Are you looking for family favourite traybake recipes?
Enjoy a sweet treat without a side order of hassle with three traybake recipes that you can whip up with everyday cupboard items in under 15 minutes. If you were to ask Mary Berry, she would define a Traybake as a cake baked in tray that is eaten like a biscuit – great with a cup of tea and perfect for the school bake sale. Think no-fuss cakes, brownies, shortbread and other bakes to be cut into squares and feed a family. Somewhat confusingly, for me growing up Traybakes also consisted of sweet treats that could also be cold set, like fridge cake.
So, if you are a stalwart traditionalist flee the page now as my Traybakes are just no-fuss easy to make deserts that are a great way to start baking with your children.
Brilliant Baking with Mermaid Pan, Dish & Sheet set.
I am not sure if it was when I became a mum or staggered into the thirty-something age bracket that I started investing in quality kitchen goods. Gone are the university days of cooking everything on the same old Tesco tray with burnt bits. Now my cupboards are filled with measuring jugs, braziers (not underwear) sauce pots, stock pots, woks, sponge tins, casserole dishes etc etc! Making dinner is easier with the right cookware and I want it to be robust and scratch proof.
Few suppliers go back as far as Samuel Groves. The Birmingham-based traditional manufacturer of kitchen equipment started in 1817 and every product is still hand-finished. Mermaid’s hard anodised ovenware is claimed to be super hardwearing. Products that will not flake or rust and they have a lifetime guarantee which is a key feature to a budget conscious family like us. Made in the UK the professional quality Pan, Dish & Sheet set are the perfect companions for baking and roasting and the buy once guarantee makes the £59.87 price tag more appealing. I initially thought they were quite small but for a family of four you can fit all you need, from meat to cakes and can fit two to a shelf in my oven which is useful. The range comprises of baking sheet (12 1/2″ x 6 3/4″ x 1/2″), baking dish (10 1/2″ x 8″ x 1 1/2″) and baking pan(10 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ x 1″) and all three are sturdy but still lightweight, with smooth surfaces, even the thin tray does not warp in the oven and they were really easy to clean.
#Gorgeously gooey Blondies in the Baking Pan.
This white chocolate traybake is the new children’s favourite over the traditional chocolate brownie because of their decadent dense and fudgy texture. There are so many methods and additions on the web but this is my partners choice as it is hard to get wrong and the children love to get involved with the making.
Prep Time – 15 mins
Cook Time – 25 mins
Ingredients.
Makes 15 large Blondies (8 in the pan), or we cut 18-21 to make them more kid-sized!
- 225g Unsalted butter
- 250g Brown sugar (we prefer demerara, but soft light brown works)
- 100g Caster sugar
- 2 Eggs + 1 egg yolk
- 2tsp Vanilla extract
- 285g Plain flour
- 2tsp cornflour
- ½ tsp Baking powder
- 1tsp Salt
- 115g White chocolate chips
- 130g Chopped/broken pecan nuts
Method.
- Preheat the oven to 175°C (the pan is oven safe up to 240°C), and for fail safe nonstick line the pan with greaseproof paper.
- Melt the butter in a large bowl, add both sugars & stir well.
- Add eggs, egg yolk & Vanilla extract, stir until completely combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together plain flour, cornflour, baking powder & salt.
- Gradually stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until completely combined.
- Fold in white choc chips & Pecans (these ingredients are optional but work well for us!)
- Spread the Blondie batter onto the prepared pan.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a sharp knife/toothpick/thermometer comes out cleanly or with a few fudgy crumbs. If you prefer a cakey texture, leave for another 5 mins. Check if the blondies are cooked by giving the tin a gentle shake, they should be mostly set but a little bit of a wobble in the centre is fine.
- Transfer to a board to cool slightly before cutting and enjoying. The blondies will keep for 5 days in a sealed container.
*The Mermaid collection is formed from an alloy which provides superior thermal conductivity for even heat distribution, which is essential for the successful baking which I noticed in a really even Blondie rise (even though our oven is 100 years old and very temperamental!)
#Traditional tasty Tiffin in the Baking Dish.
Tiffin is a firm favourite here at The Parenting Jungle, my nanny used to make it when I was a child. This is a no-bake biscuit-y chocolate treat which is so simple to make. It consists of crushed biscuits, raisins and cherries mixed together and topped with a layer of chocolate and chilled in the fridge. Tiffin can also be mixed up and altered to suit your own taste – fillings like nuts, marshmallows, cranberries, or different biscuits like Ginger snaps.
Prep Time – 10 mins
Ingredients.
Makes 8-10 Tiffin slices and by happy accident the recipe fits perfectly in the Mermaid dish.
- 100g Butter
- 25g Caster Sugar
- 3tbsp Cocoa Powder
- 4tbsp Golden Syrup
- 225g Digestives
- 200g Milk or Dark Chocolate
Method.
- Line your dish base with greaseproof paper.
- Crush your digestive biscuits. You want most of it to be quite fine but leave some bits in bigger chunks to give your Tiffin a bit of texture. Put biscuits in a sealable sandwich bag and bang it with a rolling pin to keep it mess free.
- Place the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and golden syrup in a saucepan and heat until the butter is melted, and all of the ingredients have combined. A top tip when measuring your golden syrup, dip your measuring spoon in boiling water in between measurements as this will help the syrup slide off easier.
- Pour the saucepan mixture into the biscuits and combine well. Add the Tiffin mix into the Mermaid dish. Use a spoon to press the mixture down to form the base.
- In a separate bowl, melt the chocolate over a saucepan of boiling water or in a microwave. Pour the melted chocolate over the top of the biscuit mixture in the baking tin.
- Place the Tiffin in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours but ideally overnight. Score the chocolate before cutting to avoid cracking. The Mermaid trio are safe to use with metal utensils so you can cut the Tiffin in the dish.
#Filling peanut and oat balls on the Baking Tray.
A new tasty discovery in our household are these filling protein packed oat snacks! The base of No-Bake Oatmeal Energy Balls is oatmeal, peanut butter, and honey. You can mix in a lot of things to suit your taste. Simple and no bake we have included the child friendly recipe, but you can add protein powder, chia seeds or flaxseed if you want an adult version! You could also add chocolate chips, cranberries or raisins for more texture or a few shakes of cinnamon if its to your taste.
Prep Time – 10 mins
Ingredients.
Makes 8-10 peanut balls. You could make them smaller as they are so filling.
You can use smooth peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, pecan butter, sunbutter, and just about any other nut butter that you like, though it will change the flavour of the oatmeal energy balls.
- 1 cup Dry oats
- 1/4 Cup peanut butter
- 1/4 Cup honey
- Dash of salt
Method.
- In a medium bowl, add all of the ingredients and stir to combine well. The mixture should be a bit sticky. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Once set hand roll into a 1 ½-inch balls. Peanut Butter balls need to be refrigerated and will last up to 2 weeks in the fridge in an airtight container. If you choose to freeze yours, you can expect them to last about 30 days in the freezer.
We hope your families love these recipes and the Mermaid Pan, Dish & Sheet set are a durable first class set of baking trays. They are made for using at high temperatures in particular, you can use them both in the oven and on the hob (except induction). They are not dishwasher safe. Hand wash only.
#AD. We were kindly gifted the Mermaid trio for review purposes. All views and opinions are our own.