Welcome to
Cook Make Bake

Welcome and a big hello from me!

I'm Helen, a passionate home cook living in lovely Lancashire with my husband Fraser, Tessy the Lakeland Terrier and about 25 English white park cattle.

I'm so glad you're joining me to Cook some sumptuous dinners,

Bake mouth watering breads and cakes,

and Make everything from pretty pink lemonade to creamy hummus!

This is a real opportunity for me to share my successes in the kitchen, culinary tips, cheats and show you how to make extraordinary food look and feel effortless to prepare.

I enjoy taking the mystery out of seemingly impossible recipes, and giving you the confidence to try some new and old recipes. Soon you'll be cooking up a batch of crisp danish pastries, making a silky hollandaise and cooking the perfect steak!

One of my real joys is having a house crammed full of friends and family, sitting around the kitchen table with delicious food and the sound of laughter.

I love having the opportunity to let you into my pandoras box of foodie passions, and hope you enjoy trying some of my failsafe recipes.

Helencooksbakesmakes

Jun 27, 2021
2 min

Hummingbird cake

This cake really is as pretty and as delicious as it sounds! Moist with plenty of pineapple and banana, textured with coconut and pecan pieces, then speckled with flecks of raspberry. If all that isn't delicious enough its smothered in a zesty orange and cream cheese frosting. Ok, this isn't a classic hummingbird cake as it has the addition of raspberry and coconut, but in my opinion it really is all the better for it! You've probably guessed from the main flavours that this

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Helencooksbakesmakes

Apr 2, 2021
3 min

Overnight brown butter cinnamon rolls

Freshly baked cinnamon rolls just got super easy! Forget thinking you need to be up with the lark to enjoy these browned butter beauties. Simply prep the night before and enjoy the fluffiest most deliciously sweet rolls within an hour of rolling out of the sack. Here's How.......... Ingredients 500g strong white flour 7g (1 sachet) instant dried yeast 75g butter 2 eggs 100g soft brown sugar 220g milk (lukewarm) 1 cinnamon stick 1 tsp fine salt Filling ingredients 250g soft b

113 views0 comments

Helencooksbakesmakes

Mar 4, 2021
3 min

Cherry Bourbon & brown sugar pie

The deep south flavours in this cheeky cherry pie are going to make your heart sing! Rich dark cherries brought together in a syrupy, boozy sauce of bourbon, brown sugar, honey and vanilla. All encased in a crisp semi-sweet pastry. Although this looks like quite technical pastry work, it really doesn't have to be. You can simply pop a pie top on and it's good to go. Feel free to use ready made pastry if you want the most instantly delicious pie known to man (I won't judge you

27 views0 comments

Helencooksbakesmakes

Mar 2, 2021
2 min

Salted peanut and banana bake

This is such a quick and easy bake, has the perfect balance of salty and sweet and makes brilliant use of those brown bananas languishing in the fruit bowl. I realise every man and his dog has had a go at banana bread / cake over lockdown... this one however is on another level! Here's how...... Ingredients 200g self raising flour 2 tsp baking powder 2 tsp ground cinnamon 2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter 80 mls whole milk 200g butter 200g dark brown soft sugar 3 large eggs 2 very

133 views0 comments

Helencooksbakesmakes

Feb 23, 2021
2 min

Carrot, orange & rosemary Cake

This moist carrot cake is not only incredibly easy to make but tastes completely divine. I've added subtle hints of rosemary and orange to add an extra layer of grown up flavour. To make it extra special it's been topped with a fresh orange blossom cream cheese frosting and crisp candied carrot curls. Here's how... Ingredients 250g self raising flour 1 tsp baking powder 150g soft brown sugar 150ml sunflower oil 50g chopped walnuts 200g carrots grated coarsely 3 medium eggs ze

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Helencooksbakesmakes

Feb 20, 2021
2 min

Stuffed Baklava cookies

I adore the flavour of Baklava (filo pastry with pistachio & honey) but I'm not keen on the texture, to me filo should be super crunchy. I do however love cookies.....who does'nt? so i've pinched all the best bits from a classic baklava and crammed them into the softest cookies you can imagine, then drizzled with delicate orange glaze and sprinkled with chopped pistachios! Something tells me you're going to enjoy this one. Here's how......... Ingredients for the cookie dough

19 views0 comments

Helencooksbakesmakes

Feb 5, 2021
2 min

Gluten free blood orange & rhubarb cake

This actually started life as simply a good gluten free orange and almond cake, but with the abundance of forced rhubarb in my kitchen it seemed like the opportune time to experiment... and I'm glad i did. With very few ingredients and literally no baking skill required you can create this wonderfully moist cake/torte. Here's how........ Ingredients 300g ground almonds 300g caster sugar 6 large eggs 200g chopped rhubarb 2 large blood oranges (regular navel oranges are fine to

24 views0 comments

Helencooksbakesmakes

Feb 5, 2021
2 min

Rhubarb & pistachio frangipane tart

Yay! it's the season for forced rhubarb, the colour of this short season rhubarb is unbelievably intense and the flavour is... well, very 'rhubarby' indeed! Please don't feel that you have to recreate the intricate design on the top of this tart, I won't lie, it nearly broke me and i have patience in abundance. A simple lattice design will look equally as beautiful and impressive, after all the colour is the star of the show. I've teamed this with a layer of clementine marzip

63 views0 comments

Helencooksbakesmakes

Jan 28, 2021
4 min

Brown butter & star anise Madeleines

Madeleines are essentially little french teacakes, with a crisp shell and a light airy centre. I've tweaked a classic recipe with the addition of browned butter; giving them a rich but gentle nuttiness. A brown butter glaze, star anise and roasted hazelnuts places these beauties in another league entirely. These glorious high tea treats have long been associated with being tricky to make. This couldn't be further from the truth if you follow a few of my simple troubleshooting

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Welcome toCook Make Bake

Hummingbird cake

Overnight brown butter cinnamon rolls

Cherry Bourbon & brown sugar pie

Salted peanut and banana bake

Carrot, orange & rosemary Cake

Stuffed Baklava cookies

Gluten free blood orange & rhubarb cake

Rhubarb & pistachio frangipane tart

Brown butter & star anise Madeleines

Welcome to
Cook Make Bake