traybakes & more

Chocolate traybake with hazelnuts and marshmallow

No-Bake Chocolate Hazelnut Traybake

June 11, 2021 / CJ / 0 Comments

On a hot day, when I don’t want to turn on the oven, I often look for a no-bake traybake and this No-Bake Chocolate Hazelnut Traybake fits the bill beautifully. You don’t even need to use the stove as this can all be prepared in the microwave. Chocolate, biscuits, marshmallows and hazelnuts all mixed together and topped with a mix of chocolate and Nutella.

If you don’t have a microwave, then you can easily do this in a double boiler instead. Just set a large bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and heat until the butter and chocolate are melted. Then add most of the marshmallows and heat a little more until the marshmallows are puffy and starting to melt, then mix in the rest of the ingredients.

Because of the hazelnuts in the base of this No-Bake Chocolate Hazelnut Traybake, I added a couple of tablespoons of Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread) to the melted chocolate on top. Just melt the chocolate first and then stir in the Nutella until incorporated, before spreading over the top of the traybake.

The white chocolate is mostly decorative, so you can leave it out if you prefer. Feel free to be as abstract or as precise as you like with the drizzling!

And that’s about it really. Super simple. Although, if it’s too hot to turn the oven on, like it has been here recently, then it’s best to keep this traybake in the fridge so the chocolate doesn’t melt too much!

Ingredients

Base

5oz/125g milk chocolate, chopped

4oz/110g butter

1oz/25g dark chocolate, chopped

5oz/125g mini marshmallows

3oz/75g hazelnuts, chopped

6oz/175g plain biscuits (eg Rich Tea/Marie/Digestives/Graham Crackers), crushed

Topping

6oz/175g milk chocolate

2 tbsp Nutella/chocolate hazelnut spread

1oz/25g white chocolate, to drizzle

Method

Put the milk chocolate, dark chocolate and butter in a bowl and microwave on HIGH for 1 minute.
Stir the chocolate mix and add around three-quarters of the marshmallows. Microwave for a further 1 minute.
Mix well. Add the crushed biscuits and chopped hazelnuts and the remaining marshmallows.
Press into a lined traybake tin. I used my 8inch/20cm square tin.
Melt the milk chocolate for the topping, stir in the Nutella and spread over the top of the traybake. Then melt the white chocolate and use to drizzle over the top.
Leave to set, then cut into squares and enjoy!

Stack of shortbread cookies beside a tea cup

Traditional All-Butter Shortbread

June 4, 2021 / CJ / 2 Comments

It’s a ‘back to basics’ kind of recipe this week with this Traditional All-Butter Shortbread. I realized that I had Brown Sugar Shortbread and Almond Shortbread recipes on the blog, but nothing for a simple, traditional shortbread.

And this recipe couldn’t be easier. Just a few ingredients, mixed together easily and rolled out and cut into whatever size cookies you prefer. I used a 58mm cookie cutter and rolled my dough to about 1cm thickness, which gave me 26 shortbread cookies. Obviously if your dough is thicker/thinner or the cookies larger/smaller, then keep an eye on it as it may well bake more slowly or quickly than mine did.

Easy Chocolate Caramel Traybake

May 28, 2021 / CJ / 0 Comments

This Easy Chocolate Caramel Traybake is probably the easiest – baked – traybake that I have ever made (Fifteens probably wins the easiest no-bake traybake category). When I was making the video of this for my YouTube channel, I had to stop myself from saying ‘easy’ and ‘simple’ too many times.

You start with a Digestive biscuit base (or Graham Crackers) and then you simply pour over an entire tin of condensed milk and then sprinkle with chocolate and coconut before baking for about 30 minutes.

And that’s it. Really.

Base layer of cake topped with an oat, coconut and cherry layer

Crunchy Topped Squares

May 21, 2021 / CJ / 0 Comments

Now, there are probably many traybakes that could be classed as Crunchy Topped Squares, but this one is actually called that. It’s a simple sponge cake layer on the bottom with a crunchy, almost flapjack-like layer spread on top.

As usual, it’s pretty simple and straightforward. Yes, I know I say this with every recipe, but I guess that’s my thing – nice and simple traybake recipes.

No-Bake Chocolate Mallow Pie

May 14, 2021 / CJ / 0 Comments

You might look at this pie and think that I’ve strayed from my usual, easy, traybake recipes. But this No-Bake Chocolate Mallow Pie is essentially a traybake disguised as a tart. It’s a simple Digestive/Graham Cracker base topped with melted marshmallows and chocolate and cream.

Just mix crushed biscuits with melted butter and press into a 9″/23cm flan/tart tin. Then put it in the fridge to set. While that’s in the fridge, melt marshmallows with chocolate, vanilla and milk, then fold in whipped cream. And that’s it! Pour it in the tin and put it back in the fridge. The hardest part is waiting for it to set so you can cut yourself a slice.

Chocolate covered date and Rice Krispie bars

No-Bake Chocolate Date Krispies

April 30, 2021 / CJ / 0 Comments

In need of a really simple, quick, no-bake traybake? Then these No-Bake Chocolate Date Krispies definitely fit the bill. Yes, you have to wait for the chocolate to set, but because it all comes together so easily, you can have this made and in the fridge in no time. And then a couple of hours later, you have a sweet, sticky traybake to enjoy.

I have a lot of other date recipes on the blog – my No-Bake Date Rolls are probably my favorite – but sometimes, you want a little chocolate in your traybake. I used dark chocolate in mine, even though I’m more of a milk chocolate fan. Feel free to use whichever you prefer.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

April 16, 2021 / CJ / 0 Comments

I like to keep things as simple as possible here on ‘traybakes & more’. So, this Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting fits the bill! You don’t need a mixer, you only need one bowl. OK, so you need a bowl for the frosting as well, but you only need one bowl at a time. Just beat everything together, pour it into your tin and bake. No fancy tin needed – I even used my regular traybake tin for this. Which bakes faster, so you get cake sooner. It’s a win-win situation really.

Mini Egg Blondies

April 1, 2021 / CJ / 0 Comments

These Mini Egg Blondies are essentially just my Butterscotch Squares recipe with Mini Eggs instead of nuts. I wanted to bake something for Easter and as everyone loves Mini Eggs, or at least everyone in the Traybakes’ household, this seemed the perfect modification. I’ve added Mini Eggs to my Toffee Rice Krispie Treats recipe in the past, and that has worked well, and is a great recipe if you want to really see the Mini Eggs in your bake. With these Mini Egg Blondies, they do tend to lose their color as they bake. But you are still left with large chunks of chocolate studded throughout each slice.

Viennese Fingers

March 26, 2021 / CJ / 0 Comments

Viennese Fingers. Or you can pipe them in swirls and call them Viennese Whirls. Either way, this is a delicate, buttery, vanilla-scented shortbread biscuit. I chose to dip mine in chocolate, but you can also sandwich these together with buttercream. Or jam. Or jam and buttercream.

It’s taken me a while to get this recipe to work because, so many times before, I got a great tasting biscuit, but it just would not hold its shape when baked. Finally, I got it to work and these Viennese Fingers don’t (shouldn’t!) spread when in the oven and taste great too.

Mars Bar Krispie Caramel Squares

February 26, 2021 / CJ / 4 Comments

Mars Bar Buns are great but have you tried adding caramel to make Mars Bar Krispie Caramel Squares? Because everything is better with caramel. Or is that sprinkles? Anyway, this no-bake traybake takes a regular Mars Bar Traybake and adds a layer of caramel between the Rice Krispie layer and the chocolate topping, which ends up making it taste more like a Mars Bar. Everyone’s a winner!

Or more like a Milky Way, if like me, you’re in the US. Yes, almost 14 years living in the US and it still feels strange to be using a Milky Way bar when I need a Mars Bar for these Mars Bar Rice Krispie Caramel Squares.