • 120 ml vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 240 ml freshly brewed coffee I use 1 teaspoon of coffee granules with 240ml of boiling water - you can use just boiling water and leave the coffee out

Cocoa Buttercream

  • 225 g butter (salted or unsalted) I prefer using salted butter for my buttercream
  • 420 g icing sugar sifted
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 40 g cocoa powder sifted
  • 3-4 tablespoons double cream add more or less to just consistency of buttercream

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Line 2 x 20cm (8-inch) round cake tins with baking/parchment paper and set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt until thoroughly combined.
  • In a medium-sized bowl or jug, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla extract.
  • Now add the wet ingredients along with the hot coffee and carefully whisk until just mixed and no lumps of flour remain.
  • Distribute the cake batter evenly between the two cake tins and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean without any uncooked batter attached. Please Note: The original recipe instructs you to bake the cake for 35–40 minutes, mine took nearer to 60 minutes to fully cook through. All ovens are different, so you may need to check the cake at 40 minutes and keep baking until the cake tester comes out clean.
  • Once the cakes are baked all the way through, allow them to cool in the tins for 30 minutes, then remove from the cake tins and leave to cool on a wire rack completely.
  • To make the buttercream, start by creaming the butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. This should take about 5 minutes by hand or by using an electric mixer. Now add the cocoa powder and mix again until just combined. Finally, add the double cream and mix again until combined.
  • Take the first cake layer and place directly on your chosen serving dish/plate. I used a cake board and spread a tiny bit of buttercream on the base to secure the first cake layer. Take half the buttercream and spread it out evenly, then place the second cake layer on top and spread the remaining buttercream on top. I like to pipe a few swirls of the buttercream on top of my cake.  
  • Decorate the cake further with your favourite chocolates or sprinkles. The cake will keep stored, covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.

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Candy and Sweets · Chocolate · Ice Cream · No-Bake

No-Churn Snickers Peanut Butter Ice Cream

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Say hello to the BEST no-churn peanut butter ice cream recipe! No ice cream machine is required to prepare this dreamy dessert. Peanut butter flavour ice cream, with salted caramel swirls, peanuts and chopped Snickers chocolate bars combine to make one amazing summer ice cream!

It’s no secret that I like my no-churn, no ice cream machine recipes! I couldn’t let summer ’25 pass without posting a no-churn ice cream. It’s now a blog tradition in recent years!

Summer 2024, I made this No-Churn Cookie Dough Ice Cream.

This new ice cream recipe is inspired by my trip to Florida at the start of this year. If you’ve been to Walt Disney World, in Magic Kingdom they sell the ‘All American Sundae’. This is scooped chocolate and vanilla ice cream, topped with melted peanut butter and chocolate fudge sauce, and finished with whipped cream and peanut butter chips – it’s incredibly good.

Totally worth visiting WDW alone just for that AMAZING sundae.

The photo above is the ice cream base pictured before freezing. I added additional ingredients: swirls of salted caramel because we had a pot of leftover salted caramel waiting to be used, otherwise it was highly likely I would consume it straight from the jar with a spoon!

This ice cream recipe is adaptable. If you don’t have salted caramel, you can leave it out, switch it for chocolate sauce instead, or even swirl through additional peanut butter to ramp up the peanut flavour even more.

Also, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are a fantastic substitute for Snickers. Or you could add crushed Oreo cookies instead or brownie chunks.

The ice cream reminds me of my favourite Snickers ice cream bar. Enjoy scooped into bowls or ice cream cones.

If you’re an avid Snickers fan, then this ice cream recipe and my No-Bake Snickers Cheesecake should be the next recipes you make!

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No-Churn Snickers Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Say hello to the BEST no-churn peanut butter ice cream recipe! No ice cream machine is required to prepare this dreamy dessert. Peanut butter flavour ice cream, with salted caramel swirls, peanuts and chopped Snickers chocolate bars combine to make one amazing summer ice cream! 
Servings 8
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 500 ml double cream chilled
  • 250 g smooth peanut butter
  • 397 g can sweetened condensed milk
  • 240 g Snickers Chocolate Bars chopped into small sized pieces

Add-Ins

  • salted caramel sauce
  • peanuts
  • Snickers Chocolate Bars additional for topping - optional

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk the cream until soft peaks form.
  • In another mixing bowl, whisk the peanut butter and can of condensed milk until smooth and combined.
  • Add the peanut butter mix to the bowl of whipped cream, and whisk until completely incorporated. Finally, fold through the chopped Snickers.
  • Spread half the ice cream mixture out into a suitable container, then if desired, swirl some caramel/chocolate sauce/peanut butter through the ice cream. At this point I scattered over some peanuts too. Now cover with the other half of the ice cream mixture, repeating with the swirling of the sauce, if doing so.
  • I also topped my ice cream with additional chopped Snickers - this is optional. 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, allow the ice cream to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before scooping into ice cream cones or bowls. The ice cream will store in the freezer for up to one month.

No-Bake Snickers Cheesecake

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Baking

Lemon Bars

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Luscious lemon bars. Buttery shortbread topped with a divine zesty lemon layer. The bars are baked and chilled, then dusted with icing sugar before serving. A classic recipe sure to wow.

These Lemon Bars are summer in a bite.

An easy recipe that’s quick to whip up and these scrumptious bars taste like pure sunshine.

As I write up this blog post, after weeks of intense heat, it’s currently rainy and damp outside. As food bloggers will know, it’s not the easiest weather to photograph in!

I love myself a chocolate dessert. Best of all, my favourite dessert is anything with choux pastry (profiteroles or a Paris-Brest have my heart), but lemon desserts come a close second. I was in my element when I visited Paris in June, being completely in awe of all the amazing desserts on offer…

We have lots of favourite lemon recipes on the blog. Lemon recipes include this Homemade Lemon Curd, my Passionfruit Lemon Tart and these divine Raspberry Swirl Lemon Cheesecake Bars. Not to forget our family favourite Spaghetti with Courgettes, Chilli, Garlic and Lemon, which is definitely the BEST pasta recipe you’ll ever eat!

Also, these Magdalenas (Spanish Lemon Muffins) are something I count down to whenever I visit Spain!

It’s not summer without a lemon bake featured on my blog. I love the refreshing flavour that lemon adds to both savoury and sweet dishes.

The bars are simply amazing, they take minimal time to make and will most certainly wow anyone who’s lucky enough to try them!

We LOVED the buttery shortbread layer, which was cooked perfectly and the lemon curd topping was tart and packed with zingy lemon flavour!

My bars came out super bright, an almost rich orange in colour – this is because I used rich yolky eggs. If you’re in the UK, I recommend St Ewe’s Rich Yolk Eggs. Not sponsored, but I really like this brand.

The beauty of this recipe is that it’s not just exclusive to spring/summer, it’s a recipe you can make all year round.

Enjoy!

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Lemon Bars

Luscious lemon bars. Buttery shortbread topped with a divine zesty lemon layer. The bars are baked and chilled, then dusted with icing sugar before serving. A classic recipe sure to wow.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Chilling Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 55 minutes
Servings 16
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

Shortbread Layer

  • 110 g butter (salted or unsalted) softened
  • 60 g icing sugar sifted
  • 115 g plain flour
  • 30 g cornflour

Lemon Curd Layer

  • 3 eggs at room temperature
  • 200 g caster or granulated sugar
  • 20 g plain flour
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest remember to do this before juicing the lemons
  • 125 ml lemon juice

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Line a 20cm / 8-inch square cake tin with oil and line with parchment paper with overhang (so it can be lifted out once cooked).
  • Make the shortbread base by combining the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Now add the flour and cornflour, just mix until a crumbly dough forms. Tip the shortbread dough in the tin and evenly press out until lightly compact.
  • Bake the base for 20 minutes or until lightly golden. While the shortbread is baking, prepare the lemon curd topping.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients listed for the lemon curd filling. Whisk together until fully incorporated.
  • Once the shortbread layer is baked, pour the lemon curd filling directly on top and bake for 20 minutes.
  • Remove the lemon bars from the oven, allow to cool at room temperature for around a hour. Chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours or up to overnight until set.
  • When ready to serve, slice up into 16 equally sized bars, dust lightly with icing sugar right before serving - this will sweat and melt away so dust right before eating.
    The lemon bars will keep for up to a week stored in the fridge.

More lemon-inspired recipes to try next! 

Passionfruit Lemon Tart

Lemon Posset

Lemon Sweet Rolls

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Italian Cuisine · Light Lunches · Main Meals · Pasta Recipes · Vegetarian Recipes

Pesto Pasta Salad (Marks & Spencer Copycat Recipe)

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Copycat recipe of Marks & Spencer pasta salad with spinach, pesto and pine nuts. Picnic season has arrived and this is the perfect, easy pasta salad to enjoy this summer.

I’m back with a scrumptious, easy-to-make and filling pasta recipe. I’ve already expressed my sincere love for Marks & Spencer food, with this recent recipe for Chocolate Chunk Shortbread (Marks & Spencer Copycat Recipe).

I enjoy recreating some of my favourite foodie finds at home, so up next is a homemade take on a pasta salad I enjoy from Marks & Spencer. I absolutely love anything with pesto, homemade pesto is unbeatable. It’s easy to make, and, once mastered, tastes like pesto made in Italy.

We had an abundance of fresh basil in our garden and decided this would be a good use for homemade pesto!

If I remember correctly, this pasta salad was previously made with orzo pasta, but has since been made with farfelle. I love farfelle – meaning butterfly in Italian.

With the summer season here, we’re enjoying lots of fresh, healthy homemade meals. It’s not summer without endless Greek salads either! If you’re a lover of Greek salads, then this Greek Pasta Salad is another brilliant choice.

This pasta salad is ready in less than half an hour. It’s a delicious recipe, bringing flavours of the Mediterranean to your kitchen. It’s fab for taking to summer picnics, barbecues, or for packed lunches. Feel free to add some chopped cherry tomatoes or even sun-dried tomatoes to the mix.

With lots of textures and tonnes of flavour, this is a summer pasta salad you just have to make!

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Pesto Pasta Salad (Marks & Spencer Copycat Recipe)

Copycat recipe of Marks & Spencer pasta salad with spinach, pesto and pine nuts. Picnic season has arrived and this is the perfect, easy pasta salad to enjoy this summer.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes
Servings 10
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

Pesto

  • 60 g fresh basil leaves roughly two big handfuls
  • 1 clove of garlic peeled and left whole
  • 50 g pine nuts lightly toasted in a dry pan
  • 55 g Parmesan or Grana Padano finely grated
  • 5-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil add more if needed to adjust consistency
  • salt and black pepper to taste

Pasta

  • 500 g farfelle pasta
  • roughly two large handfuls of baby spinach roughly chopped/torn into smaller pieces - removing any tough stalks

Serving

  • extra grated Parmesan/Grana Padano, pine nuts and basil leaves if desired

Instructions

  • Start by preparing the pesto. Dry toast the pine nuts in a small pan until lightly coloured. In a food processor, pulse together the basil, garlic, toasted pine nuts and Parmesan/Grana Padano until they are minced.
  • With the processor on slow speed, add the oil (a tablespoon at a time) in a slow stream. Now season to taste with salt and black pepper. Process for another minute until all the ingredients are combined.
  • Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions - mine took 12 minutes. Once cooked, drain and rinse with cold water. Drain again. Tip the cooked pasta into a large mixing bowl and stir through the pesto. You might need to add another tablespoon or two of olive oil at this point just to get the correct consistency.
  • Now add the chopped spinach, check the seasoning and season with any extra salt and black pepper if needed.
  • I like to stir through a couple of tablespoons of extra toasted pine nuts and some more coarsely grated Parmesan/Grana Padano cheese - this is optional. Cover the bowl and chill the pasta salad for at least 4 hours before serving - I leave mine overnight.
    The pasta salad will keep stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.

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Candy and Sweets · Chocolate · No-Bake

Malteser Rocky Road

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Classic Rocky Road with the delicious addition of crunchy Malteser chocolate malt balls. 

Creamy. decadent chocolate squares filled with crunchy digestive biscuits, chewy mini marshmallows and crunchy malt balls.

Rocky Road is a no-bake slice hailing from Australia. It’s made by melting chocolate, golden syrup and butter, then mixing this chocolatey mixture with various other ingredients, before setting in the fridge. Then once set, it’s sliced up and dusted lightly with icing sugar.

This treat is a summer go-to recipe. When temperatures start rising, and I want to limit time spent in the kitchen, then it’s great. It takes under 30 minutes to prepare, requires minimal ingredients, is low effort, and easy to make.

The ingredients you need for homemade Rocky Road depend on personal preference. I start with a combination of dark and milk chocolate.

Then my preference for butter is salted. I love salted chocolate, and for me the salt balances out all the sweetness in the recipe. For a traditional Rocky Road, I used digestives, but even a chocolate digestive, Rich Tea or Malted Milk biscuit all make fabulous substitutes.

For a twist on classic Rocky Road, we’ve added a bag of Maltesers. Any bake or recipe with Maltesers is a winner for me!

If you like Rocky Road and Maltesers, then you’ve come to the right place.

This is my first Rocky Road recipe, with many more creations to come in the future!

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Malteser Rocky Road

Classic Rocky Road with the delicious addition of crunchy Malteser chocolate malt balls.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Chilling Time 3 hours
Servings 16
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 150 g butter (salted or unsalted)
  • 4 tablespoons golden syrup
  • 200 g dark chocolate roughly chopped
  • 200 g milk chocolate roughly chopped
  • 150 g digestive biscuits this is 10 biscuits
  • 100 g mini marshmallows if using regular sized marshmallows just chop into smaller pieces
  • 1 x 158 g bag Maltesers left whole

Instructions

  • Line a 20cm square cake tin with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Place the butter and the golden syrup in a medium sized saucepan and melt on a low heat. Once melted, take off the heat and add all the chopped dark and milk chocolate bars. Stir until the chocolate has fully melted.
  • In a large mixing bowl, break the digestive biscuits into small chunks and then add your mini marshmallows and bag of Maltesers to the bowl. Stir gently to combine. Now add the melted chocolate mixture and stir together until all the ingredients are well coated.
  • Tip the mixture in the tin and press down until lightly compact. Allow to set in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight.
  • When ready to serve, remove the rocky road from the tin and slice up into 16 squares. Dust lightly with icing sugar before serving. You can cut the rocky road as big or small as you like. The rocky road will keep stored in an airtight container in the fridge or at room temperature for up to one week.

More Malteser recipes to try next!

Malteser Brownies

Malteser Slice

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Baking · Buttercream and Frosting · Cupcakes

99 Flake Cupcakes

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Retro 99 Flake Cupcakes! Everyone’s favourite ice cream styled in cupcake form. 

If there’s one particular food that reminds me of the British summer, then that’s a 99 Flake ice cream. If you’re a Brit, then you probably get excited during the spring/summer hearing the sound of an ice cream van arriving down your road.

My order from an ice cream van is always a whippy/soft serve ice cream with a Cadbury Flake and sprinkles. So I’ve created a new cupcake recipe based on my go-to ice cream van order!

The cupcakes consist of a vanilla cake batter. Once baked until golden, they’re topped with a homemade vanilla buttercream – the buttercream itself tastes like whippy ice cream, whilst looking like it too.

I then decorated with a drizzle of strawberry sauce and added some colourful sprinkles. The best part comes last, topping each cupcake with a Cadbury Flake.

You can take out the centre of each cupcake and fill it with jam or even Nutella for a little twist on the standard recipe.

The perfect bake for taking a trip down memory lane. Delicious and they look exactly like they’ve come from an ice cream van! Your family and friends will love these.

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99 Flake Cupcakes

Retro 99 Flake Cupcakes! Everyone's favourite ice cream styled in cupcake form. 
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 12
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

Vanilla Cupcake Batter

  • 175 g butter or margarine softened - use the margarine straight from the fridge
  • 175 g caster or granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 175 g self-raising flour
  • 2-3 tablespoons milk enough to loosen the batter slightly

Vanilla Buttercream

  • 200 g butter (salted or unsalted) softened
  • 350-400 g icing sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2-3 tablespoons double cream optional - this lightens the buttercream

Decoration

  • Caramel/chocolate/raspberry/strawberry sauce
  • Sprinkles
  • Cadbury Chocolate Flake bars

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake cases and set aside.
  • To make the cupcakes, beat the softened butter with the sugar until fluffy and smooth. Add the eggs one by one along with the vanilla and mix until incorporated.
  • Now fold through the flour and mix until no lumps of flour remain. Add enough milk to loosen the mixture slightly - approx. 2-3 tablespoons of milk will do.
  • Evenly divide the cupcake batter between the cupcake cases. Bake the cupcakes for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean without any uncooked batter remaining. Leave the baked cupcakes to cool in the tin for a 5-10 minutes, then carefully remove the cupcakes from the tin and transport to a wire rack and allow the cupcakes to cool completely to room temperature.
  • Once the cupcakes are fully cooled make the buttercream. Cream the softened butter for a minute or two to soften. Add the icing sugar and the vanilla extract and beat gently together until the butter and sugar has combined. Now continuing creaming for another 2-3 minutes until the buttercream is a light pale colour. Now add the double cream or milk and beat until combined fully.
  • Fit a large disposable piping bag with an open star tip nozzle. Fill the piping bag with the buttercream, pipe even swirls on the top of each cupcake, decorate with a drizzle of strawberry sauce and finish with some sprinkles. Finally, place a flake on top of each cupcake.
  • The cupcakes will keep stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

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Candy and Sweets · Chocolate · Gluten-Free · No-Bake

Chocolate Peanut Butter Easter Eggs

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Homemade take on Reese’s Peanut Butter Easter Eggs. The wonderful flavour of salty peanut butter with dark chocolate combines in this fabulous homemade Easter treat.

I have just one more egg-cellent recipe to share with you in time for Easter this week!

I’ve been wanting to make these Easter egg candies for quite a while, each year goes by, and I get sidetracked with other recipes that take my fancy and forget. But not this year. I made these a couple of weeks ago and I’m delighted I did so, as these are absolutely divine!

Any American/Canadian readers of this blog, probably know that this recipe is very similar to Buckeyes – a candy consisting of peanut butter fudge balls dipped in melted chocolate.

I’m the greatest fan of peanut butter and chocolate. I always have a jar of peanut butter in my pantry – whether that’s for spreading on a crumpet, piece of toast, or drizzling over ice cream. So I get very excited when there’s a recipe I can combine peanut butter in.

These homemade Easter eggs are absolutely scrumptious and incredibly addictive. I found this recipe on Sally’s Baking Addiction – a baking blog I’ve adored for years.

The eggs are made by combining softened butter with creamy peanut butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract. This creates a crumbly cookie dough-like texture that’s rolled and moulded into egg-shapes. The peanut eggs are then chilled in the fridge, before dipping generously in melted chocolate and further decorated with spare melted chocolate, and personal favourites, sea salt and sprinkles!

Make and gift these to family and friends over the next few days. Once you taste the homemade Easter egg candies, you might decide to not give these away though, as they are pretty damn addictive and delicious…

No judgement whatsoever here, as I would do the same!

Have a wonderful weekend and great Easter. Enjoy all your Easter-inspired baking/cooking!

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Easter Eggs

Prep Time 2 hours
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 20

Ingredients

  • 85 g salted or unsalted butter softened
  • 250 g creamy peanut butter
  • 300 g icing sugar sifted
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 300 g dark and milk chocolate I use a mix of half dark chocolate and half milk chocolate
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • sea salt or sprinkles for decoration

Instructions

  • Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add the butter and cream until softened and lightened in colour - mix for around 2 minutes.
  • Add the peanut butter and mix again for 1 minute until combined. Now add the icing sugar and the vanilla and beat on a low speed for 2 more minutes until a crumbly mixture forms.
  • Measure out 30g portions of the peanut mixture and roll into a ball. Flatten each ball between your palms and use your fingers to narrow one end into an egg shape. The eggs should be roughly 3/4 inch thick. Place the eggs on the lined baking tray.
  • Chill the shaped peanut butter eggs in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. During the last few minutes of the chilling time, begin melting the chocolate and oil together. I melted my chocolate and oil in a large measuring jug - this is great for dipping later on. Either melt the chocolate in the microwave in 20-second increments, or melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, set over a pan of gently simmering water (bain-marie).
  • Let the warm chocolate sit for 6-8 minutes before dipping. Take the peanut butter eggs from the fridge. Working one at a time, submerge each egg into the chocolate and then carefully lift out using a fork. Tap the fork gently on the side of the bowl/measuring jug to rid of the excess chocolate. Use a toothpick or a second fork to help slide the egg off of the fork and onto the baking sheet. 
  • If you happen to have any leftover chocolate, drizzle it over the eggs. Also, if desired, lightly sprinkle each egg with flaky sea salt or sprinkles while the chocolate is still wet.
  • Place the eggs back in the fridge for 30 minutes until the chocolate is fully set. The peanut butter eggs will keep stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

If you love this recipe, then you’ll also enjoy these No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

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Baking · Biscuits and Cookies · Chocolate

Chocolate Chunk Shortbread (Marks & Spencer Copycat Recipe)

What Jessica Baked Next12 Comments

The popular Marks & Spencers inspired shortbread filled with chocolate chunks and M&S Gigantic Milk Chocolate Buttons.

Marks & Spencer have the most delicious shortbread squares filled with chocolate chunks. When I’m out and about, but haven’t had time to bake my own shortbread, then M&S’s will be the only place I buy shortbread from!

I tried to make my shortbread recipe today as similar to the Chocolate Buttons Shortbread available to buy in the Marks & Spencer food hall.

But of course, this homemade version is far superior!

I’ve made this recipe as easy as possible. Blog readers LOVE an easy bake, so we’re baking the shortbread straight in a square cake tin and not worrying about rolling it out and cutting into different shapes.

Easy, no-fuss recipes are something I enjoy sharing on the WJBN blog.

My taste tasters all think this shortbread is better than the original. It’s freshly baked, a little thicker in texture, but shares all the same qualities in taste and crumbly texture as the M&S shortbread.

These delicious shortbread squares contain just five ingredients: butter, sugar, flour, semolina and chocolate. Semolina is an optional ingredient. If you don’t have it to hand, then don’t worry as the shortbread will be fantastic even without the semolina.

Lush, buttery and crumbly shortbread squares. This recipe makes 12 very large squares, but I would definitely recommend slicing into 16 smaller squares as it’s extremely rich, but nonetheless very, very tasty!

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Chocolate Chunk Shortbread (Marks & Spencer Copycat Recipe)

The popular Marks & Spencers inspired shortbread filled with chocolate chunks and M&S Gigantic Milk Chocolate Buttons. 
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 12

Ingredients

  • 200 g butter (salted or unsalted) softened
  • 100 g caster or granulated sugar
  • 300 g plain flour
  • 50 g semolina optional
  • 150 g Marks & Spencer Gigantic Milk Chocolate Buttons roughly chopped
  • 50 g dark or milk chocolate roughly chopped

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Line a 20cm / 8-inch square cake tin with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Start by preparing the shortbread dough - cream the softened butter and sugar until light and creamy.
  • Now add the flour and the semolina, mix until a crumbly dough forms. Be careful not to overwork the dough at this point, only mix until it comes together. Now fold through the chopped chocolate.
  • Transfer shortbread dough to a 20cm / 8-inch square cake tin and press down gently. Carefully score 12 squares from the dough, making sure not to cut all the way through. Bake for 25-30 minutes until slightly golden in colour. Leave the shortbread to cool for 5 minutes, then using a sharp knife, slice all the way through where you scored the shortbread before baking.
  • Finally, sprinkle with a small amount of extra sugar before devouring! The shortbread will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.

Just look at ALL those amazing chocolate chunks in this shortbread. I just can’t get enough of this recipe. Make sure you try a piece while it’s still slightly warm, fresh from the oven…

Try my Chocolate Shortbread next!

Show some love to someone special with these adorable Valentine’s Shortbread Hearts

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Baking · Brownies · Chocolate

Mini Egg Brownies

What Jessica Baked Next3 Comments

Chocolate fudge brownies filled with white chocolate chunks and chopped Cadbury Mini Eggs.

Easter is getting closer, and we’re continuing with more Easter baking delights on the blog.

Mini Eggs are a firm favourite Easter chocolate in my household. I mentioned in the Mini Egg NYC Cookies blog post. I purchased a 1kg pack of Cadbury Mini Eggs, and only a week later, we went food shopping and another 1kg pack mysteriously ended up landing in our trolley…

I baked Terry’s Chocolate Orange Brownies over Christmastime, and as soon as we could, we were excited to put an Easter twist on the recipe.

Mini Egg Brownies are rich, fudgy and indulgent. They’re the perfect bake to enjoy during Easter and the spring.

I’m the biggest fan of fudgy brownies. In my opinion, this is the ONLY way a brownie should be. I’m not a fan of cakey brownies – if I wanted a chocolate cake then I would bake one! Fudgy brownies are the best brownies without a doubt.

If you want, you can add any Easter chocolate to the brownie batter. Add some broken-up pieces of Easter egg, go for chopped Malteser Bunnies. The choices of add-ins are endless.

Get as creative as you like!

The brownies are totally delicious and perfect for all occasions. Eat alongside a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate. Make yourself an amazing dessert with some ice cream or warm custard poured over.

These brownies are sure to be a hit this Easter!

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Mini Egg Brownies

Chocolate fudge brownies filled with white chocolate chunks and chopped Cadbury Mini Eggs.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 16
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 200 g butter (salted or unsalted)
  • 200 g dark chocolate
  • 270 g caster or granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 115 g plain flour
  • 35 g cocoa powder
  • 100 g white chocolate chopped in medium sized pieces
  • 300 g Cadbury Mini Eggs add 200g to the brownie batter and leave 100g for the topping

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 160°C / 140°C Fan / 325°F / Gas Mark 4. Line a 20cm square tin with parchment paper and set aside.
  • 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.
  • Sift flour and 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. Finally, fold through the chopped white chocolate and 200g of the Mini Eggs. Try not to over mix otherwise this may result in your baked brownies being tough.
  • Transfer the brownie batter to the prepared tin and smooth the surface. Scatter the remaining 100g of chopped Mini Eggs on top of the brownie. 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.
  • Leave the brownies to cool completely in the tin, then once cooled leave them to set for at least 6 hours or overnight for best results. When ready to serve, slice the brownies into 16 squares. Brownies will store in an airtight container for up to a fortnight.

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