Self-saucing Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients

Topping

  • 1 cup brown sugar , loosely packed
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 ¼ cups boiling water

Pudding

  • 1 cup All Purpose flour
  • 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/3 cup fine (caster) sugar
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • ½ cup milk, room temperature
  • 4 Tablespoons butte , melted
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 335°F
  2. Grease 8x 8x 2.5” baking dish
  3. Whisk brown sugar and cocoa in a bowl to make the topping mix. Set aside
  4. Whisk flour, baking powder, fine sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a bowl
  5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter and milk, then whisk in the egg and vanilla. Don’t worry if some lumps form from the butter- carry on whisking together
  6. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture. Mix until combined – it will be a thick batter
  7. Spread into baking dish. Sprinkle with topping mixture. Shake gently to spread out thinly
  8. Carefully pour the hot water all over the top of the pudding, trying to avoid any pooling
  9. Transfer to oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top of the cake springs back when poked lightly. The top will be a bit crusty, like the top of brownies
  10. Remove from oven, stand for just a few minute, then serve immediately
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Irish Skillet Cookie

Makes

  • 2 pints ice cream
  • 2 cups caramel sauce
  • 1 x 10″ cookie

The quantities in this recipe make more than enough ice cream and caramel sauce for this recipe. Any surplus can be stored as noted at the end of the recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Irish Cream ice cream

  • 2 1/2 cups whipping cream
  • 1 can (300ml) sweetened condensed milk
  • 3/4 cup Irish cream liquer
  • pinch salt

*before starting the ice cream ensure that your bowl, beaters and cream are chilled in the fridge for a couple of hours

Caramel sauce

  • ½ cup water
  • 2 Tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, cubed, room temperature
  • 1 cup heavy cream, room temperature
  • 2 Tablespoons Irish whiskey

Skillet cookie

  • 375ml Irish porter stout
  • 1 cup brown sugar, divided into 1/4 and 3/4 quantities
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
  • 2 Tablespoon rendered bacon fat
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoon hot water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 Tablespoons milk powder
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 Tablespoon butter

Method

Irish Cream ice cream

  1. In a medium bowl add the sweetened condensed milk, Irish cream and salt, whisking to combine. Set aside until needed
  2. In a large bowl whisk the whipping cream until soft peak stage
  3. Add in the Irish cream mixture, folding gently so as not to deflate the whipped cream
  4. Pour into a freezer-proof container and freeze for at least 5 hours, or overnight, until the ice cream has set. Keep in the freezer until ready to serve

Caramel sauce

  1. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, cream of tartar and water in a large saucepan set over a medium–low heat, swirling the pan until the sugar melts. Bring to the boil and cook for 10–12minutes until it becomes a deep gold colour, but not dark brown. DO NOT STIR at any point. If you need to you can gently swirl the pan to make sure the mixture is melting evenly. When the caramel begins to colour, it will darken quickly so keep a close eye on it
  2. Once it reaches the correct color, quickly, but carefully, remove the pan from the heat. Add the butter cubes and using a wooden spoon gently stir until the butter has melted and is well combined. It will bubble a little and release steam so take care not to burn yourself
  3. Next, add the cream and again slowly stir, again taking care not to burn yourself from the rising steam
  4. Once well combined, add the whiskey, and whisk to combine. Return to a medium heat and cook for a further minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and transfer to a heat-proof bowl. Allow to cool completely

Skillet cookie

  1. In a pan combine the porter stout and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Heat over a medium heat and reduce until 1/3 cup remains. Remove from heat and set aside to cool fully
  2. Preheat your oven to 375 degree F. Heat a 10″ cast iron skillet in the oven while making the cookie batter
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, white sugar, remaining brown sugar and bacon fat, beating until well creamed, pale and fluffy
  4. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating to combine thoroughly before proceeding. add in the vanilla extract and cooled porter stout syrup, beating until uniform in color and well combined
  5. Dissolve the baking soda in the hot water and add to the batter along with the salt, stirring to combine
  6. Add in the flour and milk powder, stirring to combine well. Finally fold in the chocolate chips
  7. Carefully remove the hot skillet from your oven, and melt the butter in it, swirling it to coat the bottom and sides of the skillet. Add the cookie batter and carefully spread it out using a spatula or spoon to fill the skillet
  8. Return the filled skillet to the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes until cookie is deep golden brown color
  9. Remove from oven and allow to cool to serving temperature

To serve

  1. To serve, finish the warm cookie with scoops of Irish cream liqueur and drizzle generously with the whiskey caramel sauce

To keep

  • The baked cookie can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days
  • The ice cream should be kept in an airtight, freezer-proof container for up to 3 months.
  • The caramel sauce can be stored in an airtight, sterilised container for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. If it sets too much in the fridge, remove and allow to come to room temperature

Irish Cream Nanaimo Bars

Makes 18

Ingredients

Base layer

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup fine sugar
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1 cup brown (wholewheat) bread crumbs
  • 3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Middle layer

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
  • 2 Tbsp custard powder
  • Pinch salt
  • 2-3 Tbsp Irish Cream (Baileys), to taste
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Top layer

  • 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate, broken/ chopped into pieces
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 2oz white chocolate, broke/ chopped in to pieces
  • 1 tsp butter

Method

Base layer

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 inch square baking pan with parchment paper 
  2. In small saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, cocoa and sugar, stirring occasionally until butter has melted and mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool
  3. In a separate medium bowl combine the egg, graham cracker crumbs, brown bread crumbs and shredded coconut. Add in the cooled cocoa/ butter mixture and stir to fully combine
  4. Transfer to your prepared pan. Press firmly and level as much as possible
  5. Bake for 10 mins, then remove from oven and leave to cool completely

Middle layer

  1. In bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together powdered sugar, butter, custard powder, salt, Irish cream and vanilla extract. Spread the mixture evenly over the cooled bottom layer; smooth and chill for at least an hour

Top layer

  1. In a bowl set over barely simmering water, melt semi-sweet chocolate, and butter together, stirring occasionally, until smooth and shiny.
  2. In a microwave, heat the white chocolate and butter together in a small bowl until melted. Transfer to a small piping bag.
  3. Pour over the melted semi-sweet chocolate over the Irish cream layer and smooth. Pipe on the white chocolate and feather to a design of your liking
  4. Chill in the refrigerator overnight, or 2 hours minimum. Cut into bars (I usually get 18, cutting into 3 x 6)
  5. Keep the cut bars in a covered container either in the refrigerator (3 days) or frozen (3 months)

Ultimate Chocolate Cookies

Makes 16

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup  packed light or dark brown sugar
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup  natural unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp espresso powder
  • 2 Tbsp milk powder
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp milk
  • 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolater chips, or chunks
  • 1/3 cup milk chocolate chips, or chunks
  • 1/3 cup white chocolate chips, or chunks 

Method

  1. In stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and then beat on high speed until combined
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, espresso powder, milk powder and salt together until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add to the creamed butter mixture. Beat on low until combined
  3. Add in the milk, beating to combine on high speed
  4. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the chocolate chips. Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour
  5. Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. If the cookie dough chilled longer than 3 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. This will make it easier to scoop
  6. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
  7. Scoop the dough into balls, I use a 2 tablespoon cookie dough scoop. Arrange on a thew preared cookie sheets allowing 2-3 inches between
  8. Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes or until the edges appear set and the centers still look soft. Remove them from the oven and lightly bang the baking sheet on the counter 2-3 times
  9. Cool cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely 
  10. Cover leftover cookies tightly and store at room temperature in an air-tight container for up to 1 week

Chocoflan

Ingredients

Cake Layer

  • 1 box chocolate fudge cake mix
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup canola
  • 3 eggs

Flan Layer

  • 2oz semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature
  • 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
  • 8oz cream cheese, full fat, softened
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 4 eggs

Method

  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 12-cup fluted tube cake pan, or bundt pan, with cooking spray
  2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and 3 eggs with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour batter into prepared cake pan
  3. In blender, combine the Flan layer ingredients. Cover; blend on high speed until smooth and uniform in color. Slowly pour, or ladle, the flan mixture evenly over the cake batter. (Flan mixture will mix a little with batter, but they will separate during baking)
  4. Spray piece of foil with cooking spray, and place sprayed side down over top of pan; cover tightly
  5. Place cake pan in large roasting pan; add between 1-2 inches water, creating a water bath for the cake
  6. Bake 1 hour 30 minutes to ensure cake. To check insert toothpick, or skewer, inserted in center of cake layer will come out clean. Remove cake pan from water bath to cooling rack and remove foil. Cool at room temperature 1 hour. Refrigerate in pan, uncovered, 2 hours
  7. Remove from refrigerator and, if needed, run thin metal spatula around outer and inside edges of pan to loosen cake. Place serving plate upside down on cake pan; turn plate and pan over. Remove pan. Slice and serve!
  8. Store loosely covered with cling wrap in refrigerator