Hello you – thanks for coming!
My name is Abi & I’ve been trading as The Brownie Lady since 2013. I left my full time job to follow my dreams and create my own baking business and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.
I started with a small stall selling brownies, cakes, biscuits and all things chocolatey. At that time there were so many new food business start ups, especially cupcakes and other cakes, so my speciality was my passion – baking the tastiest chocolate based goods.
After a year or two it became clear that my range of brownies should become my sole product and by 2020 I had sold over 100,000 brownies in 40 different varieties! Every single one of those brownies were baked by me in my little galley kitchen and transported to markets in my tiny little Fiat Panda with my gazebo hauled up onto the roof. Happy days.
In 2020 I moved my brownie business online and in 2023 after ten years in all weathers I traded at my final market. My brownies are available exclusively online now and as ever, they are all made by me, Abi – The Brownie Lady. You can order my brownies here: Shop Brownies
Around the time I stopped trading at markets, I got to thinking about all the other baking I have done though the years and how I could share that with you.
I’m excited to share some of my favourite delicious recipes with you, from cakes, tarts and biscuits, to yeasted doughs, savoury bakes, seasonal goodies and plenty more.
There will be bakes that don’t require any baking, speedy bakes for quick tasty results and a few more complex recipes for times you fancy a challenge.
And yes, there will be some air fryer baking!
I’ll share some tried & tested tips and techniques that I’ve learned along the way. There will also be some trusty shortcuts and recommendations to make baking a little easier and more rewarding.
I’ll be including recipes that are already wheat free, egg free, dairy free, nut free and vegan. Some recipes will be simple to adapt for a free from requirement too. I’m a firm believer in making adjustments so everybody can enjoy the same food together, as much as possible.
If you give my recipes a go I’d love to see your bakes, share photos of your creations with me anytime on instagram
My first tip before you start baking – make sure your ingredients are in date. This is especially important with items such as yeast, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, self raising flour & spices. Buy these in small containers or sachets so you use them up while they’re lovely and fresh.
With all recipes I like to read the whole recipe thought first, then get all my ingredients weighed and measured into little bowls before I start baking. Those little GU ramekins in your cupboard are perfect for this!
I preheat the oven, line the baking tin, double check everything’s ready before I start. It makes for a much smoother baking experience. Then, before my bake goes into the oven, I double check the recipe to make sure I’ve included all the ingredients. I neglected to do this the other day & had forgotten to put baking powder into a batch of muffins, so they didn’t rise at all and had to be binned. If only I’d followed my own advice!
If you don’t already have one, it’s worth investing in an inexpensive digital timer. While we all have timers on our phones, we’re also easily distracted by our phones too. I speak from bitter experience!
A small digital timer with a magnet on the back so you can stick it to the fridge makes you go into the kitchen to turn it off and check on your bake. I have several and once you get into the habit of using a timer, it becomes second nature. A small thing that makes a huge difference to my baking.
Enough talking – let’s get baking! My recipe for Cornish Fairings follows in my next blog post.
Abi – The Brownie Lady