9 must-learn bakes for beginners

If you're just setting out on your baking journey, these basic recipes are a great place to start. Consider these your building blocks — start with the fundamentals, and add more adventurous elements as you grow your confidence and skills.

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1. A basic vanilla sponge

A simple vanilla sponge can be leveraged to create a cake for any occasion — just decorate it however you choose. Looking for an easy icing for your sponge? Our basic buttercream
will do the trick.

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2. A basic chocolate sponge

If chocolate is more your style than vanilla, this simple sponge is what you need. Ready to level up? Our best-ever chocolate cake
is well worth mastering — you’ll never need another recipe.

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3. Healthy muffins

A healthy, fibre-rich muffin is a great grab-and-go breakfast or lunchbox snack. Once you’ve mastered these banana and oat cuties, move on to one of our other easy muffin recipes
and find your favourite flavour combination.

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4. Banana bread

It might be sooo 2020, but there’s no denying that banana bread is delicious — and the ideal way to use up those over-ripe bananas. Fancy a twist? Try this chocolate version
!

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5. Simple scones

Whether for breakfasts or a tea time treat, scones are a classic for a reason. Try these brown scones for a healthy wholemeal option, or enjoy the fruit scones above with clotted cream and jam for homemade afternoon tea vibes. If you're in more of a savoury mood, these Cheddar and spring onion scones
are ideal.

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6. Brown bread

If you’ve never made bread before, don’t worry — Irish soda breads are definitely the easiest place to start. The secret ingredient in this stout bread
is the treacle, giving it a dark, sweet flavour.

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7. Basic biscuits

Being able to fill your own biscuit tin is a super satisfying life skill that goes well with a cup of tea. Try our easy shortbread biscuits, or make your own Digestives
!

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8. A good old-fashioned crumble

You’d be surprised how easy it is to put together a fruit crumble
. A fantastic crowd pleaser, it's well worth having this straightforward technique up your sleeve for future entertaining — and it's possibly the most delicious way to use a glut of fruit.

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9. A no-fuss pastry tart

If you can roll out a sheet of ready-made puff pastry and slice up some fruit, you can make one of these tarts; they’re so simple, it’s basically cheating. Our peach and almond tart (above) is ideal in late summer with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, while these individual rhubarb tartlets
are lovely with a dollop of custard.

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What beginner's bake will you choosing as your first? Tag us in your creations on social media @easyfoodmag — we love to see what you're cooking!