AlphaBakes "R" Round up

Welcome to the R roundup of AlphaBakes. It has been a lovely summery July and that is clearly reflected in the entries received for this month. All eligible entries have been entered into a prize draw and a winner has been chosen at random to win a copy of Perfecting Patisserie by Tim Kinnaird. Find out who the lucky winner is at the bottom of this post.

First up is Caroline's mum, Jacqueline with a Mary Berry recipe. She made a raspberry puree and almond traybake. 

Next is my co-host Caroline from Caroline Makes with a Giant Cupcake - Raspberry Flavour which she made for her mum's birthday. The cake contains fresh raspberries and she used candy melts to make the cupcake shell which gives it a very neat professional finish. 

Johanna from Green Gourmet Giraffe regularly bakes her own bread and after some experimentation, she came up with this Oats and Seeds Sourdough Bread. It is based on Dan Lepard's White Levain Loaf and contains rolled oats , sesame seeds, poppyseeds, linseeds and chia seeds. She made a sandwich with avocado, grated carrot, sun dried tomato, tofurky and mayonnaise as pictured here. 

On to some seasonal produce we have Rhubarb Shortbread Bars from Suelle from Mainly Baking. The rhubarb is her own and she's created a shortbread base and a coconut flapjack topping to showcase her rhubarb. The coconut worked really well with the rhubarb as it added extra flavour and texture.

Next we have two lovely entries from The Dream Baker. The first is Rainbow Flower Buns. These are coloured buns filled with Nutella arranged in the shape of a flower.

The second is Rainbow Flower Butter Cookies. These are inspired by her Colourful Checkered Butter Cookies. As she says in her blog, they are just too pretty and tasty to resist! If you want to know how to make these at home and read her detailed instructions including process photos.

Stuart from CakeyBoi drew inspiration from rhubarb and custard sweeties and came up with this Rhubarb and Custard Cookie Bars. It has a cookie base topped with rhubarb jam (which he intended to make from scratch but alas had to resort to store bought) and a thick custard topping. 

Next we have Raspberry, Strawberry and Rose Millefeuille by Vanesther from Bangers & Mash. She has a new addiction to rosewater and has added it to this wonderful dessert which really enhances the flavours. She used store bought puff pastry and says that is's deceptively easy to make and will definitely impress! 

Did you know that there is a Raspberry Cake Day? Jasmine from Self Sufficient Cafe made this gorgeous Raspberry Cake using fresh raspberries from her allotment. It is a vegan recipe containing soy yoghurt and tofu.  

For a cooling summer treat, try one (or more) of these Raspberry Ripple - White Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice-Cream Bars & Bites made by Kate from the Gluten Free Alchemist.  This is inspired by childhood memories of eating ice cream on holiday. It has a fresh honey raspberry syrup, white chocolate coconut ice cream all coated in magic dark chocolate coating. Check out her blog post to find out the magic ingredient!

Continuing with the raspberry theme we have a Fresh Raspberry Swirl Loaf Cake by Laura from I'd Much Rather Bake Than ... It is a wonderfully moist cake with a pretty pink swirl inside topped with white chocolate.

Next is my own entry which is a quick and simple no bake recipe. It's a Rhubarb and Redcurrant Cheesecake made with a digestive biscuit base and a mascarpone and cream cheese filling topped with rhubarb and redcurrant compote served in a trifle dish. 

Alexandra from The Lass in the Apron made Raspberry-Cointreau Tarts with chocolate crust. The crust contains Cointreau and is filled with a lovely custard filling which also contains Cointreau. This is topped with fresh raspberries and look ever so tempting!

Next we have an interesting flavour combination of beetroot and raspberry. Shaheen from A Seasonal Veg Table made use of raspberries and beetroot from her garden to create this Beetroot and Raspberry Bakewell Oat Bars. The ground almonds remind her of Bakewell tarts hence the name. 

Fiona from Let Them Eat Cake! has had a stressful time lately writing a thesis for her PhD, moving house and then being told to avoid dairy or gluten! She's come up with these gorgeous Rose Lemonade Marshmallows which are dairy and gluten free. They'd also make great gifts in little gift bags tied with a ribbon.

Last but not least we have a refreshing Raspberry Mojito from Dom from Belleau Kitchen. He has a few handy tips on cocktail making in his blog post so make sure you check them out. A version of this recipe will appear in the August edition of Lincolnshire Life Magazine. 

That's the end of the AlphaBakes "R" round up. Thank you to everyone who participated this month. As mentioned earlier, a lucky winner has been selected at random and that lucky winner is ... Kate from the Gluten Free Alchemist. Congratulations! 

Make sure you check out Caroline's blog on 1st Aug to find out what letter we are using in August.