My Top 5 Hassle Free Lockdown Bakes

It's been over two weeks since the start of lockdown and I've realised that there's one thing that's been keeping me sane, baking. It can sometimes be really hard to find easy, yet delicious recipes and we can often find ourselves asking, is the end result really worth the hassle? Baking makes me feel much more productive and gives me something to do, So I've decided to share my top five fool proof recipes to take the hassle away from baking something delicious.

1. Mary Berry cherry cake.

With the name Mary Berry this cake already sounds over complicated, but fear not, this cake only has five steps. Surely it can't be that simple? It is.

Check out the recipe here

My favourite twist to this cake is to add cranberries instead of the cherries as I think they have a better taste or to add 100g of cherries and 100g of cranberries, its completely up to you! You do need to have a Bundt tin for this recipe but if you don't have one you could just use a regular cake tin or a loaf tin. After baking for 40 minutes the end result is a beautiful golden brown mouth-wateringly good cake. This recipe definitely deserves to be at the top of this list.

2. Easy chocolate cake.

It's another big cake bake and this one doesn't fail to disappoint. This chocolate cake is without a doubt the BEST chocolate cake recipe I have ever tasted (even if I do say so myself). The cake's made with oil instead of butter meaning the cake won't be dry, which can be a big problem with chocolate cakes. It's topped off with an insanely creamy chocolate ganache which will make you want to cut another slice. I've also found that not as much warm water is needed, so I would recommend gradually adding the water until the mixture is a smooth runny consistency, rather than adding it all in at once. This cake does take a bit longer to make than the first on this list and is more on the difficult side, but it's still a simple bake and if you're willing to put in a bit more time then I couldn't recommend this recipe more!

Check out the recipe here

3. Millie's cookies recipe

I'm sure most people have tasted a Millie's cookie, if not just imagine the best cookie you've ever tasted. This Cookie recipe mimics the well know Millie's cookies and is also gooey, sweet and very more ish. I'd recommend baking the first batch for 10 minutes and then the rest for 8mins or less as the oven gets warmer over time and no one likes a burnt cookie :). Also, DO NOT DOUBLE THE RECIPE. I always double the recipe, but this is the rare occasion where you don't need to. If you double the recipe then you are guaranteed to run out of electricity to power the oven for the amount of cookies you're going to be baking (I'm kidding, but honestly the recipe makes so many you just don't need to double the mixture).

Check out the recipe here

4. Malteser tiffin

This has got to be the easiest recipe on this list so far, and it doesn't even need to be baked. That's right, this is a refrigerated tray bake, delicious. Malteser tiffin would be a great thing to drop off for a friend who's having a lockdown birthday or if restrictions get lifted by summer, it would be great to make the night before for a picnic as this tray bake is hassle free.

Check out the recipe here

5. Last but certainly not least is Melting moments.

This recipe comes from the Be-Ro recipe book. So, if you have that, fab! If not don't worry, I managed to find the recipe online. This is my favourite, go to biscuit recipe, it's the best and easiest biscuit to make. Once you've started baking these, you won't be able to stop, but they're also very light weight so perfect for a quick snack.

Find the recipe here

With lockdown being in place for the foreseeable future I hope these recipes manage to fill some of your empty time and satisfy your sweet tooth.

Happy baking :)