Jeni Iannetta is the founder and head baker at Bad Girl Bakery in the Scottish Highlands. From self-taught baker to head judge of the World Shortbread Championships, Jeni has won fans all over the UK – including Nigella Lawson

As we get ready for sunnier days ahead, try these summer bakes from Jeni – perfect for picnics in the park.

Coconut & Lime Drizzle Cake

This zingy, slightly tropical drizzle cake is perfect for a summer party. Don’t let the fact that it’s gluten-free put you off – it’s a really tasty, light cake and it’s very simple to make. Don’t leave out the xanthan gum as it stops the cake crumbling and falling apart when you cut it, but mix the batter lightly as the gum can make it a bit gluey.

SERVES 8–10

23cm springform cake tin, greased and lined

300g caster sugar

300g unsalted butter, softened

Zest of 3 limes

6 medium eggs

150g gluten-free self-raising flour

1 tsp xanthan gum

150g desiccated coconut

To finish:

Juice of 3 limes

250g caster sugar

10g desiccated coconut or 25g coconut flakes, lightly toasted

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan)

Weigh the sugar and butter into your mixing bowl and add the zest. Beat together until it begins to lighten in colour (mix on medium if you’re using a mixer). Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and mix again for a minute or so. Crack the eggs into a jug (don’t whisk them). Weigh the flour and xanthan gum into another bowl and whisk to combine.

Pour an egg from the jug into the sugar and butter and add a generous spoonful of flour. Beat until it’s incorporated (on low if you’re using a mixer). Repeat with each of the remaining eggs and then fold in any remaining flour. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl again. Stir in the desiccated coconut, give the bowl a final scrape down and spoon the batter into the greased and lined tin, flattening it off using a palette knife or the back of a spoon.

Bake on the middle shelf for around 50 to 55 minutes and then check with a skewer to see if it’s done. If it’s not, bake for another five minutes and check again.

Make the drizzle by mixing the lime juice with the caster sugar. You want a thick, crunchy sugar glaze that will add texture as well as flavour – you might need to add more sugar if your limes are very juicy.

Let the cake cool in its tin for 20 minutes, then pour over the glaze. When it’s almost set, scatter toasted coconut round the outer edge of the cake. If you do it too soon, the coconut will sink into the glaze, too late and the glaze will set and the coconut won’t stick. Leave to fully set before you take the cake out of the tin. Run a palette knife round the edge first to loosen the cake.

Grown Up Tiffin

This tiffin is so easy to whip up, but make no mistake – it really is an indulgent treat. This recipe makes a really rich, really substantial tiffin. It looks great piled up on a cake stand with candles in it as an alternative to a birthday cake.

• To roast the pecans, put them on a baking tray in the oven at 180°C (160°C fan) for five to seven minutes and allow to cool.
•  If you have to feed a crowd, double this recipe and make it in a 35 x 24cm traybake tin This would give you 12 generous portions or 16 smaller ones.

MAKES 6–8 SLICES

23cm cake or flan tin, lined

For the base:

200g unsalted butter, cubed

150g milk chocolate, chips or chopped

150g dark chocolate, chips or chopped

50g golden syrup

300g shop-bought digestive biscuits

50g dried cranberries

50g pecan nuts, roasted and roughly chopped

50g white chocolate chips

To finish:

150g dark chocolate, chips or chopped

150g white chocolate, chips or chopped

50g dried cranberries

50g pecan nuts, roasted

50g white chocolate chips

Start with the base. Add the cubed butter, milk and dark chocolates and golden syrup into a big heatproof bowl – this is the bowl you’ll end up mixing everything in, so the bigger the better. Set it over a pan of just-simmering water (a couple of inches of water is plenty; you don’t want it to touch the bottom of the bowl). Leave everything to melt slowly and gently.

Take the chocolate off the heat when there are no lumps of butter left. Give it a stir and don’t worry if it looks a wee bit grainy. Set to one side to cool while you get on with bashing up the digestive biscuits. We put them in a big bowl and bash them with a rolling pin; you could blitz them in a food processor but it makes more washing up and our way is quicker and more fun. 

Either way, you want the biscuits to be mostly crumbs with some chunks no bigger than a two pence coin. If the biscuit pieces are too big, the tiffin won’t hold together as well and might crumble when it’s cut.

Tip the biscuits, dried cranberries and chopped pecans into the cooled chocolate mixture and give it a stir till everything is coated. Then add the white chocolate chips and stir them in. Spread this mixture evenly into your lined tin. Take some time to pack the mixture down firmly. Pop it in the fridge to set for a couple of hours or overnight if you have the time. 

To finish, melt the remaining dark and white chocolate together for the top (in the same way you did for the base) and spread it evenly over the base. Next scatter over the rest of the dried cranberries, remaining pecans and white chocolate chips and pop back into the fridge to set.

Variations

WHITE CHOCOLATE & STRAWBERRY TIFFIN

Make the base as above, leaving out the pecans, doubling the dried cranberry quantity to 100g and adding four tablespoons freeze-dried strawberries. Finish with 300g melted white chocolate and scatter over white chocolate chips and freeze-dried strawberries.

Salted Caramel Crumble Bar

I wish I could say this was our idea, but it is based on a recipe on an American baking blog that I loved the sound of. It was incredibly buttery even by our standards, so we set about making a version of our own that was closer to shortbread and filled with home-made caramel and flakes of sea salt. It’s been on our menu for years now and it continues to be a best seller. We make it using our home-made caramel (the recipe is in the book) but it’s equally lovely with a tin of shop-bought.

SERVES 12

35 x 24cm traybake tin, lined

For the base and topping:

350g cold unsalted butter, cubed

200g caster sugar

150g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

550g plain flour

For the filling:

1 x 397g tin shop-bought caramel

½ tsp sea salt flakes

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan).

Weigh the butter, caster and icing sugars and vanilla into your stand mixer bowl and mix on low for three to four minutes until everything comes together and looks lighter in colour. It won’t look light and fluffy, but that’s ok.

Add the flour and mix again on low – it won’t come together as a dough but will look a bit like chunky breadcrumbs. Spoon about half of the mixture into the lined traybake tin and press it down firmly to make a solid base. Bake on the middle shelf for 18 to 20 minutes until the base is starting to go golden brown in the centre. Set aside to cool.

Once completely cool, spread the caramel across the base, leaving a 2–3cm border all the way around the edge (otherwise it will seep out to the edges and your traybake will welditself to the paper). Sprinkle over the salt, crushing the flakes between your fingers as you do. You’re aiming for a little touch of salt in every bite, not very salty bites here and there.

Take a handful of the other half of the base mixture and squeeze it in your hand to create lumps. Dot these over the top of the caramel: you don’t want to fully cover it; you want the caramel to ooze out between the shortbread topping.

Pop it back in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. The top should be light golden brown. Leave to cool completely in the tray, then use the paper to lift it out and cut it into 12 generous slices.

Variation

Replace the caramel with around 400g strawberry jam and leave out the salt. Dust the top of the finished, cooled traybake with icing sugar.

Catch Jeni at Ideal Home Show Scotland at SEC, Glasgow this May. Taking place 22-25 May, the show promises four days of ideas for every home with expert talks, design inspiration and plenty to explore. Tickets also include free entry to The Eat & Drink Festival, sponsored by HexClad. For more information or to book your tickets, visit: idealhomeshowscotland.co.uk

All recipes taken from Bad Girl Bakery by Jeni Iannetta. Available at KitchenPress