Tag Archives: Homemade

#Recipe Chewy Krispy Easter Bars

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I ended up making these not for Easter but slightly ahead of time as part of my daughter’s half-term homework! I wanted to avoid lengthy cake recipes and also favored something which wouldn’t have her tinkering with my temperamental oven. If you do a quick online search for rice krispie treats you’ll be awash with various recipes and this is my take on it. It’s also a great recipe to get the kids involved- well and truly getting stuck in. The addition of the popping candy gives an extra little surprise when eating the bars much to the delight of the little ones!

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Makes 24

Ingredients
50g butter
300g mini marshmallows
170g Rice Krispies
75g Chocolate covered popping candy
90g bag Mini Chocolate eggs

Method

  • Grease a 34.5 x 24 x 4cm H. (13½” x 9½” x 1½”) tray-bake or brownie pan with butter or cake release.
  • Place the Rice Krispies in a large bowl, and sprinkle over the chocolate covered popping candy. Set aside until needed.
  • Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a low heat.
  • Add the marshmallows and cook gently until they are completely melted, stirring constantly.
  • Remove the pan with the melted marshmallows the heat and immediately pour over the cereal, mixing with a spatula until coated. If your making these with your kids this is this ideal stage to get them involved. Wearing vinyl gloves let them get stuck in with their hands mixing the cereal and marshmallow “goo” together until well combined and well coated. Be careful not to squash the cereal too much though!
  • Press the mixture into your prepared pan; press it down into the corners. It will be sticky and stringy but lots of tasty messy fun!
  • Flatten the top and push the chocolate eggs into the surface so they stuck in.
  • Let the marshmallow crispy squares cool completely in the tin and then cut them into 12 squares, then cut each square into ½ giving you 24 bars.
  • Serve and enjoy!2016-02-19 15.00.10

Wired for Sound! #recipe #brownies

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So this morning saw me chatting to the imitable food presence that is William Sitwell on his “Biting Talk” show on Soho Radio. Some of you may recognise him from such things as the Mastechef food critics table, or from Waitrose Kitchen magazine. By the by, conversation ranged from cupcakes (of course!) to beards (well why not) to cartoon franchising (you’ll just have to listen for that one!) If you missed out here’s the link below for you aural delectation…

As only expected for #thebeardedbaker I brought along some baked goods for sampling. Yes, I know it was only 9am in the morning but (a bit like gin!) it’s always cake o’clock somehwere in there world. So the team at Soho Radio had the pleasure (I hope!) of trying out two new recipes for brownies and cupcakes-

cupcakes

My “Hot n Smoky” caramel cupcakes of caramel sponge filled with a smoked caramel centre, topped with caramel buttercream frosting and sriracha cinder toffee shards.


Brownies

Chocolate  Cherry & Cheesecake Brownies- Chocolate, Cherry and double-chocolate brownies topped with White Chocolate & Pink Peppercorn Cheescake

In the event that these have piqued your intrest and tingled your tastebuds here’s the recipe for the Chocolate Cherry brownies. Do bear in mind that these are exceptionally rich- a chocolate motherload not for the faint-hearted! As such I recommend cutting them down into half the traditional brownie size.

Chocolate Cherry & Pink Peppercorn Cheesecake Brownies
Makes 18 (deep pan) or 40 (shallow pan)

Ingredients
185g unsalted butter 185g, cubed
185g 70% cocoa dark chocolate, broken into pieces
3 eggs
275g caster sugar
85g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
1 tbsp Espresso powder
50g 70% cocoa dark chocolate chunks
50g white chocolate chunks
100g glace cherries, halved
1 egg
280g cream cheese
60g caster sugar
3 tbsp pink peppercorns, lightly crushed
50g white chocolate chunks

Method

  • Set your oven to 180C/gas mark 4 and line a deep 12″x9″ baking tray with baking parchment. * See note for brownie numbers
  • Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (or bain-marie), stirring occasionally. Once melted, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
  • Beat the eggs and sugar until the mixture is thickened and fluffy.
  • In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, and espresso powder.
  • Fold the cooled chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.
  • Sieve in the dry ingredients, and fold together.
  • Fold in the chocolate chunks and cherries until well combined.
  • Pour your mixture into the lined tray and gently spread to level the surface.
  • For the cheesecake, beat the cream cheese, caster sugar, and egg in a separate bowl until smooth.
  • Melt the white chocolate (either over hot water or in a microwave in short bursts).
  • Add the pink peppercorns and melted chocolate into the cheesecake mixture and mix well.
  • Pour/ place blobs of the cheesecake mixture on top of the chocolate brownie mixture.
  • Swirl with a knife or a skewer to create a marbled effect throughout the batter
  • Place in the oven for 35-40 minutes, then leave to cool completely in the tin before removing from the tin or cutting into squares.
  • Leave to cool, then serve.

*If you use a 12” x 9” tin you will get 20 brownies (cutting 4 x 5) and then divide further down in half to give you 40 brownie “bars”. If you use a 9” x 9” silicone brownie pan (available from Lakleand) you’ll get 9 deeper brownies which you can cut down in half to give you 18 brownie “bars”.

 

#Recipe: Chocolate, Guinness & Black Garlic Bundt cake with Smoked Chocolate glaze

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So I’ve (eventually) gotten around to posting this recipe- massive apologies for the delay. This cake first started out as an experiment using black garlic and was finished with a salted caramel sauce and served with forest fruits. I wanted to create something that looked and tasted indulgent but had a slight edginess to it- nothing too frou-frou! For me it was a Gothic romance in cake form. Time moved on and so did the recipe development. I replaced the salted caramel with a chocolate glaze but wanted to still keep my (signature) twist. And so liquid smoke was added. Depending on how much you use, this wonderful ingredient adds a tasty smoky flavour and in this case married really well with the black garlic of the bundt. It’s availble online or from good food ingredient stores.

iness; Chocolate and Black Garlic Bundt

The original version of the Chocolate, Guinness & Black Garlic bundt cake

Bundt cake mixture

375g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

70g unsweetened cocoa powder

225g butter, softened

110g unsalted butter, chopped and softened

600g caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 eggs

125ml milk

125ml Guinness stout (from a bottle as opposed to a can)

6 cloves black garlic, chopped

100g dark chocolate chips or pieces

Chocolate glaze

12 Tablespoons icing sugar

4 teaspoons whole milk

1 tablespoon liquid smoke

*this mixtures makes enough for a very ample bundt cake (using a 25cm tin) or 2 standard sized ones (I used Nordicwares Fleur De Lis and Anniversary tins)

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To make the bundt cake

  • Preheat the oven to 170 C. Grease and flour  your Bundt cake tin(s)- or if your like me spray the inside with cake release spray.
  • Sift flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa together into a bowl and place to one side.
  • In a jug combine the milk and the Guinness. Set
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream butter, margarine, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. (A tip here is to keep beating until you can no longer feel the sugar grains between you fingers).
  • Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add flour mixture alternately with the milk/Guinness mixture. Mix to combine.
  • Add in the chopped black garlic cloves and chocolate chips. Mix well.
  • Pour into your prepared Bundt tin(s). Bake in the preheated oven for 70 minutes or until a skewer inserted into cake comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely before glazing.

To make the glaze

  • Combine all the ingredients in a jug and mix well to combine until smooth. The mixture should fall easily from  your whisk and leave a slowly sinking trail in the bowl. If you find the mixture too stiff add some more milk in 1/2 teaspoon increments.

To finish

  • Place the cake on a cooling rack with some foil or baking parchment underneath to catch the drips.
  • Drizzle or paint the glaze onto the fully cooled cake until coated.
  • Spinkle with finishing decoration of you choice.
  • Slice, serve and enjoy!2015-11-18 16.55.00-1

 

 

#recipe Spiced Apple Crumble with parmesan and rosewater

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This recipe provided an ideal use for some apples from our back garden. Quick and easy it’s an ideal comfort food for this time of year when the temperature takes a turn. Warming and comforting with the right amout of spice it’s fantastic with custrd or cream alike. The addition of both the rosewater and parmesan may seem a bit strange but bear with me. You won’t regret it! The rose water lifts flavour of the apple filling while the parmesan in the crumb topping adds a savory note. Just think of a cheeseboard with fruit on it!

Spiced Apple Crumble with parmesan and rosewater

Filling

1 kg apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoon rosewater eg Saveur de Maroc

1 tablespoon mixed spice

50g light brown sugar

Crumble topping

150g plain flour

100g light brown sugar

90g cold butter, cubed

25g rolled oats

2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, finely grated

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Method

To make the filling

– Preheat the oven to 190C/170 fan/gas 5.

– Toss the apple pieces in the lemon juice, rosewater, mixed spice and light brown sugar until evenly coated.

– Transfer to a 10inch by 2 inch deep pie dish.

To make the topping

– In a large bowl combine the flour, light brown sugar, oats, parmesan and butter. Rub in with your finger tips until the mixture resmebles breadcrumbs.

– Sprinkle the crumb mixtureover the apple filling, gently pressing down where needed. Take care not to press it too tight as this will just make the crumble a solid topping- you dont wantthis.

– Bake in your preheated oven for 30-25 mins until the topping is golden. When you slide in a knife the apple should have softened and you should feel some give. If you prefer your filling softer, you can bake for another 5 to 10 minutes.

– Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

– Serve with custard, cream or ice cream and enjoy!

Recipe- Chilled Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Caramel Cheesecake

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Cheesecake- the dessert that can divide a nation. “Should it be chilled or baked?” is a question that could have come from the lips of Hamlet himself. After watching the “Desserts” episode of The Great British Bake Off I was throughly enthussed to try baked cheesecake. To be honest there has always been something about baked cheesecake that never hit the spot for me. Maybe I just never had a good one – they’ve ranged from custard tart-like to downright chalky and as a result my allegience and affections have always belonged to it’s cooler, and in my opinion, more sublime counter part- the chilled cheesecake. And here’s the result with my signature ubiquitious twist. Rich and chocolatey with a hint of peanut this is a thoroughly grow-up dessert. Little and often is the way ahead…little and often!

Chilled Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Caramel Cheesecake

200g digestive biscuits

90g  butter, cubed

110g caster sugar

150ml double cream

150g  dark chocolate, melted and cooled

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

560g cream cheese

4 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

200g Carnation tinned caramel

75g cocoa nibs

Chocolate curls, optional

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Method

– To make the base, blitz the biscuits in a food processor to make rough crumbs and then add the butter and 1 tablespoon of cocoa. Blitz again until it clumps together  and then spread them into a 23cm springform tin. Press the biscuit crumbs into the bottom of the tin to make an even base and refrigerate while you carry on making the filling.

– Carefully melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water. Make sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the hot water. When melted, remove and leave to cool slightly.

– Whip cream until soft peak stage. Add cooled melted chocolate, then the cocoa powder. Mix well and set aside.

– In a stand mixer beat the cream cheese and sugar together for about 10 mins. Continue beating until there ae no sugar grains. Add in the peanut butter and mix until well combined.

– Fold in cream/chocolate mixture and mix thoroughly.

– Spread half the cheese filling on top of crushed biscuit base.

– Dot tablespoon size blobs of the caramel over the cheesecake filling. Once all the caramel has been used, spread the remaining cheese mix over this so the caramel it is completely covered.

– Decorate the top of the cheesecake with the cocoa nibs and the chocolate curls, if using.

– Place in refrigerate for minimum 3 hours, or overnight.

– Slice, serve and enjoy!