After the great baking ingredients shortage of 2020 (we still shudder when we think of it) when supermarket shelves were stripped of everything from eggs to icing sugar, here at Prestige we’ve stocked up on the essentials for 2021 so that nothing will come between us and our ovens. And with good reason: there are a host of fabulous new baking fashions finding their way into kitchens this year. Here are our top five up-and-coming things to dust off your apron and try.
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Breakfast treats
If you’re missing the patisserie and would love nothing more than a plateful of almond croissants and pain au chocolats to choose from, fear not! Though they may look impossible, there are all sorts of options for making your own at home, from the super simple to highly complex. Decide where your abilities lie, crack out your non-stick baking trays and whip up your very own viennoiserie. We really recommend these delectable charcoal and blood orange cronuts, if you want to mix it up a bit...
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Ice cream dream
According to Natalie Drake, the bakery category manager at Synergy Flavours, we can expect lots of nostalgic flavours in cakes and pastries this year — particularly inspired by old school ice cream shop favourites. Mint choc chip, rum and raisin, rocky road; nothing is off limits. Layer up different flavours of sponge in three of our small round tins and make this stunning chocolate, strawberry and vanilla Neapolitan cake; it’s a real crowd pleaser.
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Still into salted caramel...
Well, what’s not to love? It’s a total classic, but it can still be reimagined and elevated. This year, it’s all about miso salted caramel, which has the same sweet-meets-salty taste, but this time with a umami edge. You can make a sauce to drizzle over cakes and pastries, or even create a stack of fudgy sweets to share.
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Botanics
Herbaceous flavours are set to be everywhere in 2021, bringing a touch of savoury to your sweet treats. We recommend infusing syrups with herbs and spices and adding them to your favourite simple cake recipes as an experiment. You can easily make flavoured syrups by heating sugar and water in a heavy bottomed saucepan, and then tossing in your ingredient of choice; vanilla and cardamom is a favourite and so is thyme. Otherwise, this stunning raspberry, plum and basil cake is one to try, as is this classic lemon, rosemary and olive oil one.
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Easy as pie
Lots of home bakers are looking for standout desserts that don’t take hours to prepare, so expect to see a rise in recipes calling for readymade ingredients. This delicious blueberry dotted take on bread and butter pudding bakes croissants in shop bought custard and looks amazing, despite being ridiculously simple to put together. Meanwhile, this pear and chocolate number uses store cupboard staples and can be frozen ahead, saving plenty of time when you’ve got a big dinner to make.
Have you heard of any other upcoming baking trends we should know about? Tweet us! We’re over on @YourPrestige.
