Frances says: I've never tasted homemade whoopie pies, only store-bought ones which always seem too sweet. These were perfect, as good as the ones I had in NYC, thanks Ruth!

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
125g butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup mashed pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

filling:
250g cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tablespoons ...
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Welcome to Bake Club, Gertrud! Despite her modesty, Gertrud is a fabulous cook and baker and I've been egging her on for ages to contribute to Bake Club. Finally, she debuts with this delightful bite.
Gertrud says: While the original recipe used a 22cm bundt cake tin, I made eight cupcakes and a super-small cake. Watch the time carefully. My oven has a sweet spot and the cupcakes cooked well under 60 minutes.With no passionfruit at hand, I used Delmain Passionfruit Dessert Topping. I als...
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Made these quickly for a 1^st birthday party - this melt and mix recipe is super easy.

 

150g butter, at room temp

¼ lemon juice

¾ c sugar

1 Tbs finely grated lemon zest

2 eggs, beaten lightly

1 ¼ c dessicated coconut, plus 2 Tbs for sprinkling

1 ½ Tbs bought lemon butter (I used lemon curd)

 

Preheat oven to 180C/160 fan forced. Line 12-hole muffin tray with paper cases. (I made 18 mini muffins for little hands.)

Place butter and juice in saucepan over moderat...

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On the last day of deadline week I made these for the work team, hence their new name – ‘deadline cupcakes’. This easy recipe is from Annabel Langbein’s Free Range in the City.

120g butter, in small cubes
½ c neutral oil
1 c water
100g dark chocolate, chopped
½ c cocoa, sifted
1 ½ c caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 c yoghurt or buttermilk
2 c flour
¾ c raspberries (or any fresh or frozen berries)

Preheat oven to 180C. Line 24 m...

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Welcome Rosemary to Bake Club! This looks like a simple and sweet recipe. You could also use dried lavender flowers infused with milk overnight to add the lavender taste and fragrance.

1c flour
1c brown sugar (loose not packed)
1/2c milk
1 free range egg
3tbsp lavender syrup (available from Cosset, corner of Great North Rd and Woodward Ave, Mt Eden)

1.5-2tsp baking powder

40g melted butter
Combine all ingrediants - throw batter in muffin tin...

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These turned out pretty good - firm on the outside and chewy on the inside.

Preheat the oven to 200 C.

In a bowl mix together:
200g ground almonds
1 cup of caster sugar
1 teaspoon ground cardamon
2 egg whites

You can use a mixer but just a fork or spoon does fine. My paste was a bit gloopy so I added some rice flour. Drop teaspoon fulls onto a greased baking sheet. Leave room for spreading. Press a blanched or sliver of almond on the top of each macaroon, bake for 10 minutes.
Thanks ...

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Choux pastry

½ c flour
pinch salt
55 g butter
½ c boiling water
2 eggs

Glossy chocolate icing
115 g icing sugar

55 g dark chocolate
1 tbs boiling water

Preheat oven to 220 C, line baking tray with baking paper and dust with flour. Sift flour and salt onto piece of waxed paper.
Put butter in a saucepan over low heat and pour on the boiling water. As soon as its melted, remove from heat and tip in all the sifted flour and salt.

Beat with wooden spoon until smooth, then ret...

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200 g butter or Olivani
1/4 c caster sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
3 eggs
1 1/2 c self-raising flour
1/2 c flour
1 c buttermik
370g jar lemon curd (I used my homemade grapefruit curd)
icing sugar to dust

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line 12 muffin tins with paper cases.
Cream butter, sugar and zest for 10-12 min until pale and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Sift combined flour into a bowl. Add half flour and half buttermilk to egg mixture and stir until combined. Add remainin...
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What a fantastic debut on Bake Club, Anna! The tofu was a real surprise ingredient - delicious.

Cake Ingredients:
1 ¾ cup flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 ½ t. baking powder
1 ½ t. baking soda
¼ t. salt
1 12.3-ounce box firm silken tofu (I get the ‘fresh’ tofu from the Tofu Shop on the North Shore)
1/4 cup maple syrup or golden syrup
1 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoon oil
1tsp vanilla essence
1 cup almond milk or soya milk
1/3 cup boiling water
At least 1 cup of mixed ...

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Mama Chan has made these for years and years. They are up there with the classic custard tarts you get from a Chinese bakery.

Custard:
500 ml milk
¾ c sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp white vinegar

Flakey pastry:
1 c flour
125 g butter
½ small c milk
1 tsp vinegar

This recipe makes 18 tarts.
Heat milk to almost boiling. Stir in sugar to dissolve. When cool add eggs and vinegar and beat lightly until mixed.

Grate cold butter into flour. Add vinegar and milk. Bring together to form a d...

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Jenny made these lovely butterfly cakes on Marie’s birthday for an office morning tea. Nice touch with the jam on top.

125 g butter
125 g sugar
2 eggs
175 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbs milk
whipped cream

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs well beaten, then flour and baking powder, then milk. Half fill paper cases with mixture, place on cold oven tray and bake about 10-15 mins at 200 C.

When cool, cut a small piece off the top of each, put a heaped tsp of whipped c...

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Welcome to Bake Club, Pirzad! Great to have another male baker on our books. We also know you are a fine cake decorator, so we look forward to seeing some of your creations!

Thanks for sharing your chocolate balls with us. Here's the recipe:

First make a chocolate cake

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Mama Chan got the special flower-shaped sponge tins from Hong Kong a while back. So her sponges look just like the ones you’d buy at a Chinese bakery.

½ c sugar
2 eggs
whisk until pale and creamy

fold in:
1/2 c flour
2 Tb cornflour
1 tb oil

Pour into greased tins. Bake at 190 C for 12-15 mins. That little bit of oil makes these sponges a different texture to other sponges.

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From Lauraine Jacobs in the Listener - makes 10 muffins.

3 juicy limes
60g butter, melted
2 large eggs
200g plain flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
100g sugar
1 cup peeled and diced feijoas

Preheat oven to 180C; line a 12 muffin tray with paper cup liners (don't decide not to, they go sticky!)
Use a zester to strip the zest of 1 lime, then juice it and the other two. reserve the zest aside for the top of the muffins.
Add the lime juice to a bowl with the butter and eggs, and whisk u...
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Welcome to Bake Club, Christoph, our second male baker! Christoph is from Germany and has been an intern at The Aucklander. He wrote a story about Bake Club in an upcoming issue. The pic shows the two remaining muffins (Christoph and his flatmate and ate 4 of them straightaway out of the hot tin ^^).

Christoph used the recipe from www.food.com, but modified it a bit.
Ingredients (for 12 serves):
1 orange, seeds removed, with peel
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 egg
1/2 cup butter
...
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I felt inspired to make these soda bread biscuits with caraway, 
lemon zest and raisins for a friend who recently had a baby.
I never understand how Americans use the term 'biscuit' but this 
is more akin to a scone in process - ie you rub in the butter... 

3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of sugar (depending on how sweet you want them)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons caraway seeds*
1/2 to 1 cup of raisins*
1 1/4 cu...

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Carly initiates her new silicon muffin tray with one of those made in heaven combinations - banana and chocolate.

Makes 12.

125g softened butter

¾ cups sugar

2 eggs

1teaspoon vanilla essence

1 ½ cups mashed ripe bananas (4 medium bananas)

¾ cup dark chocolate buttons roughly chopped

1 teapsoon baking soda

2 tablespoons hot milk

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Grease muffin tray or line with patty pans.

Cream butter and ...

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Oh Nigella you do a scrumptious moist gingerbread! Even my partner Justin thought it was one of the best things I've made. No wonder, it's got butter, sour cream and stout in it!
melt in pot:
150 g butter
200 g golden syrup
200 g dark muscovado sugar
take it off the heat and add:
250 ml stout (I used Guinness)
whisk in 300 g flour (I used rice, buckwheat and spelt)
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
300 ml sour cream
2 eggs
Pour into tin lined with baking paper. Bak...
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I was inspired by the most delicious ones in Dizengoff, Ponsonby Rd (which they spoil by incuding sultanas!)...
I used this recipe at Taste but adapted it thus, for no particular reason other than that I wanted to use up some different ingredients:

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This is the first recipe I have tried from my latest Amazon purchase, Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson. Mine were a little misshapen as I didn't have a muffin tray at the time. That subtle coffee flavour is very nice. Lovely with a cuppa.

2 c flour ( I used rice and buckwheat)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/4 c chopped nuts (I used hazels and pistachios, Heidi used walnuts)
1 Tbs fine espresso powder
6 Tbs unsalted butter at room temp
3/4 c natural cane sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla...
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125g plain flour
pinch salt
90g butter
2 tsp icing sugar
1 tbs water or lemon juice
egg yolk

Sift flour and salt into a bowl. Place butter in the middle. Add sugar and water/juice and yolk. Stir with blunt knife until mixed together then knead with your hands in the bowl until you have formed a dough. Put in fridge for 20 mins.
Roll out and cut into the shapes for your pastry tins. Refrigerate for another 20 mins. Oven to 180C. Prick pastry and blind bake for 8-10 mins, then 3 mins normal baking.
Fil...
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We were very lucky to have pro chef and food writer Alessandra and her family join us at our second Bake Club meet. She made gorgeous calissons (marzipan-like ground almond bites), petit fours (sponge dipped in chocolate, topped with raspberries) and a super soft spongey frittata with homegrown zucchini and zucchini flowers. Step-by-step pics and more info on her blog here. Yep, she definitely deserved her Bake Club badge!
Bake Club is going through a gluten free phase at the moment so we real...
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The ever resourceful Ginny made these with the leftover egg whites from her pumpkin pie (see below).
She says: 'Easiest thing ever, and oh so delicious. Sometimes I put melted chocolate (dark), this time I couldn't be bothered. Either is good.'

2 cups coconut
2 egg whites
1/3 cup caster sugar

heat oven to 180C
mix ingredients together
put into 2-3 tsp-sized mounds on a sheet of paper
bake for 10-12 minutes (til they're a bit golden)
remove from oven.
cool.
eat.

recipe from Donna Hay Modern Classics 2

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This recipe used lemon curd to make butterfly cupcakes but Mama Chan just used strawberries in season and whipped cream.

125g soft butter, chopped
1 tsp grated lemon rind
¾ c caster sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ c self-raising flour
½ c milk

Line 24 patty pan trays with paper patty cases. Mama Chan got some real cute ones with animals from the $3 Japan shop in Queen St.
Combine butter, rind, sugar, eggs, flour and milk and beat with electric mixer.
Divide mixture among the patty...

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I had some bananas that needed to be cooked with. These sounded healthy and they were surprisingly moreish and delicious. I could have eaten about 6 in one go.

1.5 cups bran
0.75 cup boiling water
0.25 cup brown sugar
0.75 cup plain yogurt
1 egg, beaten
0.25 cup oil
2 bananas, mashed
1.25 cups flour
1.5 tsp baking soda
(approx 1 c frozen blueberries)

makes 12 'standard' muffins... grease a muffin tin
oven to 190C
mix bran with boiling water and leave to cool.
add yogurt, egg, oil and banana to br...
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Ginny admits: "I just used a bought puff pastry which is cheating, but hey, who as the time... it was still nice. and I only made half the filling. left over as custard it was really good! nice and lemony..."

filling:
2 1/4 cups milk
1 1/2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp cornflour
4 egg yolks
1/2c caster sugar
2 strips of lemon rind (thick)

whisk 1/4 c milk, flours and egg yolks until smooth
combine sugar, lemon rind and 1/4 c of water in a pan and sir over low heat til sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil....
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Penny in Windsor made these cute cupcakes for her daughter Emily's birthday. She called the icing "very rustic" but I totally admire any effort one makes in icing.

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Nothing like kitsch kitchen utensils to inspire some baking. I have utensil envy of Ruth’s new ‘matryoshka doll’ measuring cups. Each head and bottom section is a different measurement! The muffin recipe is the one from the Edmonds cookbook, with dates and some ground linseed added. Ruth says: “It pretty much always works!”

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups bran
3 tablespoons ground linseed
1/2 cup chopped dates
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1 tablespoon b...
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There are some days when you just feel like munching into a macaroon.

4 egg whites
2/3 c caster sugar
3 c desiccated coconut (fine or shredded)

Whisk whites for 1 min, add sugar and whisk another 6-8 mins till peaks form. Fold in coconut. Spoon on lined baking tray. Bake at 125C for half hour then at 80C for 1 and a half hours. Mama Chan likes her macaroons crispy. If you like them chewy on the inside, bake for less. Makes 20.
Half dip in chocolate for the decadent touch.

If you're wondering what M...
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I started out with a Genoese sponge by Alessandra Zecchini from her book Sweet As. Then used the Edmonds recipe for the chocolate icing.

I halved this recipe for the lamington sponge.

5 eggs, separated
140g sugar
grated lemon zest
120g flour (I used a bought gluten-free flour mix)
50g butter, melted

Preheat oven to 180C. Line base of 23 cm baking tin with baking paper, then grease and flour sides of tin.
Partly fill a small saucepan with hot water and set over medium heat. Set bowl over the simmering...
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What a lovely afternoon of endless scones with whipped cream AND clotted cream and different kinds of berry jam.

500g/1lb 2oz self-raising flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting
100g/3½oz butter, softened, cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing
large pinch salt
40g/1½oz caster sugar
300ml/10½fl oz full-fat milk, plus extra for glazing

To serve

butter, fresh clotted cream, good quality strawberry jam

1. In a large mixing bowl, rub the flour and butter together, using your fingerti...

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I got this recipe from a Trade Me newsletter and had to give it a go.

It's called: The most dangerous cake recipe 5-minute chocolate mug cake

4 Tb flour, 2-4 Tb sugar, 2 Tb cocoa, 1 egg, 3 Tb milk, 3 Tb oil 3 tablespoons, chocolate chips (optional), a small splash of vanilla extract, 1 large coffee mug
Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug...
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Elodie enjoys her first muffin!

an easy muffin recipe for tired mums and dads ...
makes 6 large, or 12 small

place baby in highchair with plastic baking things to play with 
have a coffee
THEN
in one bowl combine:
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 cup rice flour
half tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
half tsp salt

in another bowl combine:
half tsp grated lemon rind
a quarter cup raw sugar
4 tsp melted butter (or oil)
3/4 cup milk (or ricemilk or soy)
1 egg
3 TBS lemon juice
chopped hazlenuts
small slices/chunks apple, b...

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Alessandra was inspired to make these cupcakes when she was given a jar of delicious coconut butter.

150 ml melted coconut butter

100 g raw cane sugar
 200 g self-rising flour

150 ml water

few drops of pure vanilla essence

Cherry jam

Using an electric beater mix the still warm and melted coconut butter with the sugar, then add the self rising flour and water, making sure that you don't get any lumps. Finally add a few drops of vanilla and divide the batter into 12 cupcake cases. Top each cupcake wit...

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Cinnamon oysters are great for special occasions. They look dainty and are as light as air. One is never enough.

2 eggs
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp golden syrup
4 T plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
whipped cream

Beat eggs and sugar until thick. Add golden syrup and beat well.
Sift dry ingreds together. Fold them into egg mixture.
Spoon onto greased trays.
Bake at 200C for 8-10 mins or until the surface springs back when lightly touched.
When cooled but the oy...
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