Author: If I knew you were coming

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Easter Baking

easter baking gooey fudge brownie mix

With Easter coming up we have adapted a couple of our baking boxes to give them a real Easter feel. Our children’s idea was to add Creme Eggs to our Triple Fudge Brownie baking kit. Naturally we obliged and the results were delicious and very moreish!

As Easter baking for kids goes, this is a simple way to get a quick and easy and fuss free brownie, topped with Cadburys Creme eggs. What more could you ask for? Whether you are baking with kids, or just fancy an Easter bake this is a real crowd pleaser.

What we used

Our Triple fudge brownie baking box is one of our newest brownie baking mixes and packs plenty of fudgy chocolate flavour, with a mix of 3 different Belgian chocolates! We also added 3 Cadburys Creme Eggs during baking, to give an Easter baking feel and an oozy chocolaty topping.

Easter baking for kids and with kids is always rewarding, we love their little chocolatey faces after cleaning out the bowl, and their delight at the end product. So with little interference from me and my husband, we let them loose!

What is needed

To create this Easter baking recipe using our triple fudge brownie you will need the following items:

A triple fudge brownie baking kit, 3 Cadburys Creme eggs, a large bowl, a spatula, an electric whisk and 9×9 inches (23cmx23cm) brownie tin. Greaseproof parchment paper is included in with the baking kit.

Process for the Easter bake

Simply follow the step by step instructions in the baking kit. Place the brownie in the oven for 5 minutes, slice the Creme eggs in half. Once 5 minutes is up, remove the brownie mixture from the oven and quickly place the Creme egg halves in the top of the brownie mix. Pop the brownie mixture back in the oven for the remaining 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool and enjoy!

  • easter baking gooey fudge brownie mix
  • brownie mixture
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Christmas delivery info

**UPDATE** As of 12am on Monday 14/12/2020 all orders will be issued as Email gift vouchers due to extremely high volume.

Thank you for your understanding

Our last day for Christmas delivery is Friday 18th December. All orders received after 12 noon on 18th December will receive an E voucher. All December orders are being upgraded to Royal Mail 1st Class delivery. Please understand that we are dealing with a large number of orders and will try to hit dates specified, but this may not always be possible due to the uncertainty from Royal Mail.

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Branded Baking parchment now in all baking kits!

bake box

We are really pleased to announce that we are now including baking parchment in all of our baking kits once again. As with all of our baking boxes they are recyclable or home compostable. We recommend that a brownie tin is used with our brownie baking kits as they are not foil backed like the previous baking parchment. However they are now included with the cookie and muffin baking kits.

New baking kits coming very soon

We are also really excited that we will have some new brownie baking kits coming very soon, we are just putting the finishing touches to them and hope to launch them in the next few weeks. Also look out in the near future for a 6 month brownie subscription and an updated muffin subscription which we are doing the final testing on now.

fudge brownie baking kit
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Baking kit update and news

Baking kit of the week

Our baking kit of the week is the delicious chocolate and caramel muffin. It is only £4.99 including free delivery this week only (offer ends on 20/07/2020). You could even try the alternative option for this kit, the amazing caramel muffin chocolate tiramisu.

caramel muffin baking gift subscription box
caramel muffin baking kit

Baking kit development
 

Over the last few weeks we have been developing some new baking kits, 2 new brownies and 2 new muffins. So look out for these in the coming weeks….


Further update on our reduction in packaging plan

We are delighted to say have finally completed the removal of the plastic bottles, we are really delighted with the replacement to the liquid extract.  If you receive one of the kits in the coming weeks we would love to know your feedback.

Take care and stay safe
Chris & Katie

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Baking subscription service resumes

Firstly, may we take this opportunity to thank everyone for their patience and support during this difficult time. We have have just completed the first month of our baking subscriptions since the lockdown, so we thought it is a good time to give a little update on what we have been up to.

Reduction in Packaging

It has been a long term goal of ours to reduce the amount of packaging we use, in particular the plastic bottles. We have extensively tested our recipes which use these with alternative dry ingredients. We have therefore replaced the vanilla extract with pure ground vanilla pods, and this is now included within the flour mix. Although they have not completely gone away, we didn’t feel the alternatives for the orange extract and lemon extract were viable without impacting quality and taste.

We have also started using slightly smaller compostable bags for the smaller quantity items, which also fit in the box better.

Sourcing parchment foil

Unfortunately we have been unable to fully source the quantity of the parchment paper required for the brownies, blondies and caramel brownies. We have therefore taken the decision to not include these at the moment. We are planning to include them again in our baking kits in the very near future.

Christmas

Believe it or not, we have started the procurement and preparation for Christmas, which feels weird considering its been the hottest day of the year so far!

Take care and stay safe

Chris & Katie

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Covid-19 “Coronavirus” update

***UPDATE, We are shipping again ***

Please visit our Amazon shop page

We are currently pausing shipping out all orders and subscriptions due to the current lockdown, we will still respond to messages on the contact us page, or Facebook messenger in the speedy manner that we know many of our customers appreciate, and please continue to contact us if you feel the need to. We can still produce and email gift vouchers if required. We have sent extra stock to Amazon to cover this period, if you really can’t do without our baking kits.
Our hygiene always go above and beyond the standard requirement, and we will continue to keep up this high standard, including stringent hand washing and disinfection of surfaces. There is however no evidence to suggest that the virus can live on parcels for extended periods. Please see the royal mail website to see their guidance on parcel deliveries.

Our action plan for the following weeks:

  • We can still email gift vouchers and voucher codes until normal service resumes
  • Increase stock level of individual baking kits and hot chocolate at the Amazon fulfilment centres for Amazon prime orders. For individual kits and our deluxe hot chocolate, please visit our Amazon shop front
  • We have recently increased out stock in raw ingredients to maintain baking kit and hot chocolate production until 2021.

Our Business

We are a husband and wife team in our 30’s with 2 small children at home. We work out of a designated production office in our home, which has received a 5 star Hygiene rating from our local council (Eden District Council). Katie produces all baking kits and is trained to Level 4 Food Safety which is the highest level of food safety training available. Chris is our website designer and provides customer support.

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Mini Chocolate Brownie ‘Christmas Puddings’

Chocolate brownie baking kit

These fun little bite sized brownies are really easy to do and look great.  Our kids loved helping to decorate them, and really loved eating them!  They would be great as a treat to have with a coffee after dinner, or as a bite sized dessert.  We loved eating them instead of a mince pie on the run up to Christmas, unfortunately there was none left to leave out for Father Christmas though.

Ingredients:

1 classic chocolate brownie baking kit

200g White chocolate

Red/green sprinkles

Cake pop mould

Method:

Mix the brownies following the instruction card,

Split the mixture into the cake pop mould and bake for 15 mins or until set, leave in the mould for 5 minutes, then pop out.

Melt the white chocolate in the microwave, then spoon a small amount onto the top of the brownies, then sprinkle a small amount of the green and red sprinkles on top

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Strawberries and Cream Trifle

Strawberry and cream muffin trifle

This is our recipe using our strawberries and cream muffin mix baking kit as the base for this deliciously decadent trifle.  We tried the recipe with and without Prosecco, and it is equally delicious either way, so its down to personal preference/ if children will be eating it if you decide to use the Prosecco or not.

The addition of homemade custard makes this recipe really special, and our custard recipe is really easy to do, and well worth the extra effort.

Ingredients:

1 Strawberry and Cream Muffin Baking Kit

Strawberries

300ml double cream

Prosecco (Optional)

For the custard:

200ml double cream

700ml milk

4 large egg yolks

4tbsp cornflour

100g caster sugar

1tsp Vanilla Extract

Method:

Mix and bake the Strawberries and Cream muffins following the instruction card

While the muffins are baking, make the custard

Put the cream and milk into a large pan and gently bring to just below boiling point.  Meanwhile in a large bowl, whisk the yolks, cornflour, sugar and vanilla.

Gradually pour the hot milk mixture onto the sugar mixture, whisking constantly

Wipe out the saucepan and pour the mixture back into it.  Heat gently stirring with a wooden spoon until the custard has thickened.

Tip into a large bowl and cover tightly with clingfilm to prevent a skin from forming.  Cool in the fridge.

Slice the strawberries, keep the 3 nicest for decoration.

When the muffins and custard are both cool, chop 3 of the muffins into slices and lay in the bottom of a trifle dish

Cover the layer of muffins with sliced strawberries

Slice the final 3 muffins and lay over the sliced strawberries

Top with the cooled custard

Whip 300ml of double cream then spoon over the top of the custard.

Decorate with 3 strawberries

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Chocolate and Orange Cheesecake

Chocolate orange cheesecake

If you’re looking for something a little different, or a way to make our baking kits a little more difficult we have developed a couple of recipes using our bake at home kits as a base.

We created these recipes for a charity night we attended in December 2019 at Cranstons Foodhall in Penrith, raising money for Hospice at home and they went down a storm with everyone who came over for a taster.

You will need to add a few more ingredients, but I’m sure you will agree that the end result is worth the extra effort!

Using our chocolate and orange cookie bake at home kit as a base for this sumptuous, boozy dessert gives a delicious alternative to a traditional cheesecake base.  

Ingredients:

1 Chocolate and Orange Cookie baking kit

300ml double cream

250g cream cheese

1 orange

50ml Cointreau

50g Icing sugar

Method:

Mix the chocolate orange cookies following the instruction card

Grease a springform cake tin with butter

Put the whole of the cookie dough into the cake tin and cover the entire bottom, like one giant cookie

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden

Leave in the tin to cool completely

Whisk 300ml double cream until stiff, then fold in cream cheese, finely grated orange rind, Cointreau and sift in the icing sugar.

Mix until no lumps remain.

Spoon onto the cold cookie base and flatten the top.

Cover and put into the fridge for 4-6 hours or overnight.

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Easy baking for snow days

Storm Emma and the Beast from the East are in full sway, here at If I Knew You Were Coming, we love a snow day, it’s a chance to light the fire, put on warm PJ’s and bake!

Here are a couple of our go to easy baking recipes for those times you just don’t have a wide range of ingredients and need the comforting smell and taste of a delicious homemade bake!

Fairy Buns

Ingredients

  • 100 g (4 oz)Margarine
  • 100 g (4 oz)caster sugar
  • 2 medium Eggs
  • 100 g (4 oz) Self Raising Flour

Method

  • Heat oven to 180ºC, 350ºF, Gas Mark 4. Fill  a bun tray with 12 bun cases.
  • Cream margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, adding a little flour with each.
  • Gently fold in remaining flour.
  • Spoon the mixture into pre-prepared bun cases and bake for around 15 mins.

We like to top with a delicious buttercream using 50g butter or margarine, creamed together with 100g sieved icing sugar, half a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a dash of milk. If you want a quicker topping melt 100g of milk chocolate in the microwave and simple spoon over the top of the fairy buns! Delicious and comforting for when you have returned from making a snowman!

Shortbread

Ingredients

  • 125g/4oz butter
  • 55g/2oz caster sugar, plus extra to finish
  • 180g/6oz plain flour

Method

  • Heat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
  • Cream the butter and the sugar together until smooth.
  • Stir in the flour to get a smooth paste, empty on a worktop and roll out until the paste is 1cm/½in thick.
  • Cut into shapes and place onto a baking tray. Sprinkle with caster sugar and place in the fridge for 20 minutes.
  • Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until pale golden-brown.
  • Set aside to cool on a wire rack.

For those times when you want to bake something a bit different that you may not have the ingredients for, our baking kits and baking subscriptions hit the spot.  We have tasty recipes for Brownies, Cookies and Muffins. Yum!