My best ever baking recipes

I adore baking and these recipes are my all-time favourite and it was pretty hard to choose from the long list of what to include here. I have 10 best cake recipes but these are a mix of various treats that I make again and again and have become super popular on the blog. These are the ones I suggest you turn to whenever you want to spread some love because baking is an act of love. Enjoy!

My grandmother Betty’s legendary crunchies

This recipe is one of the most popular posts of all time on Drizzleanddip. It is the best and only South African crunchie recipe you will ever need.

Purple plum torte

This famous purple plum torte which I first spotted on Smitten Kitchen is one of the easiest and most delicious baked treats you can make when plums are in season. They bake into the cake batter forming gorgeous jam-like pools making this perfect to serve as a dessert with whipped cream.

Maybe the best chocolate cake by Ina Garten

This cake is widely regarded as the best chocolate cake in the world. It is right up there. I love how it’s made with a cup of coffee to intensify the chocolate flavour and it has a firmness which makes it easy to frost.

Pear and halva crumble loaf with pecans, honey & maple

I made this delectable loaf a year ago and have not stopped dreaming about making it again since. It’s insanely wonderful.

The best tres leches cake

This well-known South American cake is utterly delicious with a sublime texture. I’m pretty sure it’s the best tres leches cake on the internet. I ended up using six types of milk as opposed to three so it should actually be called a seis leches cake but somehow that doesn’t sound as cool.

Hummingbird cake with cream cheese frosting

This pineapple and banana Hummingbird cake is defs one of my faves. I also use this recipe as my base for carrot cake or various other fruit cakes with apples or pears. It’s so moist and delicious and this is my go-to cream cheese frosting.

You can also make this cake into a sheet cake which makes feeding a crowd easier.

My best carrot cake recipe

My all-time best carrot cake recipe.

Sbrisolona

This is a classic Italian recipe for something that you break up and serve in shards with grappa. I personally leave that out and love the very crunchy texture of this with hints of orange and vanilla. It is so moreish you can’t stop hitting the cookie jar with this one.

Victorian sponge cake with strawberry jam

Such a classic and utterly delicious cake.

Whipped vanilla shortbread

This creates melt-in-the-mouth shortbread biscuits/ cookies that are such fun to make with and for kids.

Alison Romans choc chip shortbread

This recipe is everything it’s cracked up to be and I am in love with it.

Easy ginger & honey biscuits

These are made in one bowl, by hand and they are so good. They can be soft or crunchy,

Easy Madeleine’s with lavender & sugar

This is a fantastic recipe for Madeleine’s and also the easiest. You can play around with it and change the flavour to suit your taste.

A riff on this madeleine recipe is one with lemon & poppyseed

Apple & strawberry crumble

This is my all-time favourite apple crumble recipe and apple crumble is one of my best desserts. You must make the creme Anglaise yourself too. It makes all the difference.

Easy stout fruit cake (with or without stout)

This easy recipe for a boiled fruit cake is one I dug out of my maternal grandmother’s recipe book. I adapted it and used stout instead of water but it’s great either way. Everything is mixed by hand it could not be simpler.

Orange & pecan muffins

These muffins are perfection and involve using a whole seedless orange in the batter mix. So easy.

The best morning glory muffins

Olive oil chiffon cake

If there was ever a cake designed to eat for breakfast then this is it. Serve with fresh ricotta, sliced stone fruit and a generous drizzle of honey.

Pink swirl meringues with pomegranate syrup

These are more like mini pavlovas and when served with fresh cream and the syrup poured over, are a real show stopper.

Stout hot cross buns

I’m personally all for fruity hot cross being eaten all year round. Toasted with butter dripping through, they are a thing of perfection. This recipe with stout is easier than it may look at first and you could freeze off any extra for later butter and toast heavenly moments.

Butternut scones with cheese & chives

These are my fave cheese scones, and so easy to make too.

Pomegranate scones

While we are on the topic of scones, I love them so much I had previously created a round-up of my 5 favourite recipe, but these sweet scones with fresh pomegranate pearls that burst in your mouth while eating are pretty damn fine.

My perfect cheese scones

My ultimate and very cheese scones.

Apple pie crumble bars

I’ve added fruit mince to the apple in these bars but you can really add anything you like. Jam and apple work brilliantly too. They are my fave fruit bar recipe that feels like shortbread and apple crumble got together and made a love child. The crunchy flaked almonds on top are the best bit.

Cherry meringue tartlets

These made it to the cover of my second cookbook Sweet and are perfect little tarts.

Possibly the best banana bread ever

Made with overly ripe bananas and with a crunchy sugar walnut topping, this is now my favourite banana bread recipe.

My best buttermilk and bran rusks

These are my favourite rusk and have a very crunchy and lighter texture.

Muesli rusks with oats & raisins

These are my second favourite rusk and are loaded with seeds and raisins.

Nectarine, blueberry & bourbon pie

The most delicious fruit pie under a cloak of crisp buttery pastry. I will make this again and again.

My best lemon meringue pie

Chocolate nemesis

This is the famous chocolate nemesis cake from the River Cafe. The one with the renowned printing error, but I have the correct version. It’s essentially like a baked chocolate mousse and the ultimate dessert to end a diner party.

Red velvet cupcakes

These are the very best red velvet cupcakes you will ever find and the recipe comes from Magnolia Bakery in NYC (the mothership of cupcakes). I have used my own cream cheese frosting on them though.

Blueberry & apricot muffins

This is a superb fruit muffin recipe which you can adapt. But I love the flavour combo of apricots and blueberries.

My best ever choice chip cookie are these but using macadamia nuts instead

Bacon & zucchini quiche

If you are looking for a fab savoury quiche recipe, this is it.

Decadent chocolate brownies with Nutella

These are my fave brownies and the Nutella topping just takes it over the edge, they are perfectly fine without it too.

My best cake recipes

All my baking recipes

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