Orange & Ginger Cocoa Cranberry Granola

After the success of my recent attempt at making granola, I was eager to try out other combinations. I wanted to try a cranberry and ginger combo and decided to add the zest from an orange too as I think it tastes great when paired with cranberries. I set about gathering my ingredients and as I opened the cupboard to get the ginger my eyes zoomed in on a jar of cocoa powder and I thought… hey why not? Orange and chocolate, cranberry and chocolate, ginger and chocolate = yummy. So in it went.

While it was baking, the granola filled my house with a wonderful yet slightly bizarre assortment of smells. The zesty orange and the cocoa were the main aromas, making the house smell like a Terry’s chocolate orange only with a hint of spicy ginger mixed in. Now this may be wonderful to those of you who like Terry’s chocolate oranges, but I myself am not much of a fan and so I began to worry that maybe I had been a little too adventurous with the flavour pairings. I do like chocolate and orange together, but only when it’s real orange otherwise I find it tastes a bit fake.

Another slight hitch was that due to the cocoa powder I couldn’t tell when the mixture was turning brown as everything was light brown to start with. I decided to stick to the set time and trust my nose for any smells of burning and it all worked out well.

When it had cooled I ate a spoonful and was initially disappointed at the slight bitter edge to it from the cocoa powder, but as I chewed the cranberries released their sweetness and the orange flavour really shone through complementing the bitter cocoa flavour and I was left with a tingling of ginger on my tongue. I had another mouthful, …hmmm I like it.

This is definitely not your usual flavour pairings of granola but I quite like how it contains some unexpected flavours, although I might not use quite as much ginger next time. If you are a fan of Terry’s chocolate oranges, this could well be the granola for you.

Orange & Ginger Cocoa Cranberry Granola
Ingredients
100g jumbo rolled oats
50g porridge oats
100g wheat flakes
25g linseeds
40g flaked almonds
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp natural oil
1 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp orange juice
Zest of 1 orange
50g dried cranberries
50g raisins

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Place the oats, wheat flakes and linseeds in a large bowl.
Finely grate the zest from the orange and scatter over the oats along with the ground ginger and cocoa powder.
Mix the oil, water, orange juice and golden syrup together and pour over the oat mixture.
Use a spatula or large spoon and mix well, ensuring everything is lightly coated.
Scatter the mix onto the baking tray and place in the oven for 8-10 minutes until it’s starting to smell toasted and fragrant from the orange and ginger.
Remove from the oven and give everything a good mix to ensure even browning. Stir through the flaked almonds and return to the oven for a further 8 minutes.
Remove from the oven and mix through the cranberries and raisins and leave to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Peanut Butter Chip Choc Cookies

After making cookies to share with my friend over the weekend, I realised that its been a while since I baked cookies for the Monday Munchers and so decided that chocolate cookies would be this weeks treat.

These cookies are basically the well known Tollhouse Cookies but with a twist. I wanted to make chocolate cookies and so replaced some of the flour with cocoa powder and added peanut butter filled smartie style chips in place of chocolate chunks. The peanut butter chips not only showed up well against the dark cookie but also added to the fun of eating them as they provided little shots of peanut flavour in every bite, which was a novelty to the Monday Munchers as I don’t think we have peanut butter chips here in the UK, so people became quite excited by them. The ones I used were given to me by Gigi from America. If anyone knows where I can get these in the UK then please let me know.
I sat on the floor and watched them baking, it was interesting the way they spread into chocolaty pools before puffing up and baking into thick cookies. Somehow I always imaged they would turn from dough to cookie without the melting part in the middle, but I don’t suppose they would spread out into cookie shape otherwise – random comment I know! The cookies themselves were soft and chewy with a strong cocoa flavour. Next time I might try making mini ones and sandwiching them together with peanut butter for extra indulgence.

Peanut Butter Chip Choc Cookies
Ingredients
110g butter
50g caster sugar
75g soft brown sugar
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla
100g plain flour
25g cocoa powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g peanut butter chips or choc chips

Method
Preheat the oven to 175C and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper
Cream together the butter and both the sugars until light and well combined.
Beat in the egg and vanilla.
Sift in the flour, cocoa powder and bircab and beat until just combined. The mixture will be quick thick but don’t worry.
Stir through the peanut butter chips or chocolate chips.
Place heaped teaspoonfuls onto the baking tray, leave a 2inch gap between each one.
Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until spread out and lightly puffed up.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire wrack to cool completely.
Repeat the process with any left over cookies mixture.
Makes 14-16 cookies.

Choc Chip Cakies

I call these cookies cakies because they are a cross between a cookie and a cake. The outside is crisp and chewy and the inside is soft and cake-like. They adapt very well to whatever add-ins or flavours you wish to throw at them. I kept mine simple with a vanilla base and choc chips stirred through. You may notice that some of the cookies have pink blobs in them, this is because I used white chocolate bar that had been dyed pink (it was left over from valentines day).

I made these for my friend J from back home, as she was visiting yesterday. We had a lovely time sitting on the sofa, munching cakies and catching up with each others gossip.

Choc Chip Cakies
Ingredients
100g butter or margarine
60g soft brown sugar
40 caster sugar
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla
150g plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g chocolate chunks of your choice

Method
Line a large baking tray and pre heat the oven to 190C.
Cream the butter and both sugars together until creamy and well combined.
Beat in the egg and vanilla and chocolate chunks.
Sift over the flour and bicarb and fold in until a dough is formed.
Place heaped teaspoons of the mixture onto the baking tray, leaving a 2inch gap between them.
Flatten the dough slightly and place in the oven to bake for 8 minutes.
Remove the cookies from the oven, they should be golden brown and slightly puffed up.
Allow to cool for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire wrack to cool completely.
Makes 16 cookies

Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

It was R’s birthday at work this week and I promised to bake her the cake of her choice and she asked for carrot cake. I was thrilled by this as by is probably my all time favourite cake. The recipe I use originally comes from an Australian Women’s Weekly magazine and I have tweaked it over the years to produce what I now think of as my perfect carrot cake. I love its moist spiced crumb, dotted with juicy raisins and the odd nugget of chopped pecan nut which are scattered throughout. Topped off with cream cheese icing it becomes a truly marvelous cake.

People often pair orange flavoured icing with carrot cake but, I much prefer lemon as I think it gives a sharper cleaner finish. However, the birthday girl requested a cinnamon icing, which is equally good as it helps enhance the spices within the cake. It’s not the most photogenic of cakes but the flavour more than makes up for it. I added a few pink royal icing flowers on top as pink is her favourite colour. The birthday girl was more than happy with her cake.

I have included the recipe for both lemon and cinnamon icing below, so you can use which one most appeals. And, if you must have orange icing, simply substitute orange in the lemon icing method.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients
250ml vegetable oil
250g light soft brown sugar
3 eggs
500g (3-4) grated carrots
120g walnuts or pecans
75g raisins
375g self raising flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp mixed spice
½ tsp cinnamon

Method
Grease and line the base of a 20cm 8inch springform cake tin. Preheat the oven 180C.
Place the oil, sugar and eggs into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until thick and creamy.
Peel and roughly grate the carrots and chop the nuts into large chunks. Fold the nuts, raisins and grated carrot into the cake batter.
Sift over the flour, mixed spice, cinnamon and bicarbonate of soda and fold into the mixture using a spatula, turning the bowl as you go until no flour streaks remain, but do not overwork. (The moisture from the carrots will help slacken the mixture).
Spread the batter evenly into the cake tin and bake for 45 minutes, then cover loosely with foil and bake for a further 20-25 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes before un-moulding and cooling on a wire wrack before icing. Store in the fridge until required.

For the cinnamon icing
30g butter
150g cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
1½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp extra cinnamon
140g icing sugar

Using an electric hand mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together in a bowl until smooth.
Beat in the vanilla and the 1½ tsp of cinnamon. Gradually sieve and beat in the icing sugar until it’s all combined.
Spread thickly over the cooled cake. Dust the remaining cinnamon over the top of the cake using a sieve and decorate with sugar flowers or extra whole or chopped nuts if desired.


For the lemon icing
30g butter
100g cream cheese
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
240g icing sugar

Using an electric hand mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese and lemon zest in a bowl until smooth.
Beat in the lemon juice and gradually sift and beat in the icing sugar until its all combined.
Spread thickly over the cooled cake. Decorate the top with sugar flowers or extra whole or chopped nuts if desired.
Eat and enjoy.

Super Granola

I am a huge fan of granola, but have always relied on the occasional expensive box from the supermarket, whilst telling myself that next time I would have a shot at making my own. This weekend I decided it was time to give it a go.

The result is this super granola, for not only is it packed full of super ingredients but it also tastes super too. It was so quick and easy to make and tastes far superior to the boxed stuff, I don’t know what took me so long!

After researching lots of variations, I decided to base my granola on a recipe from What’s for lunch honey? I liked how there was not too much fat or sugar in the recipe, as I wanted it to be healthy and not leave me with a sugar rush for breakfast. I chose to use both jumbo rolled oats and porridge oats for the base and also threw in some crispy wheat flakes for added crunch and texture. After a cupboard rummage I also added linseeds, pumpkins seeds, brazil and hazelnuts. I scattered over some ground cinnamon as I think this goes well with almost anything and replaced the usual honey or sugar with a light vanilla syrup that I had leftover in the fridge.

It was then into the oven for a quick bake before scattering over some coconut and returning it to the oven to get nice and toasty. Once baked I adding some super berries in the form of dried blueberries, goji berries and dried pear, I just love how bright and attractive they make it look.The aroma from the cinnamon and toasted nuts and coconut wafted throughout the house and smelt amazing, so warm and comforting that I couldn’t wait for it to finish cooling down and ate a bowlful with just a splash of milk while it was still warm.

Everything was crisp with the oats and nuts providing a wonderfully nutty toasted taste. The cinnamon with a hint of vanilla mingled perfectly and developed as you chewed with the sweet chewy fruit coming in at the end. It was so scrummy that I kept eating handfuls every time I went into the kitchen. There’s no way I’m going back to boxed stuff, from now on it’s homemade all the way. I love how it can be adjusted so easily to suit your own tastes, don’t like nuts? Leave them out. Hate raisins? Replace them with chopped apricots. I can’t wait to try out other flavour combinations.

Super Granola

Ingredients

100g jumbo rolled oats
50g porridge oats
100g wheat flakes
25g linseeds
35g pumpkin seeds
35g brazil nuts
25g hazelnuts
2½ tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp natural oil
3 tbsp vanilla sugar syrup OR honey with 1tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp water
20g unsweetened flaked coconut
35g dried blueberries
30g goji berries
35g dried pear

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.
In a large bowl weigh out the oats, wheat flakes and seeds.
Chop the brazil nuts into quarters and the hazelnuts in half and add to the oats along with the cinnamon.
Thin down the vanilla syrup or honey in the water, stir in the oil and then drizzle it over the oaty mixture.
Use a spatula or large spoon and mix well, ensuring everything is lightly coated.
Scatter the mix onto the baking tray and place in the oven for 8-10 minutes until it’s starting to smell toasted and the edges are turning brown.
Remove from the oven and give everything a good mix to ensure even browning. Stir through the coconut and return to the oven for 8 minutes more. Keep an eye on the granola now as coconut can burn quite easily.
Remove from the oven. Dice the pear into small pieces and stir through with the rest of the fruit and leave to cool. Store in an airtight container.
Munch and enjoy.

Daring Bakers February Challenge - Pain Francais

Pain Francais or French bread was this months challenge and was selected by joint hosts Mary from The Sour Dough and Sara from I Like To Cook.

Baking some French bread might not sound like much of a challenge at first but don’t be fooled, French bread actually requires a lot of time, patience and skill. The general process turned out to be quite straightforward but it was putting those process into action that was the challenging part. The recipe instructions alone were 12 pages long – yes 12 pages and they had condensed it for us!! I don’t think I have ever made a recipe with so many stages. This was partly down to the in depth detail of the recipe and also thanks Mary and Sara who had added their own helped hints and tips along the way. These proved most helped – thanks girls.

The dough is very wet and sticky to work with, keeping it on the move proved the best way to deal with it and its stickiness becomes more manageable as time goes on. The bread goes through 3-4 rises which take in total nearly 10 hours, so this is not the kind of bread to make in a hurry – but with a little time and patience its really worth the wait. The end bread had a thin crisp golden brown crust and an airy centre that had just the right amount of chew to it. French bread likes hot humid atmospheres and this is achieved by giving the bread a sauna as it bakes by throwing in a mug full of water into the base of the oven and then slamming the door shut, trapping the hot steam inside. Just remember to stand back when you next open the oven door or you will get a face full of steam too.

We were given the choice of what style/shape of French bread we wanted to bake from the list below. The recipe would allow us to make:
3 - baguettes (24” x 2”) or batards (16” x 3”) or

6 – short loaves, ficelles, 12 – 16” x 2” or

3 – round loaves, boules, 7 – 8” in diameter or

12 – round or oval rolls, petits pains or

1 – large round or oval loaf, pain de menage or miche; pain boulot

I opted for 2 short loaves (ficelles) and 8 petits pains.

The petits pains turned out very cute and were perfect for dipping into soup, but my favourites were the ficelles which looked (to me) more traditional and how I always imagine French bread to look. They also had a higher chewy inside to crust ratio than the petits pains which I liked. Thanks Mary and Sara for the challenge it was a lot of and has given me a great respect for professional French bread bakers and the work and time involved in producing such a wonderful bread.

Please visit Mary and Sara’s blogs for the recipe and don’t forget to visit the blogroll to read about fellow Darking Bakers breads.

Mango & Lime Cake

Mango and lime is a flavour combination I have been wanting to transfer to a cake for a very long time. At first I couldn’t decide if I wanted lime or mango flavoured cake, then what sort of icing, whether or not it should have a filling etc. In the end I went for a fresh mango cake with lime icing. My next problem was making a cake batter that could handle the addition of a pureed mango without going sloppy. I was surprised to find that there are very few cake recipes that use more than just a few tablespoons of pureed mango in them. After reading many recipes I went with one from an Australian Women’s Weekly magazine that used peaches and adapted it to my needs.

I intended the icing to be an Italian buttercream but after adding the juice from two limes it went (unsurprisingly) sloppy and although it tasted lovely it was no good for icing. I added some double cream, as I know this naturally thickens in the presence of acid, and it became the perfect consistency for piping. I was actually really pleased with the icing as it was zesty and creamy, yet a lot lighter than if I had used just cream thanks to the airy meringue base. The cake itself was quite dense in texture but not heavy and stayed wonderfully moist from the mango puree. I think it’s important to ensure your mango is sweet and ripe before you use it as the flavour is quite delicate. I took it into work for the Monday Munchers where it received great feedback. One girl had three slices within about 4 hours and said it was her favourite to date.

Mango & Lime Cake
(Recipe adapted from Australian Women’s Weekly Magazine)
For the Cake
170g mango puree – flesh of 1 large mango
280g caster sugar
250g butter
4 eggs
275g self raising flour

For the Icing
1 egg white
85g caster sugar
Juice of 2 limes
Zest of 2 limes
165ml double cream

Method
Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease an 8inch/20cm deep round cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.
Prepare the mango by cutting off the ‘cheeks’ and then scoring the flesh in a square checked pattern down to the skin. Push the flesh up and cut the cubes of flesh from the skin.
Place the mango into a food processor or liquidiser and process until smooth. Then set to one side.
Cream and butter and sugar together until lift and fluffy. Add the eggs, beating well between each one.
Stir in the mango puree and then scatter the flour over the surface of the batter. Fold the flour in using a large spoon or spatula until no clumps remain.
Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 1hour 25 minutes. (After the first 40 minutes, cover the cake with foil to prevent it from over browning and bake for a further 45 minutes.)
Remove from the oven and check if a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing from the tin and placing on a wire wrack until cold.
Meanwhile, prepare the icing. Place the egg white and sugar into a large glass bowl suspended over a pan of gently simmering water.
Beat the egg white and sugar continuously for around 5-8 minutes until it becomes thick, white and doubled in volume.
Remove the bowl from the pan and slowly beat in the butter in small cubes. Then continue to whisk until cool.
Grate the rind off the two limes and set to one side. Then add the juice of both limes and half the zest to the icing. It will deflate slightly and go soft as this point but this is ok.
Pour in the double cream and whisk until thickened and at soft peak stage.
Pipe or spread the icing over the top of the cooled cake and scatter the remaining half of the lime zest over the top. Store in the fridge until required.
Serves 10-12

A MeMe About Me

Elle of Feeding my Enthusiasms has tagged me for a Meme.

INSTRUCTIONS:
Select five people to tag - mine are:
1) A Slice of Cherry Pie – Julia
2) Chunterings – Carolyn
3) A Sweet Tart – Pixie
4) Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried - Naomi
5) Green Gourmet Giraffe - Johanna

Next, send them an e-mail or let them know by commenting on their blog that they have been tagged. They are then encouraged to select 5 different bloggers and to tag them.Here are the things to blog about and my answers:

What were you doing 10 years ago?
10 years ago I was in the final year of prep school and feeling quite grown up to be one of the oldest in the school. The next term I became the youngest in the high school and felt very small and overwhelmed.

What were you doing 1 year ago?
I was in my second year of university and had just secured my placement job for September. This left me feeling thrilled at having got a job and also terrified about a year doing a ‘real’ job. I was also beginning to revise for my summer exams.

Five snacks you enjoy:
1) Apples – there is something so satisfying about biting into a crisp fresh apple. The crunch sound as you bite into it and the sweet refreshing juice that fills your mouth.
2) Dried fruit – prunes, apricots, mango and apples in particular. I love there intense flavour and sticky chewiness.
3) A slice of fresh bread, either a soft chewy white with jam or nutella or a dense flavoursome rye with cream cheese. Mmmmm
4) Cake and lots of it. I have yet to find a cake I do not like, although carrot cake is a particular favourite.
5) Rice crackers with seaweed or spices – I love there saltiness and crunchiness.

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
1) Buy a nice, but not over the top house and design by dream kitchen with walk in pantry, big oven, double fridge, lots of space and kitchen gadgets galore.
2) Set up my own little cake and bake shop – a dream I someday hope to make a reality.
3) Visit some foodie countries and samples different cuisines and cultures.
4) Give some of it to my family to do with as they wished
5) Buy copious amounts of kitchen gadgets.

Five bad habits:
1) Putting off things I don’t want to do, telling myself I will do them tomorrow.
2) Eating too many cakes or cookies after baking them – just to make sure they are ok.
3) Being lazy with the washing up – sometimes it sits there for 2-3 days before I do it all in one go – yes I know I’m awful!
4) Not keeping in regular contact with old friends.
5) Adding recipes to my ‘must try’ pile and then not making them for months, if not years.

Five things you like doing:
1) Baking - what a surprise!
2) Reading/buying cookery books – surprise number two!
3) Browsing round kitchen shops, I could spend hours getting lost in these.
4) Going for a walk in new places – I love exploring new places, wandering what’s round the next corner or clump of rocks. A light breeze, beautiful scenery and only the sheep for company.
5) Blogging and reading other food blogs – they are such a source of inspiration and allow you to dip into other cultures and learn about foods I might not otherwise have known existed.

Five things you would never wear again:
1) A pair of shocking pink silk trousers – they were a birthday present from a relative and I wore them to a school disco and remember feeling embarrassed even then.
2) A set of Barbie hair ties when I was too old for Barbie and ashamed to be wearing them – I remember tucking my hair into the back of my jumper and hoping no one would see.
3) A pair of scarlet shiny sandals with about a 1inch heal. They were my first set of heals when I was about 9 and I remember feeling so grown up in them and wanting to wear them everywhere.
4) A red net tutu, a red and silver knitted poncho and a set of red fairy wings. My friends and I decided to dress up as different coloured fairies on the last day of sixth form. We thought it was cool at the time but looking at the photos now I can’t believe I ever stepped outside my bedroom door, let along the house looking like that.
5) A pink, bright blue and lime green T-shirt in a floral pattern. Truly truly awful.

Five favorite toys:
1) My laptop – I would be lost without it
2) My camera – I still don’t understand how they work but I love how they can capture a moment in time and allow you to look back to times and places which otherwise might be forgotten.
3) The oven – not a toy as such but without it I would be a very unhappy person
4) My little KA car – its given me independence, warmth and an extra hour at home in the evenings compared to catching the bus.
5) My baking tins and moulds

Celebrating Apple & Spice with Spiced Apple Cake

It’s my blogs first birthday and what better way to celebrate a year of Apple & Spice than with a Spiced Apple Cake!

I can’t believe its been a whole year since my first cautious steps into blogging. I can still remember the thrill of that first comment – learning that someone had actually read what I had written. My enjoyment of blogging has continued to grow and I have YOU, the readers and fellow bloggers to thank for that. You have given me great friendship, encouragement, valued feedback and welcomed me into a new culinary community. So thank you and if you feel like joining in the celebration you can bake an apple cake or simply eat an apple – I’ll be happy either way.

Spiced Apple Cake
This cake is fantastically moist as it uses 3 large apples in the batter, some pureed and some diced, resulting in little pockets of appley goodness. I used cooking apples which ensured a prominent apple flavour while the accompanying mix of sugar and spices kept it sweet and flavoursome. A scattering of chopped walnuts provided a nice contrast to the soft apple. The surface of the cake cracked slightly when baking but it turned out beautifully flat and golden brown.
Ingredients
200g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp mixed spice
¼ tsp nutmeg
120g butter
100g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Bramley apple
55g walnuts

For the apple puree
2 Bramley apples
150ml water
100g caster sugar

Method
Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease an 8-9 inch spring form pan and line the base with greaseproof paper.
Start by preparing the apple puree. Peel and core the two cooking apples and dice into small chunks.
Place in a pan with the water and cook until softened and breaking down.
Mash the apple with a potato masher until you have a smoothish puree. Add the caster sugar and stir in well.
Allow to cook for 5 minute more and then remove from the heat and allow to cool while you prepare the cake batter.
For the cake, beat the butter and soft brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating them in well.
Peel and core and last cooking apple and either coarsely grate or finely dice it. Add to the egg mixture (don’t worry if it curdles) along with the cooled apple puree.
Scatter the flour, baking powder, bicarb and spices over the surface of the batter and fold into the mixture.
Chop the walnuts and stir though the apple batter. Give everything a quick beat to ensure its all incorporated and then pour it into the prepared tin.
Bake for 50-55 minutes until golden brown and springy to the touch.
Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before releasing from the tin and leaving to cool.
Serve warm or cold for afternoon tea. Ice cream, cream or custard turn it into a delicious dessert.

Double Heart Chocolate Cakes

As its Valentines Day this week I wanted to make a heart inspired treat for the Monday Munchers in honour of the occasion. I decided to make small heart cakes with the help of my fantastic heart shaped silicon muffin mould. I knew I was going to make them chocolate flavoured and I wanted to top them with some kind of heart decoration but I was unsure what to do. I went trawling through online cake dec shops for inspiration and found a heart shaped chocolate mould; two days later it landed on my doormat.

Even though I was planning to make dark chocolate cakes, I still wanted to include some red into the equation. I hit upon the idea of dying a little white chocolate red and streaking it over the chocolate moulds before filling them with white chocolate. I was unsure if it would work but I was really pleased with how they turned out, more pink than red, but they definitely stood out against the dark chocolate background.

The cakes were quick and simple to produce and were adored at work, although they did receive a few of groans from some of the men who had forgotten Valentines Day was so close. (I feel I should be thanked really or else they might have had some angry wives and girlfriends on their hands.) A small word of advice though, don’t be tempted to remove the cakes from the mould until they are almost completely cold. I tried, and my first one turned out more of a molehill than a heart – they are very fragile when warm.

If you don’t have a heart shaped mould you could always make cupcakes or bake a sheet of sponge and then stamp hearts out using a cookie cutter.

Double Heart Chocolate Cakes
For the cake
115g self raising flour
115g caster sugar
115g margarine
2 eggs
½ tsp baking powder
70g dark chocolate

For the icing
100g dark chocolate
20g butter
½ tbsp honey or golden syrup

For the chocolate hearts
100g white chocolate
40g extra white chocolate
Red food dye

To make the chocolate hearts
Melt the 40g of white chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds.
When molten, add 2 drops of red food dye and stir to produce a pretty pink colour.
Transfer the melted pink chocolate into a piping bag fitted with a small plain piping nozzle and pipe zigzag streaks across your chocolate mould. Allow to dry in the air for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the remaining 100g of white chocolate.
Then pipe or spoon the chocolate over the set pink chocolate zigzags and set aside to harden. (I left mine overnight)
Don’t be tempted to put them in the fridge to speed up the process as this can cause the chocolate to ‘bloom’ (have white speckled patches) due to the temperature change.
When completely set, tap out and store in an airtight container until required.

To make the cakes
Preheat the oven to 170C
Weight out all the ingredients, expect the chocolate, into a large bowl and beat together until light and fluffy.
Melt the dark chocolate and then quickly beat into the cake batter. The batter will become quite thick as the chocolate firms up, but don’t try to thin down with milk as the batter becomes soft once in the oven and the chocolate softens.
Spoon tablespoons of the batter into a prepared mould or muffin cases.
Bake in the oven o 15-18 minutes until risen and springy to the touch.
Allow to cool before removing from the tin.

To make the icing
Melt the chocolate, butter and honey or syrup in a small saucepan over a gently heat until molten.
Stir until amalgamated and then leave to cool for 5-10 minutes until it forms a spreadable consistency.
Then spread the cooled cakes with the icing and top with a chocolate heart.
Makes 12 cakes

This is also my entry to Zorra’s Valentines Day event.

Update: The round-up is now up - Part 1 and Part 2

Red Pepper Black Bean Dip

I made this for a quick dinner last week when I got home hungry and tired and all I wanted to do was sit on the sofa with some comfort food. I really fancied beans on toast but a quick hunt revealed no baked beans, so I decided to improvise and created this warm red pepper beany dip.

I cooked the beans briefly to help them soften up as I wanted to mash them with a potato masher to reduce the amount of washing up. I also added a spoonful of peanut butter, which I admit sounds a little odd, but in my mind I was making a sort of houmous and the peanut butter was the stand in for tahini. I added a roasted skinned red pepper from a jar and a few sun dried tomatoes for flavour. Then it was just mash mash mash and in 10-15 minutes dinner was ready.

The dip was surprisingly creamy and I really enjoyed eating it while it was still slightly warm. The peanut butter added a slight nuttiness that worked well with the beans without tasting odd. I chose to eat it with some florets of broccoli, carrot sticks and chili flavour plantain crisps, which are those banana chip looking discs in the picture. I had never had plantain crisps before but I spotted them at the shops and my curiosity got the better of me. They came in two flavours, plain and chili and I chose the chili and boy did they pack a punch, but they were perfect for dipping.

The leftover beany dip was great the following day spread onto a tortilla with some crisp lettuce, salad and grated cheese. (Sorry for the quality of the pictures but it was dark and I was hungry.

Red Pepper Black Bean Dip
Ingredients
1 can black eyed beans
1 roasted, skinned red pepper from a jar
1 tbsp sun dried tomato paste
½ tbsp smooth peanut butter
1 tbsp olive oil
150ml water
Assorted crudités for dipping

Method
Drain and rinse the beans and place into a sauce pan along with the water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes until the beans are soft.
Remove the beans from the heat. Add the red pepper, tomato paste, oil and peanut butter.
Mash everything together using a potato masher until relatively smooth, but a few lumps remain.
Spoon into a serving dish and serve with as assortment of vegetable sticks, crisps and bread for dipping.
Store any leftovers in the fridge.
Makes around 1 cup.

Blueberry Frangipane Tart

Over the weekend I was having a sort through my freezer and found some frozen blueberries and a block of pastry and decided to use them to make a tart for the Monday Munchers.

An almond frangipane was my tart of choice, for not only do blueberry and almonds go well together but the tart is also easy to make and does not need refrigerating meaning it could sit happily on the desk at work.

The tart came together in a very short time. I used the blueberries from frozen and loved how they created little pools of inky purple in the batter as they thawed, baked and bubbled. I added a layer of jam under the fruit and frangipane (I used the rhubarb and plum jam I made the day before but any jam would work well.) It has the duel purpose of adding flavour but also helps to seal the pastry and prevents it from going soggy. The frangipane was soft and moist with a wonderful almond flavour that worked well with the blueberries, themselves having intensified in flavour during baking.

The tart was well received at work and made a nice change from the usual cakes or cookies I take in. I am sure you could use any kind of fresh or frozen berry in place of the blueberries and even flavour the frangipane too, chocolate or orange springs to mind but have fun and experiment.

Blueberry Frangipane Tart
Ingredients
250g shortcrust pastry (homemade or shop bought)
100g frozen blueberries
100g butter
100g caster sugar
2 eggs
100g ground almonds
½ tsp almond essence
3 tbsp jam of your choice (I used my rhubarb and plum jam)

Method
Preheat the oven to 200C and place a baking tray into the oven to heat up.
Roll out the pastry until around 4 mm thick. Line a 23cm round tart tin with the pastry and set to one side.
Beat the butter and sugar together until smooth and fluffy. Then add the eggs, beating well until incorporated.
Stir in the ground almonds and the almond essence.
Spread your jam of choice over the base of the pastry case. Scatter over the frozen blueberries and drop spoonfuls of the frangipane mixture over the top and spread gently to form a smooth surface.
Place the tart tin onto the hot baking tray and bake for 10 minutes before reducing the oven temperature to 160C and continuing to bake for a further 20-25 minutes until the tart is slightly puffed and golden brown.
Brush the surface of the tart with a little warmed apricot jam and leave to cool before removing from the tin and serving.
Serves 8 - 12

Plum & Rhubarb Jam

What do you do when you have an excess of fruit? Make pies? Crumbles? Freeze it? Give it away? I make jam. I usually always make my own jam as I believe you simply cannot but as good a jam as homemade, no matter how expensive. I admit you can get some nicely flavoured ones, but on the whole I generally find they are too sweet and can start to crystalise a month after opening. I like to taste and see the fruit in my jam and be able to identify the fruits by its taste. Plus there is something satisfying about making your own jam, it’s very traditional and the aroma of a steaming pot of bubbling fruit is one I associate with my mum and grandmother.

Anywho, I came home on Friday with a mountain of plumbs and some seasonal rhubarb (it was local Yorkshire rhubarb too) that was left over from a project at work and set about jamming. I always like to add lemon juice when making jam as not only does it aid the gelling process but I think it helps enhance the flavour of the fruit. I also work on a ratio of two parts fruit to one part sugar, as I think using equal quantities of fruit and sugar is unnecessary unless you want a really thickly set jam. I also decided to add some brown sugar along with the usual white as brown sugar has a caramel taste to it that tastes sweeter than white sugar, meaning you need less of it to achieve the same level of sweetness.

I considered adding a bit of chopped stem ginger or vanilla into the mix, as these both go well with rhubarb, but in the end I decided to leave it simple. (Strawberry and rhubarb make a delicious combination in the summer.)

The jam was easy to make and I was able to potter around tidying up while it happily bubbled away. I love its pretty pink colour and how you can see the fine strands of rhubarb in the finished jam.

Plum & Rhubarb Jam
Ingredients
1.1kg plums
400g rhubarb
Juice of 1 lemon
150ml water
250g soft brown sugar
500g granulated sugar

Method
Wash the plums and rhubarb and cut into 2cm chunks. Place into a large pan along with the lemon juice and water.
Place the lid slightly ajar and bring the mixture to a boil. Allow to cook for 15minutes, stirring every so often to prevent the fruit from sticking to the base of the pan.
After 15minutes the fruit should be soft, broken down and pink in colour. Reduce the heat to a simmer and stir in the sugars. Continue to stir for 5 minutes to ensure the sugar is well incorporated and has not sunk to the bottom of the pan.
Leave to cook for 40-45 minutes stirring every so often.
Meanwhile place 6 jam jars and their lids onto a baking tray and place in a cold oven. Then heat the oven to 120C to sterilise the jars. The oven must be cold when you put them in otherwise you run the risk of them shattering.
When the jam begins to look thickened and glossy, place a spoonful onto a saucer and place in the fridge for a couple of minutes. Then run your finger through the jam on the saucer and if it crinkles then the jam is ready.
Remove from the heat and ladle into the hot jars. Immediately screw on the lids with the help of rubber gloves. As the hot jam cools in the sealed jar it will form a vacuum and seal the jar. You will often here a ‘pop’ as the seal indent in the top of the lids is sucked back in.
Store in a cool dark place and once opened, keep in the fridge.
Makes 5-6 jars.

Success! Gluten Free Mint Choc Chip Brownies

Some of you may know that I recently tried to bake some gluten free cookies for a work colleague without much success. They were dry, thin, brittle and quite bland in taste. Not really on the yummy scale. But, as the saying goes, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. I was determined to find a way to produce a gluten, or at least wheat free, treat that he could enjoy.

I decided to steer away from cookies and try something softer and more cake like. I know there are quite a few flourless cake recipes around, but I wanted to make something that he wouldn’t normally be able to eat. It was while I was flicking through a cookery book that I happened upon a recipe for lemon polenta cake and a little light bulb in my head lit up – ohh I could use cornmeal in place of the flour, that might work. I decided to make some brownies to find out.

The batter came together well and looked just like a standard brownie mix. I made them extra dark by adding a couple of tablespoons of Dutch process cocoa powder along with the melted chocolate into the mix. I also threw in some mint chocolate baking chips that were given to me by a good friend. I loved how dark and glossy the batter looked, and from licking the bowl I could tell it was good.

During baking the brownies rose up, but then deflated on cooling. They gave off the most wonderful chocolate smell with a hint of mint. They had a shiny crackled surface and once sliced revealed a soft, fudgey interior, almost inky black in colour thanks to the cocoa powder. I had a little nibble and they tasted yummy and really packed a punch with the mint flavour. I was amazed at how much flavour the little minty chips added. So with crossed fingers I packed them up and took them to work for the Monday Munchers.

They were received extremely well at work, with people loving their intense dark colour and strong minty flavour. I didn’t tell them they were gluten free until after people had began munching. When I told them, the look on their faces was one of utter amazement and one girl even admitted she wouldn’t have tried them if she had known (I think I put her off with the bad batch of cookies). More importantly I was then able to offer them to the guy on the wheat free diet and he described them as ‘ace’ which really made me smile. So at last a success – hurrah!

Gluten Free Minty Choc Chip Brownies
Ingredients
140g butter
100g dark chocolate
180g caster sugar
2 eggs
15g Dutch process cocoa powder
85g fine cornmeal (polenta)
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
70g mint chocolate baking chips

Method
Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease and line the base and sides of a square 8inch baking tin.
Melt the butter and chocolate together in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar followed by the cocoa powder.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, until the mixture is airy and glossy.
Sprinkle over the cornmeal and the bicarb and mix in well.
Finally fold in the mint chips and pour into the baking tin.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until risen and a skewer inserted comes out sticky but not wet from raw batter.
Allow to cool in the tin (it will sink slightly but that’s ok).
Remove from the tin and slice into 9 squares.
Store in an airtight container until required.

Note: Replacing the cornmeal with plain flour works just as well and using standard cocoa powder and a bar of mint chocolate would be fine.