Hi everyone! Today we’re back with another blog post. We know that a lot of our recipes seem quite complicated, and they definitely can be! If you’re a beginner baker, this may feel intimidating to you. The first thing we would advise is to always try out a recipe if you want to, even if it looks difficult. The worst thing that happens is it doesn’t turn out perfect, and then you can learn from any mistakes you’ve made. The only way to become a better baker is to just keep baking! With that in mind, we also wanted to share some of our blog’s best recipes for beginners. These don’t require many advanced skills, and the recipes are straightforward and super easy to follow. We hope you try them out!
1. Cookies: Havregrynskager
Our recipe for havregrynskager, or oat cookies, is one of the simplest recipes you could ever imagine. All you have to do is combine your ingredents, spoon them onto baking sheets, and bake! They start off looking like very liquidy blobs of batter, but they spread out and flatten in the oven. They turn crispy and caramelly on the edges, and the centers are soft and chewy. Flavored with orange and vanilla and topped with dark chocolate, they are a dream of a cookie! The main thing you have to watch out for in this recipe is not overbaking them, as the sugar in them means they can burn quite quickly if you take your eyes off of them.
2. Cakes: Daim Brownies & Orange and Toffee Brownies
Our easiest cake recipes are our two brownie recipes. There is no doubt that the easiest way to make brownies is from a box mix, but if you want to try out homemade, then our recipes are very simple. Plus, the benefit of making homemade brownies is that you can add all kinds of interesting flavors and candies to make them even more unique and delicious! Our Daim brownies, for example, have bits of chopped up Daim, a toffee candy that adds a nice caramel crunch to the brownies. Our orange and toffee brownies are super sticky and sweet, with an amazing chocolate-orange flavor and bits of sticky toffee throughout.
In this recipe, the butter get browned in a pan, which is probably the only challenging step. Just watch out and don’t let it burn and you will be fine! Then, let the butter cool down for about 10 minutes before adding your eggs so that they do not scramble. If you follow our tips in the recipe, you will be fine and your brownies will turn out absolutely delicious!
3. Bread: Landbrød
In terms of our bread recipes, we would say that the easiest bread to make is bread that you do not have to knead. So, check out our landbrød recipe for a rustic country loaf that requires no kneading whatsoever! Baking with yeast can be a bit tricky, but it’s definitely something you should try! Just start off by combining your yeast with warm water (not hot water!) and a bit of sugar and then wait for it to bloom before adding it into your dough. This ensures that it is alive and will make your dough rise.
Instead of kneading in this recipe, we use a technique called stretching and folding. While the dough rises, you simply fold the dough over itself four times every 30 or so minutes. This gives you a nice smooth dough at the end of the rising process but much less time spent kneading. When you shape the loaf, make sure you pinch together the dough tightly so that you create some surface tension on the top of the loaf. Then you score it before it goes in the oven (cut it with a sharp knife so that it can release air in the oven), and the surface tension will give your loaf a beautiful rise. Try it out and, most importantly, have fun!
4. Pastries: Kanelsnegle
Pastries are notoriously not a simple thing to bake. But, we would say that once you get the hang of making them, you can’t stop! These kanelsnegle (cinnamon snails) are one of our favorite, go-to recipes for a weekend brunch or a big party. The dough is yeasted and does require some kneading, but once it has risen, all you really have to do is roll it out, add filling, roll it up, cut out the rolls, let them rise again, and then bake! It is a bit of a time-consuming recipe, but the end result is so impressive! For these, look out for the tips we gave above about blooming the yeast before combining the dough ingredients. Then, when you cut out the rolls, try using a sharpened serrated knife, as this makes getting beautiful swirls much easier. Some people use dental floss (unflavored, of course), so you can try this out as well if you like!
5. Pastries: Hindbærsnitter
Another pastry recipe that is one of our simplest is for hindbærsnitter. These are the Danish version of raspberry bars, and they’re actually pretty similar to Poptarts in many ways. If you can make shortcrust pastry or basic pie dough, you can make these, as all they require in addition to that is storebought jam, icing, and sprinkles! You can make the jam homemade, of course, but that is not necessary. The shortcrust pastry is pretty simple, especially if you have a food processor. If you make it by hand, just make sure to continue crumbling up the butter in the flour mixture until it resembles sand, as this will give your final pastry the best consistency. Try it out and we promise you won’t regret it!
As we mentioned at the start of this post, these are our picks for our best beginner baker recipes. We love seeing you try out our recipes, so if you do, please send us a photo on social media (@skandibaking on Instagram and TikTok) and leave us a review below. Have fun and happy baking!
