The festive season is well and truly upon us here at Traybakes HQ. The tree is up and covered in an array of ornaments, bought and homemade, and there are even a few presents underneath (Little Miss Traybakes has been very well behaved and isn’t shaking hers too much!). We’ve had our first snowfall and first sledding expedition. We’re introducing more Americans to the wonders of a good homemade mince pie and while we’re waiting for the Christmas cake to be iced, we’ve been enjoying this rich, spiced Ginger Cake.
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Pastry, jam, pineapple and coconut. It all sounds like a pretty good combination of flavors. And you’d be right! This Pineapple Coconut Slice has a layer of pastry topped with jam (I went for raspberry), pineapple pieces (tinned works great) and then a coconutty mixture, which turns beautifully golden after it’s been baked.
Yes, you have to make pastry for this, but it’s really not that tricky and you’re covering it with lots of toppings, so don’t worry too much about it. And the coconut mixture is quite stiff, so you have to scatter it over the top and press it down a bit, but it all works out in the end, and a little piece of pineapple peeking thought the coconut here and there gives a glimpse of what’s to come!
Scones are a big part of Northern Irish baking. To be honest, scones are popular on both sides of the Atlantic, although the American variety do tend to be bigger. These Treacle Scones are a nice variation on a plain scone (recipe here). They are a little sweet and the treacle adds a lovely depth of flavor and color. Best served with a slathering of butter and your favorite jam.
Rice Krispies (or any puffed rice cereal you choose) feature heavily in Northern Irish traybake baking. I have several recipes on the blog already that use Rice Krispies with toffee, Mars Bars and even dates and ginger. This week, it’s that classic combination of chocolate and peanut butter in these Chocolate Peanut Mallow Krispies.
It’s another classic flavor combination this week with this no-bake chocolate mint slice. There are already a couple of chocolate and mint traybakes on the blog, including one of my most popular recipes the Mint Aero Traybake, but the joy of this recipe is that it’s likely you already have all the ingredients you need for this and can rustle it up quickly, when the need for a minty slice calls!
Dates are a firm favourite in the Traybakes’ household and there is usually a packet of Medjool dates in the fridge for on-the-go sweet snacking. I’ve already got one date traybake recipe in the archives and there are several more recipes for traybakes and breads/cakes still to come. And now we have this recipe for Date Slices. We like dates!
This latest traybake is another simple recipe. Dates, oats, flour, sugar, butter. Then you have a tin full of Date Slices! These make a perfect teatime or even lunchbox treat – chewy, sticky, sweet and oaty. Yum!
Chocolate! Marshmallow! Weetabix?! Yes, you did read that correctly. These Mallow Squares have Weetabix in the base. Mixed with some sugar and coconut, of course, I’m not going to try to pretend that these are some sort of breakfast food!
I guess it shouldn’t be all that surprising that there are traybakes out there with Weetabix in them, I have used Cornflakes (here) and Rice Krispies (here) before and I’m sure I’ve got a few recipes somewhere that use All-Bran. Breakfast cereals are a staple ingredient in the traditional traybake world!
Chocolate Orange Slice. Another one of those classic combinations. Often found together in cakes and biscuits (I’m not going to start a debate on whether a Jaffa Cake is a cake or a biscuit, so let’s just leave it there…) and also in that traditional Christmas treat – the Chocolate Orange!
This no-bake traybake brings together a classic chocolate fridge cake or tiffin (or whatever you choose to call it) with a smooth orange buttercream. Using cocoa powder makes the biscuit layer dark and chocolatey, but then the orange buttercream balances it out nicely. And then you’re left with, well…a few crumbs, considering the speed at which these disappeared in our house!
Although not exactly the same as Neapolitan ice cream, the three layers on this Neapolitan Squares traybake look similar enough to earn the name!
It turns out that Neapolitan ice cream was originally available in a variety of flavours and then the chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry combination took over as these were most popular in the USA at the time.
While there isn’t chocolate or vanilla in this Neapolitan Squares traybake, it has a digestive/graham cracker base, a sticky coconut middle and a pink-hued strawberry buttercream topping!
No-bake lemon cheesecake bars. This is a proper, old-school, retro recipe, made with cream cheese, evaporated milk and lemon jelly (or jello, for my US readers). See, I told you it was properly retro!
But, you know what, it still tastes good. And it’s quick and easy to make. So it’s perfect for a simple summer dessert.
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