Category: Student
Jumbo Jazzies!

Jumbo Jazzies!

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My feed has been getting a little brown/yellow recently so I thought I’d make something more colourful! I’m currently on holiday with my family and a family friend, Anne, who suggested these look a lot like those little chocolate pic-n-mix sweeties which are called jazzies, so these are officially ‘Jumbo Jazzies’!

Recipe

Makes 12

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 125g butter
  • 175g light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 50g cocoa powder
  • 150g plain flour
  • 100g rainbow sprinkles ( I used 100s and 1000s)
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
  2. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat together until smooth.
  3. Add the egg and beat until combined.
  4. Add the flour and cocoa powder and beat again to get a soft dough.
  5. Weigh the dough and divide the weight by 12 so you know how much each ball of cookie dough need to weigh (mine was 56g each). Then portion out each blob of cookie dough to this weight and place, well spaced on the lined baking trays (I put 6 cookies on each tray).
  6. Pour the 100s and 1000s into a bowl. Take one of the cookie balls and roll it in the sprinkles until covered all over. Place the cookie back on the baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the cookies.
  7. Bake for 10-12 minutes until they’ve spread out and are just starting to crisp round the edges. Leave to cool and then enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Chocolate Fondant Mug Cake

Chocolate Fondant Mug Cake

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One of my favourite things to make is a chocolate fondant, but when you’re feeling low you don’t want to spend time baking – good thing this mug cake adaption only takes 5 minutes! For an added treat I’ve added dried cranberries and chocolate chips to this one, but you could leave them out or add something completely different if you’d like!

Recipe

Makes 1 large mug cake

Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 50g butter
  • 75g dark chocolate
  • 60g light brown sugar
  • 50g plain flour
  • 1 egg

Optional extras:

  • 25g milk chocolate chips
  • 25g dried cranberries
  • (You could also try nuts, other dried fruit, fresh berries and sweets)

Method

  1. Put the butter and chocolate into a bowl or mug and microwave for 20 seconds. Stir to combine the butter and chocolate as much as possible. If the chocolate hasn’t melted enough put it back into the microwave for another 20 seconds and then stir again until smooth.
  2. Add the sugar, flour, egg and any optional fillings you like. Mix until combined.
  3. Pour the mixture into a mug and microwave for 2 ½ minutes.
  4. Enjoy with fresh cream and berries!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

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Recipe

Makes 24

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 120g unsalted butter
  • 100g light brown sugar
  • 75g caster sugar
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 medium egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 200g plain flour
  • ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 100g milk chocolate chips
  • 70g chopped hazelnuts
  • 120g Nutella (or other chocolate hazelnut spread)

Method

  1. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
  2. Put the butter and sugars into a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy.
  3. Add the salt, egg and vanilla and beat again until smooth.
  4. Add the flour, baking powder, chocolate chips, and chopped hazelnuts and mix again to make a smooth dough. (If the dough is looking soft you can place the dough in the fridge for 1 hour to firm up before the next step).
  5. Divide the mixture into 24 equal pieces (mine were about 30g each) and roll each bit into a ball. Place them on the lined baking trays, spaced apart enough so they have room to spread.
  6. Bake for 7-10 minutes until just starting to go golden brown. Allow to cool and then enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Bakewell Blondies

Bakewell Blondies

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Bakewell (almond + cherry) is one of my favourite flavour combos to work into new bakes, especially as you can get so many different types of almonds and cherries! In these I use almond extract, ground almonds and blobs of marzipan, paired with frozen cherries in the mixture and glace cherries on top! All incased in a fudgy blondie cake, studded with chunks of white chocolate!

Recipe

Makes 12 blondies

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 170g butter
  • 220g light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)
  • 1 large egg
  • 210g plain flour
  • 75g white chocolate
  • 75g marzipan, torn into small chunks
  • A few drops of almond essence
  • 50g cherries (I use frozen as it’s cheaper but you can use fresh if you prefer)

To decorate

  • 50g cherries
  • 200g icing sugar

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a 9” square tin with butter and baking paper.
  2. Melt the butter in a large bowl by putting it in the microwave for 20 second bursts. Add the sugar and vanilla and whisk until combined.
  3. Add the egg and whisk again to combine. Then add the flour and whisk again to make a smooth batter.
  4. Take the white chocolate and chop it into rough chunks. Then add this chopped chocolate to the blondie mixture. Add the marzipan bits, almond essence and cherries and mix it all together.
  5. Pour the batter into the lined tin. Bake the blondies for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and still a little fudgy in the middle. Leave to cool and then cut into 12 slices and enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Aubergine Shakshuka

Aubergine Shakshuka

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This is one of my family’s go-to comfort foods at the moment – ras el hanout aubergines, tomatoes, feta and a baked egg on top! You can make it in minutes and there’s always enough to share around!

Recipe

Serves 3-4

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 2 aubergines
  • A little oil for frying
  • 1 white onion
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 tbsp ras el hanout
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 500ml tomato passata
  • 3 eggs
  • 50g feta

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
  2. Cut both aubergines in half, and then cut each half into four to make 16 long wedges.
  3. Fry the aubergine with a little oil, over a medium heat until browned. Take the aubergine out of the pan and place to one side until needed.
  4. Top and tail, peel and then finely dice the onion. Add it to the pan and fry for about 5 minutes until soft. Meanwhile peel and finely chop the garlic.
  5. Add the garlic to the pan and fry for another minute. Then add the ras el hanout, paprika, tomato puree and sugar and stir to combine. Next add the passata and mix. Finish with a seasoning of salt and pepper.
  6. Pour the sauce into an oven-proof dish. Arrange the aubergines over the top. Crack the eggs over the top of the dish and then sprinkle over the feta.
  7. Cook the dish for about 7 minutes in the oven until the eggs are softly cooked.
  8. Serve warm with some bread to mop up the juices!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x