Fat Friday #53 Cheats Millionaires' Shortbread

Getting back to basics on this Fat Friday with a classic teatime snack. Made from a base of shortbread, a middle of caramel and a top layer of chocolate, Millionaire Shortbread is made quickly when you know a couple of shortcuts. 

Recipe (found in my old notes from a past pastry lesson written on an envelope) Makes around 15 squares

Ingredients:

• 218g cold butter
• 312g flour
• 93g sugar
• Carnation caramel x 1 tin 
• 438g milk chocolate

Equipment:

• Brownie tin lined with baking parchment 
• Bowl 
• Palette knife 
• Saucepan full of water with a heatproof bowl above it
• Wire Rack

Method:

1) Preheat oven to GM 4/ 350F/180C.

2) In a bowl, with your hands rub the cold butter into the flour and sugar until it looks like breadcrumbs.

3) Combine the mixture with your hands and then press as tightly as you can into the brownie tin and bake for 20 minute or until the base is golden. Leave the base to cool completely.

4) Once that base is cooled, spread the carnation caramel over the base evenly with the palette knife. Place the almost completed shortbread in the fridge.

5) Melt the chocolate in the heatproof bowl set above simmering water and stir occasionally. 

6)Once the chocolate is completely melted than spread on top of the caramel layer and leave to set. 

(Optional step 7) Sprinkle with edible glitter/sprinkles/confetti/whatevers)

Later peeps and happy Friday!

Fat Friday #52 Hot Cookie Dough Dessert

Note: This recipe is to share, however you will be temped to eat the whole thing. You have been warned.

Happy Friday! I love cookies. There have been multiple recipes on this blog dedicated to cookies.
This is some next level cookie-ness! Quite honestly I was just sick of paying for cookie dough desserts, and not really knowing what ingredients go into them. So this recipe now gets made when "cookie munchies" hit. 

Enjoy. You are welcome. 

Recipe (Adapted from Nadia's Kitchen by Nadia Hussain) Makes 1 large cookie Serves 2 generously or 1 Penny Serving. 

Ingredients:

• 125g plain flour
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 85g salted butter, softened
• 150g golden caster sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 100g dark chocolate chips
• 100g milk chocolate chips
• Optional: Vanilla ice cream to serve

Equipment:

• Bowl x 2
• Sieve
• 8 inch/20cm tart dish 
• Wooden Spoon

Method:

1) Sieve the flour and bicarbonate of soda into one bowl and set aside.

2) In another bowl, mix the sugar, butter, vanilla and the egg until its completely combined. 

3) Add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and mix to create a dough. Mix in those yummy chocolate chips

4)Press the dough into the tart dish to cover the bottom. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes. (Note or do what I did and bake it the next day)

5) Preheat oven to 190c/170c/Gas Mark 

6) Bake in the oven for 12 minutes. 

7) Remove the dish from the oven carefully. The dough will be very soft but its a cookie DOUGH dessert... so thats what you would expect.

8) Serve with ice cream or eat as is! 

Have a great weekend!

Fat Friday #51 Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy Friday everyone! I can't get enough of cookies! There have been so many cookie recipes lately. I can't really get enough of them, however I never thought to do a traditional cookie but make it vegan friendly. If you aren't vegan then that's ok, you can use unsalted butter and regular chocolate chips instead of margarine and dairy-free chocolate. 

Also, I have to say these cookies are very...cake-like. So they will be a nightmare to get off the baking sheet. Be patient and just make sure that you wait until the tray goes cold, then remove them.

Recipe: Makes 24 cookies (Adapted from Mom on Time Out)

Ingredients:

• 240g flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp of cornflour
• Pinch of Salt
• 2 ripe bananas
• 120g golden caster sugar
• 50g caster sugar
• 180g dairy free chocolate chips* (or regular chocolate chips)
• 50g margarine (or unsalted butter)

*I couldn't find dairy free chocolate chips so I chopped up a slab of chocolate into chunky bits.

Equipment:

• Bowl x 2
• Wire rack
• Handwhisk/Wooden spoon
• Baking sheets lined with silicone paper x 4 (Or just use two and wait for each sheet to cool down)
• Fridge

1)Place all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

2)Cream the margarine, bananas, and sugars together and super light and fluffy.

3)Stir in the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture until just combined.

4) Add the chocolate and pop in the fridge for about 30 minutes or until firm. 

5)Preheat your oven to 375f/GM 5/190C

6) Roll the dough into 1 inch little balls and place on a baking trays.

7) Bake for 10 minutes or until they turn a light brown.

8) Let the cookies cool on they tray for about 15 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

9)Eat like a boss. 

Happy Friday Peeps!

Fat Friday #50 Peanut Butter Oreo Brownie

Happy 50th Fat Friday! This is now one of favourite recipes and its such a unique way of making a brownie. The bottom layer is a peanut crumble layer, the middle is a layer of oreos and top layer is a chocolate brownie layer. Its worth the extra effort and can be served, with some clotted cream, as a dessert too.

Recipe (adapted from Primrose Bakery Everyday by Martha Swift)
Peanut Butter layer ingredients:
225g plain flour
3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
170g golden caster sugar
115g dark brown sugar 
75g milk chocolate chips
125g unsalted butter
250g chunky peanut butter
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk
2 x packets of Oreos

Equipment:
Brownie tin (33x23cm) greased and lined with silicone paper
Sieve
Bowl
Wooden spoon/Handheld whisk

Method:
1)Preheat oven to GM 4/180C/350F.
2)In a bowl, mix throughly the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking soda, salt, sugars and chocolate chips.
3)Add the butter and peanut butter into the dry ingredients and mix until it becomes crumbly.
4)Mix the egg and milk into the crumbly mixture, until a dough forms.
5)Tip the dough into the lined brownie tin and spread with your (clean) hands until the base is completely covered.
6)Arrange a nice layer of oreos on top of the peanut butter. Put to once side.

Brownie Layer ingredients:
160g golden caster sugar
60g dark chocolate chunks
125g milk chocolate chunks
25g cocoa powder
100g plain flour
200g unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs

Equipment:
Bowl
Hand whisk/wooden spoon

Method:
1)Tip the sugar, chocolate chunks, cocoa powder and plain flour into a bowl. Mix well.
2)Add the melted butter, followed by the eggs and mix until combined.
3)Spread the brownie mixture on top of the oreos in the brownie tin.

To finish:
1)Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is firm, but still a little soft in the middle. Don't over bake or this brownie will dry out.
2)Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares and consume. Life is good. 

Happy Friday everyone!

Penny Reviews:Restaurant-Lakeside Park

As a belated birthday gift my granparents took me to a restaurant that I've always wanted to go to. Lakeside Park, located on the Isle of Wight, is known for its high class restaurant and spa facilities. Its located in Wootten Bridge, near a lovely and scenic lakeside. The restaurant is presented in a modern, clean and crispy white decor. 

When entering the restaurant we were welcomed warmly and shown to our booked table. We were read the specials and explained that we could order from the fixed menu or the a la carte menu. I ordered a Kir Royale, cause it was my (belated) birthday and cause why not. Drinks came promptly after we ordered them. We were left alone to decide what we would like and after about 5 minutes we ordered.

For my starter I ordered the scallops with pork belly, cauliflower puree and mango puree. The presentation was incredible! Art on a plate or slate rather. I'm not fussy on slates for plates but the black against the cauliflower and scallops, it really popped. The saltiness pork against the fishy scallop then partnered with the fruity mango was balanced well with a number of different flavours and textures. 

Main course was also beautifully presented, I did feel it need a little more colour however. It was a fillet of halibut served with Parisian potatoes, curly kale and braised red cabbage. The halibut was perfectly cooked but I did find 2 thin bones-it happens with fish- and perfectly seasoned too. The potatoes and curly kale were also perfectly cooked, however the red cabbage was bitter and I felt that it was a little out of place on the dish.

Now dessert took ages to order. With the restaurant filling up, our waitress was a little flustered and passed us a number of times before we had to ask for a dessert menu. The Lakeside 'Toffee Crisp' looked interesting, so I ordered that! Dessert was hand prepared, so it did take a little while, but it was worth the wait. The dessert itself was made up of a blood orange sorbet, chocolate popping candy 'soil', a dark chocolate cup filled with a caramel sauce and a chocolate mousse topped with crispy oranges. One of the best desserts I've ever had!

Overall, the whole experience was amazing. The menu is pricey, so its worth a visit for a special occasion. The staff were kind if a little over flustered and familiar, some of the staff were a little unprofessional by stating that my Nan was 'doing a runner' when she was just going to use the restroom. Which made us a little uncomfortable. But other then that, both the waiter and waitress were nice enough. 

Penny Reviews: Restaurants- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Afternoon Tea

*Note:This week is a little different as I'm reviewing a restaurant that served afternoon tea*

(Image Credit:http://www.onealdwych.com/food-drink/afternoon-tea)

I turned another 20-something this year, and got a special treat for my birthday. After doing a little research on the best afternoon teas in London, I found a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Afternoon Tea at One Aldwych in Covent Garden, which looked much like the Mad Hatter Afternoon Tea that I have attended before. This time I went with my friend Sofia.

Entering the hotel, we were shown to the Indigo Restaurant by the friendly staff, seated and the menu explained. The staff asked if we were preferred just tea, champagne or a Cocktail Charlie. Sofia and I went for a Cocktail Charlie, which consisted of Scotch Whiskey (Sofia went booze free), grapefruit juice, cherry syrup and chocolate bitters. It was sweet and smooth on the tongue, may I say that it looked pretty awesome! I believe that it was dry ice that made it delightfully smoky.  

Next the savoury selection entered our sight, the presentation was minimal and clean. The selection itself was pretty standard for an afternoon tea, but executed very well. I was impressed very much with the leek and stilton quiche, which was Sofia's favourite too. We thought that we could have used more savoury items, however, the staff were very patient in explaining that we could request more, if we pleased. And we did. Quite a lot! We ordered about 8 quiches and lots more smoked salmon and herb creme friache sandwiches. I mean, we really took the piss and ordered lots more savouries as we felt the initial portion wasn't really enough. 

After 2 more savoury orders, we asked if we could have the sweet course. Again without missing a beat, the staff asked if we would like tea. We both finished our cocktails and opted for different teas. I wanted English Garden, which was a refreshing mix of lemon, spearmint, cornflour and strawberry. While Sofia opted for the Sugarcane Black and Mango Noir teas. 

A short while later the sweet course arrived, and it looked stunning! I went straight for the candy floss, which tasted like rhubarb and custard.

I moved up to the lemon cake pops, which also had a dusting of freeze dried raspberry, which was a little disappointing as it was a regular cake pop and I felt that the lemon could have been more pronounced. 

Eton mess was sweet, creamy and looked very appealing. The chocolate caramel milk was one of my favourites, as it was like drinking a mini milkshake, which hinted at sticky caramel.

One of the coolest parts of the afternoon tea was the golden egg, that was filled with vanilla and mango cheesecake. I don't actually like cheesecake, but this was so delicious. I was surprised to see real vanilla seeds in the mixture with a mango layer on top of the egg. The chocolate was thickly layered so it was hard to break but worth it.

Next were the scones, they were nice, soft and served with clotted cream and apple compote. Next I tried the blueberry broiche, which I thought was a little dry but I added for apple compote to make up for it. One of the best treats, was the cocoa bean financier, which was a small brownie shapped in a cocoa bean. It was sticky, sweet and warm chocolatey goodness in a small package. 

Overall, I felt compared to other afternoon teas I have been too, the food was lovely with a good variety, but I felt that the treats could have more unusual considering that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is so wacky in the book. Also, I felt that the price was a little high for the quality of food that we got (£49 for a cocktail afternoon tea). The staff are definitely the reason I would come back again, they were attentive and they sung me happy birthday too, with a little cake! They really made the effort to make the day special. 

 Thanks for reading.

Fat Friday #46 Red Berry Brownie

Happy Friday! Nothing better then a sweet, tart and chocolatey brownie to kickstart the weekend! This recipe is adapted as I actually ran out of sugar, so I used icing sugar instead. The result was amazingly fudgey and very chocolately. Give them a bake this weekend!

Recipe (Adapted from Primrose Bakery Everyday by Martha Swift) 
Ingredients:

• 250g unsalted butter
• 75g golden caster sugar
• 75g icing sugar
• 40g cocoa powder
• 150g plain flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 150g dark chocolate chunks
• 150g white chocolate chunks
• 200g fresh strawberries and raspberries (chopped)
• 3 eggs

Equipment:

• Microwave/Saucepan filled with water, with a heatproof bowl on top
• Brownie tin lined with greaseproof paper
• Bowl x 2
• Wooden spoon

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to GM 4/180c/350f. Grease and line with greaseproof paper.

2) Melt the butter on the hob over a pan of hot water or microwave in the oven until completely melted. Set aside.

3) In another bowl, put the sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, flour and chocolate chunks and mix until combined.

4) Pour the melted butter into the dry ingredients, and stir (like a boss) until thoroughly mixed in. 

5) Add the strawberries and raspberries and very gently fold them into the mixture.

6) Pour the batter into prepared tin and spread evenly.

7) Bake for 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool into the tin. 

Happy Friday!

Fat Friday #45 Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've finally sorted out my recipe book and finally found an old recipe I've never tried before. A cookie recipe that I found jotted down on a sticky note was hidden in the recipe book page. If its worth writing down, then its worth a try, right? It actually worked out really well. The perfect cookie, just chewy in the middle and crispy around the edge. Great to start a weekend, or ruin a diet. 

Recipe: Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 12-15 cookies (Found in my recipe book, not sure where it came from) 

Ingredients:

• 250g plain flour
• 2g baking powder
• 170g unsalted butter
• 220g brown sugar
• 100g caster sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 335g chocolate chips (I used a mix of white, dark and milk chips)

Equipment

• Baking sheets lined with baking parchment x 2 
• Sieve
• Bowl x 2
• Microwave
• Wooden Spoon
• Wire Rack 

1. Preheat the oven tp 325f/165c/ Gas Mark 3. Grease and line the cookie sheets. 
2. Sieve the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Set aside. 
3. In a separate bowl, melt the butter in the microwave until a liquid. 
4. Add both sugars to the melted butter and mix throughly. 
5. Beat in the egg, the egg yolk, vanilla extract until fluffy.
6. Mix into the dry ingredients into the batter until combined. 
7. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.
8. Flour your hands a little, then roll the batter into 1 inch balls. Space them 3 inches apart on the baking sheet. 
9. Bake for 15-17 minutes in the oven or until the edges are lightly toasted. The middle should be soft but not gooey. 
10. Once you remove the baking sheets from the oven, leave the cookies to cook for a further 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. 

Happy Baking!

Penny Reviews Tearooms: Tenth Hole Tearoom

After a number of years studying in Portsmouth, I've never had the chance to make the long walk to the Tenth Hole Tearoom, just Friday was the exception. Both Rob and I had the rare chance of a day off, at the same time, to go out on a date. It's so rare that we have days off that we were stuck on what to do, so a nice walk on the beach and a trip to a well known tearoom was the answer. 

The tearoom that doubles as a golf course was nothing special to look at from the outside. It's really unassuming, but as we both ventured further inside, the pastel blue décor was calming dispute the busy interior. Beautifully decorated, well presented and clean. This was first impressions I gathered from the small establishment. 

We were lucky enough to nab a table, it was so busy and after trying the cakes we can see why! When ordering, I thought at two cakes and drinks I thought £13 was really expensive, after I saw the portion size, I change my mind. Tenth Hole are not stingy with the sizing of their portions! I ordered a Rocky Road which was full of digestive, chocolate and marshmallows. I like cherries in my Rocky Road, but I'll overlook it because it was massive. I ordered a Toffee Apple latte, which was as expected. I enjoyed it but it could be regarded as a little over sweet, but I ordered it for something a little different.

Rob on the other hand had a mint brownie with a brownie hot chocolate. Again the portion size was very generous, the hot chocolate with super chocolaty with a hearty amount of  whipped cream and brownie sprinkles. The mint brownie, was not really a brownie however more of a cake-like consistency, but still tasty and full of strong mint flavours.

I didn't get lots of interaction with the staff but they all seemed friendly and well spoken. 

Overall, I would definitely recommend a visit if you want a good cakes, great atmosphere, with a lovely surrounding area and a spot of golf, as an extra bonus.    

Fat Friday #42 Chocolate Banana Loaf Cake

Happy Friday everyone! This week is another fail-safe recipe that is excellent for snacking on while revising or hosting a party. Actually, what made me make this recipe was a lazy attempt to make some for a D and D party. *Thats Dungeons and Dragons to you non-players* We play with a group of friends wanting to be hero's for the evening. If you want more information on it I can pop that in the another post. 

But we're focusing on this super easy banana cake which is very more-ish and was loved by the whole group during our D and D quest for the evening.

Recipe: Makes one loaf cake (Adapted from The Primrose Bakery Cookbook by Martha Swift and Lisa Thomas)

Ingredients:

• 125g unsalted butter, at room temperature (plus a little extra to grease the tin)
• 250g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 250g plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 bananas, the riper the better
• 175g of dark chocolate, chopped into thick chunks

Equipment:

• Large loaf tin, greased and lined with a little butter
• Bowl x 3
• Chopping board
• Knife
• Masher or a fork
• Electric hand held whisk/wooden spoon
• Wire rack 

 Method:

1.Preheat the oven to 180c/350f/Gas Mark 4. Grease and line the loaf tin.

2.Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. 

3. Add the eggs, one at a time mixing very well after each addition.
4. Mix in the vanilla extract, then the flour and baking powder. 
5.Mash up the bananas in a separate bowl and add then to the cake batter.
6.Add the chopped up dark chocolate and beat briefly.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 50 minutes or until the cake is completely cooked through. 
8.Leave in the tin to cool on a wire rack. 
9. Serve warm or cold along with a D20 dice and, if your lucky, an D10 inspiration dice!

Have a great weekend!  

Great Autumnal Recipes

If your looking for recipes to try during this season of change, or if you want to try something fun when the nights are drawing in, try these fun cakes and bakes.

Apple Juice Cupcakes

Pizza Chunk Biscuits

Banoffee Cupcakes

Pissaladiere

 Apple Cake

Soda Bread

Dutch Apple Tart

Chocolate Orange Tart

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate