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 #39 Triple Chocolate Cookies

Its the cookie in its ultimate form! Dark, milk, white and caramel buttons all in one biscuit. These cookies are ideal to take into work at a party for snacks or fuel for revision. (Or do what I did, and horde them away to eat when you need a chocolate fix) 

Recipe: Makes 25 cookies (Recipe adapted from Primrose Bakery Christmas by Martha Swift) 

•      200g unsalted butter, softened
•      250g golden caster sugar
•      1 egg
•      1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•      150g dark chocolate
•      320g plain flour
•      1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
•      ¼ teaspoon baking powder
•      150g roughly chopped milk chocolate
•      50g caramel buttons
•      50g roughly chopped white chocolate

Equipment:

•     Baking sheets lined with silicone paper x 3
•     Saucepan with a little water
•     Heatproof bowl
•     Bowl
•     Sieve
•     Wooden spoon/handheld whisk
•     Wirerack

1.Place the dark chocolate in the heatproof bowl and place over the saucepan of warm water. This will melt the chocolate.

2. Meanwhile sieve flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl and set aside.

3.Cream the butter and sugar together, in another bowl,until creamy and fluffy.

4.Add the vanilla and egg to the creamed mixture.

5.Pour in the melted chocolate until combined.

6.Lastly, add the dry mixture and fold into combine into a soft dough. Place in the fridge for the dough to firm up for 10 minutes.

7. Preheat the oven to 180c/160f/Gas Mark 4 in the meantime.

8. Portion the dough into 25 small balls and squash until flat and about 1cm thickness. (If you want to be precise, their about 28g per cookie).

9. Place 5 or 6 cookies on a baking sheet, to allow the cookies to spread. Bake for 5 minutes, turn the trays around and bake for a further 4 minutes. The cookies should be firm on the outside but still a little soft in the middle.

10. Leave the cookies on the baking sheets to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Have a great weekend and happy baking! 

Fat Friday #37 Sacher Torte

First of all Happy Birthday Sofia!! Its her birthday and it falls on a Fat Friday which is totally awesome! So happy birthday Sof! I'm sure she would approve of a dark chocolate sacher torte. Its more like a brownie then a cake, which makes it horrid to cut, but with the dark glaze it tastes amazing. Its not a cake that you can keep moonching on, its a rich cake so take it easy. But it IS Fat Friday so go for it!

Torte (recipe kindly provided by my pastry tutor) ingredients:

• 6oz bitter chocolate
• 3oz butter
• 4 egg yolks
• 4oz sugar
• 5 egg whites
•  ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup of flour
•  A little apricot jam to brush on the cake and put in the middle of the cake

Glaze Ingredients:

• 6oz dark chocolate
• 1oz butter
• 2oz double cream
• Plus a little extra melted white chocolate or milk if you like to pipe on top of the cake.

Equipment:

• Whisk/handwhisk
• Heatproof bowl
• Pan of hot water
• Wooden spoon
• 9 inch cake tin lined with silicone paper
• Pastry brush
• Piping bag
• Serrated knife

Cake Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180c/Gas Mark 4/350f.
2. Combine the chocolate and butter and melt over a pan of water
3.Whisk the yolks with 1oz of the sugar until pale.
4.Beat the egg and sugar mixture into the melted chocolate.
5.Whisk the egg whites with the remaining sugar to create a meringue.
6.Combine 1/3 of the meringue to the chocolate then gently fold the remaining meringue.
7.Pour into a 9 inch cake tin and cook for 40 minutes. Once cooked leave to cool on a wire rack.
8.Cut into 2 layers with the serrated knife and, using a palette knife, spread a little layer with apricot jam. Assemble the cake back together and brush of the crumbs.

Glaze Method:

1.Combine the chocolate and butter and melt together.
2.Boil the cream and fold in the chocolate mixture.

To Complete:

1.Place the cake on top of the wire rack with a tray underneath to catch the glaze.
2.Using a spoon and a palette knife spread the glaze on the cake and let it drip down the sides of the cake. Wait until the glaze has set. 
3.Traditionally, you can pipe ‘Sacher’ on the top of the cake using extra chocolate and a piping bag.

Happy Birthday Sofia! Have a great weekend!

Fat Friday #27 Aztec Cookies

 Its been coffee mania at our house. My boyfriend and I have been consuming our weight in coffee, thanks to my new coffee machine. We've been trying to find excuses to make lattes and cappuccinos. So in honour of all things coffee related were making coffee cookies for Fat Friday. Not just coffee however, but with additional dark and white chocolate. Why the name? When you think of Aztec's dark chocolate and gold comes to mind, as well as the Road to El Dorado film. Also because why not? Its Fat Friday and cookies are what Dr Penny is prescribing after a hard week.

You can increase the caffeine hit, by adding an additional teaspoon of instant coffee or omit it all together if you don't like coffee.

Recipe: Makes 18 cookies (Recipe adapted from The Great British Bake Off Showstoppers by Linda Collister, Marry Berry & Paul Hollywood)

·       140g dark chocolate

·       2 teaspoons of instant coffee

·       65g unsalted butter

·       2 eggs

·       ½ teaspoons of vanilla extract

·       130g golden caster sugar

·       185g plain flour

·       1 teaspoon of baking powder

·       100g white chocolate, roughly chopped

·       Gold paint/glitter/dust

Equipment:

·       Mixing bowl x 2

·       Wooden spoon

·       Sieve

·       Saucepan

·       Heatproof bowl

·       Baking sheets lined with baking parchment x 2

·       Wire rack
·       Paintbrush (optional)

 

Method:

1.Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl.
2.Break the dark chocolate into pieces with the butter and instant coffee into a heatproof bowl.
3.Place in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until completely melted. Set aside to cool for about 5 minutes.
4.While the chocolate is melting, put the eggs, extract, salt and sugar into a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Add the melted chocolate mixture and stir.
5.Sift in the flour and baking powder into the cookie dough and mix in with the wooden spoon.
6.Throw in the white chocolate and roughly mix in. (At this stage you can add the gold paint and mix a little)
7.Leave the mixture to firm up for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160c/325f/Gas Mark 3.
8.Drop heaped tablespoons of the cookie dough onto the baking sheets (put 5 lumps of cookie dough on each sheet), well spaced to allow for spreading.
9.Bake for 15 minutes, when the cookies come out leave on the tray for about 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Once ready to serve dust the cookies with gold glitter or dust for real Aztec feel. Or paint MORE gold paint on.

Have an excellent caffeine filled weekend!

Fat Friday #26 Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

This recipe has been a long time coming. I was asked back in 2014 for a decent recipe for a salted caramel hot chocolate. I've been testing and tasting various different combos and I found one that finally works. Its thick, creamy, on the right side of salty and with an intense hit of chocolate. If this hot chocolate recipe screams FAT FRIDAY!!! 

Recipe: Makes 2 large servings (Caramel recipe loosely adapted from Primrose Celebrations by Lisa Stuart and Martha Swift and the Hot Chocolate Recipe very loosely adapted from Boutique Baking by Peggy Porschen)

Caramel:
·110g granulated sugar
·3 tablespoons water
·125ml double cream
·1 teaspoon Maldon sea salt

Hot Chocolate Mix:

· 125g plain chocolate, broken into pieces
· 2 teaspoons cocoa powder, (plus a little extra for dusting on top)
· 125ml whipping cream
· 300ml whole milk
· 2 tablespoons of the above salted caramel sauce

Equipment:

·Saucepan x 3
·Fine sieve
·Serving glasses or mugs
·Heatproof bowl
·Measuring jug
·Whisk
·Wooden Spoon

Caramel Method

1. Place the granulated sugar and water in a saucepan on a medium heat. Do not stir the mixture but just swirl it once and a while.
2.While the granulated sugar is boiling, pour the cream and salt in a small bowl to heat gently.
3.Once the granulated sugar has turned an amber colour, remove from heat and immediately add a little cream.
4. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine, be careful as it may spit.
5. Add the remaining cream in small amounts, stirring constantly. Once all the cream has been incorporated, transfer into a separate bowl to cool.

Hot Chocolate Method

1. Place the cream, milk, salted caramel sauce in a saucepan and simmer.

2. Place the chocolate into a mixing bowl and sift the cocoa powder.
3.Once the cream mixture is hot, pour over the chocolate and cocoa powder and whisk until fully incorporated.
4. Return the mixture to the saucepan again, just to heat again. Taste to see if you like the amount of salted caramel. Add a tablespoon at a time if needed.
5. Pour into mugs or heatproof glasses. Consume and enjoy the chocolate hit.
6. (Sieve a little cocoa powder on top of each glass using a stencil and sieve. To add optional cuteness)

Have an amazing weekend!

Fat Friday #25 Mini Florentine Bites





 

Yay its Friday! Its time for this weeks Fat Friday. This week its a petit four called Mini Florentine Bites. Most of us know that Florentines are caramel that traditionally have almonds and cherries in. However, this recipe calls for a sweet pastry which provides a base for the Florentine mix. Also, the pastry is covered in a layer of dark chocolate, this makes it look very impressive.

 

Florentine Bites  (recipe kindly provided by my pastry chef)
Recipe: Makes 40 small pieces (depending on cutting size)

For the pate sucre

· 260g plain flour, plus a little extra

· 100g icing sugar, plus a little extra

· 30g ground almonds

· 125g unsalted butter

· 2 eggs

· 1 tsp milk

Florentine mixture

· 52ml Whole milk
· 79g granulated sugar
· 42g glucose
· 42g honey
· 105g unsalted butter
· 126g sliced almonds
· 42g pistachios
· 42g Candied peel
· Pinch of salt

Equipment:
· Saucepan
· Whisk
·  Mixing bowl
· Fork
· Wooden spoon
· Sieve
· Rolling pin
· Knife
· Baking sheet lined with silicone paper
· Baking beans
· Saucepan
· Sugar thermometer
· Wooden Spoon

 For the pate sucre:
1. Place the flour, icing sugar, almonds and butter in a mixing bowl, rub the mixture together
2. Add the 2 eggs and mix well. Cover and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 180c/350f/ Gas Mark 4.
4. Dust the work surface with icing sugar. Roll out the pastry to about 2mm thick.
5. Line the tray with the pastry, letting it hand over the sides. Cover with silicone paper and fill the tart base with baking beans.
6. Bake blind for 20 minutes or until the case is cooked through and lightly golden. Remove the baking beans and silicone paper.

 

For the Florentine mixture:

1. Combine the milk, sugar, honey and glucose in a saucepan and heat to dissolve the sugar.

2. Heat until the mixture reaches 120c on a sugar thermometer. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in the butter and salt until completely melted.
4. Stir in the almonds and pistachios and peel.

To assemble:

1. Pour the florentine mixture into the blind baked pastry and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
2. Turn the cooked Florentine out onto parchment paper and a chopping board.

3. Melt some dark chocolate and smooth on top of the pastry and using a textured buttercream smoother, swirl a design on it.
4. Place in the fridge to set.
5. Once set cut into pieces.

What is your take on these updated Florentines? Would you make them?

Have a great weekend!