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!

Rules of Baking #1

Its been a while since I've been posting and I wanted to share some rules I go by when I fancy baking!

Double check you have all your ingredients

Before you even weigh out a single gram of flour. Read the recipe all the way to the end and then re-read.

Baked things are temperamental, so if you stay calm the cake/cupcake/baked thingy will turn out just fine. 

If something doesn't work, then don't worry. It can be made again and it should be done with  more determination then before. Don't give up, just try again.

If you're using molds for sugar paste then make sure that they are safe for food. 

No matter how badly you want to check on your cake and open that oven. DONT! Wait the correct amount of time and then open your oven to check your cake/bakey thing. 

Never be discouraged when a recipe looks to complex or sounds really posh. Until you try, you'll never know.

Gluten Free cakes can be tasty so don't be put off with making them!

Have loads of patience.

Come to terms that if you bake, you will put weight on and so will all your friends and family.

Fat Friday #44: Pear Conde

Welcome to Fat Friday! This recipe is an easy warm dessert that can be made with little to no effort. I really quite like this as a warm breakfast if I have a long day ahead of me. Make this in advanced for a cold dessert or eat straight away for a warm dessert. 

Recipe: Pear Conde (Recipe kindly provided by my pastry tutor Faye) 

Ingredients:
500ml milk
50g sugar
50g Pudding rice
10g Butter
1 teaspoon of grated nutmeg
1 egg yolk
Vanilla essence

Caramel Pears
1/2 a pear chopped thinly
15g butter
1 tablespoon of brown sugar

Equipment
Small molds lined with cling film
Knife
Chopping board
Saucepan 
Frying pan
Wooden spoon 
Platlett knife
Spoon

1. Put the milk into a saucepan to warm it through, add the pudding rice, vanilla and nutmeg. Stir until cooked through. (This will take ages but keep stirring from time to time)
2. In a pan heat up 15g of butter until melted, add the pears and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and cook until the pears have a golden brown colour on each side. This should take around 5-10 minutes depending on how thin you slice the pears, I found using a platte knife really helps flipping them over. Once cooked take them out of the frying pan carefully to cool. 
3. Once the rice has been cooked through, add the sugar, butter and egg yolk and mix through. 
4. Cook through for another 3 minutes and leave to cool for 3 mins.
5.Spoon the rice mixture into the lined moulds and place in the fridge for about 2 hours or until set. 
6. Carefully ease the rice pudding out of the mould and place on a plate. 
7. Place the pears decoratively on top of the pudding and eat. 

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.    

New Video! Hyper Japan Christmas Market Haul 2015

Happy Friday! Check out the latest video. Just watching for the kawaii-ness is enough for me! I hope you enjoy it and have a great weekend!

Penny's Top Ten Tips: Autumn Activities:Part 2 With Friends

 Hello and welcome to the second part of the Autumn Activities post I did last week, however this week are ten fun things to do with other people while the weather is not at its best.

1. Dinner Party-
Inviting friends for a dinner party is a good way of chilling out while the weather is cold. Mulled wine is optional. 

2. Get Cooking-
Or if cooking is your thing then get your friends to cook a meal together for a dinner party instead. 

3. Book Club- 
Starting a book club with you friends is a good excuse to chill with a good book. Once a month, a group of us discuss a book over Skype and to have a general catch up. 

4. D and D night-
I have a secret to tell you... I love playing Dungeons and Dragons! It's my latest obsession and again its a great excuse to grab your party and go on an adventure, without even leaving your living room. (If your interested I'm a level 4 Gnome Sorcerer called Elphaba.) 
  5.Movie or Series Binge-
Watching a set of movies like the Alien franchise or binging on American Horror Story is a good way to spend time as a group. Just grab some blankets, pillows and plonk on the sofa.

6. Game Night-
Get some snacks ready, and grab that deck of Cards Against Humanity and Articulate set up for a night of laughs.   

7. Spa Evening-
Instead of having a pamper evening on your own, grab a couple of friends and have an old school sleepover style girly evening. 

8. Coffee Morning-
or tea morning if you're not a coffee lover or strapped for time. A quick catch up is nice on its own. 

9. Cake decorating-
Bake a batch of cupcakes, whip up a some various buttercreams or whipped creams, good some food safe colours and grab some edible decorations. Then simply decorate! You can all experiment with colours, different piping skills or go nuts with sprinkles.

10. Chill and Catch up-
This is kind of an obvious one, but invite your friends over, order a take-away and just catch up. This also works if you both don't want to go anywhere, just use a phone. (Pyjamas are optional.) 

Happy Baking!

Penny's Top Ten Tips: Autumn Activities: Part 1 On your Own

Welcome to a Top Ten Tips! This week is about fun things to do while the weather is poor. In fact as I'm writing this post, its horrid outside. Its cold, wet and windy out there. But being cooped up inside can get a little boring, so lets get down to the tips. 

(Image credit:http://www.tipjunkie.com/post/homemade-face-masks/)

1. Spa evening-
Grab your face pack and chill. Having a pamper evening will recharge your batteries after a hard day at work. It's so relaxing to get your nails done, maybe have a bubble bath with a good book.  

2. Learn a new skill-
Having lots of time indoors gives you time to learn something you've always wanted to do. In my case, its French and singing as both of them don't require to go outside! 

3. Bake something!-
Well this is obvious, here's a great suggestion.

4. Hot Chocolate and read a book-
Make yourself a salted caramel hot chocolate, grab a good book (I'm reading 'The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins) and chill on the sofa.  

5. Netflix and Chill-
Pretty much what it says on the tin...

(Image credit:http://byoganow.com/shop/b-mat-strong/)

6. Yoga-
This is an odd one for this list, but doing some relaxing yoga poses can help pass those cold nights in as well as improve flexibility and health in the long run. 

7. Organise a Room-
Putting aside an hour of your time to rid yourself of wanted clothes, jewellery or whatever, but having a sort out will not only clear your mind but clear extra space for Christmas presents. Old clothes can be donated to charity and jewellery can be passed onto family or friends. 

8. Listen to music-
Catching up with the radio or latest music has always been a favourite pass-time of mine. Find some new music using Spotify, Youtube or by scanning the radio. 

9. Start writing-
Whether its a novel, screenplay or a set of poems, let the weather inspire you to write something amazing.

10. Cook an incredible meal-
Starter, Main course, and Dessert for yourself and test those cooking skills. 

Happy Baking!