Have you caught yourself searching for beginner-friendly baking recipes? Trust me, you’re not alone. Every great baker has started where you are – a little nervous, a little excited, and definitely hoping the cake doesn’t sink in the middle. As beginners, we often feel intimidated or worried about trying a new recipe, so it’s always recommended to stick to the recipes that match our current skill level.
But here’s the good news: baking isn’t as scary as you think. In fact, it’s one of the great hobbies you can try. It slows you down, lets you engage all your senses in the moment, and gives you freedom to play around creatively with favours. That’s why so many people you know and see around you, from students to full-time professionals, bake on the side. It’s creative, it’s expressive, and most of all, it brings joy when you share something sweet you made with your own hands.
So whether you’re brand new to the world of whisking and folding or you’ve already whipped up a few crowd-pleasing treats, this guide brings together the easy recipes that anyone can make. From fluffy cakes to fun treats for kids, you’ll find recipes that are delicious, beginner-friendly, and perfect for sharing.
Simple baking recipes for beginners to try:
- Easy dessert recipes for beginners and everyday home cooking
- Basic cake recipes and tender, fluffy baked goods to try at home
- Quick, easy chocolate chip muffins, and fun treats for kids
- Dessert recipes for couples, including chocolate mousse and pancakes
- Homemade spreads and toppings to complement your baked creation
Getting Started with Baking
Before diving into these easy oven-based recipes, it’s important to know the essential tools and the star ingredients. The basic tools are the ones you’ll reach for every single time you make a cake, batch of cookies, or tray of muffins. When it comes to ingredients, there are a few staples that show up in almost every oven-made dish.
So, it’s helpful to stock your kitchen with these must-haves. After all, how can you create delicious treats without the right tools and ingredients, right? Here’s the list to help you get started.
Essential Baking Tools and Ingredients
Must have tools:
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowls
- A whisk, a spatula, and a wooden spoon
- Electric mixer (hand or stand mixer) - if you find it difficult to mix the ingredients with your hands
- Baking tins (loaf tin, muffin pan, etc)
- Baking sheet and parchment paper
- Oven thermometer to ensure accuracy
Staple ingredients:
- Flour (all-purpose is most common)
- Sugar (white, brown, and powdered)
- Eggs
- Butter or oil
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Vanilla extract
- Milk
- Cocoa powder
- Chocolate chips
Are you thinking, ‘What about vegans, vegetarians, and people with dietary restrictions?’ Don’t worry, we hear you. Here’s a list of alternative ingredients for dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, and other diet preferences. Choose your ingredients wisely and according to what your recipe requires.
Common Ingredient Alternatives for Different Diets
- Plant-based milk: almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, coconut milk
- Butter: coconut oil, vegan butter spreads, avocado, ghee
- Heavy cream: coconut cream, cashew cream
- Butterscotch: Date paste
- Yoghurt: coconut yoghurt, soy yoghurt
- Cheese: nut cheese, nut parmesan
- Flour: almond flour, oat flour, coconut flour, rice flour, gluten-free all-purpose blends
- Breadcrumbs/cookie crumbs: gluten-free cookies or biscuits for crusts
- Thickening agents: cornstarch, tapioca starch, potato starch
- Eggs:
- flaxseed egg (1 tbsp flaxseed meal + 3 tbsp water)
chia egg
applesauce
mashed banana - Honey: maple syrup, agave
- Chocolate: vegan chocolate chips, dairy-free dark chocolate
- Gelatin: agar-agar
- Rennet-based cheeses: vegetarian cream cheese or soft cheeses
- Marshmallows: vegetarian marshmallows (gelatin-free)
Keep in mind that when you’re substituting ingredients in a recipe, the texture, taste and even the flavour may change. The key here is to adjust slightly or reduce sugar when using naturally sweet options like coconut milk.
Your cake might turn out so dense when you replace regular milk with oat milk. Substitutions are great, but they need a little practice (and a few kitchen “oops” moments) to get it right. Eventually, you’ll need to experiment and understand each alternative ingredient.
Understanding your ingredients and their roles is essential in dessert-making. This guide will break down all the core ingredients and explain what each one does, so you can bake with confidence.
Basic Baking Techniques
Mastering a few techniques will help ensure that every recipe turns out perfectly.
- Mixing: Combining dry & wet ingredients together until they are evenly blended.
- Folding: Gently combining a light mixture, such as whipped cream or beaten egg whites, with a heavier mixture. The goal is to preserve the air in the light mixture so the final batter stays airy.
- Creaming: Beating butter and sugar together until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. This incorporates air, which helps baked goods rise.
- Understanding cooking times: Not all ovens are equal – always check your pastries a few minutes before the timer ends.
- Cooling: Let baked goods sit at room temperature (or in the fridge) after they come out of the oven so they can set properly.
Easy Baking Recipes for Beginners
Alright, let’s get into the fun part – the easy baking recipes! These are super beginner-friendly, so anyone can give them a try. As long as you’ve got those staple ingredients we talked about earlier (plus a few extras), you’re all set to start making desserts.
Simple Cake Recipes
Yoghurt Cake
If there’s a recipe that anyone can make, it’s a yoghurt cake. Inspired by a 5-minute-prep recipe from The Mediterranean Dish, this beginner-friendly dessert is both easy to make and doesn’t take very long. All you have to do is mix all the ingredients and then bake them.
To prepare this dessert, you’ll need:
- 1 ½ cups (180g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ salt
- 1 cup (227g) Greek yoghurt
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
First, preheat your oven to 350°F / 175°C. Grab the pan you want to use and grease it with a little cooking oil spray. You can also line it with parchment paper, leaving some extra hanging over the sides, because it makes it much easier to lift the cake out once it’s cooled.
Mix the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt – and give them a quick whisk. In another bowl, whisk the wet ingredients – Greek yoghurt, sugar, eggs, olive oil, and vanilla extract. Once done, add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and gently fold everything together with a rubber spatula until evenly combined.
Now, pour the batter into your prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50–55 minutes at 350°F / 175°C. Another way to check if it’s done is by poking a toothpick in the centre – it should come out clean or with just a few dry crumbs.
Once baked, let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before lifting it out. Finish it off with a sprinkle of powdered sugar if you like, and enjoy a slice of this tender, fluffy dessert with a cup of tea or coffee!
The English word “cake” comes from the Old Norse word “kaka,” used by the Vikings. It entered Middle English around the 13th century and eventually evolved into the modern term we use today.
Chocolate Cake
If there’s a dessert that everybody loves, it’s chocolate cake. Whether it’s with milk chocolate, white chocolate, or dark chocolate, everyone loves a bit of chocolate dessert. This recipe, inspired by Chocolate, Chocolate, and More's chocolate depression cake, is great for amateurs and professionals alike.
It's the ultimate recipe for levelling up your skills. And let’s be honest – if you haven’t made this yet, are you even serious about oven-based cooking?
You’ll need these ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C for about 10–15 minutes, or until it reaches the right temperature.
Mix the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda in a bowl and ensure there are no lumps. In a separate bowl, mix all the wet ingredients – vanilla extract, vinegar, oil and water evenly. Then, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
Prepare your pan by greasing it, and add parchment paper if you have it – this makes it much easier to remove the cake. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30–35 minutes at 350°F / 175°C. Use the same toothpick method as mentioned above to check doneness.
It’s clear that in order to make these recipes, you’ll definitely need some tools. Don’t rush to get everything you see all at once. Read this guide to help you buy the essentials to get started.
Quick and Easy Muffins
Chocolate Chip Muffins
We’ve covered some of the easiest cake recipes, so now let’s take it up a notch and talk about muffins. Muffins are easy, and loved by both kids and adults. Next up, let’s check out a chocolate chip muffin recipe – perfect to whip up for your next family gathering. This recipe, modelled on All Recipes' basic chocolate chip muffins recipe, is truly a crowd-pleaser!
You’ll need a few ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup butter, melted
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
As usual, start by preheating the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease your muffin tin or line it with muffin liners. Next – by now, you should be familiar with this, right?
Mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl until you see no lumps. Then, in a separate bowl, mix all the wet ingredients until they are evenly combined. Then, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined – a few lumps are fine! Don’t overmix because you don’t want your muffins to be dense 🫨
Finally, spoon the batter into the muffin liners and bake for 15–20 minutes. And yes, the toothpick method works for muffins too!
Bake these, and you might have to fight for the last one!
Fun Baking Recipes for Kids
Looking for some quality time with the family? We’ve got just the recipe from Nyonya Cooking for you to try with your kids!
Baking with kids isn’t just fun – it helps them learn basic math (measuring ingredients), improves their motor skills (mixing, pouring, and folding), and even sparks creativity. Plus, it’s a great way to teach patience and the joy of enjoying something they made themselves!
Honey cornflakes cookie
These honey cornflakes cookies are super easy to make and a favourite during festive seasons in Malaysia. Due to its easy process, kids can definitely get involved without any heavy work, making it a fun activity for the whole family!
Ingredients needed:
- 30g unsalted butter
- 30g honey
- 20g cornflakes
- Nuts (to your liking & optional)
- Dried cherries (to your liking & optional)
First, grab a pan and melt the butter over medium heat. Once it’s melted, add honey and stir well until the mixture starts to thicken and you see tiny air bubbles. This is your cue to turn off the stove and add the hero ingredient – cornflakes to the mixture. At this stage, you may add nuts if you like.
To shape the cookies, spoon the mixture into mini cupcake liners. This keeps the cornflakes in place and makes them super easy to eat later. You can even decorate with dried cherries or extra nuts, depending on your taste.
Finally, bake these little goodies! Place the cupcake liners on a tray and bake in a preheated oven at 170°C for about 8 minutes. Let it cool off and enjoy these mini golden crunches with your kids!
Alternatively, you can also try making jam tarts. It’ll be a fun and interactive activity for both adults and kids.
Try this recipe with your kids and let us know your experience in the comments!
Best Recipes for Baking Cakes
Classic Favourites
Butter cake
Let’s take a look at a cake many Malaysians grew up eating. You can probably still remember the smell of a freshly baked, tender, moist butter dessert coming out of the oven. It’s the close cousin of the classic English pound cake, and the cool part? It’s easy enough for beginners to make.
Here’s what you’ll need for this classic treat:
Ingredients:
- Flour - 1 1/2 cups (180g)
- Butter - 250 grams
- Eggs - 5
- Baking powder - 1 teaspoon
- Salt - 1/4 teaspoon
- Vanilla essence - 1 teaspoon
- Milk - 50 ml (1/4 cup)
- Sugar - 1 cup (200g)
Grab a bowl, sift the flour and baking powder to remove any lumps. In another bowl, cream the butter for about a minute – you can use a hand mixer if you have one. Then, add sugar and continue mixing until it turns pale and fluffy.
Once that’s ready, add the eggs one at a time and mix well after adding each. Add in the salt and vanilla essence and combine everything evenly. Now, slowly add the dry ingredients in batches and gently fold them into the mixture. After that, pour in the milk, the last ingredient, little by little and fold until the batter is well combined.
Pour the prepared batter into a greased pan and smooth out the top. Tap the pan gently on the counter to release any trapped air bubbles. Bake the cake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 45 minutes.
Note: For optimal results, butter, eggs, and milk should be at room temperature.
Banana cake
If there’s one cake almost every Malaysian household has attempted at least once, it’s this one! It’s the ultimate “don’t waste your bananas” recipe – the riper the bananas, the better the flavour. We're a fan of Baking Envy's one-bowl banana cake recipe:
Ingredients:
- 2 medium overripe bananas
- ¾ cup canola oil (or any flavourless vegetable oil)
- ¼ cup Greek yoghurt / natural yoghurt
- 1 cup caster / superfine sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence OR ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups plain/all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease the pan of your choice and line it with parchment paper if you have some.
In a bowl, add the bananas and mash them well using a fork. Then add in the oil, yoghurt, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and mix until everything is nicely combined. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt, or if you prefer, sift them straight into the wet mixture. Gently fold everything together until the batter is evenly mixed.
Now pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes until the top is golden.
If you don't have the confidence in baking, commit to making the recipe three times. The first two, do it exactly the way I've told you to make it. Twice. The first time you'll screw it up. The second time it will come out pretty good, and then the third time, make your adjustments.
Tom Douglas
Baking Recipes for Couples
Have you ever thought about preparing desserts with your partner? It’s honestly one of the most relaxing and rewarding activities you can do together. It fosters communication, teamwork, creativity, and gives you some much-needed quality bonding time away from daily distractions.
This recipe is perfect for a cosy weekend activity, or even if you want to surprise your partner with a sweet homemade dessert. Either way, you’re definitely going to impress them with the effort (and the delicious results!).
Romantic Desserts
Chocolate Mousse
If there’s one dessert that almost everyone loves, it’s chocolate mousse. You can easily make this incredibly delicious dessert and impress your partner (and yourself!).
Ingredients
- 6 ounces 60% chocolate, chopped
- 2/3 cup heavy cream (divided use)
- 1/4 cup hot espresso
- 1 large egg yolk
Start by chopping the chocolate into very small pieces and add them to a blender or small food processor.
Grab a saucepan and heat ⅓ cup of the heavy cream until it’s steaming hot. Add the freshly brewed espresso, hot heavy cream, and egg yolk to the blender. Blend everything until smooth. The heat from the espresso and cream helps melt the chocolate, so make sure they’re hot.
If you still see some chocolate chunks, transfer the mixture to a bowl and set it over another bowl of hot water. Stir until everything melts, then set aside to cool.
Whip the remaining ⅓ cup of cold heavy cream until it forms stiff peaks. This means when you lift the whisk, the cream holds its shape and doesn’t collapse - a great cooking tip from Dessert for Two, who inspired this recipe. Next, take half of the cooled chocolate mixture and gently fold it into the whipped cream. Do the same to the remaining chocolate mixture – fold until everything is smooth and even.
Now, spoon the mousse into glasses and chill for about an hour to set. Once ready, the mousse can be served as is, or add extra whipped cream or any toppings you like!
If you’re concerned about using raw eggs, you can use pasteurised eggs or leave them out entirely.
Breakfast in Bed
Pancakes
- 1 ½ cups (195g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea or table salt, reduce to 1/4 teaspoon if sensitive to salt
- 1 ¼ cups (295ml) milk,
- 1 large egg
- 5 tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter, we’ll also use for the skillet
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Melt the butter and set it aside to cool slightly. In a bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt) until you see no clumps.
Take another bowl and mix the wet ingredients (eggs, milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract). Now, form a well or a hole in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Gently whisk until the flour is evenly combined. A few lumps are totally fine.
The batter should be thick like cake batter. If it feels too thick, add a splash of milk to reach the right consistency.
Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Brush it lightly with melted butter, or skip this step if you’re using a nonstick pan. Using a large ice cream scoop (or any spoon you have handy), pour the batter onto the skillet and spread it into roughly a 4-inch circle or smaller (your wish). Cook for 1–2 minutes, until the edges look dry and bubbles start forming on the top. That’s your cue to flip to the other side and cook 1–2 minutes, until lightly browned and cooked evenly.
A serving recommendation by the Inspired Taste's authors, Adam and Joanne: serve the hot pancakes with the toppings of your choice!
Homemade Spreads and Toppings
Fruit Jam
Fresh fruit spread may take a little more time, but it’s worth every minute. It also pairs beautifully with other oven creations.
To make jam, you’ll need:
- 1.5kg of fruit of your choice
- 1.5kg of sugar
- 1 sachet of gelatine
You’ll need around 2 hours to prepare this recipe, so start by blending the fruit and mixing in the sugar. Then mix the gelatine into two tablespoons of sugar. Boil the fruit mixture and after three minutes, add the gelatine-sugar mixture.
Remove the foam that forms and fill up some jam jars. Close them and turn them upside down to get the air out. You leave your jam for two days to finish before tasting it.
Disclaimer: The recipes in this article are inspired by multiple sources from the baking community. All instructions have been rewritten and adapted for clarity and ease of use.
These are just a few desserts that you can try as a beginner. If you need an ultimate guide to get started, check out our article that covers essential tips and techniques for aspiring bakers.
Once you’ve got the basics down, you are now ready to choose any one today and give it a go. Chances are, it might not turn out perfectly on the first attempt, and that’s perfectly alright! Baking is a skill that you can refine over time with patience and consistent practice.
Even with detailed instructions, you can get confused – I know, I’ve been there too! That’s why having a tutor can be a game-changer. With over 6 000 tutors available on Superprof at an average price of RM 49, you can find someone to guide you, answer your questions, and help you achieve the desired results in your pastry-making journey.
It’s time to preheat your passion, roll up your sleeves, and mix up something sweet!
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