Easy Chocolate Brownies

Now that I've had a couple of weeks to get back to normal eating after Christmas, it's time to bring out the chocolate recipes again for a bit of a sweet treat.

Brownies would have to be one of the easiest treats around and this recipe is particularly easy. Just melt the butter and stir in all the other ingredients! To mix it up a bit, you can use whatever add-ins you like. I used desiccated coconut and raisins, but you could be really indulgent and use chocolate chips, nuts or fresh rasperries or blueberries. A combination of everything is pretty good too!

To make this brownie into more of a dessert, serve it warm with a dollop of double cream or ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate or raspberry sauce. Easy, delicious indulgence!

Easy Chocolate Brownies

125g butter, cubed

1/4 cup cocoa 

3/4 cup caster sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup plain flour, sifted

3/4 cup add-ins (coconut, chopped nuts, raisins, sultanas, choc chips, fresh berries)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Grease a rectangular slice tin well. Line if your pan needs it.

Melt butter in a saucepan and then stir through cocoa and sugar until dissolved.

Remove from the heat and add eggs, stirring well between each addition.

Stir through flour and your chosen add-ins.

Spread mixture over the base of the tin and bake for 25-30 mins, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

Serve on it's own or with cream, ice cream, chocolate topping and fresh berries.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Honeycomb Fudge

Over the past few weeks I've been looking at different recipes that would be good to give as gifts to the teachers at my daughter's school and my son's childcare centre. I wanted something that was delicious, but also easy to make and not needing cream or anything that was going to go off if it wasn't eaten quickly.

I came across this simple Chocolate and Malteser Fudge from Lauren at Create Bake Make and knew that I had to give it a go! Only 4 ingredients makes it perfect.

Instead of Maltesers, I decided to have a go with chocolate coated honeycomb instead. I smashed up my honeycomb and stirred it through the fudge mixture, rather than just pouring it over the top. I thought it would look much nicer this way and would have the honeycomb throughout the fudge, rather than just on top.

The end result was delicious! Of course, I had to trim off and try the wonky edges because I couldn't possibly give them away, could I!

If you like baking and all things sweet, then definitely look up Create Bake Make. So many wonderful ideas for cakes, biscuits, slices and other treats.

Now to get onto my other Christmas baking so it's ready to pack up for tomorrow.

Chocolate Honeycomb Fudge

200g block dark chocolate

200g block milk chocolate

1 tin condensed milk

200g packet chocolate coated honeycomb

Line an 18x28cm rectangular slice tin with baking paper so that it overhangs the sides.

Using a rolling pin, crush the honeycomb into medium sized chunks in the packet.

Break the chocolate into squares and place in a microwave safe bowl with the condensed milk.

Microwave in 30 second burst, stirring between each go to combine the chocolate and condensed milk.

Continue until the chocolate is all melted and the mixture is smooth when stirred. Mine took 4 goes.

Quickly stir through the honeycomb pieces until it is all combined and coated in the fudge mixture.

Pour into the tin and press to the edges and smooth the top.

Set in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.

Lift the slice out of the tin using the paper and cut into small squares with a sharp knife.

Give away as a present, wrapped in celophane with a Christmas ribbon or keep it as a treat for yourself :-)

Enjoy!

Chocolate Date Banana Bread

Looking for a banana bread recipe that's a little bit more indulgent? Look no further.

This recipe has all the things you want in a banana bread recipe - moist, sweet and nutty, plus a couple of extras. The dates add a beautiful richness and almost honey sweetness and the cocoa makes it a bit more indulgent. Maybe not the best thing for breakfast, but perfect for a morning or afternoon pick-me-up!

Try it straight out of the oven with a spread of butter, toast it under the grill and serve with ricotta and a few banana slices or just enjoy a piece on it's own with a cup of tea or coffee. Sometimes the simple things are the best!

Chocolate Date Banana Bread

75g dates, chopped

50g butter

2 ripe bananas, mashed

A squeeze of lemon juice

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 3/4 cup SR flour

1/4 cup cocoa

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Grease and line a loaf tin.

In a small saucepan, bring 100ml water and dates to the boil. Simmer until soft, then remove from the heat and mash the dates.

Add butter to the hot date mixture and stir until melted.

In a large bowl, combine date mixture, banana, lemon juice, milk, walnuts, sugar and egg and mix until well combined.

Sift over the flour and cocoa and stir until just combined.

Spoon into the prepared tin and smooth the surface.

Bake for about 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and rest in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool.

Serve while still warm or allow to cool and slice for lunch boxes.

Enjoy!

Chocolate And Raspberry Cupcakes

Happy World Chocolate Day (well, for yesterday anyway)! With moving house, cleaning and trying to unpack and get things organised, I've been a little slack in the cooking and blogging stakes. Not having a computer or internet set up doesn't help either!

I won't say that I'm completely back on board yet, but when I discovered that yesterday was World Chocolate Day, I just knew that I had to get baking.

With cocoa and other baking essentials in the cupboard and raspberries in the freezer, my mind was made up. Chocolate and raspberry cupcakes! Not too rich, but with a good chocolatey flavour and lots of tart, juicy raspberries to add a contrast.

I made mini cupcakes in muffin tins and larger ones in butterfly tins, but you could use whatever you have. You could even just bake in a regular cake tin if you liked. Just adjust the cooking time to suit.

This is a really quick cooking recipe, so it's perfect for school holidays or when you need a treat at short notice. Originally, the recipe came from my mum and it's just had a few tweaks here and there. I hope it becomes a regular in your house too.

Chocolate And Raspberry Cupcakes

125g butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 1/2 cups SR flour
1/2 cup frozen raspberries (or a few more if you like lots!)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Grease muffin tins of your preferred size. Line with paper cases if you have them.
Combine butter, sugar, cocoa, bicarbonate, water and milk in a saucepan.
Stir over a medium heat until the butter is melted and all the ingredients are combined.
Bring to the boil and then remove from the heat and allow to cool.
When cool, add the egg and sifted flour.
Gently stir through the frozen berries.
Spoon into mini muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes, or until firm and risen and a skewer comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out on to a rack to cool completely.

Enjoy as is, or dust with a mixture of icing sugar and cocoa or be truly decadent and top with melted chocolate and a few extra raspberries!

World Whisky Day - May 17

World Whisky Day was on Saturday and while I can't stand whisky, I thought I'd cook up a whisky themed dinner for my husband. I don't mind the general honey, smokey flavour of whisky, but I don't like that alcoholic burn you get when having it neat. In fact, I don't really like any spirits neat. Give me a good wine any day!

I wanted to create a meal that really complemented the flavours of the whisky. In the end I used two different sorts. The Talisker 47 degrees North from the Isle of Skye was more smokey and peaty and matched perfectly with the lamb marinade and the chocolate dessert. The Amrut Indian single malt whisky had more honey and molasses characters and went with the mushrooms. I was surprised by how well the flavours turned out.

The sweetness and honey characters really came through into the meat and the alcohol was burnt off in the cooking. Because of the sugar in the marinade, it caramelised nicely on the lamb and gave a beautiful charred flavour. Make sure your pan isn't too hot when you cook it or the marinade will burn before the lamb is cooked through.

Even though the chocolate creams weren't cooked, the dark chocolate was rich enough that it masked the alcoholic taste. You could always add the whisky to the boiling water to remove the alcohol, before you added it to the melted chocolate. This was a seriously rich dessert, so a small serve was more than enough. The roasted hazelnuts and sesame snaps gave a beautiful texture to it.

My husband gave this dinner a big thumbs up, so I suppose a World Whisky Day dinner is going to become an annual event in our house. Now to find the next alcoholic beverage theme day to have a go at!

Honey And Whisky Lamb With Braised Spinach, Buttery Whisky Mushrooms And Mash

400g lamb fillet, cut into two pieces

1Tbs whisky

1Tbs honey

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine whisky and honey in a dish. Season to taste.

Add lamb and allow to marinate for a couple of hours.

Heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

Remove lamb from the marinade and drain slightly. Fry for 3-4 minutes each side or until cooked to your liking. Rest for a couple of minutes.
Drain any meat juices from resting into the reserved marinade and bring to the boil. Simmer for a minute until thickened.

3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 Tbs butter

1/2 cup milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Place potatoes in a saucepan of cold water and bring to the boil. Cook until soft, then drain.
Return potatoes to the saucepan and mash with the butter. Add the milk and stir to combine. Season to taste.

1Tbs butter

2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1Tbs whisky

A handful each of parsley, oregano and thyme, finely chopped

Heat a frypan on medium heat and add butter until starting to foam.

Add the mushrooms and cook until softened and releasing their juices. Continue cooking until slightly browned. 

Season to taste, add whisky and allow the alcohol to cook off.

At the last minute, stir through the chopped herbs.


Half a bunch of fresh spinach, trimmed and chopped
A drizzle of olive oil

Heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
When hot, add the spinach and toss to coat in the oil and allow it to soften and wilt. Season to taste.


To serve, place spinach on the plate and top with a piece of lamb. Spoon over the remaining marinade sauce. Place a spoonful of mushrooms over the top of the lamb. Serve the mash to the side.

Enjoy!

Whisky And Chocolate Creams

100g dark chocolate, chopped

30ml boiling water

15ml whisky

1/2 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup milk

Sesame snaps and roasted hazelnuts, to serve

Melt chocolate in the microwave in 20 second bursts, stirring each time so that it doesn't burn.
When melted, slowly add the boiling water, stirring constantly to make a smooth mixture.
Add the whisky, sugar, vanilla and milk and stir gently to combine. It should be nice and smooth.
Spoon carefully into small glasses or pots and set in the fridge for 4 hours.

To serve, place the glasses on plates, put a handful of chopped roasted hazelnuts on top and a couple of sesame snaps on the side for dipping.

Enjoy this decadent dessert!

And To Drink....

Even though whisky was the theme of this dinner, there was no way I was going to be drinking whisky with it!

To go with the sweetness of the marinade on the lamb, I wanted a big red with lots of red and black fruit and complexity.  The 2007 ACJ from Pirramimma in McLaren Vale ticked all the boxes. Made with Shiraz, Petit Verdot and Cabernet there was plenty of ripe fruit, plum and cherry and a smooth richness, which was delicious. A bit of lingering spice and vanilla from the French oak made it a perfect match.

It complemented the sweet, charred lamb and the buttery mushrooms perfectly. The last few sips also went wonderfully with the rich chocolate dessert. Red wine and dark chocolate really are a match made in heaven!

Pirramimma was founded in 1892 and has been a family run winery since. Located in the beautiful McLaren Vale, just south of Adelaide in South Australia, it has a mediterranean climate. They produce some wonderful reds and whites, from quaffers to special drops. The ACJ, only made in exceptional years, was one of their special wines.