one tin bakes — Recipes — The Boy Who Bakes (2024)

Today I have a fabulous treat for you, a sneak peek at a seriously delicious recipe from my new book One Tin Bakes Easy which has now been out in the UK, Aus and NZ for a month and from today is also on sale in the USA and Canada.

If you haven’t heard about the book yet let me give a quick 30 second explanation. Last year I released my book One Tin Bakes, a collection of 70 recipes that are all made in the same 9x13 tin. I was blown away by the response, the book became a bestseller and even a year later I still see you guys baking from it every single day. The book came out in the midst of the pandemic and right in the middle of lockdowns all over the world. People were stuck at home and baking became one the things they relaxed with, everyone and their grandmother was making banana bread or turning out loaves of sourdough. When people picked up a copy One Tin Bakes it became really clear to me, through the emails and instagram DM’s I was receiving, that so many people baking last year were doing so for the very first time. Even though the recipes in One Tin Bakes are relatively simple there was still some nervousness with new bakers around many basics of baking. Because of this and the success of the book I decided to write a second volume in the series, a collection of 70 brand new recipes that were even easier than the original book. I am talking one bowl cakes that use the all in one method, treats that are no-bake, recipes that only use 5 ingredients.

One Tin Bakes Easy shares the same DNA as One Tin Bakes but the recipes are as simple as I could possibly manage. They may be easy but the recipes never compromise on flavour, they’re easy but delicious. If that sounds like something you’d appreciate the book is now available everywhere books are sold in America, Canada, the UK, New Zealand and Australia. You can also buy copies anywhere in the world via The Book Depository.

If you are thinking you’d like to buy a copy as a present (the holiday season is upon us after all) There are a number of places you can buy signed copies. In the UK Waterstones have a stock of signed copies that you can buy online and from some stores in person (check their site for availability. In the US the Book Larder in Seattle have signed copies and they can ship anywhere in the country. I am also working on trying to get signed copies in more countries so bear with me if you’re looking to get one elsewhere.

The recipe I have chosen to show you is my Espresso Caramel Sheet Cake. The cake is an all in one affair made with sour cream and a very healthy dose of espresso (or the strongest coffee you can make at home). The topping is a truly heavenly mix of dulce de leche, cream cheese and cream whisked until billowy and soft. It is spread over the cake and finished with a sprinkling of flaked sea salt. Trust me when I say you need to make this.

Espresso and Caramel Sheet Cake
Recipe from my new book One Tin Bakes Easy

Note: as you will see the measurements in this recipe are in both metric and imperial and this is how they appear in the book so no matter what style of measurement you prefer you are covered

170g (6oz/11⁄2 sticks) very soft unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
320g (111⁄4oz/21⁄2 cups + 1 tablespoon) plain (all-purpose) flour
3 teaspoons baking powder 1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt
175g (6oz/3⁄4 cup + 2 tablespoons) caster (superfine) sugar
175g (6oz/3⁄4 cup + 2 teaspoons) light brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 100ml (31⁄2fl oz/1⁄3 cup + 4 teaspoons) cold espresso or very strong black coffee
75ml (23⁄4fl oz/5 tablespoons) sour cream Flaked sea salt, for sprinkling

Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

170g (6oz/3⁄4 cup) cream cheese, at room temperature
397g (14oz) can dulce de leche
240ml (81⁄2fl oz/1 cup) double (heavy) cream, chilled

Preheat the oven to 180oC (160oC Fan) 350oF, Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease your 23 x 33cm (9 x 13in) baking tin and line it with a strip of parchment paper that overhangs the long sides, securing it in place with two metal clips.

Place the flour, baking powder, salt and sugars in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the butter, eggs, vanilla, espresso and sour cream and mix until a smooth batter forms. Pour it into the prepared tin and spread evenly.

Bake for about 35–40 minutes, or until the cake springs back to a light touch. Set aside to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before using the parchment paper to lift the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting, place the cream cheese and dulce de leche in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the cream and whisk until the mixture holds soft peaks. Spread the frosting all over the cold cake and sprinkle with flaked sea salt just before serving.

The cake can be made a couple days in advance if stored in a sealed container, but the frosting needs to be made and served on the same da

Time for another #onetinbakes recipe? Why yes, I think it just might be. It is now officially less than a month until the book is released in the US and Canada, by which point it should also be back in stock in Australia and New Zealand. To get you all excited I wanted to share one of my favourites from the book, also one of the easiest, the raspberry cheesecake streusel bars. Now, the reason I love them is partly the simplicity and then of course the finished result,who could say no to a cheesecake bar. In the recipe the streusel does double duty, it forms the crust the cheesecake rests upon and it forms the streusel topping. Double streusel, double crunch. A very good thing if you ask me. The cheesecake filling itself is very simple, a sour cream spiked affair giving a wonderful tang that goes so well with the raspberries. The recipe is also endlessly adaptable, since the release of the book a month ago I’ve seen versions with cherries, apricots, tayberries, strawberries. Basically if you’ve got some fruit, you can probably make a version of these.

Raspberry Cheesecake Streusel Squares
From One Tin Bakes by Edd Kimber (published 2020 by Kyle Books)
Makes 16-24

Lemon-infused cheesecake bars topped with jammy raspberries would be wonderful just on their own, but I wanted to make something a little more impressive, so these are topped with oat streusel, adding great texture. While that might seem like you’re having to make another element, you actually just make a bigger batch of the base, keeping back a small amount and crumbling it over the cheesecake. I like these with a big mug of tea, cutting them into small squares for a little sweet treat, but if you prefer, you can cut them into more regular brownie-sized pieces.

Streusel
225g (8oz / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
350g (12oz / 2 3/4 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
200g (7oz / 1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 tablespoons rolled oats

Cheesecake
565g (20 oz) full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
120ml (4fl oz / 1⁄2 cup) sour cream, at room temperature
200g (7oz/1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar 2 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
2 large eggs

For the Raspberry Filling
3 tablespoons raspberry jam
300g (10 1⁄2oz) fresh raspberries

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease a 9x13 brownie tin, then line with a strip of parchment paper that overhangs the two long sides of the tin. Secure the paper in place with two metal clips.

For the streusel, mix together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Gradually drizzle in the melted butter, stirring with a fork to combine until the mixture has formed clumps, then tip about two-thirds of the mixture into the prepared tin and spread out evenly. Use a glass to compact it into a flat layer. Dock all over with a fork and then freeze for 10 minutes. Mix the remaining streusel with the oats and refrigerate until needed.

Bake the base for 20 minutes, or until just starting to brown, then remove and set aside.

To make the cheesecake, place all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix together until smooth and evenly combined. Pour the cheesecake mix evenly over the base.

For the filling, gently warm the jam in a pan until loose, then remove from the heat and mix with the raspberries, coating evenly. Dot the raspberry mixture over the cheesecake, then crumble the reserved streusel evenly over the top.

Bake for 35–40 minutes, or until the streusel is lightly browned.

Leave to cool in the tin for an hour, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours, before cutting into squares to serve.

Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 4 days.

The countdown is on, with only a few days left until One Tin Bakes is finally out in the world. After waiting well over a year my new book is finally published and to say I am excited is an understatement. I can’t wait for you guys to see it, to bake from it and to have it in your kitchens. Always the impatient baker, I couldn’t wait until publication to share a recipe from the book with you, so today I am sharing one of my favourites, the Chocolate Tahini Babka Buns. I am also telling you that the book is out NEXT THURSDAY and if you want it on the day there is still time to preorder, hint there is a link here.

Think of these buns as the meeting of cinnamon buns and babka with tahini thrown in for good measure. The story I tell in the book is how these were inspired after spending the afternoon in the kitchen with Uri Scheft, the baker who led the recent rise in popularity of babka, in the United States and around the world. The traditional babka, of Eastern European Jewish origin, is made with leftover challah dough rolled up with jam or cinnamon, It’s a world away from the babka that most people are making these days, it also lacks the adoration the modern version receives, it seems to have a love it or hate it quality, denser and drier than its modern counterpart. So, what changed the babka’s fortunes? Well, the answer seems to be simple…butter. Traditional Jewish breads would have been made with oil to keep them parve, but when non-jewish or non-parve chefs took on the babka in the early 2000’s they started making them with butter, the doughs became more brioche in style and the fillings became richer with more and more chocolate added. The one modern recipe that can fairly claim the crown, for pushing the babka into a wider public consciousness, is the one served at Breads Bakery in New York. The bakery was founded with Israeli baker Uri Scheft, of Lehamim Bakery (the partnership has since dissolved), and the babka that the bakery introduced to NYC became a true media darling, it was quite literally everywhere. Every magazine, every paper, every blog, it was a bread that went viral. And more importantly, it became the standard, the version that most people now think of when they think of babka, a swirled bread made with a brioche like dough and swirled with chocolate.

I was lucky to spend the afternoon in the kitchen with Scheft early last year where he taught me his famous babka recipe, as good as I remembered when I first tried in NYC. During that trip, where babka and tahini seemed to be two daily staples, the idea of sneaking in a little tahini into a chocolate babka seemed like an obvious one. On arriving back home I tried out the idea immediately, before my bags were even unpacked, with the memory or Uri’s version still fresh in my mind. I knew immediately it was a good thing, have a second slice good. The version I am finally posting is the one I made for One Tin Bakes, adapting the idea to the form of cinnamon buns which made the recipe 9x13 friendly. If you don’t follow me online elsewhere or you have managed to miss my last few posts let me briefly explain the book. The idea is that every single recipe is baked in the same 9x13 tin (its a classic brownie tin) making the required equipment so much lower than most baking books, hopefully making it more approachable. The recipes run the gamut in terms of style, required skill, and time required to bake them. There is something for everyone and no matter whether lockdown has got you baking for the first time or you’ve baking since you were a kid you’ll find something you will love.

COMPETITON TIME

Before we get to the recipe I have one last thing to tell you, its competition time! To celebrate the release of the book I have partnered with Nordicware, Guittard Chocolate and Belazu to create a brilliant prize package. The prize is a signed copy of the book, a One Tin Bakes tote bag, the Nordicware 9x13 tin I recommend in the book plus one of their iconic bundt pans, a whopping 3kg bag of Guittard Chocolate (they’re providing a bag of one of my favourites) and belazu are proving a selection of their tahinis (classic and their new black tahini) and oils. To enter the competition all you have to do is make one of the recipes from the book and post a picture on instagram saying that it came from my new book One Tin Bakes and tagging me using the hashtag #OneTinBakes. Obviously the book comes out halfway through the window for this competition so feel free to make these babka buns or get yourself a copy of the June issue of Olive magazine which has a bunch of other recipes from the book. Competition is only open to UK residents and the winner will be picked at random.

Chocolate Tahini Babka Buns
Taken From my book One Tin Bakes (Kyle Books 2020)
Makes 12

Brioche Dough
500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
25g caster sugar
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
7g fast-action dried yeast
250ml whole milk
2 large eggs
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature, diced, plus extra for greasing

Chocolate Tahini Filling
100g dark chocolate (65–70% cocoa solids), finely chopped
100g unsalted butter, diced
55g light brown sugar
100g tahini
flaked sea salt, for sprinkling

Vanilla Syrup
65g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons sesame seeds

For the bread dough add the flour, sugar, salt and yeast to the bowl of an electric stand mixer with the dough hook attachment and mix briefly to combine. Add the milk and eggs and knead on medium-low speed for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, elastic and pulling away from the sides of the bowl. With the mixer still running, add the butter, a little bit at a time. Once the butter has been worked into the dough, continue kneading for a further 10 minutes or so until the dough is once again pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 days. If you prefer, you can let the dough rise at room temperature, but it’s worth making this in advance as the dough is much easier to handle when thoroughly chilled.

The next day, lightly grease or line the base of the 9x13 baking tin with a piece of parchment paper. Make the filling. Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (ensuring the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water underneath) until melted. Remove from the heat, stir in the brown sugar and tahini, then set aside.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and, working on a lightly floured surface, roll out into a large 50 x 50cm (20 x 20in) square. Spread the chocolate tahini mixture evenly over the dough. At this point, the tahini mixture will be loose and glossy, so if you attempt to roll the dough up now it will be very messy, therefore, allow the mixture to sit for a couple of minutes until it goes a little tackier and loses its shine (don’t leave this too long though, because the filling will eventually set, meaning it won’t stick to the dough when it’s rolled). Sprinkle over a little flaked sea salt and roll up the dough into a tight sausage.

Cut the sausage into 12 equal-sized slices and place them, cut-side up, into the prepared baking tin. Cover with clingfilm and set aside to prove in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the rolls are touching each other and feel puffy to the touch.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F), Gas Mark 5. Bake the buns for 30–35 minutes, or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, make the syrup. Place the caster (superfine) sugar and 60ml (1⁄4cup) water in a small saucepan and cook over a low heat just until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla.

When the buns come out of the oven, while still hot, liberally brush them with the syrup and then sprinkle over the sesame seeds. Leave the buns to cool completely in the tin before removing and serving.

Stored covered, these buns will keep for 2–3 days.

So I seem to have pizza on my mind a lot right now, and this week that obsession is in the form of Detroit style pizza. I love classic Neapolitan or New York pizzas but the shaping can be tricky, especially if you’ve never done it before and getting a great bake at home needs a couple work arounds to get something close to restaurant standard. None of that normally bothers me, I enjoy the process, but right now I want pizza but I want it with a little less effort, but i’ll get to that in a minute.

Firstly, we need to ask, what actually is Detroit pizza. It’s a type of pan pizza, very closely related to Sicilian style, and Grandma style rectangular pies, in fact they’re effectively brothers. Sicilian style pizza is a focaccia like dough that’s baked on the thicker side in large rectangular sheets, with cheese going on first, before the sauce. That sauce is also classically a cooked tomato sauce, unlike the raw tomatoes that adorn a Neapolitan pizza. As mentioned, Detroit pizza is very similar to its Sicilian sibling so its maybe not too surprising that the origins of the pizza start in, you guessed it, Sicily. The story goes that in 1946 Gus Guerra, of Buddy’s Rendevous, decided his menu needed something new so he looked to his Sicilian mothers pizza recipe. This could easily have become Sicilian style pizza, just served in Detroit, but there are a couple key differences. The biggest change is the pan. Detroit style pizzas are cooked in a ‘blue steel’ pan that was widely used in the automotive industry back in the 40’s and its use became an identifying part of this style of pizza. Thankfully a 9x13 brownie tin is similar enough in size and style so that us home bakers can make our own version at home. The second change is again all to do with location as the cheese used is Wisconsin Brick Cheese, a variant of American cheddar thats slightly higher in fat, kind of like a cross between a low moisture mozzarella and cheddar. This is close to impossible to find in the UK so instead I use a grated blend of mozzarella and cheddar, the type sold in bags at almost every supermarket. But what I consider to be the signature of a Detroit style pizza is the crisp cheese crust. The cheese is spread all over the pizza including the sides. As the pizza bakes the cheese melts and slips down the side of the dough and caramelises into the a crisp skirt of cheese surrounding the pizza, like the cheese that escapes the bread when making a grilled cheese. We all know this is the best bit.

For the dough the recipe is very similar to my Neapolitan recipe although with a couple small changes. Because we want a more bread like chew, I’ve used regular white bread flour, I’ve also upped the hydration to 70%. To make things move along a little quicker I have also included slightly more sourdough starter. The method is the same up until shaping and the good news, there really isn’t any shaping to do, this is pretty hands off pizza making.

Sourdough Detroit Style Pizza Dough
Makes enough for one pizza

Cooked Pizza Sauce
Makes enough for x2 pizzas

2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp chilli flakes

Toppings
250g grated cheese (I use the bagged blends of cheddar and mozzarella sold in most supermarkets)
150g pepperoni, cut into rounds
Parmesan or Grana Padano

Detroit Style Pizza Dough
500g White Bread Flour (100%)
15g fine sea salt (3%)
350ml water, 28-30C (70%)
100g mature sourdough starter*, 100% hydration (20%)
10ml extra virgin olive oil (2%)

DONT FORGET MY NEW BOOK ONE TIN BAKES (WHICH USES THE SAME TIN USED IN THIS RECIPE IS OUT JUNE 25TH YOU CAN FIND MORE DETAILS HERE WWW.THEBOYWHOBAKES.CO.UK/ONETINBAKES

*If when you want to start making the dough your starter has fallen and is no longer at its peak (this is what you call mature starter) you can make a levin by simply mixing together 35g of the starter, 35g water at 28-30C and 35g bread flour, covering and setting in a warm spot, oven with the light on is ideal, and leaving until doubled in size. Using the above ratios and temperatures this should take 2-3 hours.

To make the dough pour the water into a large bowl and scrape in the mature starter/levain and mix briefly to break up a little. Add in the flour, salt and olive oil and mix briefly to form a shaggy dough. Pop the mixture into you’re stand mixer and knead, with the dough hook attached, for about 8-10 minutes on low/medium speed.

Once the dough is smooth and elastic tip out onto the worksurface and use a bench scraper to help you form the dough into a ball and place into a bowl very lightly greased with olive oil. Cover the bowl and set aside somewhere warm (26-27C is perfect) for the moment. After 30 minutes, using the techniques we learnt making our first loaf of sourdough bread, were going to preform a set of stretch and folds to build in more strength. If the dough feels strong and resisted stretching you can leave the dough to rise but if it feels a little slack you can do a second set of stretch and folds in another 30 minutes. Once your folds are done let the dough rest for another 30 minutes to relax. Meanwhile pour in a couple tbsp of olive oil to your 9x13 tin and spread all over, making sure to rub it up the sides as well. Once the dough is rested carefully transfer to the pan and gently stretch it out a little. Dont worry about getting it to the edges of the pan just yet, but give it a little push on its way (you don’t want to de-gas the dough just gently tease it towards the edges). Cover the pan and set aside to proof. This dough, kept in an area around 26-27C, should take about 7 hours in total to proof, this window of time starts when you’ve taken the dough off the mixer.

Whilst the dough is proving make the sauce. Pour the oil into a saucepan and heat over low/medium heat. Add the crushed garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant and the garlic is just taking on the barest of colour. Add the chilli flakes and oregano and stir to combine. Tip in the tomatoes and stir to combine, seasoning with salt and pepper (at this point I like to puree the sauce with an immersion blender but that is optional). Gently simmer for about 15 minutes or until reduced by about a third to a thick tomato sauce. Remove and chill until needed. The sauce can be refrigerated for a couple days or even frozen for up to a couple months.

After a total of 7 hours you should see the dough has expanded, pushing to the sides of the tin, and it should have nice signs of fermentation on the top of the dough. Using lightly oiled hands gently press the dough into the corners if it hasn’t already reached them. Cover the tin with clingfilm and refrigerate for anything up to 24 hours.

A few hours before you make the pizza you need to get it out of the fridge and allow to to come to room temperature, this should take about 2 hours. You know it’s ready to bake when the dough has a nice jiggle when you rock the tin. 30 minutes before you bake the pizza place a baking stone or pizza steel into the oven and preheat to 230ºC (210ºC Fan).

To assemble the pizza sprinkle over the cheese, making sure there is plenty all around the edges. Spoon 1/2 of the sauce onto the pizza, either in random dollops or in a few strips. Add any extra toppings. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned, there should also be lots of bubbling around the edges from the combination of melted cheese and olive oil. As soon as the pizza is out of the oven use a round-bladed knife to separate the pizza from the sides of the tin, as it cools it will glue itself to the tin. Carefully remove the pizza from the tin, grate over some parmesan or grana padano and serve.