Matchstick Monkey turns 5!
Today, Matchstick Monkey turns 5! It has been amazing to see how far we have come and we are so thankful to you all for joining us on our journey and trusting us with one of your babies important milestones! Here’s to another five years of teething products and much more to come!
So, to celebrate, we asked Matty from @mattys.kitchen to create a yummy birthday treat! Matty is a baker from London and has spent hours in the kitchen perfecting every aspect of his recipes. His attention to detail ensured his products are of the finest quality and the yummiest!
At Matchstick Monkey, we have asked Matty some questions about baking and how he is finding his new baking business.
1. How long have you been baking for?
I have been baking for as long as I can remember. The second I was old enough to hold a spoon I was helping my Mum in the Kitchen. From cakes to family meals, some of my recipes are over 15 years old! (I'm only 22). I am completely self-taught and cooking and baking has always been a passion of mine. I was even on Junior Masterchef at the age of 9.
2. Do you bake with/for your family?
Yes, my family are very lucky and normally get to eat all of my test bakes! My Auntie is a trained chef and has a catering business so I have learnt a lot of skills from her. We are all foodies in my family!
3. What inspired you to start Matty’s Kitchen?
I worked for 5 years in a beautiful artisan bakery called Karma Bread, where I got a wealth of experience and learnt a lot of what I know today. I knew that my next step from here would be to open my own business. When the UK had to lockdown, unfortunately, the bakery temporarily closed. During this time I started baking from home for friends and family and Matty's Kitchen took off overnight. It is a business that I have always dreamed of having and I am extremely grateful for the time I had during the lockdown.
5. What are your long term goals for your business?
The next goal I have in place for my business is to open a shop. I would love to have a large bakery space of my own. This would give me the space and equipment to experiment with many more recipes and ideas I have in mind!
6. What is your favourite thing to bake?
My favourite thing to bake is my chocolate tea cakes. A chocolate tea cake is handmade chocolate, filled with the creamiest marshmallow fluff and a biscuit base. I love to experiment with different tea cake flavours, I have 12 different flavours on my menu at the moment.
7. Bestselling Matty’s kitchen bakes?
The best selling items on my menu are my cookies and tea cakes. More specifically the most popular flavour cookie is the Kinder Bueno stuffed cookie, filled with white chocolate hazelnut creme & the most popular flavour tea cakes are raspberry ripple and lotus and white chocolate.
However, for Matchstick Monkey’s birthday, I have decided to make another delicious cookie recipe - Banana Chocolate Cookies. These flourless chocolate banana cookies are super easy to make and use very simple ingredients. They are gluten and dairy-free, making them perfect if you have intolerances. They taste a mix between a chewy meringue and a rich chocolate brownie, topped with sweet caramelised banana.
Serves: 6 Large Cookies or 12 Mini Cookies.
Ingredients
- 275g Icing Sugar
- 45g Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 100g Egg White (3 large egg whites)
- 1tsp Vanilla Bean Paste (vanilla essence is fine)
- 0.5tsp Sea Salt Flakes (regular is fine)
- 90g Dark Chocolate Chips
- 1 Banana
Instructions
- Start by lining two large baking trays with non-stick greaseproof paper and preheat the oven to 180*C fan.
- Next, sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder together in a large bowl.
- Separate the eggs and add the egg white & vanilla and mix until just combined.
- Add chocolate chips and sea salt flakes.
- Spoon or pipe the mixture on trays (6 per tray) and top each cookie with 2 thin slices of banana.
- Bake on 180*C for 17 minutes. Turn halfway through baking. Allow cookies to completely cool before removing them from the tray.
Sounds delicious right? Now it’s time to pop to the shop to buy these ingredients and try out this delicious recipe. We promise you won’t be disappointed!
Stay tuned for an exciting competition launching Friday 9th October to be in with the chance of winning some of these delicious cookies. To enter, head over to our Instagram @matchstick_monkey - good luck!
