Tag: Chocolate
Salted Caramel, Raspberry + Chocolate Brownie Pudding

Salted Caramel, Raspberry + Chocolate Brownie Pudding

By | | Comments 0 Comment

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
Nutella Buche de Noel

Nutella Buche de Noel

By | | Comments 0 Comment

Christmas is probably one of the most traditional times of the year, and every family has their own way of doing it – especially when it comes to the food. For me, I can’t remember a year we didn’t have one of my Granny’s chocolate logs on the table on boxing day. Whilst she always claims not to be a cook, she whizzes round the kitchen and whips this up, and there’s something about the layers of chocolate cake, filling and icing which always has me excited.

This one could be called a blinged up version of the one I have at my Granny’s. I’ve never met someone who doesn’t like nutella, and so when you have a chocolate sponge, filled with nutella, hazelnuts, cream and raspberries and then coated in a rich ganache, you can’t really lose. This works really well as a dessert for Christmas day, or even as a cake to take along to a Christmas party, as it’s easily transportable and can be cut to serve as many people as needed. Also, the cake is really thin it’s really quick to make and to cool, and therefore doesn’t take too long to make, which is just what you need at Christmas.

Recipe

Serves 8

Time: 90 minutes

Ingredients

For the Cake

  • 150g Caster sugar
  • 6 Large eggs
  • 250g Dark chocolate
  • Icing sugar for dusting

For the filling

  • 200g Nutella
  • 350ml Double cream
  • 80g Icing sugar
  • 150g Rapberries, halved – plus extra for decoration
  • 100g Chopped roasted hazelnuts

For the ganache

  • 250g Dark chocolate, finely chopped
  • 250ml Double cream

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Grease and line a 23 x 33cm Swiss roll tin with butter and baking paper.
  2. Put the chocolate and 4 tbsp water into a heat-proof bowl and melt over a pan of simmering water.
  3. Meanwhile whisk the egg whites in a really clean bowl with an electric whisk until they make stiff peaks.
  4. Put the sugar and egg yolks into another bowl and whisk with an electric whisk until pale, fluffy and thick enough to leave a trail.
  5. Fold the egg yolk mix into the chocolate mix. Then fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture until fully combined.
  6. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and bake for 10-15 minutes until risen, bouncy and cooked through. Dust a sheet of baking paper with icing sugar and then, whilst warm, turn the cake out onto it. Make a cut about 1 cm from the edge of the short end, making sure not to cut all the way through. Roll the sponge up, with the baking paper inside, into a tight roll and leave to cool rolled up.
  7. When cool unroll the sponge and spread with the Nutella. Lightly whisk the cream and icing sugar together until it just starts to hold its shape. Smooth this over the sponge in an even layer. Then sprinkle the halved raspberries and hazelnuts over the cream.
  8. Roll the cake up, this time without the paper inside, making a tight roll. Transfer the cake onto a plate.
  9. Now make the ganache icing. Put the cream into a pan and bring just up to the boil. Put the chopped chocolate into a bowl and pour the hot cream over it. Stir until the chocolate is melted and everything’s combined.
  10. Leave the ganache in the fridge to set slightly. When it starts to hold it’s shape you can start to ice the roll. Using a palette knife smooth the ganache over the cake and the ends of the roll. Leave to set.
  11. Finish with extra raspberries and hazelnuts and dust with icing sugar. Serve!

Thanks for reading! Any comments, queries or requests don’t hesitate to ask…

Emma x
Kladdkaka (Sticky Chocolate Cake)

Kladdkaka (Sticky Chocolate Cake)

By | | Comments 0 Comment

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
Mississippi Mud Pie

Mississippi Mud Pie

By | | Comments 0 Comment

It’s thanksgiving tomorrow, and how better to celebrate it than with a huge Mississippi mud pie. Being a Brit I don’t normally celebrate, or even know when thanksgiving is. Yet luckily last Sunday I was at one of my drama rehearsals, and when we were trying to work out who was free for a rehearsal this Thursday a fellow cast memeber, who’s American, replied ‘yes, even though it’s Thanksgiving’. The convo then spiralled off into talks of pumpkin pie and pastry crusts, but this got me thinking.  Why not look into classic American dishes and make one to celebrate? I know Mississippi Mud Pie isn’t strictly traditional for thanksgiving, and the Americans out there will be gritting their teeth that I haven’t made a pumpkin or pecan pie. But personally I find the later overly sweet and not suited to my British palette, whereas this chocolate binge of a pie is heaven on a plate to me.

I’m not sure why it’s called Mississippi mud pie – the name unfortunately doesn’t do the dish justice. I’ve been skipping past it in cook books for years, not even looking to see what it is, and stupidly I think it’s probably because of the name. There have been many variations from the original, but it’s essentially a chocolate biscuit base, a gooey chocolate brownie on top, then a smooth chocolatey creamy mousse thing, and finally topped off with freshly whipped cream. I’m a huge chocoholic, and as I was making this I was getting way too excited with each layer I was putting on. You might be looking at it and thinking that’s way too much chocolate, but it’s actually not overpowering. Think of it as an ombre cake where each layer is slightly more subtle than the last. The Oreo and Bourbon base is really rich, then the brownie is slightly sweeter and less rich, then the next layer is chocolatey and creamy, and the top layer of cream is a great break from the chocolate.

With the days getting darker at the moment I’m constantly struggling to make my dishes before the light dims and so I was a little rushed making this. As I wanted to photograph this before the natural light started to go, to avoid the yellow wash that comes from my kitchen lights, I took it out of the mould after only two hours of resting. When you read the recipe you’ll see that I recommend at least 4 hours, or even better overnight, which is why in some of the pictures the chocolate filling is pouring out everywhere. Trust me though, if you leave it for long enough it will set and look beautiful when cut. I left mine in the fridge over night and this morning the chocolate filling had set and gone all beautiful, so be patient. That said, it still tasted amazing after 2 hours, so if you can’t wait, and you don’t need it to look neat and elegant when cut into, an hour is long enough for chilling.

Recipe

Serves at least 8

Time 1 hour 15 minutes, plus lots of time for chilling

Ingredients

For the Chocolate crust

  • 160g Oreos
  • 200g Bourbon biscuits
  • 100g Unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing

For the Chocolate brownie

  • 150g Butter
  • 210g Dark chocolate
  • 3 Medium eggs
  • 210g Caster sugar
  • 40g Plain flour
  • 100g White chocolate, roughly chopped

For the Chocolate filling

  • 100g Dark chocolate
  • 290ml Whole milk
  • 3 Egg yolks
  • 60g Caster sugar
  • 15g Plain flour
  • 1 tbsp Cocoa powder
  • 20g Cornflour
  • 150ml Double cream

For the Topping

  • 350ml Double cream
  • 1 tsp Vanilla bean paste
  • Cocoa powder for dusting

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Grease and line a 24cm loose bottomed cake tin with butter and baking paper.
  2. Put the biscuits into a large bowl and crush with the end of a rolling pin to make into a fine crumb. Pour over the butter and mix to combine.
  3. Tip the mixture out into the tin and smooth out into an even thickness with a spoon. Put into the oven and bake for 5 minutes to firm it up.
  4. Now make the brownie mix. Put the butter and chocolate into a bowl over a pan of simmering water and leave to melt.
  5. 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.
  6. Fold the chocolate into the eggs, sieve in the flour and add the chopped white chocolate. Fold everything again until combined.
  7. Pour the mixture into the biscuit case and bake again for about 15-20 minutes until a crust has formed on top and it feel slightly firm. Set aside to cool.
  8. Now make the chocolate filling. Put the chocolate into a heat-proof bowl and melt over a pan of simmering water. Put the milk into a pan and heat until just boiling.
  9. In another bowl whisk the egg yolks, sugar, plain flour, cocoa powder and cornflour until smooth. Pour in the milk whilst whisking until smooth.
  10. Pour the mixture back into the pan and cook gently until just starting to thicken. Take off the heat, stir in the melted chocolate and leave in the fridge to cool completely.
  11. Take the filling out of the fridge and whisk to break up. In another bowl whisk the double cream to soft peaks. Fold the cream into the chocolate mix and then pour this over the cool brownie. Put this into the fridge to chill for 2 hours.
  12. Finally whip up the double cream and vanilla into soft peaks. Spoon this into a pipping bag with a round nozzle and pipe in blobs over the chilled chocolate filling. Put all this back into the fridge to chill for at least another 2 hours, or even better overnight.
  13. When ready to eat, take it out of the mould and dust with cocoa powder before serving.

Thanks for reading and happy Thanksgiving for tomorrow!

Emma

 
Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

By | | Comments 0 Comment

Can anything truly top a good chocolate chip cookie? Especially when they’re warm from the oven and the chocolate is just melted when you bite into them. It’s always hard with classics like these to  know which recipes will work and which won’t. The expanse of the internet means that there’s thousands of variations out there, and unfortunately too many of them result in burnt, tasteless disappointments. After some research, though, I think I’ve found the perfect combination which’ll, fingers crossed, work without fail.

I do have a couple of top tips though to make sure that they end up the best they can be. Firstly, it’s important to make sure the dough is as cold as possible before going into the oven. Why I hear you ask? Well this means that they’ll keep their shape more in the oven, which will stop them from spreading too thinly. This makes it easier to get a soft, chewy bake, rather than a crisp, burnt one. It’s also kinda obvious, but when buying your ingredients make sure you buy chocolate you like the taste of. Sometimes it can be tempting to buy super cheap chocolate to bake with, but when you have chunks of chocolate, like in this, you can really taste it. My general rule is go for a chocolate you’d be happy to eat on it’s own, that way your cookies will be super delicious.

Recipe

Makes 20

Time 25 minutes, plus time for chilling

Ingredients

  • 220g Unsalted butter, softened
  • 170g Light brown sugar
  • 150g Caster sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 2 Large eggs
  • 330g Plain flour
  • 3/4 tsp Baking powder
  • Pinch of Salt
  • 100g White chocolate, roughly chopped into chunks
  • 100g Milk chocolate, roughly chopped into chunks
  • 1 tsp Sea salt to top (it’s really worth it)

 

Method

  1. In a bowl put the butter, sugars and vanilla, and beat together until pale and fluffy. Using an electric mixer can help with this.
  2. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the mix and whisk together after each addition to combine.
  3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the main bowl and stir to combine.
  4. Stir the chocolate chunks into the mix so that they’re evenly distributed.
  5. Turn the dough out onto some clingfilm, wrap it up and then put it into the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours. (If you’re short on time or just can’t wait put it into the freezer for 30 minutes).
  6. 20 minutes before the dough finishes chilling, pre-heat the oven to 170˚C.
  7. Line 4 baking trays with baking paper.
  8. Roll the dough out between two sheets of clingfilm (I find this easier than using a floured surface). You want the dough to be the thickness of about 2 pound coins.
  9. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out circles of the dough. Put the circles onto the baking sheets, making sure they’re well spaced out as they will spread. I put about 5-6 on each of mine. Put them back into the fridge for 30 minutes to re-chill.
  10. Take the baking trays out of the fridge and sprinkle the dough circles with the sea salt. You only want a little on each cookie, but it works wonders in bringing out the flavour.
  11. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until just starting to brown at the edges and puffed up. They will feel fairly soft, but they’ll firm up some more once they’ve cooled down. Eat as soon as you can!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x