Michelle Darmody: Tray bakes are simple buy delicious
THERE is an ease and comfort to making tray bakes, the final creation will not be on display so there always seems to be less pressure. Whatever you bake will be sliced up before serving so there is always a margin of error. Any of these tray bakes can be prepared a day in advance and either cut when cooled or before you serve them.
Brownies can be divisive. I know people who enjoy them when they are baked for less time and allowed to stay really squishy and sticky. I had others come into the cafe and insist on ordering a crustier, firmer brownie, from the edge of the tin. It is a matter of personal taste, so experiment with the length of baking time to see what you like best. Also, ovens vary, and cooking times will be different in each one.
When making the beetroot and carrot squares, it is best to toss the sultanas in flour before adding them to your cake mix. It will help to prevent them from sinking. I enjoy the combination of carrot and beetroot in this cake and try to choose darkly- coloured beetroots that contain some juice. The colour of the final bake is really interesting. You are welcome to top each square with a slick of cream cheese icing for a more traditional finish, but I like the simplicity of the cake as is.
Chocolate orange brownies
- 250g of dark chocolate, broken into small, even-sized pieces
- 250g of soft butter
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- The zest of 4 oranges
- 330g of golden caster sugar
- 150g of plain flour
- 100g of caramelised orange peel, chopped
Heat your oven to 180C and line a 9in square tin withbaking parchment.
Melt the butter andchocolate together over a low heat.
Beat the eggs, zest, caster sugar, and flour together until combined. Stir the two mixtures together and then stir in the candied orange peel.
Bake for about 25 to 30minutes depending on how squishy you like them.
Allow to cool in the tin and slice them to the size you prefer.
Beetroot and carrot squares
- 100g of grated beetroot
- 50g of grated carrot
- 60g of golden sultanas, tossed in flour
- 40g of walnuts, roughly chopped
- 170g of muscovado sugar
- 160 mls of olive oil
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- The zest of 2 oranges
- 175g of self raising flour
- 1 tsp of bread soda, sieved
- 2 tsp of mixed spice
Preheat your oven to 180C and line an 8in square cake tin with parchment.
Place the grated vegetables, the sultanas, walnuts, sugar, oil, eggs and zest into a bowl.
Stir everything until combined.
In another bowl, sieve the bread soda into the flour and mix it with the spice.
Combine the two mixtures and scoop into the prepared tin.
Bake for about 40 minutes until the cake feels firm to touch.
Allow to cool in the tin until you can easily handle it, then place onto a wire rack. Cut into squares once it has cooled completely.
Lemon blueberry squares
- 250g of cold butter, cubed
- 95g of icing sugar
- 250g of plain flour
- The zest of 1 orange
- The zest of 1 lemon
- 4 eggs
- The zest of 2 lemons
- 300g of caster sugar
- 100 mls of lemon juice
- 50g of flour
- 1 level tsp of baking powder, sieved
- 80g of blueberries
Line 9in square tin with bakingparchment and preheat your oven to 180C.
To make the pastry base, mix all the necessary ingredients together until the mixture looks like rough breadcrumbs. Scoop the breadcrumb-like mixture into your prepared tin and pat the mixture until flat.
Bake for 20 minutes until it is starting to become golden. Set aside to cool.
To make the topping, beat the eggs, zest, and caster sugar until foamy and doubled in volume.
Add the lemon juice, flour, and baking powder. Mix together but do not over beat or the topping will becomemeringue like, rather than the curdy texture you are looking for. Gently stir in the blueberries.
Pour this mixture on top of the slightly cooled first layer and bake for 20 minutes. If it still wobbles, bake it foranother one or two minutes at a time, checking to see if it has solidified.
Allow to cool in the tin and cut into square with a bread knife. Dipping the knife in warm water can allow the squares to be cut more easily.
