Valentine Day Chocolate Tart February 13, 2018

This looks so fancy but believe me when I say it’s easy…I don’t really do complicated.

 

Ingredients

 

1 shop bought sweet pastry tart

14 oz dark chocolate, although in this I did run out of dark chocolate so used half dark & half milk

10oz double cream

5 Tbsp butter

 

Method

 

Break the chocolate into pieces & place in a large heat proof dish with the butter.

Put the cream into a small pan & heat, but don’t let it boil.

Pour the hot cream over the chocolate & butter & cover with cling film. Do NOT stir, just cover & leave for 5 minutes.

Using a hand held whisk, whisk the mixture until smooth & pour into pastry case.

Leave in refrigerator for at least 2 hours to set.

I used frozen (defrosted) berries to serve with this as there’s no sweetner added to them at all & the tartness of the berries cuts through the sweetness of the chocolate tart.

Happy Valentine’s Day, love you all x

 

Slow Cooker Chilli Con Carne (2) (Winter Warmers) January 20, 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

2 lrg onions

2 clove of garlic, crushed

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 kg stewing beef, cut into small cubes

2 tsp sweet smoked paprika

1 – 2 tsp hot chilli powder

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3 Tbsp tomato puree

2 red chillies, deseeded & chopped

2 400g tins chopped tomatoes

2 red peppers, deseeded & chopped

1 x 410 tin red kidney beans, rinsed & drained

1 x 410g tin black-eyed beans, rinsed & drained

2 squares good quality dark chocolate

 

Method

In a large pan heat the oil & brown the onion & garlic on a low heat for 8-10 minutes, scoop onto a plate & return pan to the heat.

Brown the meat in 2 -3 batches, if need be.

Put the browned meat along with the onion & garlic into the slow cooker, add the spices & the tomato puree, stir all together.

Next add the chillies, tomatoes, red peppers & a generous pinch of salt. Half fill one of the tomato tins with cold water & add that too.

Heat on High for 1 hour then turn to Low & leave for 6 hours, then stir in the beans & leave on low for another hour.

Taste to check if you need more seasoning, add the chocolate & stir it through.

This can be served with rice or chips along with fresh chopped coriander leaves, soured cream, finely chopped red or green chilli & lime wedges

Chocolate Silk Cake November 22, 2016

This is a lovely cake, although more dense than your usual sponge cake.

 

 

Ingredients

100g butter, softened

300ml single cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

300g light brown soft sugar

100g dark chocolate, chopped

2 eggs

225g plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

 

For the Dark Chocolate Buttercream

100g dark chocolate, chopped

150g butter, softened

150g icing sugar, sifted

2 Tbsp cocoa powder

 

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Grease and line the base of 2 x 20cm tins  with parchment paper.

Warm the cream, vanilla and 150g of the brown sugar in a pan, stirring until the sugar has melted, then heat until just steaming. Add the chocolate and stir until melted, set aside.

In a separate bowl cream the butter and reamaining brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs a little at a time until incorperated, then mix in the melted chocolate mixture. Sift in the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda and beat to a smooth batter.

Divide between the 2 tins and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean, cool in the tins for 10 minutes then turn out onto rack to cool completely.

For the buttercream, melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water, cool for 10 minutes.

In a seperate bowl, cream the butter and icing sugar until smooth, then beat in the cocoa and a pinch of salt. Stir in the cooled, melted chocolate, if the icing is too soft, chill for 5 minutes in the fridge.

Place one of the cakes on a plate and spread half the buttercream over. Place the second cake on top and either pipe or spread the rest of the buttercream on top.

Chocolate Caramel Brownies February 26, 2016

A foolproof recipe for squidgy cake squares, studded with extra chunks of chocolate for extra yumminess!

 

Ingredients

 

100g ginger biscuits

1 tin Carnation Caramel

185g butter

185g dark chocolate

85g plain flour

40g cocoa powder

50g white chocolate, roughly chopped

50g milk chocolate, roughly chopped

3 eggs

275g caster sugar

1 Cadburys Crunchie bar, roughly broken

 

Method

Line a 21cm, deep sided square tin with baking parchment.

Blitz the biscuits in a food processor and put into the prepared tin.

Make the brownie mixture

Cut butter into smallish cubes and tip into a medium bowl with the dark chocolate. Place on a saucepan of hot water to melt, stirring occasionally, once melted take off the heat and let it come to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 180C/gas 4.

Sieve the flour and cocoa powder into a bowl.

Break the eggs into a large bowl and add the sugar, whisk until creamy and thick, like a milk shake.

Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the eggy mousse, then gently fold together with a spatula  until the two mixtures are one and the colour is a mottled dark brown.

Add the flour/cocoa mix to the eggy mixture and gently fold in, it will look dry and powdery for awhile but keep on folding in it will come to look fudgy.

Stop just before you feel you should, as you don’t want to overdo this mixing. Finally, stir in the white and milk chocolate chunks until they’re dotted throughout.

Pour half the brownie batter over the biscuit crumbs that are already in your prepared tin, then pour over 3/4 of the caramel and finish off by pouring on the rest of the brownie batter.

Bake for 30 – 40 minutes. If the brownie wobbles in the middle, it’s not quite done, so slide it back in and bake for another 5 minutes until the top has a shiny, papery crust and the sides are just beginning to come away from the tin. Take out of the oven.

Leave to cool then spread the rest of the caramel over the top, then scatter the Crunchie ontop and enjoy.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies November 21, 2015

Two of my favourites right here, chocolate and peanut butter…..ohhhhh heaven!

 

Ingredients

225g peanut butter, smooth or crunchy it’s up to you

200g dark chocolate, broken into pieces

280g soft light brown sugar

3 eggs

100g self raising flour

 

Method

 

Set aside 50g each of the peanut butter and chocolate. Heat oven to 180C/gas 4 and line a 20cm square baking tin with baking parchment. Gently melt remaining peanut butter, chocolate and all the sugar in a pan, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has just about melted. Turn off heat and use a wooden spoon to beat in the eggs one by one. Stir in the flour and scrape into the tin.

Melt reserved peanut butter in the microwave on high for 45 secs, or in a pan, until runny, then drizzle over the brownie. Bake for 30-35 mins until it has a crust, but the middle still seems slightly uncooked.

Melt reserved chocolate, drizzle over the brownie, then cool in the tin before cutting into squares.

 

Giant Jaffa Cake October 3, 2015

 

Ok so here we have the first attempt, really not good as it fell apart. Then the the one that I changed the recipe slightly on, I know I shouldn’t say it myself but. second one is really good! 🙂

You can make this into an ‘adult only’ version by replacing a tablespoon of water for a tablespoon of Cointreau when you make the jelly 😉

 

Ingredients

 

1 pack Orange flavour jelly

2 lrg eggs

125g caster sugar

115g plain flour

65g shredless marmalade

85g dark chocolate (I used Bournville)

125ml double cream

 

Method

 

Dampen a 14cm round cake tin and line with cling film.

Make the jelly the day before, using only 300ml of hot water (the first time I used 500ml, too wobbly and couldn’t take the weight of the ganache!) once cooled slightly pour into the lined cake tin and place in the freezer overnight.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Grease a 20cm sandwich tin. Line the base with baking paper.

Quarter fill a large pan with water and heat to a simmer. Put the eggs and sugar in a large, heat-proof bowl, then stand it over the pan,  make sure the base doesn’t touch the water. Whisk with an electric hand-mixer until thick and mousse-like, when you lift the beaters out, they should leave a trail in the mixture. This took about 10 minutes. Be careful if your using a gas hob as the air coming from the mixer might blow the gas out.

Take the bowl off the heat and whisk for another minute. Sift the flour into the bowl, then fold into the mixture, try not to knock out the air you’ve whisked in.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top springs back when pressed.

Take the jelly out of the freezer at this point and place in the fridge.

Once the base is cooked turn it onto a rack to cool completely.

Put the chocolate in a bowl. Heat the cream in a pan until hot but not quite boiling. Pour over the chocolate and stir until melted. Cool, then chill until spreadable but not solid. If it does set too much to spread you can zap it in the microwave for a couple of seconds.

Spread the marmalade on the cake.

Lift the jelly out of the cake tin on the cling film and flip over to sit on top of the cake.

Spread the ganache, starting around the top edge of the of the cake and working your way up onto the jelly (when put straight onto the top of the jelly, the jelly will fall apart! see above pic)

Leave in the fridge until ready to serve.

Marshmallow and Chocolate Tart May 31, 2015

If you have a sweet tooth you’ll love this. The dark chocolate ganache does cut through the sweetness somewhat, though you could make it with milk chocolate if you like.

 

Ingredients

 

1 ¼ cups crushed digestive biscuits
5 Tbsp of butter, melted
3 Tbsp of butter
¼ tsp of cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/3 cup of marshmallow fluff
½ large bag marshmallows, halved
5 ¼ oz dark chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon milk

chocolate stars, mini M&M’s or sweets of your liking

 

Method

 

Preheat oven to 175C/gas 4.

Line a flan tin with baking parchment. I used a 7” tin but you could use 8” if you wanted

In a bowl, combine the crushed digestive biscuits, melted butter, cinnamon and salt. Press the mixture into the flan tin, and bake for 4-5 minutes.

Using a fork, poke small holes into the crust. This allows the pockets of air created from applying high heat to the liquid butter to escape. The holes keep the crust from bubbling. Rotate the pan, and bake for 4-5 more minutes. Remove from the oven.

Turn your grill on to high, move the rack to the top. Spoon the marshmallow fluff into the crust. Arrange the large marshmallow halves (cut side down) into the dish over the fluff.

Place the tart into the grill for about 10 minutes, keep a close eye on it, you don’t want the marshmallows to burn!

Put the chocolate, 3 Tbsp of butter and milk into a heatproof dish over a pan of boiling water, stirring now and then to mix it well together.

Leave to cool for 10-15 minutes, while cooling it will start to set slightly, spread over the top of the tart and sprinkle with stars/mini sweets.

Place in the fridge untill ready to serve.

Mars Bar Cake May 17, 2015

Made this for my Son’s birthday yesterday.

 

You do need to make two different cakes for this to look like a Mars Bar inside.

 

Ingredients & Method for the first, chocolate cake

 

115g dark chocolate

85g butter, room temperature

175g light soft brown sugar

2 eggs

185g plain flour, sifted

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Pinch of salt

250ml milk, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Preheat oven to 190C/gas 5 and line a loaf tin.

Break the chocolate into a glass bowl and melt over a saucepan of hot water.

Cream the butter and sugar until it’s pale and smooth.

Add one egg at a time, beating for a minute after each addition.

Add the melted chocolate to the mixture and beat well.

Combine the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a separate bowl.

Put the milk in a jug and add the vanilla extract to it.

Add one-third of the flour to the batter mixture and beat well. Pour in one-third of the milk and beat again. Repeat this until all the flour and milk have been added.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for approx 60 minutes, check after 45 minutes and if it looks as if its going to burn before baking through cover loosely with kitchen foil.

Once cooked through leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

 

Ingredients & Method for the second, caramel cake

 

110 butter, room temperature

120g light soft brown sugar

120g dark soft brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

125g self raising flour

120g plain flour

75 ml caramel sauce, I use shop bought

50ml double cream

 

Preheat oven to 160C/gas 4 and line a loaf tin.

Beat together the butter and sugars until pale and smooth.

Add the eggs, one at a time beating for a minute after each addition, add the vanilla extract.

Combine the flours in a separate bowl.

Add one-third of the flours to the creamed mixture ans beat until just combined.

Add the caramel sauce and beat well.

Add another third of the flours and beat until just combined.

Add the double cream and beat again.

Add the remaining flour and beat well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for approx 60 minutes, check after 45 minutes and if it looks as if its going to burn before baking through cover loosely with kitchen foil.

Once cooked through leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

 

Ingredients needed for filling & decoration

 

Caramel Buttercream Ingredients & Method

 

60g butter, room temperature

6 Tbsp milk, room temperature

220g light brown soft sugar

240g icing sugar, sifted

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

 

Place the butter, milk and brown sugar in a saucepan over a high heat and stir to combine. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously, and allow it to boil for 1 minute.

Remove from the heat and stir in half the icing sugar. Leave to cool slightlyy, then add the remainder of the icing sugar and vanilla extract and stir until it thickens.

 

Caramel sauce, again I used shop bought

1 Tbsp apricot jam, melted

1 square chocolate, melted

Chocolate fondant, I used a ready to roll one made by Renshaws

2 large Mars Bars

 

Once both cakes have cooled completely, cut the top off the cakes as we need them to be flat but at the same time try to make sure you have the same thickness of both the chocolate and caramel cake to use.

Place the chocolate cake on a cake board and spread with caramel buttercream.

Spread caramel sauce on the caramel cake and sandwich the two cakes together.

Brush the melted jam all over the cake, then cover with the chocolate fondant.

Chop the Mars Bars into small pieces and attach to the top of the cake with a little melted chocolate.

 

 

 

Two – Chocolate Zebra Biscuits June 15, 2013

These rich, stripey shortbread biscuits are perfect with chocolate mousse or a cup of coffee.

 

Ingredients

 

45g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

45g white chocolate, roughly chopped

125g unsalted butter, room temperature

100g caster sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

250g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

 

Method

 

Melt the dark chocolate over a pan of hot water, remove from the pan then do the same with the white chocolate. Leave both bowl’s of melted chocolate to the side.

Put the butter in a bowl and beat until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until pale and fluffy. Beat the egg with tha vanilla until just combined, then gradually beat into the butter mixture. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl and using a wooden spoon or dough hook work in until thoroughly combined into a dough.

Divide the dough in half and put one half in another bowl. Work the melted dark chocolate into one portion of the dough and the white chocolate into the other. Form the white chocolate dough into a brick-like shape and place between 2 sheets of clingfilm. Roll out to a 20 by 15cm rectangle. Slide onto a baking tray and chill for 30 minutes. Repeat with the dark chocolate dough.

To assemble the biscuits put the white chocolate rectangle on your worktop. Peel off the top sheet of clingfilm. Peel off the top sheet of clingfilm from the dark chocolate rectangle and place it on top of the white chocolate dough. Gently press the two dough’s together. Peel off the uppermost sheet of clingfilm. Using a sharp knife, neaten up the rectangle so it’s exactly 20 by 15cm, then cut lengthway’s into 3 strips, each 20 by 5cm. Stack up the 3 strips to make a thin brick-like shape. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180c/gas 4. Cut the dough brick across into 5mm slices and set them slightly apart on baking sheets. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes or until lightly brown on the edges. Remove from the oven and leave on the tray’s to firm up and cool, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 20

Choc and Mint Cupcakes November 22, 2012

 

If you like chocolate, and you like mint, you’re going to love these cupcakes.

 

Basic chocolate cupcake ingredients

 

115g dark chocolate

85g butter, at room temperature

175g soft brown sugar

2 eggs, separated

185g plain flour, sifted

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

250ml milk, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Method

 

Preheat oven to 190C/gas mark 5.

Break the chocolate into pieces and melt it. Leave to cool.

In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and smooth.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks for several minutes. Add the egg yolks to the creamed mixture and beat well.

Add the melted chocolate to the mixture and beat well.

Combine the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a separate bowl.

Add the vanilla extract to the milk.

Add a third of the flour to the mixture and beat well. Pour in a third of the milk and beat again. Repeat until all the flour and milk have been used.

In a clean bowl, whisk the whites until you have soft peaks.

Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter mixture, using a metal spoon. Do not beat or you will take all the air out of the mixture.

This is quite a runny batter, so take care when spooning into the cupcake cases as it can be very messy! Alternatively, pour the batter into a jug first then just pout the batter into the cupcake cases, makes it a lot easier.

Bake for 20 minutes (regular size) or 15 minutes (mini size). Leave in the tins for 10 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.

 

Ingredients for the mint topping

 

110g butter, at room temperature

60ml milk, at room temperature

1/2 tsp peppermint extract (or more or less, depending on how minty you want your topping)

500g icing sugar, sifted

A few drops of green food colouring (depending on how green you want them)

 
To decorate

Dark chocolate chips

 

Method

 

Beat the butter, milk, peppermint extract and half the icing sugar until smooth, this can take several minutes with an electric hand mixer. Gradually add the remainder of the icing sugar and beat again until the buttercream is smooth and creamy. Taste the icing at this stage to see if you want to add more peppermint extract.

Add a drop of green food colouring and beat thoroughly. Add more carefully drop by drop, and beat after each addition to build up to your desired colour.

Use the icing to decorate the chocolate cupcakes, then top with chocolate chips. For a Christmassy looking cupcake you could top with crushed candy canes.