Category: Dessert
Chocolate, Orange and Thyme Pancakes

Chocolate, Orange and Thyme Pancakes

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As the title of this blog is Cocoa and Thyme I thought it was about time I make a recipe to show these two ingredients at their best. Whilst it’s not yet an every-day flavour pairing, chocolate and thyme is a contemporary flavour combo that’s becoming very popular in fine dinning restaurants. Since pancake day is on Tuesday I’ve decided to incorporate it into a delicious pancake dish!

It’s a bit of an acquired flavour combo so I understand that it probably won’t be for everyone, but if you like being a bit adventurous it’s a worthwhile experiment. However, these pancakes are also insanely fluffy and delicious, so even if you’re not up for wacky flavours I’d recommend making them and topping them with whatever topping you tend to go for. In my case that’s lemon juice and sugar, but nutella, banana, golden syrup, bacon, strawberries, or anything else that takes your fancy will also go really well with these.

Recipe

Serves 4

Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

For the Orange syrup

  • 190g Sugar
  • 110ml Water
  • 190ml Orange juice
  • 1 tbsp Cornflour
  • 2 tbsp Butter

For the Chocolate sauce

  • 50g Dark chocolate
  • 25g Butter
  • 125ml Double cream
  • 1 tbsp Caster sugar
  • Thyme leaves, chopped

For the Pancakes

  • 300g Self-raising flour
  • 1 ½ tbsp Baking powder
  • 60g Caster sugar
  • 2 Large eggs
  • 200ml Milk
  • Vegetable oil for greasing

Method

  1. Begin by making the orange syrup. Whisk together the sugar and water in a pan over a medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Bring the mixture to the boil.
  2. Then, in another bowl whisk the orange juice and cornflour. Pour this mixture into the sugar and water pan and simmer whilst whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens. Stir in the butter until melted and then leave covered, to keep warm, until needed.
  3. Then make the chocolate thyme sauce. Put the chocolate into a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water and leave to melt. In another pan put the butter, sugar and cream and heat gently until melted together.
  4. Pour the chocolate into the cream mix and add the chopped thyme leaves. Stir until smooth. Pour into a jug and set aside until later.
  5. Now make the pancakes. Put the flour, baking powder and caster sugar into a bowl. Mix to combine and then make a well in the centre. Add the egg and milk in the well and then whisk until combined and smooth.
  6. Put a large frying pan with 1 tbsp of vegetable over a medium heat. Using a ladle pour a neat circle of batter into the middle of the pan. Leave to cook for 1-2 minutes, until bubbles start to form on top, and then turn over and cook on the other side.
  7. Once cooked on both sides, (when brown spots start to form on the surface you know they’re done) transfer them onto a large plate.
  8. Repeat with the rest of the batter, creating a stack of pancakes. In between each pancake pour a little of the orange syrup to keep the pancakes moist. Once all the batter is used pour the chocolate sauce over the stack. Serve with fresh orange segments, thyme leaves and the rest of the orange syrup and chocolate sauce.

Thanks for reading, and happy pancake day!

Emma x

 

 
Salted Caramel, Raspberry + Chocolate Brownie Pudding

Salted Caramel, Raspberry + Chocolate Brownie Pudding

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When I was younger my favourite dessert was chocolate sponge with custard, and this is a bit of a deluxe adaption on that warming comfort food classic. As usual I’ve gone a bit over the top on the indulgence, but it’s totally worth it. Fudgy chocolate brownie, with a salted caramel sauce underneath, and topped with fruity bursts of raspberries is the ultimate comforting pudding.

For the keen beans out there you’ll also notice that the brownie mix is pretty similar, ney identical to that in my Mississippi mud pie recipe. The is because I’m a) short on time this week and b) it works so well in this that it made sense to rework it into this recipe. So if by chance you made and enjoyed my Mississippi mud pie you’ll probably like this to!

(Note: It’s pretty rich, so a smallish tray will feed more people than you think!)

Recipe

Serves 10

Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 160g Butter
  • 220g Dark chocolate
  • 3 Medium eggs
  • 210g Caster sugar
  • 40g Plain flour
  • 100g White chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 6 tsp Salted caramel (Homemade or shop bought)
  • 100g Raspberries
  • Cream to serve

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a glass, 30x20cm oven-proof dish with butter and set aside for later.
  2. Now make the brownie mix. Put the butter and chocolate into a bowl over a pan of simmering water and leave to melt.
  3. Take another bowl and whisk the eggs until pale and fluffy with an electric whisk. Add the sugar and continue to whisk until it leaves a trail when the whisk is taken out.
  4. Fold the chocolate into the eggs, sieve in the flour and add the chopped white chocolate. Fold everything again until combined.
  5. Take the caramel sauce and pour it over the base of your greased dish. Pour the brownie mix over the top and spread over evenly. Finally sprinkle over the raspberries and push them into the batter slightly.
  6. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the brownie is just cooked. Don’t leave it in the oven for too long, you want it to be gooey and soft in the middle.
  7. Serve with fresh rapberries and cream!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Chia Seed Breakfast Pots

Chia Seed Breakfast Pots

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Chia seeds are the new super-food that is flooding cookbooks and blogs. They’re full of fibre, omega-3, calcium, protein, phosphorus and much more, and they can be used to help tackle diabetes, heart problems and obesity. So if you’re looking for a nutritious breakfast, simply bung some of these in.

These little pots can be put together the night before so you can gobble it down in the morning without any fuss or bother. I’ve used berries to make the compote and to decorate, but you could use any fruits you like (mango and passion fruit is a really good combo!) You can also present these differently if you want to. I went for jam jars as I think they pretty cool, but you could also just make up the individual elements and serve them up in a bowl if you want.

 

Recipe

Serves 2

Time 20 minutes, plus chilling time

Ingredients

  • 100g Frozen raspberries
  • 100g Frozen strawberries
  • 100g Frozen blackberries
  • 1 tbsp Honey
  • 80g Chia seeds
  • 450ml Almond milk
  • 1 tsp Vanilla bean paste
  • 300ml Greek yoghurt/fruit yoghurt of your choice
  • A few fresh berries to decorate (I went for cherries, raspberries and blackberries)
  • 2 tbsp Granola

Method

  1. Begin by making the fruit compote. Put the frozen fruits and honey into a small pan and heat gently until they’ve softened and pulpy. Set aside to cool and then put into the bottom of a jar.
  2. Now make the chia seed middle. Put the chia seeds, milk, and vanilla into a jug and stir with a fork. Let sit for 15 mins then stir again to break up the clumps. Put into fridge for at least 2 hours to set (overnight works well to).
  3. When the chia seed filling is ready spoon it over the fruit compote. Then take your yoghurt of choice and spoon it over the chia seed filling. Top with granola and fresh fruit and serve!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Coconut Entremets (Vegan, Gluten-free, No Refined Sugar)

Coconut Entremets (Vegan, Gluten-free, No Refined Sugar)

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I know what you’re thinking. What am I doing making entremets during detox January eh? Well, as predicted I couldn’t resist touching on some French Patisserie this month, but I’ve done my best to make it as healthy as possible, meaning it’s dairy free, vegan, gluten free and has no refined sugars (providing your chocolate has no refined sugars or dairy in it).

Normally when I come across something which has more than one dietary tag on it I become suspicious as it normally involves 20+ ingredients that you can only find in special shops, and/or results in an unsatisfying, oddly textured waste of a dish. But fear not, all the ingredients I used for this you can buy really easily from any supermarket, so you won’t have to waste time searching for xanthan gum down side alleys. I was also surprised by how tasty this ended up. The coconut milk is a great double cream substitute, so the middle is as creamy as a full-fat panna cotta, and the base (made with nuts and dried fruit) is just as tasty as any butter/biscuit combo you’d find in a cheesecake. The most unhealthy bit is probably the chocolate on top, but this really depends on what chocolate you end up using, and as it complements filling really well it’s worth keeping.

Recipe

Serves 4

Time: 1 hour (Plus chilling time)

Ingredients

For the Base

  • 80g Walnuts
  • 30g Desiccated coconut
  • 50g Pecans
  • 15g Chia seeds
  • 80g Dried dates
  • 6 Dried figs

For the Coconut middle

  • 2 Sachets of veggie gel (Personally I’d use 3 gelatine leaves to set the centre of this as I find it easier to work with, but if you’re making this for a vegan or vegetarian powdered gelatine will also work well)
  • 130ml Coconut milk
  • ½ tbsp Vanilla bean paste
  • 160ml Coconut cream
  • 30g Maple syrup

For the Coconut ganache

  • 100g Dark chocolate with high cocoa solids (about 75%+) (you can get really healthy dark chocolate in special food shops if you want)
  • 75ml Coconut cream

To decorate

  • Coconut slices

Method

  1. Put all the ingredients for the base of the etremet into a food processor and whizz up until crumb-like and starting to bind.
  2. Distribute this mix between your four moulds (I went for 7 x 6cm round metal moulds) and press down with the back of a spoon to compact and make an even thickness. Put this into the fridge whilst you make the next layer.
  3. To make the coconut cream layer begin by dissolving the gelatine powder in 15ml of water (or soak the leaves in a bowl of cold water if using).
  4. Then put the coconut milk and vanilla into a small saucepan and heat gently until it starts to bubble. Then take off the heat and stir the gelatine into the hot milk until smoothly combined.
  5. Then wait for the milk to cool completely before adding the coconut cream and syrup. Whisk this all up to combine and then pour into the moulds, over the base.
  6. Chill these in the fridge until completely set, this’ll take about 3 hours.
  7. When your coconut layer is set you can move onto the next step – making the glaze. Put the chocolate into a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Melt the chocolate gently and then cool slightly before adding the coconut cream. Leave until the mix isn’t too warm and holds its shape, but is still pourable.
  8. Take the coconut entremets out of their moulds by pushing them up and out from underneath (if they’re metal moulds a blowtorch can help).
  9. Put the coconut ganache into a pipping bag with a small round nozzle and pipe little drips of the mixture over the edge of the entremets. You want the drips to be uneven so vary the amount you put over the edge. Then fill in the middle with the ganache so that the whole top is covered and put back into the fridge to set.
  10. When ready to eat plate them up with any left over crumbs from the base mix and some coconut shards to garnish!

Thanks for reading! Next post coming on Wednesday…

Emma x
Kladdkaka (Sticky Chocolate Cake)

Kladdkaka (Sticky Chocolate Cake)

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This is a Swedish cake which, from what I’ve read, is probably the most popular cake in the country. It looks like a normal chocolate cake, but somehow it turns out really gooey and light – almost like a softer, but just as sticky version of a brownie. I’m not sure how it works out like this, but it does. It’s also insanely easy and quick to make. Just put all the ingredients together, whop it in a tin, bake and boom!

This cake is in cafes all over Sweden, but as it’s pretty plain in appearance and as it’s deliberately underbaked it can make it come out pretty fragile, so I’d  recommend serving it as a dessert, rather than as an afternoon tea cake. When I first made this I hadn’t planned to make it, I’d just had the recipe for a while, realised I had all the ingredients and decided to give it a go.  As it’s so quick to make, and doesn’t require any unusual ingredients you could make this as a last minute dessert to finish a dinner party – and it’ll probably be quicker to make than a trip to the shops to buy a dessert (it’s really that quick). I’ve found that it tastes best when it’s warm from the oven and served with vanilla icecream.

Recipe

Serves 8

Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 100g Unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
  • 2 Medium eggs
  • 210g Light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla bean paste
  • 150g Plain flour
  • 3 tbsp Cocoa powder

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Grease and line a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin with butter and baking paper.
  2. Put the butter into a small pan and melt gently. Leave to one side to cool.
  3. Put the eggs, sugar and vanilla into a bowl and whisk with electric beaters until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
  4. Sift the flour and cocoa into the mix and fold together with a large spatula or metal spoon. Pour in the butter and then fold together until smooth.
  5. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and bake for about 15 minutes. It’s ready to come out when a light crust has formed on the top, and there it’s still slightly undercooked in the middle (you want it to be underbaked so take it out about 5 minutes before you would a normal cake).
  6. If eating later, leave the cake to cool in the tin and then turn out onto a plate. If eating immediately, turn out and serve with berries and icecream!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x