With Comic Relief coming up on 15th March my thoughts have turned to fundraising and the things we can do to join in the fun while making some cash for charity. Today’s blog post is full of simple bake sale recipes and easy ideas for people (like me!) who simply cannot bake a cake successfully..!
There’ll probably be a charity bake sale in your workplace or in your child’s school sometime soon. Whether it’s for Comic Relief next week or a future fundraising campaign, there will be a chance to show off your culinary skills – but what’s good to bake? If you don’t have much time (or have as much success as I do when baking cakes) here’s some recipes that you can’t fail to impress with…
AMAZING MUFFINS
Ahh muffins are my favourite treats to eat so I’m sure they’ll go down well with your bake sale colleagues. They’re easy to sell at a bake sale because they’re ready-wrapped in their own cases and they’re simple to grab and eat on the go. I love this lemon and blueberry muffin recipe but you could make any variation of muffin, from a healthy oat and sultana mix or banana bread to a gooey chocolate chip and salted caramel version. Whatever you bake, they’re sure to be well received at the bake sale.
SPELL IT OUT
This idea is ideal for those of us who just can’t find the time or don’t have the ability – myself included! – to bake a batch of cakes or cookies. All you need to do is pick up some shop-bought plain cupcakes (let’s face it, they’ll probably taste a lot nicer than anything I could cook) and decorate them yourself.
Use a chocolate spread to cover the top of the buns and then get some letter chocolates to spell out ‘Comic Relief’ (or whatever charity the bake sale is for) across 11 cupcakes. Pick up some alphabet truffles and get to work. Your contribution will look so cool that it’ll become the feature of the bake sale table!
MICROWAVE MERINGUES
Yes, it IS possible to make meringues in the microwave! They’re ideal for the time-strapped cook who needs to make something for the bake sale in a hurry. I’ve tested out the method so have a read of my blog post with the microwave meringue recipe here. These meringues look a little flat but are ideal for piling on a dollop of cream and some strawberries.
GUINNESS CAKE
This is literally the ONLY cake I’ve ever had any success in making, and that’s probably because it’s a Nigella recipe! Plus, the cooking starts before you even get it into the oven, so that head-start could be a factor. Whatever the reason, I’ve been able to make it many times over the years and it’s always turned out well.
Have a read of my blog post with the Guinness Cake recipe and give it a go yourself. It might not be one to take to the kid’s school bake sale, but it’ll go down a storm in your office. Plus, it can be baked in a brownie tin to turn it into an easy-to-cut tray bake – perfect for selling squares for charity.
ICED BISCUITS
If your fundraiser is in a school, kids club or similar, you might want to skip the baking part and run an activity for the bake sale instead. How about letting children decorate their own biscuits? You don’t have to bake them yourself; you can pick up ready-made gingerbread men or shortbread shapes, buy some colourful icing and some sprinkles. Remember to spread a wipe-clean tablecloth wherever you’re planning to do the biscuit decorating and let the children get to work!
Let me know if you try out any of these recipe ideas for your local bake sale this year and please share your favourite tray bakes and cake recipes in the comments below – I’d love to hear about any quick and easy treats I could make for the next charity fundraiser.
PIN IT FOR LATER
