Inappropriate Christmas Joy

Last year I made gingerbread men as Christmas presents for some of my friends. They were all decorated lovingly and put in gft bags. Unfortunately I overlooked the fact that where I live, it's really hot at Christmas time and things get a bit sticky. So by the time my friends opened their little gingerbread baggies, some of the men had formed inappropriate liaisons with each other.

Now perhaps for other people this would have been a less than optimal outcome but for my friends, it was probably better than just getting regular gingerbread men. The only real disappointment was mine, that they came out as hard biscuits rather than soft ones. I might be completely wrong but I've always felt like gingerbread should be almost chewy and definitely not hard... otherwise why would it be called bread?

So this year, I set out with two goals: to make softer, hopefully chewy gingerbread, and to make them completely inappropriate. My mum found me a good recipe from the Women's Weekly Kids Cookbook and it's turned out pretty well, they are definitely softer than last year. I think to make them chewier, you'd need to change the sugar/golden syrup ratio because I think something magical happens between the syrup and the bicarb to get chewy gingerbread. Next time I'll try 2/3 cup of golden syrup ad 1/4 brown sugar. I don't care if the maths of that doesn't make sense.

As for inappropriate... If you fold the arms of the person over before you bake them then they can portray a great many emotions with the right embellishments. However, you need to be a better artist  han me to do the details. So instead I went for the standard kind then mixed up a few to be reindeer, which had my flatmate confused for quite a while.

Soft Gingerbread men

125gm butter
1/3 cup firmly packed soft brown sugar
1/2 cup golden syrup
2 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger (or more if you're a real ginger fan)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (optional but I thought it was quite nice)
2 teaspoons bicarbonate soda
1 egg, beaten lightly
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

To decorate
1 small packet of mini m&ms, or currants
Icing mixture (I used store bought writing icing because it has a good consistency)

Preheat oven to 180c, line biscuit trays with baking paper.

Melt the butter, sugar, and golden syrup together in a large bowl for 1 minute in the microwave. Stir to combine and then allow mixture to cool.

Sift flour, spices, and bicarb soda into butter mixture, then add the egg and vanilla. Stir until combined.

Knead dough lightly on floured board until it is solid enough to roll out. (I had to refrigerate mine for 10 minutes and add some extra flour because it was a hot day).

Roll out to 5mm thick between two sheets of baking paper to avoid sticking, then cut out in desired shapes. Press on m&ms or currants before cooking, then bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on trays before icing.

Makes about 25 little ginger bread men (5cm high)

Winning

Recently, some people have made comments about my competitive nature in ways that made it sound like it was something I was aware of. Actually, this came as quite a surprise because I'd never considered myself a competitive person.

However, my entire reason for deciding I was not competitive was based on the idea that I don't like sports. But once these comments started, I realised that I might have this concept the wrong way around. I enjoy many physical activities but have have found that most don't like me. I am in no way aerodynamic and in the words of Hannah Gadsby "independent flesh is the enemy of speed". Because I am apparently competitive, if I can't win it, I'm not interested.

Upon further reflection, yes, you might be right. In fact I've actually "won" things that aren't, never have been, and never will be, competitions. My particular favourite is yoga. I love yoga because I'm super flexible. I can therefore win because I can bend further than you, get closer to my toes than you, look more like a pretzel than you, and generally be more awesome than you. I come away with a happy, glowing feeling that I suspect has less to do with reaching a zen state than your usual yogi.

For my birthday, some friends & I went to the coast. Our plan was to drink wine, watch DVDs and do some sedate bushwalking. The most satisfying part of this for me was when we walked along the rocky side of a bay, the perfect opportunity for winning. Since I was a kid, the goal of the competition has always been to travel across the rocks as fast as you can, as close to the sea as you can without either drowning or breaking a bone while everyone else walks along the path. Needless to say, I won. I still maintain that it doesn't matter if the other contestants actually know they're competing or not.

A side effect of this lovely weekend was that I ended up with a bag of uneaten cashews & cranberries after it turned out that our hikes were so sedate we didn't really need "supplies" beyond m&ms and an apple. So here is a fabulous way to get rid of your unwanted trail mix... Winning :)

A note on these brownies, they are the only ones on here so far that don't have chocolate in them. I found that I wasn't too thrilled with them on the day they were made but after leaving them in a box overnight, they turned awesome.

Cashew & Cranberry Brownies

140g butter
1 cup sugar
80g cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs
70g flour (2/3 cup I think but that's a guess)
1/3 cup of dried cranberries
1/3 cup raw cashews

20 cm square cake pan lined with baking paper                                        Oven @ 160°c

Melt the butter, sugar and cocoa together and allow to cool.
Stir in the vanilla, then eggs one at a time, and then the flour. Mix until smooth but don't overdo it.
Spread cake mix in the baking pan and sprinkle with the cranberries and cashews, pressing them in lightly.
Bake for 30 minutes or until centre is slightly soft. Allow to cool in the pan.

It's alive...!

I'd like to be able to say that I had some sort of fabulous, life-changing goings on that meant I was temporarily unable to write posts... like I was stuck on a tiny island with no oven, only a basketball for company and had some sort of epiphany... unfortunately that's not really the case. I think it was much closer to a work-stress induced writer's block combined with a really ridiculous number of extra-curricular activities.

Mostly, I started this job where I had visions of showing people how wonderful policies really are, and then they would naturally get as much joy out of their correct application as I do. Call me naïve but this reality has not eventuated and the people I work with now don't seem to understand, leaving me a bit of a sad sack and not inclined to bake. Their loss I say.

Anyway, things are looking up. With almost no effort at all (beyond complaining, that is) I'll soon be shot of the job so all of a sudden, there's two batches of brownies on my bench. Before we get to those however, here's something I made for dinner with my Gran a little while ago. There are endless recipes for Chocolate Almond Tortes around but this one seemed to combine the good points of most of them - rich but somehow not too sweet and great for winter nights. Sorry about the dodgy picture, there were screaming kids in the vicinity. It was chocolatey and didn't ditch in the middle like some can.

Flourless Chocolate Torte   

1 tsp instant coffee powder
125g butter
150g dark chocolate
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 eggs at room temperature
3/4 cup caster sugar
200g ground almonds

Oven at 180c
                                              
20cm round cake tin, lined with baking paper

Melt the butter, chocolate and vanilla together, then stir in the coffee powder until it dissolves. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Separate the eggs making sure none of the yolk gets into the whites. Beat the egg whites and about half the sugar together until soft peaks form. Then in a separate bowl, beat the yolks and the rest of the sugar until thick and light in colour.

Gently fold cooled chocolate mixture into the egg yolks, then fold in the almonds. Then gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in two lots. Fold in until just combined (If you don't know what I mean by folding, look here... it's a skill for life).

Carefully spread the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 40 minutes. Cover and allow to cool in the pan.

How to make family discussions incomprehensible

Christmas in my family is one of the happy times of the year where I get to organise my family and write as many lists as I please. Usually this means telling my father and brother where to show up and what food to bring but for my mother it also usually means some intense discussions about exactly who's getting baked goodies, what kind and how much chocolate we needed to buy. Our conversations probably don't make a lot of sense to spectators because we tend to give our biscuits nicknames.

One of our most frequently used recipes is Bugs. What we mean is this recipe for Italian almond biscuits, not the creepy kind of bugs. Bugs are a beautiful but simple-tasting treat that are always popular and can be made ahead of time. They also look a bit like caterpillars which I thought was pretty tops as a kid. Everyone seems to love them and they are gluten-free.

See, it really is big!

The only bad thing about bugs is that they require a large star-shaped piping flute. I've never seen them in the shops and I'm pretty sure my mum's is about 30 years old. That being said, you could probably pick one up at a specialty cake-making store. Or you could use a large, smooth piping tube instead, I've seen those around.





Italian Almond Biscuits
250 gms ground almonds
1 cup pure icing sugar
whites of 2 large eggs
1/2 packet of red glace cherries, quartered

Glaze
2 tsp gelatine
2 tsp caster sugar
2 tbsp water

Combine the almonds ad icing sugar and then mix in egg whites until well combined. The mixture should be a firm paste but if you think it's too dry, add a teaspoon or so of water (not too much!).

Spoon the mixture into a strong fabric piping bag fitted with a large star piping nozzle and pipe 4cm caterpillars onto trays lined with baking paper. Push a little bit harder at the start to give each caterpillar a nice, fat bottom.

Push a piece of cherry firmly onto the end of each biscuit (so it looks like a head/nose).
Cover the biscuits loosely with foil and leave to dry out for at least 2 hours but preferably overnight.
Bake biscuits in oven at 180c for 8-10 minutes until just starting to turn golden.

For the glaze
Put gelatine, sugar and water in a small saucepan and stir while bringing to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes, brushing down the sides of the pan.
Brush cool biscuits with glaze and allow to dry for a few hours.

Balls of deliciousness

I think this recipe has to be my favourite one for Christmas (apart from my mum's ice cream cake). This year, I've attempted to make mini Christmas puddings more classy but I don't know how effective it was. Usually, I just make the balls and then put a little bit of red cherry, two cherry "leaves" and a drizzle of white chocolate on the top so it looks like custard and a holly sprig. This time I've dipped them in chocolate. While this was trickier than I anticipated, they did taste awesome.

These got a little heat-effected but you get the idea

Mini Christmas Puddings
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 - 1/2 cup of cherry brandy (or regular brandy, whatever)
1 store-bought chocolate cake (about 300gms)
1/2 cup glace cherries (chopped)
1/2 cup roasted slivered almonds
200gms dark chocolate

Topping/Coating
300gms dark chocolate
OR
1 packet of multi-coloured cherries
200gms white chocolate

Soak the raisins in 1/4 cup of brandy while you get everything else ready.
Crumble the chocolate cake into a large bowl and leave to the side. If it dries out a bit in the process, all the better.
Add the raisin mixture, cherries and almonds to the chocolate cake and stir in well.
Melt the chocolate and stir in to the cake mixture until well combined. If the mixture is too dry, add some more brandy.
Roll the mixture into small balls and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Either dip each ball into the extra melted dark chocolate or top with a drizzle of melted white chocolate and small pieces of cherry to look like holly. Refrigerate again until completely set.

Shortbread for the genealogically challenged

Have you ever noticed how if you bring up the subject of shortbread in a social situation (and lets face it, who hasn't?) everyone instantly claims to have the bestest, most original, perfect textured, age-old, genuine recipe. Then they yell at each other about how their recipe is superior because it was handed down through generations from their great great great great great great, three times removed step-aunt who was, in fact a Scottish mountaineer who lived in a stone cottage and ate nothing but haggis and that shortbread? Whatever.

Photo by Leslie, hand by me

This recipe is not one of those. It hasn't been handed down to or from anyone as far as I'm aware. I can't even remember where I got it. All I can tell you is that it's in my cook book, written by my own 12-year old hand and that it's excellent.

This recipe is seriously difficult to stuff up and you can pretty well make it in any format. Personally, I prefer to cut out shapes and sprinkle liberally with sugar to make them sparkly but it's also good pressed into two 18cm square/round cake tins. Just make sure you cut it before you bake it, otherwise it crumbles after it's cooked.

One cautionary note, it doesn't really work with gluten-free flour, it gets too short.

Basic Shortbread
2 tbsp rice flour or ground rice (I prefer the flour)
1/3 cup icing sugar
2 cups of plain flour
250g salted butter, cubed & cold

Oven @160c                                        2 x 18 cm round/square cake pans, greased with butter,        
                                                             or use cookie cutters & trays covered with baking paper                                                                          
Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and then rub in the butter until the mixture is even.
Press together and then knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth.


Then either:
Press into the two pans and cut into wedges. Bake 30-35 minutes until lightly golden, do not over-bake.
or 
Roll out to about 8mm thick between two sheets of baking paper and use a cookie cutter to cut dough into shapes. I like to press caster sugar onto the top but that's optional. Bake for 5-10 minutes until lightly golden. Do not over-bake.

This recipe is quite nice with macadamia pieces, 2 tsp of lemon zest, or with one side dipped in chocolate but it has a beautiful flavour so I usually leave mine plain.

And so it begins

Now that it is actually December, I can happily admit that it's time to start doing Christmasy things.
I started making Christmas truffles, slices and biscuits years ago and it's nice to know that people look forward to them. I thought I'd put a few favourites up cause I guess none of them are family secrets or anything... I don't think.

The first thing I've made is almond clusters because they'll keep longest. These babies are awesome because they're ridiculously easy and everyone likes them. The only bad thing is you'll need mini patty papers but they seem to be popping up in shops much more than they used to.

Almond Clusters
200 - 250g slivered almonds
200g dark chocolate (about 40% chocolate)
Mini patty papers

Pour the almonds into a large tray and bake in the oven at 160c until they're lightly browned (about 8 minutes but keep an eye on them). Allow to cool.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave or a double saucepan then stir in the almonds. Spoon teaspoons of the mixture into the patty papers and allow to set. Don't put them in the fridge to set unless it's really hot, the chocolate won't be as shiny.

Pretending it's not "that time of year"

It's not that I want to look like some kind of Dickensian character or anything, I've just been super busy and not ready to do all the Christmasy stuff I usually do. Plus, I do get kind of shat off by carol overload before December even starts. To get in the spirit I bought some bonbon bangers today so I'm getting there.

Anyway, when I do finally get into Christmas mode, the plan is to post a bunch of seasonally-appropriate recipes on here (I'm thinking mini puddings, shortbread, almond splinters and Italian almond biscuits this year... yum!). Until then, I thought this'd be a good segue into the season, both Christmasy and brownie! My flatmate also thinks they would be awesome with 1/2 cup of white chocolate bits but it's raining right now and I'm not wearing any shoes.

These brownies are more cakey than my usual recipes and originally come from Taste, though with a tiny bit of tweaking.

Chocolate Cranberry Brownies
175g butter, chopped
200g dark chocolate
4 eggs
3/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup cocoa


Oven @ 170c                                                     20cm square cake pan lined with baking paper

Melt butter and chocolate together in the microwave. Stir to combine and allow to cool slightly.

Mix in eggs, brown sugar and cranberries and then the flour, baking powder and cocoa. Stir until just combined. Spread into prepared cake pan and bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out slightly sticky. 

Set aside in the pan for 10 minutes to cool before turning out.

The thing about low fat...

I've spent the past three days trying to come up with some sort of witty anecdote to go with this recipe... I got nothin'.

I guess the reason I made it was to try to find a recipe for some health-conscious friends that wasn't entirely loaded with calories. While it's true that this recipe has about half the butter that a normal brownie recipe has, I can't pretend it isn't laden with sugar. Still, you could probably imagine you're getting extra roughage or something.
Of all the "healthy" brownie recipes I tried, this one seemed the best - it has a nice texture and isn't rubbery like some fruit brownies can be. It's also quite bittersweet and larger than a few others I have on here. I would recommend aiming for a slightly undercooked result to avoid it getting dry.

Just to prove how hypocritical I am, I've written this while stuffing my face in a  chocolate cafe.

Apple Sauce Brownies
250g dark chocolate
100g butter
150g unsweetened apple sauce
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp instant coffee powder
1 tbsp coffee or chocolate liqueur

4 eggs
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 cup dark chocolate chips (or walnuts)

Oven @ 160c                                   23cm square cake pan lined with baking paper

Melt the chocolate, butter and apple sauce together. Allow the mixture to cool slightly.

Stir in the sugar, essence, coffee and liqueur.
Add the eggs and mix in well, then stir in the cocoa and the flour and stir until just combined.
Spread mixture into the lined pan and press chocolate chips or nuts on top.

Bake for 25 minutes then stand for 10 minutes before turning out. 

So the father grew lemons

And the mother assured the daughter it was easy to make lemon butter in the microwave. And lo, this was true

Microwave lemon butter
125g butter, chopped
3/4 cup caster sugar
4 eggs
Finely grated rind of two lemons
Juice of 2 lemons (about 1/2 or 2/3 cup juice)
Glass jars

Makes approx. 4 cups

Fill the jars with boiling water to sterilise, then allow to dry.

Whisk the eggs until well combined then whisk in the lemon rind and juice.
Meanwhile, combine butter and sugar in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes and stir well.
Stir the lemon & egg mixture into the hot butter mixture and combine well.
Microwave for 4 minutes until thick, whisking well at 1 minute intervals (try not to let it boil or you can end up with lemon scrambled eggs).
Strain if you get any egg lumps then pour into the jars and refrigerate.

Keeps about 2 weeks

The Great Trifle-Off

You know all those long-running family feuds? I'm thinking epic scale, Montagues & Capulets kind of deal? Forget them. The great trifle debate has been going on in my family for as long as I can remember. Nor is the debate restricted to family members. Last week, I was drawn into a discussion at work about how trifle "should" be made which became quite heated. In the end we agreed to all make our version of a proper trifle and the one English person in our office would judge the best one... he seemed quite happy about this.

The debate centers over where exactly the jelly goes in your recipe.  Members of "the other side" foolishly suggest that it should be poured over the sponge on the bottom and then set. People on "the correct side" agree that jelly in sponge is disgusting and the sponge should be soaked in sherry and/or peach juice and the jelly should be carefully set over the top of the custard. Some strange people suggest that there shouldn't be any jelly at all... that just doesn't even make sense!

So, here's the way to do trifle properly. I've added cream to the custard because it makes it yummy but it can also make the layering tricky if it doesn't set hard enough. If you're worried, you may want to leave the cream out of the custard.
If you want to get fancy, you can also put berries on the top of the custard before it sets. Then you can see them through the jelly.

Trifle the Right Way
1 sponge cake
1 large tin of sliced peaches
1/4 - 1/3 cup medium sherry
2 heaped tbsp custard powder
2 tbsp sugar
2 1/2 cups of milk
1 egg
1/2 cup cream
1 packet of red jelly
2 cups boiling water

Cut the sponge into chunks and layer on the bottom of a glass bowl. Pour over the sherry and/or enough juice from the peaches to soak the sponge.

To make the custard: In a small bowl, combine the custard powder, sugar, egg and 1/2 a cup of milk to form a smooth paste. Heat the remaining 2 cups of milk in the microwave until boiling. Whisk in the custard powder mixture. Microwave in 1 minute intervals, stirring in between until custard boils & thickens. Allow to cool.

Once cooled, mix the cream into the custard and beat with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes. Spread the custard over the sponge and refrigerate to set completely (at least 2 hours but the longer the better).

Make up the jelly according to the instructions on the packet (you may want to add a little more gelatine if you want firm jelly). Refrigerate until it reaches egg white consistency. Pour over the custard and hope like the dickens it stays on top. Refrigerate until completely set.

Memories & Meringue

The last couple of weeks I've been on a bit of a baking hiatus because I've had the plague. Well, my doctor assures me it's far more likely to be a chest infection gone feral but I don't feel that communicates an appropriate level of discomfort... I was somewhere between an 8 and a 9 on Allie's pain scale. Anyway, thanks to a vast arsenal of drugs I'm feeling much better and tonight went to a party to which it was requested that I bring "something lemony". I'd also promised a couple of people that I'd share my lemon meringue pie recipe here, even though it doesn't fit into the brownie brief at all (I've tried, those briefs just get sticky).

I first made this pie for a dinner with some friends from Bakers Delight so now every time I make it I think of our awesome parties. I miss you guys! I've also discovered that having people watch you make this is a really good way to pick up, I've had more than one friend say they found it strangely sexy... I think it's the meringue.

A note on pastry though. Making gluten free pastry is hard and I don't keep wheat flour in the house so I usually just buy the pastry shell. I seriously doubt I could make pastry better than the pros do anyway.

And last but not least, sorry about the photo... I only just managed to get one before it all disappeared.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Pastry
2 cups plain flour
pinch of salt
1 tbsp icing sugar
185g butter
1 tbsp lemon juice
1-2 tbsp water

Filling
4 tbsp plain flour
4 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp finely grated lemon rind
3/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup caster sugar
1 1/4 cup water
90g butter
4 egg yolks

Meringue
4 egg whites
2 tbsp water
pinch of salt
3/4 cup caster sugar

20 cm pie dish                                                                    Oven @ 180c

Rub the butter into the flour, salt and icing sugar. Add the lemon juice & enough water to form a firm dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins.
Lightly knead dough then roll out to fit a 20 cm pie dish.
Prick the base all over with a fork and bake for 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool.

For the filling: Combine the flours, lemon rind, juice and sugar in a medium saucepan. Slowly blend in water so there are no lumps.
Stir over low heat until mixture boils & thickens. Reduce heat & simmer for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the butter and egg yolks.
Once cool, spread filling into pastry shell.

For the meringue: Combine egg whites, water, and salt and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and beat until completely dissolved and mixture is shiny.
Spoon meringue onto the filling and seal the edges. Bake for 5-10 minutes until just starting to brown.
Cool then refrigerate.

The guilty shame cycle

This evening I was nursing a tin of peaches (for a trifle I'm making) on the train home when I was struck by the sudden urge to have takeaway lemon chicken. Usually, I would ask my flatmate if she wanted in but I knew she was busy helping to stage-manage a birth (yay! congratulations to all involved!).

This is where the guilty shame cycle began.

I had to call the restaurant in a crowded train, and who wants to be that person overheard ordering takeaway all for themselves... even if you are? The solution to me seemed obvious. I ordered twice as much as I could reasonably eat, therefore making it appear that I was not going home to stuff my face alone... even though I was.

At home, after working my way through about half of the takeaway, I was overcome by shame and decided I should at least be productive and set about making my trifle. Only once it was fully assembled did I remember that the reason I made it in the first place was to use up sub-standard cake and therefore, would be too embarrassed to share it with work people.

It seemed only right to make something I could share with work people so more baking ensued. This did, at least result in tonight's recipe which originally comes from the BBC and contains more sugar than I would usually consider acceptable but that's why they're supposedly chewy.

Of course, after I'd produced a ridiculous amount of food, I immediately remembered the reason I was coming home for a quiet night was to send out a choir newsletter... It's going to be a late night.

Not So Chewy Raspberry Brownies
300g dark chocolate
200g butter
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
110g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
170g frozen raspberries

Oven @ 170c                                                    20cm square pan lined with baking paper

Melt the chocolate and butter together then allow to cool slightly. Whisk in the sugar, then the eggs.

Fold in the flour and baking powder.

Spread half of the mixture into the pan, then sprinkle over the raspberries. Top with remaining mixture (this stops the batter from freezing).

Bake for about 40 minutes or until the surface is set. Cool in pan for at least half an hour before turning out.

Like Soufflé? Brownies? Raspberries? Me too!

Last week, I met someone else who made brownies and fed them to strangers. This was a glorious thing and made me feel much more normal. She made raspberry brownies that were beautifully chewy and I thought I'd have a go at replicating it. 

Sorry about the picture, had to use my phone

This did not work. 

I did, however, manage to create a wonderful brownie-soufflé hybrid. I can recommend this brownie both hot and cold and I imagine it would be delicious with cream, ice cream, chocolate sauce or any other condiment that typically goes with a dessert. I'll have another go at the chewy brownie next week.

Make sure your eggs aren't too cold for this one or the chocolate will reset. Also, be prepared for the finished brownies to be very soft immediately out of the oven and to fall when cooling.

Raspberry Soufflé Brownies
200g butter
250g  dark chocolate  

1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup caster sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup plain flour
175g frozen raspberries

Oven @ 160c                           20cm - 23cm square cake pan lined with baking paper

Melt butter and chocolate together then stir in sugar. Allow the mixture to cool slightly.

Stir in the eggs and then the milk. Whisk until the mixture forms a silky texture.

Fold in the flour, then the frozen raspberries. Spread in pan and bake for 40-50 minutes. Brownies will be soft when removed from oven. Allow to cool before turning out unless serving as a dessert.

The brownie to get you through a meeting

Today I spent the entire day in a meeting. What's worse is that I had to do the minutes... no gazing off into the middle distance for me. So I decided that some sort of maximum-impact brownie was needed. I was initially going to make one of Jamie Oliver's but then I had a closer look and developed diabetes on the spot (300g of sugar... really?). My next port of call was Nigella and while the woman may be as annoying as all get out, she knows how to make a good brownie. I especially liked that this one had coffee in it which would hopefully keep me awake just that little bit longer.

This is your classic, crunchy on top, gooey in the middle dose of awesomeness. The way I've done it, it turns out fairly bitter which I quite like. However, if you want it a bit sweeter, add another 25 - 50g of sugar.

Rich Chocolate Mocha Brownies 
200g dark chocolate
100g butter
2 tbsp coffee
75g caster sugar (about 1/2 cup I think)
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs
50g plain flour (about 2/3 cup I think)
75g dark chocolate chopped, extra
100g walnuts, chopped

Oven @ 160c                                           20cm square pan, lined with baking paper

Melt the dark chocolate, butter and coffee until smooth. Add the sugar and vanilla, mix well and allow to cool slightly.

Stir in the eggs, flour, extra chocolate and nuts and spread into baking pan.
Bake for 40 minutes and cool completely before turning out.

Why white chocolate is actually the dark side

As I've mentioned before, white chocolate is bad. Happily, I can now add further evidence for this: it does terrible things to your self confidence.
This evening I decided to bake sour cherry blondies as a contrast for my regular ones and to use up the rest of the white chocolate in my pantry. Everything was going along ok until my mixture split and developed a consistency startlingly similar to baby sick. Fortunately I'm far more stubborn than I am lacking in confidence and lived to reassure others that if this happens to you, fear not!

Therefore, here is tonight's recipe which actually turned out quite nicely. 

Originally this recipe comes from Taste but I've done some tweaking.

Sour Cherry Blondies
100g butter
180g white chocolate
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup self-raising flour
3/4 cup plain flour
1 cup pitted sour cherries

Oven @160c                                               20cm square pan lined with baking paper

Melt butter and chocolate together then allow to cool slightly (Be prepared for baby spew).

Add sugar, eggs and flours and stir to combine. Spread into prepared pan. Press cherries into the top. Bake for 30 minutes and cool for 35 minutes before turning out.

Rummin my Raisin

So last week I decided that a gluten-free fruit cake would be an awesome idea. I still maintain that the idea is awesome, just the execution was slightly less than breathtaking. It turns out that gluten-free fruit cake is really hard to make for reasons I haven't quite figured out yet. I managed to make one which was both stodgy and dry which I think is quite an achievement.

Anyway, to satisfy my craving for moist, alcoholic, fruitiness, I decided to give a rum and raisin brownie a try. Unfortunately, the recipes I found didn't really feel quite right. I wanted a heavy & dense brownie with plenty of drunk fruit so I made one up... here it is.

Rum n Raisin Brownies

120g raisins

3tbsp rum

200g dark cooking chocolate

75g butter

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 cup caster sugar

3 eggs

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 cup plain flour

20 cm square pan lined with baking paper                       Oven @ 160c

Soak the raisins in the rum for three hours (or microwave them a little so they absorb the rum).

Melt the chocolate and butter together then allow to cool slightly. Mix in the rum and raisin mixture, then the vanilla, sugar, eggs and sour cream and stir until well combined.

Fold in the cocoa powder and the flour. 

Bake for 35 mins. Stand in pan for 10 mins before turning out.

Cheesy Chocolaty Goodness

Today's brownies are a bit of a difference for me because they don't have any fruit or nuts in them. They've turned out really well and would make a fabulous dessert, both hot and cold. Next time I'll give them a bit more of a swirl though.

The recipe is a bit bigger than my usual ones so needs more cooking time but the brownies are nice and high.

Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

150g butter, chopped

250g dark chocolate

3 eggs
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/4 cup sour cream
250g cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence

20 cm square cake pan lined with baking paper                                          Oven @ 180c

Melt the butter and chocolate in a saucepan over low heat. Allow to cool slightly.
Mix in two of the eggs and 1/2 a cup of the sugar. Stir in the flour and sour cream and stir until well combined.

Beat the cream cheese, vanilla, egg and remaining sugar in a bowl until smooth.

Spoon chocolate and cream cheese mixtures alternately into the pan. Swirl with a knife to create a marble effect. Bake for 45 minutes. Stand for one hour before slicing.

Apathy & White Chocolate

Blondies = brownies but not brown... just to clear that up

The plan tonight was to combine a couple of white chocolate & almond blondie recipes for some all round fabulousness.... Unfortunately, I had a brain faze in the supermarket and forgot the almonds *facepalm*

I find making stuff with white chocolate difficult, there are so many bad things about it. It's way too sweet, has less bang for your calorific buck and leaves suspicious white stains if you get it on your clothes.

That being so, I struggled to find another idea for the chocolate sitting on my counter. In the end though, I decided to give lemon blondies a go, and they're far more edible than I care to admit.

I can't find the base recipe again now but I've made so many changes I don't think it really matters. Also, I haven't put it in this recipe but when I make these again I'll consider adding a fourth egg because I quite liked the custardy flavour they have and it'd make them fudgier (they're quite cakey this time).

Lemon & White Chocolate Blondies
20 cm square pan lined with baking paper                             Oven @ 160c

100g butter
185g white chocolate (reserve 60g)
3 eggs
1/2 cup of caster sugar
1 1/2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 cups plain flour

Melt together the butter and 125g of the white chocolate. Add the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, and baking powder and whisk until bubbly and well combined. Fold in the flour, then remaining chocolate.

Pour into prepared pan & bake for 30 mins. Stand 10 mins before turning out.

Technically not a brownie... choc banana deliciousness

I really miss bananas. They're pretty much a staple food for me so when they cost roughly as much as platinum like they do in Melbourne now, I find myself both lacking in easy breakfast alternatives (I try not to eat wheat) and low in potassium... picture me with a nervous twitch in one leg as we speak.

Anyway, when they do cost less than my life savings, I love making this choc banana.... I guess it's a cake. I'm putting it in with my brownies because it has the best ever dense, squidgy texture. Sadly I haven't made this cake since T.C. Yassi but when I do I'll put a photo in.

I have made it in both a 20 cm and a 25 cm cake pan because it doesn't rise much. Just turn your oven down a bit and extend the cooking time for the smaller tin. Don't forget to line with baking paper, it keeps the edges soft.

Choc Banana Dessert Cake

2 cups caster sugar            

1 3/4 cups plain flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup mashed over-ripe banana

1 cup warm water

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup oil

2 tsp vanilla essence                                                         Oven @180c

Combine all ingredients and beat until well combined (mixture will be quite thin).

Pour into prepared pan & bake for around 1 hour. Stand 10 minutes before turning out.

It's that easy :)