Tag Archives: brownie

Cakey Makey

14 Jun

Have you ever seen a cake piano? Nope? Well, there’s a first time for everything!

038 We used a Makey Makey kit at work to make a cake piano. The cake was delicious and the sounds were hilarious! I just love how this shows were tech and innovation is leading us… and it’s getting us there with cake!

Take a look at out first attempt: https://vine.co/v/blvqTprU0lP

And a few more: vine.co/v/blvbui3ZlgK  vine.co/v/blvhFlXqhHK 

Music is slightly confusing to me though, so I left it to the professionals… BMj7obxCcAAxjcC So here’s the very yummy cake I made to create the Cakey Makey Piano:

Ingredients:

  • 200g unsalted butter , plus extra for the tin
  • 150g white chocolate , roughly chopped
  • 300g light muscovado sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 200g plain flour
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 125g raspberries
  • Cadburys Dairy milk (optional – for piano keys!)

Method:

  • Preheat oven to 180C and line a brownie pan with baking parchment.
  • Brown the butter in a saucepan, cooking on a medium heat until the butter turns a golden colour, approx 5 mins.
  • Cool the butter until lukewarm, then add half the white chocolate and stir to melt.
  • Whisk the muscovado sugar and eggs together until thick and pale, this only took a minute in my Ken wood.
  • Sift in the flour, and add the cooled butter mixture and vanilla. Mix until well combined. Add in the raspberries and rest of white choc and stir.
  • Pour into tin and bake until golden brown, approx 35-40 mins.
  • Cool then cut into squares.
  • I pressed lines of chocolate into it whilst it was hot to create the piano-key effect!

We connected the cake (which I cut into keys) to the makey makey machine to make some sweet music! (And the cake tasted good too!)

I hope this puts you in the weekend spirit :)

Baileys Cheesecake Brownies

17 May

Alcohol… chocolate…cheesecake…. what more could a girl want? Baileys Cheesecake Brownies, that’s what! Literally the best breakfast on a Friday morning.

The trio... alcohol chocolate and cheesecake!

The trio… alcohol chocolate and cheesecake!

You better grab one before they all go…

All mine!

All mine!

Ooops… too late! These brownies were surprisingly easy to make and it only took me an hour from start to finish. It’s not like you needed an excuse anyway right?! This recipe makes about 30 brownies… enough for me right?!

Brownie ingredients:

  • 220g dark chocolate
  • 220g butter
  • 240g golden caster sugar
  • 60g plain flour
  • 4 free range eggs
  • Half a glass of Baileys!

Cheesecake ingredients:

  • 450g full fat cream cheese
  • 80g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • A few splashes of Baileys

Method:

  • Preheat oven to 150oC
  • For the brownies:
  • Melt together the dark chocolate and butter in a bain marie
  • When cooled, mix in the sugar
  • Add in the eggs one by one and mix well
  • Sift in the flour and mix until combined
  • Add the Baileys to your taste (I tend to be more generous!) and mix well
  • Put the mixture into two brownie tins, spreading it evenly to the edge
  • For the cheesecake:
  • Whisk together the cream cheese and sugar
  • Mix in eggs
  • Add Baileys to taste
  • Layer this on top of the brownie mixture, and lightly swirl the two mixes together
  • Put in oven for about 30 mins, until just set in the middle.
  • Remove from oven and leave to cool completely before serving!

Enjoy cake snobs!

Layers of swirly goodness!

Layers of swirly goodness!

Recipe adapted from here.

Chocolate Masterclass

15 Apr

Morning Bakers, Makers and foodie in-takers! Hope you’re well on this lovely sunny morning. I’ve had a bit of a break the past few weeks due to some family stuff, but i’m back now (well at least until I jet off on holiday at the end of the week!)

I am part of the Lurpak #BakeClub and won last month’s chocolate challenge with my Speculoos Brownies, so my prize was to attend a chocolate masterclass with the lovely Lily Vanilli.

Me @ Lily's

Me @ Lily’s

We started off the day with a demo from Lily herself, how to make the filling to her delectable chocolate truffles.

Lily giving us a demo

Lily giving us a demo

We could choose to flavour the filling any way we wanted, with flavours ranging from boozy absinthe to delicate lavender. I went with a relatively simple filling, since I loved the array of toppings and wanted a filling that would go well with everything, so I ended up making a salted brown butter ganache. Whilst the ganache refrigerated  we sampled some toppings and asked Lily lots of questions as she baked us some of her fabulous chocolate cookies!

So many toppings!

So many toppings!

After waiting for what seemed like an age, it was finally time to coat and top our truffles! We scooped the truffles into little balls, and after a second batch of refrigeration, they were ready to coat and top with whatever we wanted!

Truffle madness!

Truffle madness!

We tried with some of Lily’s “I made it earlier” truffle balls first, then dived into our own. Whilst most people went for a uniform look for their truffles, I went slightly crazy and developed my own “Monster Truffles” as I named them! Large in size and covered in an array of glitters and toppings, I went for a mad eclectic look!

Monster truffles!

Monster truffles!

Edible silver

Edible silver

Mine... all mine!

Mine… all mine!

These were a resounding success and thoroughly enjoyed by all my family! A huge thanks to Lurpak and Lily for a brilliant afternoon and one I will remember for ages!

 

Triple Creme Egg Brownies

22 Mar

These brownies are the epitome of decadence. Three layers. Plus some little extras. Oh and did I mentioned they have CREME EGGS baked into them? Yes. Get ready. These are the mother of all brownies. Slutty brownies, RELOADED!

 

Slutty Creme Egg Brownies

Slutty Creme Egg Brownies

 

Top view, melty creme egg goodness!

Top view, melty creme egg goodness!

 

Mmm stacked brownies!

Mmm stacked brownies!

 

And enjoy!

And enjoy!

Ingredients:

  • For the cookie dough base:
  • 200g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 300g light brown sugar
  • 180g melted unsalted butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 300g milk chocolate chunks
  • 1 packet Oreo Cookies
  • 1 packet cadbury mini eggs (optional but worth it!)
  • For the Brownie Layer:
  • 45g cocoa powder
  • 1½ teaspoons instant coffee mixed with:
  • 140ml boiling water
  • 60g dark chocolate, broken up
  • 60g melted unsalted butter
  • 140ml sunflower or vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 500g caster sugar
  • 220g plain flour
  • 8 Creme eggs

Method:

  • Make the cookie layer first by creaming together brown sugar and butter.
  • Whisk in eggs and vanilla bean paste until all combined
  • Sift in the dry ingredients and mix well
  • When ingredients are just combined, stir in chocolate chunks
  • Butter or grease 2 9×9 dishes (I used tinfoil)
  • Layer on the cookie dough base
  • Layer oreos on top and scatter on mini eggs
  • Make the brownie base by brewing the coffee, and siting in the cocoa powder, then melting the chocolate into the coffee mixture
  • Whisk in eggs and yolks until the mixture thickens
  • Add sugar and vanilla paste, and sift in the flour.
  • Mix well until everything is combined
  • Layer this on top of the brownies and bake for 40 mins at 1750C
  • After 40 mins, cut your creme eggs in half and layer on top, bake for a further 5-10 mins

If you can wait, leave to cool, then consume.. trust me you wont be able to stop! These are perfect for Easter, or just about any time of the year! I took inspiration from the Eric Lanlard creme egg brownies but adapted them to be even more delicious!

Are you baking anything special this weekend?

Chocolate Spice Cake

15 Mar

This cake reminds me of honeyed spice cake, very moist, but not too dense. It’s actually quite light and fluffy, with a gorgeously sweet Biscoff-Maple glaze!

Smoothed to Perfection

Smoothed to Perfection

The Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 130g plain flour
  • 45g cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinammon
  • 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 55g dark brown sugar
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 235ml milk with a squeeze of jemon juice (you can use any milk here, even dairy free!)
  • 80ml sunflower oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • For the glaze:
  • 85g biscoff/speculoos
  • 125g icing sugar
  • 2 tsp maple syrup
  • Splash of milk
  • Chocolate to decorate (optional)

Method:

  • Sift the flour and cocoa powder into your mixing bowl or stand mixer, and add in the rest of the dry ingredients
  • Mix until well combined and no lumps remain
  • Add in the milk, oil and vanilla and mix well
  • Make sure all ingredients are well combined then pour into a lined loaf tin and bake on 175oC for 40-45 mins
  • When cake is baked, leave to cool and make the glaze
  • Sift in the icing sugar into a mixing bowl and add in the rest of the ingredients
  • Mix vigorously until you get a thick glaze
  • When cake is cooled, pour over the top and leave to set
  • I grated chocolate over the top for a pretty finish
Moist and fluffy spice cake

Moist and fluffy spice cake

 

Want a slice?

Want a slice?

 

Biscoff Brownies

13 Mar

Have you tries Biscoff yet? Have you?! Or Lotus spread, Cookie butter, Speculoos, whatever you like to call it! What is it? Only one of the best things to come in a jar… like EVER! It’s basically the spread version of those little biscuits you get with your coffee in Europe.

This stuff. Oh yeah.

This stuff. Oh yeah.

This stuff is like the holy grail… and I found it in Waitrose! (Of course – my favourite supermarket right now!)

I decided to make a few different things with it, so here’s the first recipe, frosted brownies!

Biscoff Brownies

Biscoff Brownies

The Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 115g unsalted butter
  • 115g dark chocolate
  • 300g caster sugar
  • Tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 2 eggs
  • 130g flour
  • 30g cocoa powder
  • For frosting:
  • 115g unsalted butter
  • 340g biscoff spread
  • 190g icing sugar
  • 1 tablespoon greek yogurt
  • Chocolate to decorate (optional)

Method:

  • Melt chocolate and butter in a bain marie
  • In your stand mixer, mix together sugar, eggs and vanilla bean paste
  • When chocolate mixture is cooled, mix into the sugar and egg mixture
  • Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and mix until well incorporated
  • Pour the mixture into a buttered or lined brownie pan and bake on 175oC for 30-35 mins
  • Leave brownie to cool and make frosting by sifting icing sugar, and adding softened butter and biscoff spread.
  • Whisk until well incorporated, then add yogurt to make the frosting nice and fluffy
  • When the brownie is cooled, spread the frosting and decorate as desired (I grated chocolate on top!)

These brownies were literally IMMENSE, no one could stop eating them!

Endorsed by the Metropolitan Police!

Endorsed by the Metropolitan Police!

More brownie action!

More brownie action!

I made these for a volunteering event, and they definitely kept everyone going. I would recommend these for a large party, as they will definitely keep everyone happy!

Intensely Chocolatey Raspberry Brownies

4 Mar

Sometimes in life you just need a blowout. Especially before one embarks on a pre-holiday diet! So these are my rich, blowout brownies!

Dark chocolatey, intense, raspberry filled bites of goodness. Oh, with some sweet white chocolate drizzled on top. Drooling? You better be!

Chunky brownies

Chunky brownies

Recipe:

  • 115g unsalted butter, melted
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 110g light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 2 large eggs
  • 65g cocoa powder
  • 100g flour
  • 90g chopped dark chocolate (I used Bournville)
  • Punnet of fresh raspberries
  • 100g approx melted white chocolate for drizzling

Method:

  • Cream together butter and both sugars in your stand or hand mixer
  • Add in eggs and vanilla paste and mix until well combined
  • Sift in flour and cocoa powder until your batter takes on a thick constistency
  • Stir in your chocolate chips and raspberries
  • Pour into a brownie tin and bake on 175oC for 25-30 mins, until a stick inserted into the middle comes out clean
  • Cool completely and then drizzle melted white chocolate on top
  • SERVE!
James can't resist!

James can’t resist!

Chocolate chunkiness

Chocolate chunkiness

Close up!

Close up!

Recipe adapted from Sugarcrafter

Foodie Weekend

26 Feb

We all need a night off from blogging and baking, even me! So last weekend, I went to Marlow for a night of R&R, and of course lots of food!

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza and decided to upgrade to a club room for a treat. This meant we had some wine and canapes before we headed out, which was a nice treat. In our room we had biccies, a kit kat and the usual tea, coffee and hot chocolate, as well as some bottled water which was a nice touch.

For dinner we booked the Marlow Bar & Grill, because it’s extensive menu caught my eye! We started with a mezze for 2, the highlight being the gorgeous squash fritters. I accompanied this with a gorgeous pomegranate cocktail that went down far too easily!

Cocktails ahoy!

Cocktails ahoy!

We were too caught up to take many food photos, but I had a gorgeous chargrilled tuna steak (rare of course) with chips and spinach, whilst the boy opted for a thai green curry which he definitely enjoyed!

To finish we had the house macarons which were enjoyable but unfortunately nothing special.

For breakfast the next day we had the hotel buffet, which was very extensive. I even had a 3 course breakfast! I started with breads, pastries and cheeses, moved onto hot with eggs, mushrooms and a hash brown, and finished with cereal!

To walk all that food off, we left the hotel and went for a lovely but cold walk by the Thames.

Beautiful views

Beautiful views

We left the hotel after a late checkout and wandered round the centre of Marlow, one lovely little high street. We ended our visit with tea at Burgers, a lovely little tea room opposite the park.

High tea!

High tea!

A fab end to a foodie weekend! Do you have anywhere foodie you like to visit?

Brunch Baking

3 Jan

Morning all, I think 10am calls for a spot of brunch… what do you think?! This is the brunch I made for New Years Day:

New Years Day Brunch

New Years Day Brunch!

Enough to feed 15? More like 50! I laid on a huge spread, starting off with bagels, crumpets, spreads and dips, working our way onto cheese and crackers and crisps, then onto dessert… Fresh from the oven cinnamon rolls, fruit pastries, triple chocolate brownies, blueberry muffins, white chocolate pretzels, and rice crispy cakes, as well as chocolate and biscuits! I also added in some chocolate spoons which stirred into hot milk to create the BEST hot chocolate!

Triple chocolate brownies

Triple chocolate brownies

Cinnamon rolls

Cinnamon rolls

Lots of cinnamon rolls!

Lots of cinnamon rolls!

Hot chocolate spoons

Hot chocolate spoons

Berry pastry

Berry pastry

Blueberry cinnamon crunch muffins and oreo rice crispy cakes

Blueberry cinnamon crunch muffins and oreo rice crispy cakes

White chocolate covered pretzels

White chocolate covered pretzels

Christmas Eve baking

24 Dec

I’ve been on a baking bonanza this Xmas eve, baking 3 special goodies. I’m revealing 2 to you today as one is a surprise! So, here are my extra quick marshmallow Krispy cakes that will make you feel like a kid again, as well as brownies that you can’t stop eating, peanut butter crack brownies!!

20121224-215222.jpg

Marshmallow Krispy cakes

20121224-215307.jpg

Peanut butter crack brownies

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