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.
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Helencooksbakesmakes
- Jun 27
- 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
47 views0 comments
Helencooksbakesmakes
- Apr 2
- 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
109 views0 comments
Helencooksbakesmakes
- Mar 4
- 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
- Feb 5
- 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
- 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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Helencooksbakesmakes
- Jan 24
- 2 min
Scottish Cranachan
This is Scotlands answer to Eton mess; I have to say, the Scotts give the English a run for their money on this one! It was originally a celebration of harvest, made following the raspberry harvest in June. This rich dessert of cream and fresh seasonal raspberries is made even better by Scottish oats and whisky. Here's how........ Ingredients for whiskey cream 300ml double cream 1 shot single malt whiskey 4 tbsp honey Raspberry layer 300g punnet Raspberries 1 tbsp caster suga
45 views0 comments
Helencooksbakesmakes
- Jan 13
- 3 min
Indulgent dark chocolate and hazelnut praline tart.
Decadent, silky salted dark chocolate ganache with crunchy hazelnut praline and a sweet toasted Swiss meringue.....Sounds complex right? I'm going to show you how easy this little showstopper tart really is, and uses minimal ingredients! Makes approx 10 slices if you work in stages on this it really couldn't be simpler. the only bit to bake is the pastry case. If you prefer to use a shop bought one i'm not going to judge you! Ingredients for the pastry case. 170g plain flour
26 views0 comments
Helencooksbakesmakes
- Dec 30, 2020
- 2 min
Sticky toffee rum puddings.
comforting and indulgent, these dinky little puddings are soft and moist with a silky toffee sauce and a boozy kick of rum. They are super quick to bake and freeze brilliantly. recipe makes 8 darioles or 2 mini bundt tin trays here's how...... ingredients for the puds 220g stoned, finely chopped dates 40g chopped sultanas 4 tbsp dark rum 2 tsp vanilla essence 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda. 100ml boiling water 100g softened salted butter 140g muscavado sugar 2 tbsp dark treacle
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Helencooksbakesmakes
- Dec 26, 2020
- 2 min
Lemon & Raspberry tart
If you're full to the brim with currants, spices and all things Christmas then this might just be the refreshing pud you've been craving. Crisp sweet pastry encasing a soft velvety but sharp lemon mousse-like cream with raspberry conserve, topped with pops of fresh raspberry. Here's how....... Pastry ingredients 170g plain flour 100g butter 1 egg yolk 40g caster sugar Filling ingredients 130g caster sugar 100ml lemon juice 160ml double cream 2 large eggs 4 egg yolks zest of 1
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Helencooksbakesmakes
- Dec 2, 2020
- 2 min
Cranberry, pecan and clementine Babka
If you want to get your GBBO game on, then give this festive babka a go! It’s surprisingly easy to make and tastes of pure Christmas. Sweet enough to nibble on its own and not so sweet that you couldn’t enjoy with a hunk of salty cheese. Here's how.......... Ingredients 300g strong white flour 7g yeast 5g fine salt 30g sugar 70ml whole milk 2 eggs beaten 90g butter cubed and softened 5 tbsp cranberry sauce Good handful roughly chopped pecans Zest of 2 clementine’s 1 tsp mixed
53 views0 comments
Helencooksbakesmakes
- Sep 10, 2020
- 2 min
Autumnal apple and cinnamon traybake with salted caramel sauce.
This has to be the most autumnal pud I have made.. ever! Packed with slices of seasonal Bramleys, and warm with cinnamon, it takes no time at all to make and will feed an army! The salted caramel sauce is silky, buttery, creamy & sweet with just the right amount of sea salt to make it feel grown up, It’s the simplest thing to make too, with my failsafe recipe. Ingredients for the traybake 2 large Bramley apples, peeled cored and sliced. 400g butter 400g caster sugar 400g self
36 views0 comments
Helencooksbakesmakes
- Sep 9, 2020
- 4 min
Individual Beef Wellies and an easy red wine jus.
If you’re like me then making a full beef wellington can be a bit hit and miss, soggy bottom, over or undercooked…and a fillet of beef is an expensive mistake if you cock up! With this method you can have each diners steak as well done or as rare as you like with perfectly crisp pastry… it’s so easy. I've added a red wine jus recipe to the end of the recipe, it's delicious and freezes really well for the next time you make some wellies! Check out the link to see the video of
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Helencooksbakesmakes
- Jul 27, 2020
- 2 min
Sesame snap Crème Brûlée
Silky smooth creamy sesame custard with a crisp sesame crunch topping. If you love those sweet little sesame wafers you’re going to be addicted to this pud! Contrary to popular misconception Crème brûlée is actually really easy to make, just takes a little patience stirring. A really great dinner party dessert that can be made in advance, simply add the crunchy topping when you’re ready to serve up. Makes 4 ramekins Ingredients 4 free range egg yolks. I use Clarence Court for
29 views0 comments
Helencooksbakesmakes
- Jul 5, 2020
- 2 min
Gooseberry pavlova fool.
Gooseberries are in abundance, and certainly in my garden they’re ripe and ready for the picking. Tread with care, the thorns are unforgiving and plentiful. This is a great time to pick gooseberries, there’s a good mix of the hairy tart green alien looking berries and the rosy pink jewel-like sweet ones. For a good balance choose both; when simmered slowly with sugar the result is a delicate sweet pink hued, pulpy puree with a sharp, tangy flavour unlike any other. You could
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Helencooksbakesmakes
- Jun 24, 2020
- 3 min
Italian lemon meringue tart
Short crisp almond pastry, sharp and sweet silky lemon filling and soft pillowy Italian meringue peaks. I’ve tweaked a classic and if I do say so myself the result is delicious… a sensory trip to the Amalfi coast! I like to try to get hold of Amalfi lemons. Really good artisanal shops or supermarkets sell them. Grown on cliff terraces on the Amalfi coast; they’re much bigger, more aromatic and the difference in flavour is quite startling from a common or garden lemon, and to
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Contact Helen
Thanks for your interest in cook make bake. For more information, feel free to get in touch and I will get back to you soon!
Lancaster, Lancashire.
