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! 

Chunky Chocolate Cookies

Last week I posted Raspberry and Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe up and not realising I didn't put up the recipe for traditional chocolate chip cookies. Opps my bad. I use two different types of roughly chopped chocolate to add texture and flavour to the cookies. 

Recipe: Makes 14 cookies (Recipe inspired by Cookies Galore Book)

        150g white chocolate, roughly chopped into chunks 
        150g dark chocolate, roughly chopped into chunks

         200g unsalted butter, at room temperature

·       150g golden caster sugar

·       1 egg

·       200g plain flour, sifted

·       1 teaspoon baking power

·       1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Equipment:

·       Electric hand-mixer/Wooden spoon
        Bowl x 3 

        Sieve

·       Teaspoon

·       Tablespoon

·       Chopping Board
        Knife
        Baking Sheet x 2 lined with baking paper/silicone paper

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 180c/350f/Gas Mark 4 and grease the baking sheets with the light oil spray/butter and line with silicone paper.

2.  Chop up all the chocolate into chunks. Set aside. 
3.Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.

4. Beat in the egg and vanilla to the creamed mixture.

5. Sift the flour and baking power together and then beat to the cookie batter. 

6.  Add the chocolate chips and mix well into the cookie batter (try not to eat at this stage). Drop rounded tablespoons onto the baking sheets. Make sure sure you space the cookies well apart or they will cook together and stick.

7. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for about 3 minutes and remove to a wire rack. 

Happy baking and have a great weekend! 

White & Dark Chocolate Layered Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream

It was this time last year when I made my other half, a Burger cake because of our love of good humour and food. This year due to the amount of university work I've had to make a simple chocolate cake...with a twist! This cake is not for the faint hearted. Its a chocoholic's dream and its so rich and full of buttercream. Diet watchers-stay away from this. 

Lucky for me then because I don't like diets and neither does my other half. Happy Birthday Rob! Hope you enjoy the cake...please let me have a slice I did make it!
My mother came up with this suggestion for the name which made me laugh: Snowed Twirl Dark White Chocolate Cake. I rejected that name for obvious reasons. Its just silly... 

Recipe: The White Chocolate Cake (Adapted from Primrose Celebrations)

·       115g white chocolate

·       115g plain flour, sieved

·       100g unsalted butter, at room temperature

·       100g granulated sugar

·       2 large eggs, separated

·       1 teaspoons vanilla extract

·       1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, sieved

·       110g semi skimmed milk with 5ml lemon juice added (that’s about 1 tsp lemon juice)

Recipe: The Dark Chocolate Cake (my own recipe)

·       225g unsalted butter, room temperature

·       225g caster sugar

·       160g self raising flour, sifted

·       50g dark cocoa powder

·       1 teaspoon of baking powder

·       2 large eggs

·       1 teaspoon vanilla

·       15ml semi skimmed milk

Recipe:White Buttercream (Adapted from PrimroseCelebrations)

·       100g white chocolate

·       55g unsalted butter, at room temperature

·       30ml semi-skimmed milk, at room temperature

·       ½ teaspoon good-quality vanilla extract

·       250g icing sugar sieved

·       3 tablespoons double cream

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Buttercream (Adapted from Cupcakes from Primrose )

·       175g dark chocolate, at least 70% cocoa solids

·       225g unsalted butter

·       1 tablespoon semi-skimmed milk, room temperature

·       1teaspoon vanilla extract

·       250g icing sugar, sifted

Options:

·       Chocolate decorations or sprinkles

Equipment:

·       Bowl x 4

·       Electric hand-held whisk

·       Sieve

·       Saucepan filled with water

·       Heat proof bowl

·       2 cake tins lined with silicone paper and then wash them up / 4 cake tins lined with silicon paper

·       Wooden spoon

·       Metal spoon

·       Palette knife

·       

To make White Chocolate Cake:

Step 1. Grease the cake tins

1.    Pre-heat oven to Gas Mark 4/350f/180c. Grease the cake tins.

Step 2. Melt the chocolate

2.    Break the white chocolate into small pieces and place into a heatproof bowl over a simmering water on the hob, making sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Stir occasionally until smooth, creamy and melted. Set aside to cool.

3.    Sieve the flour and bicarbonate of soda together in one bowl and set aside.

Step 4. Cream the butter and sugar together

4.    Cream sugar and butter together in a separate bowl, until creamy. Add the egg yolks one at the time.

5.    Add the melted white chocolate and vanilla extract to the creamed mixture.

6.    Gradually beat in the dry ingredients and milk and lemon juice alternately mixed until just incorporated. 

Step 7. Whisk the egg whites until stiff

7.    In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form with clean beaters.

8.    Fold in the egg whites, with a metal spoon, into the cake batter until all the white streaks are gone.

Step 9. Cooling on the wire rack

9.    Pour the cake batter into the prepared tray and bake for 20 minutes. Once baked leave in the tray for about 15 minutes and transfer carefully, to a wire rack.

For the Dark Chocolate cake:

Step 1. Cream the butter and sugar

1.    Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and smooth.

Step 2. All the dry ingredients 

2.    Sieve all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Step 3. the cake batter with the added egg

3.    Add the eggs, one at a time, into the creamed mixture and beat after each addition. Add vanilla extract.

4.    Add the dry ingredients and the milk in alternating order and mixing until all incorporated.

Step 4. The baked cakes

5.    Divide the mixture into the 2 cake tins and bake for 25 minutes. To check if its cooked place a toothpick in the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean-its cooked.

Its best to make the dark chocolate buttercream first as the white chocolate buttercream goes solid really fast.

Dark Chocolate Buttercream: (Go to this link for the pictures and method... again...)

1.    To make the chocolate buttercream, melt the chocolate as in step 2. In a large mixing bowl beat the butter, milk, vanilla extract and the icing sugar until smooth-this can take several minutes using an electric hand mixer. Add the chocolate and beat until all of the chocolate has been incorporated. This should be easy to pipe in a piping bag or spread with a palette knife. Sieve the icing sugar into a big bowl and pour the chocolate butter mixture into it.

For the White Chocolate Buttercream:

Step 1. Melted white chocolate

1.    Break the white chocolate into small pieces and place into a heatproof bowl over a simmering water on the hob, making sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Stir occasionally until smooth, creamy and melted. Set aside to cool.

Step 2. Add the icing sugar a little at a time

Step 2.  Almost finished buttercream...

2.    Combine all the ingredients, apart from the melted chocolate and cream and beat until smooth and creamy. I found that its loads easier if you add the icing sugar a little at a time or it flies all over the place!

3.    Add the melted chocolate and cream  and beat well again.

Step 5. Finished buttercream

4.    Ice cake straight away (If it gets really solid, microwave it so its liquid and beat again and let it set out for a little while).

Finishing off the cake off

1.    To assemble the cake, place the white chocolate cake and smooth the dark chocolate buttercream on top.

2.    Place the dark chocolate cake on top of the white cake and spread some more dark chocolate buttercream.

Step 5.  The cake layers

3.    Repeat with the next 2 layers so you’ve got alternating layers filled with dark chocolate buttercream.

Step 4. Dont be tempted to leave the cake like this...

4.    With the white chocolate buttercream spread all around the cake with a clean palette until you get the desired finish. Decorate as you like!

Theres on more thing I'd like to say: 

Have a great weekend baking lovers 

Bake On!

How to Win Work Colleagues (with Blondie recipe)

In my last post I was ranting and raving about motivation and inspiration and jobs and bits.

Well another good announcement about the job which I didn't really want. After a ridiculously busy shift I thought: 
My heart isn't in this job. I'm done with it.
So, I quit. Thats right. Done. Finished. You only live once so why be unhappy about it? 

After a week later, after CV-ing all over the place, I found another job and here I am. 

But with a new job comes new work colleagues. Brand new scary people that you have to work with who already know each others names, and have their own in jokes. It can be pretty daunting. 
So, I could do two things that would make me feel much better about a situation: Stuff my face with Nandos/chocolate/endless episodes of Supernatural or I BAKE!

I decided to make an impression with my baking skills. Nothing wins a group of females co-workers like chocolate cake. Especially if its a Chocolate Cola Cake. Now I've opened the door to getting to know my colleagues better. All done with cake, of course.

However, before I rejoice in my new job, there is a something I would like to say to my former office work colleagues:

•  Chris- You taught me to be firm with really annoying customers and to be experimental with the most strangest food. More importantly, Chris, I wish you all the best with your new husband! Your going to make a fab wife and an awesome mummy one day!
• Hannah- You are just adorable and I loved our little chats and you were seriously missed when you left!
• Lucy H- Lu-lu you are a wonderful cousin and you don't know it because I'm kinda shy about saying it (I don't do chick flick crap) but I have always looked up to you and you constantly inspire me. 
• Ben- What can say? Our 'witty' (used loosely) banter back and forth about 'Bakery Story' or general zombie related stuff. We are officially the most prepared people for a zombie apocalypse. 
• Lucy Madz- Our sneaky shopping trips and 'Fat Fridays' and the general chats about life in general. Its hard to find another kindred (crazy) spirit. Luc, your the sister I wish I had because you are just generally awesome and beautiful. For goodness sake don't change! 

I didn't really get to say a proper good-bye and thank-you for all the good times we shared. Thank-you Ladies! (and Ben)

So as promised I did some baking before I left my previous workplace I made some farewell Blondies and dished them out to my lovely work colleagues. 

Blondies are basicaly the 'anti Brownie' meaning that they are made with white chocolate rather milk or dark chocolate. 

 

Here's that recipe:

Recipe: Makes 18 squares (recipe adapted from Cookies Galore by Jacqueline Bellafontaine)

·       500g white chocolate

·       75g butter, at room temperature

·       3 eggs

·       180g caster sugar

·       180g self-raising flour

·       1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·       (180g macadamia nuts roughly chopped, optional)

Equipment:

·       Baking pan lined with silicone paper

·       Chopping board

·       Sharp knife

·       Heat proof bowl

·       Saucepan

·       Mixing bowl

1.    Preheat oven to Gas Mark 5/ 190c/375f. Grease and base line a baking pan.

2.    Roughly chop 400g of the chocolate and put aside.
I ran out of chocolate and had to use an easter egg that I received but never got around to eating. It was of a pretty 'Hello Kitty' which got smashed to pieces! 

Before

After-Oh the chocolate humanity! 

3.    Melt the remaining chocolate and butter in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Cool slightly.

4.    Beat the eggs and sugar together in a bowl and gradually beat in the melted chocolate.

5.    Sift the flour over the mixture and fold together with the reserved chocolate, vanilla extract and nuts if using.

6.    Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 30-35 minutes until the centre is only just only just firm to touch. Cool in the tin. Cut into squares when cold.

Happy Saturday and Have a Good Weekend