With restaurants closed and late night trips to Tescos a thing of the past, millions of people have had to take matters into their own hands.
Just because ordinary life has been put on pause it sure does not mean our sugar cravings have. If anything they're stronger than ever, I swear that the brownie on my kitchen countertop is looking at me.
Lockdown has got us all cooking up a storm in the kitchen, consequently turning us all into Great British Bake Off contestants. Baking is therapeutic, it can help to ease anxiety in times of crisis whilst bringing people together through their love of good food by sharing recipes as a means of spreading positivity.
Here are a few recipes to get your lockdown recipe book started (provided you can get your hands on the ingredients…)
Rainbow Cupcakes
Here in the UK we pretty much follow the rules all or nothing and we have fully embraced the rainbow as a tribute to our amazing NHS workers. Get into the spirit with these happy and colourful vanilla cupcakes, topped with whipped cream, marshmallows and lots of sprinkles (the way to a kids heart).
Recipe by: The Baking Explorer
Prep and cooking time: 40 minutes
Servings: 12
Flourless Banana Bread
Banana bread aka the signature food of quarantine is all the craze at the moment and funnily enough so is flour. There appears to be quite the shortage of many key baking ingredients in most supermarkets. However, No flour? No problem! A few missing ingredients has never stood in the way of a true baker.
Banana bread is not much of a test for the skills, it’s no fuss - one bowl, throw the ingredients in and bung it in the oven. Voila, A delicious breakfast, afternoon tea or after dinner snack, you can’t go wrong.
Recipe by: The Bakermama
Prep and cooking time: 35 minutes
Servings: 10
Cinnamon Rolls
Bread and sugar are two staples that anyone needs to get them through a global pandemic and what’s better than merging them together to create this simple yet sweet idyllic creation.
Now Tesco’s usually have us covered with this one as they do an utterly scrumptious cinnamon roll that is just so delicious that there is no point making your own. However, since those sneaky morning trips have come to a halt, it’s time to tackle the challenge yourself. This mouth watering pull apart cinnamon roll recipe is to die for, it may be a little lengthy but one thing we have during lockdown is time and you might just win baker of the week.
Recipe by: Half Baked Harvest
Prep and cooking time: 12 hours (do not fear, you will not spend 12 hours slaving away in the kitchen, you can sleep in between)
Actual hands on time: 1 hour
Servings: 8
Beetroot Brownies
Cook up a storm in the kitchen with these bad boys. Stick with me, I know you might be thinking lockdown is causing me to lose my marbles as who the h*ck would put a vegetable into their beloved brownie mixture? OH, let me tell you this recipe it is life changing (especially if you get the beetroot all over your clothes), you won't want to go back to pre-lockdown brownie life. Give them to your family members, drop on one Doris's porch, see if they can taste the extra special ingredient.
Recipe by: BBC Good Food
Prep and cooking time: 55 minutes
Servings: 15-20
Biscoff Cheesecake
A bit of a cheat as technically no baking is involved, however you just can’t go wrong with a bit of cheesecake when you just don't have the energy to mess about with baking. Perfect for any Biscoff lover, just thinking about this recipe makes us weak at the knees (definitely not one for the faint hearted). Rich and full of caramel flavour, this super easy recipe is sure to be a crowd pleaser.
Recipe by: Good House Keeping
Prep and cooking time: 50 minutes
Servings: 10-12
3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Oh boy! Cookies with peanut butter AND only 3 ingredients? Now you're talking. It’s time to restock the sorry looking biscuit tin with these scrummy (flourless!) delights. Chewy on the inside but crisp on the outside, it really is the simple things in life that keep us going at a time like this.
Recipe By: Feel Good Foodie
Prep and cooking time: 20 minutes
Servings: 9
What are you still doing here? Get baking!
