I am a snacker. A proud snacker at that. Sweet, savoury, hot or cold.
According to my grandma, the best snack however is home baked. And I agree, I
always feel a sense of grand satisfaction when I make something delicious. I feel
productive for making it, and content when eating it. But I, like a lot of people, don’t
have the same skills as those in the bake-off tent. I don’t know how to mix complex
flavours, make fancy pastry, or decorate beautiful cakes. But who said that is
necessary?
I am a simple baker- my bakes are easy, but equally as yummy. Therefore, I want to
share with you 4 of my quick treat recipes, savoury and sweet, using easy
ingredients and products to make a snack productive enough to make you feel good,
but quick enough for you to devour it within thirty minutes.
Cheese and chutney pin wheels
Easy and cheesy….
What you need:
- Chutney (I recommend caramelised onion)
- Ready roll puff pastry
- Grated cheese
- Egg (for egg wash)
What to do!
1) Set the oven to 200 degrees or match it to whatever it says on the ready roll
puff pastry packet.
2) Roll out your puff pastry. Lather on some of your chutney in a thin layer, as
too much will make it very messy to cut and roll.
3) Then add your grated cheese on top of the chutney, the more the better!
4) Then you need to roll up your puff pastry, so it looks like a Swiss roll! This
means it will look like one long log, with a swirled pattern at either end.
5) Then take a knife and cut discs of from the log and place them onto
parchment paper on a tray.
6) Egg wash the disks and place a bit of extra cheese on top.
7) Cook for 12 mins (or again follow the instructions from the puff pastry packet.)
8) Let them cool for 10 minutes and enjoy!!
Nutella and raspberry swirls
The sweet sister to the savoury pin wheels…
- Nutella
- Raspberries
- Ready roll puff pastry
- Egg (for egg wash)
What to do!
ď‚· This is super simple because it is the exact same instructions as the cheese
and chutney pin wheels! So, follow all the instructions as previously stated,
except you lather the pastry with a thin layer of Nutella, and then place
raspberries all on top before rolling it up into the log!
Ice cream cakes
A low effort bake that looks high effort…
- Premixed cake batter (I am a big Betty Crocker fan for this)
- Ice cream cones (with the flat bottom; not the pointed ones)
- Premade butter cream
- Decorations if you want to be extra fancy.
What to do!
1) First use your premixed batter to make your cake batter. You may need to buy
additional ingredients based on the mix, but usually it’s just an extra bit of
milk, water or eggs. Some people see this as cheating, but I have no issue
with this!
2) Then you need to pour the cake batter into the ice cream cones. I tend to fill
them about Âľ of the way up the cone. This is why it is important to have
wider, flat-bottomed cones as they need to stand up in the oven. Pointy
bottoms won’t work!
3) Then place these to cook in the oven, using the instructions from the cake
mix. I find this so interesting as the batter cooks inside the cone, but the
cones stay rigid and crispy! Makes a really yummy texture to eat.
4) Once they are finished, leave them to cool for 20 minutes before putting the
butter cream on top of the risen cake dome to make it look like an actual ice
cream! Feel free to add some extra decorations if you are feeling fancy.
Smash potatoes
A snack that can double as a dinner side….
- Potatoes (new potato size)
- Oil
- Premade guac or salsa.
What to do!
1) Parboil potatoes, as many as you see fit. Usually takes about 15 minutes for
me.
2) Then take the potatoes out of the water and let them cool down for 10
minutes.
3) Place the potatoes separately onto a piece of parchment paper on a baking
tray
4) Take a glass cup and rub oil on the bottom. Then use this cup to gently
smash the potatoes down flat individually. The thinner you make them the
crispier they will be! If the potatoes begin to stick to the glass, wash it and add
more oil to the bottom.
5) Once you have finished, add some more oil and salt onto the top of the
potatoes, and cook at 200 degrees in the oven until they are crispy enough for
you!
6) Then use them to dip into a fresh guacamole or salsa- but any dips work!
As you can see these are all extremely low effort! But from how they taste, you
would never know!