Found this recipe in Cooking for Geeks and it’s a candidate for the most annoying recipe ever. I think it’s trying to make the point that it’s easy to get too focused on quantities when baking.

Sure, they’re useful for passing on recipes, but when you get right down to the nitty gritty they’re a bit ridiculous.

A Mean Chocolate Chip Cookie

Preheat oven to 354.17°F / 178.98°C, or as close as you can get.

In a medium bowl, sift or thoroughly whisk together:

• 2.04 cups (245g) flour
• 0.79 teaspoons (3.81g) salt
• 0.79 teaspoons (3.63g) baking soda

Set dry ingredients aside. In another bowl, using a hand or stand mixer, cream until incorporated and smooth:

• 6.44 tablespoons (87.9g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2.1896 tablespoons (29.9g) unsalted butter, cold
• 4.2504 tablespoons (58g) unsalted butter, melted
• 0.84 cups (169g) light brown sugar
• 0.10 cups (20g) dark brown sugar
• 0.54 cups (109g) white sugar

Add and mix until all ingredients are combined:

• 1.33 (46g) eggs
• 0.33 (8g) egg yolk
• 1.46 teaspoons (6.08g) vanilla extract
• 0.17 tablespoons (2.51g) water
• 0.25 tablespoons (3.84g) milk 1.53 cups
• (257g) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Add dry ingredients and blend until fully incorporated. Cover and chill dough in the refrigerator for 25 minutes.

Place parchment paper on one-third of cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto sheet. Some cookies will be on parchment, others off.

Cook for 13.04 minutes.

RECIPE BY MEGHAN HOURIHAN

By John Barrowman from the BBC’s Taste of My Life

This is an easy recipe that gives perfect results every time. Be sure to use overripe bananas and the right sized tin.

preparation time Less than 30 mins
cooking time 30 mins to 1 hour
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 285g/10oz plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 110g/4oz butter, plus extra for greasing
• 225g/8oz caster sugar
• 2 free-range eggs
• 4 ripe bananas, mashed
• 85ml/3fl oz buttermilk (or normal milk mixed with 1½ tsp lemon juice or vinegar)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• Grease a 20cm x 12.5cm/8in x 5in loaf tin and pour the cake mixture into the tin.
• Transfer to the oven and bake for about an hour, or until well-risen and golden-brown.
• Remove from the oven and cool in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

We were lucky enough to get as a present… one of these Waitrose Delia’s classic Christmas cake boxes. It’s all you need to make one of the best fruitcakes on the planet.

“This is my original Classic Christmas Cake that has been made by thousands of people over the last 40 years and it really has been an absolute winner with everyone. We have simplified it by making it all-in-one, so all you need to remember is to remove the butter from the fridge the night before, it really does need to be very, very soft.” Delia Smith

It’s so quick and easy. All the ingredients apart from french orange & lemon zests, 5 eggs and butter.

The box contains these ingredients which are packaged and weighed perfectly.

• Fruit mix with brandy (currants, sultanas, raisins, brandy, candied mixed peel, chopped glacé cherries, palm oil)
• soft dark brown sugar
• wheat flour
• chopped almonds
• black treacle
• mixed spice with nutmeg
• Candied mixed peel contains citrus peel (orange peel, lemon peel)
• wheat glucose-fructose syrup
• sugar
• preservative sulphur dioxide
• Chopped glacé cherries contains cherries
• wheat glucose-fructose syrup
• colour anthocyanins
• preservative sulphur dioxide

All you have to do is this…

Before you begin:
You will need a 20 cm round cake tin, greased and lined with a double thickness of baking parchment, or Bake-O-Glide (trademark), and a spot of oil. To see how to line a cake tin with baking parchment please go to http://waitrose.com videos. Tie a band of brown paper (or a double thickness of newspaper will do) round the outside of the tin with string for extra protection.

Preheat the oven to 140C, gas mark 1.

Now all you do is sift the flour, salt and spices into a very large roomy mixing bowl then add the sugar, eggs and the soft butter and either whisk or beat with a wooden spoon until everything is light, pale and fluffy.

Now gradually fold in the pre-soaked fruit mixture, chopped nuts and treacle and finallythe grated lemon and orange zests.

Next, using a large kitchen spoon, transfer the cake mixture into the prepared tin, spread it out evenly with the back of the spoon and, if you don’t intend to decorate the cake with marzipan and icing, lightly drop the blanched almonds in circles over the surface.

Finally cover the top of the cake with a double layer of baking parchment with a 50p-size hole in the centre (this gives extra protection during the long slow cooking). Bake the cake on the lowest shelf of the oven for 4 hours until it feels springyin the centre when lightly touched. Sometimes it can take 30–45 minutes longer than this, but in any case don’t look for 4 hours.

Cool the cake for 30 minutes in the tin, then remove it to a wire rack to finish cooling. When it’s cold, feed it by making small holes in the top and bottom with a cocktail stick and spooning in a couple of tablespoons of Armagnac or brandy,then wrap it in double baking parchment secured with an elastic band and either wrap again in foil or store in an airtight tin. You can now feed it at odd intervals until you need to ice or eat it

Banana & blueberry muffins

A low-fat muffin that tastes as good as it looks – they’ll keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to a month.

Ingredients

(Serves 12)
10 oz self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4 oz light muscovado sugar
2 oz porridge oats, plus 1 tbsp for topping
2 medium bananas, the riper the better
½ pint carton buttermilk
5 tbsp light olive oil
2 egg whites
5½ oz punnet blueberries

Method

Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases. Tip the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Hold back 1 tbsp of the sugar, then mix the remainder with the flour and 50g oats. Make a well in the centre. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas until nearly smooth. Stir the buttermilk, oil and egg whites into the mashed banana until evenly combined.

Pour the liquid mixture into the well and stir quickly and sparingly with a wooden spoon. The mix will look lumpy and may have the odd fleck of flour still visible, but don’t be tempted to over-mix. Tip in the blueberries and give it just one more stir. Divide the mix between the muffin cases – they will be quite full – then sprinkle the tops with the final tbsp of the oats and the rest of he sugar. Bake for 18-20 mins until risen and dark golden. Cool for 5 mins in the tray before lifting out onto a rack to cool completely.