Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies.

These Chocolate and Peanut Butter brownies are without a doubt the most AMAZING brownies I have ever concocted and possibly... even the most AMAZING brownies I have ever eaten in my entire life. Yes, in my ENTIRE life! And yes, I am being deadly serious so I do apologize for tooting my own horn but, needs must and I really must emphasise that anyone reading this blog post MUST run into their kitchen right now; bake these brownies immediately and gobble them up straight away without leaving a single chocolaty crumb! They have such a fudgy, moist, decadent centre with the richest most intense chocolate flavour and a subtle essence of peanut butter. There is really nothing more you could ask for of a good brownie. It is also optional to serve these warm with the simplest, creamiest, most peanutbuttery peanut butter ice cream the world has ever seen if you so desire but, honestly the brownies speak; or more so scream and shout from the rooftops; for themselves as they are utterly delicious and I have eaten enough of them now to pile on plenty of extra cocoa and peanut butter filled pounds to keep me all snuggly and warm through Autumn and Winter. 

Recipe

Makes one 27 x 20 cm tin full of sweet, luxurious, squidgy chocolate peanut butter brownies to make your mouth water and get your teeth stuck into!

For the Brownies:

100g unsalted butter

100g crunchy peanut butter

200g dark chocolate, at least 70% cocoa

4 large eggs

350g caster sugar

100g plain flour

50g cocoa powder

For the Topping:

50g smooth peanut butter, I love Skippy!

50g dark chocolate, melted

Salted peanuts to scatter, some crushed and some whole

Edible gold dust, optional

For the Peanut Butter and Cookie Dough Ice Cream:

340g smooth peanut butter, again Skippy is delicious!

300ml condensed milk

250ml natural yoghurt

300ml double cream

150g ready made chocolate chip cookie dough, broken into small pieces (this is available in the chilled section of both Tesco and Sainsburys alongside the ready to roll pastry)

A handful of Reeses mini peanut butter cups to stir through, optional

Salted peanuts, whole and crushed to decorate

Method

Note. If you would like to try the ice cream or serve it alongside the warm brownie then prepare the ice cream at least the day before baking the brownies so that it has time to freeze and set. This is a very scrumptious and very simple ice cream recipe with a strong peanut butter flavour which requires no churning as it uses condensed milk which helps to prevent ice crystals forming as the ice cream freezes. 

1. To prepare the ice cream, whisk the peanut butter, condensed milk, yoghurt and double cream in a mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer until thick, smooth and creamy. Delicately fold in the Reeses mini peanut butter cups if using and the chunks of cookie dough. Pour into a freezable container and scatter with crushed and whole salted peanuts and some more cookie dough chunks. Cover and freeze preferably overnight.

2. To make the brownies; heat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan and grease and line the brownie tin with baking parchment.  Place the butter, peanut butter and chocolate into a small saucepan and heat over a low heat until fully melted, stirring now and again until smooth. Allow this to cool.

3. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and caster sugar together with an electric whisk until the mixture is pale, has doubled in volume and leaves a trail when the beaters are lifted. Gently stir into the cooled chocolate and peanut butter mixture and sift over the flour and cocoa, folding together until fully combined.

4. Pour the brownie mixture into the lined tin and melt the 50g of topping peanut butter in the microwave briefly. If it melts you can drizzle it over the top however, my peanut butter did not melt completely so I just swirled my softened peanut butter into the top of my brownie using the back of a teaspoon which looked quite nice. Bake for approximately 35 mins and then cool in the tin until cold before drizzling with the melted dark chocolate; scattering with the salted peanuts and cutting into squares. A dusting of edible gold lustre also makes the brownies look lovely and fancy and would be the perfect edition if you decided to package these up as a gift for somebody's birthday or Christmas present. I actually packaged a stack of 4 brownie chunks into little cellophane packets for my brothers birthday on Monday which looked gorgeous and rustic tied with a bow of brown string.

Thank you for reading!

Cinnamon Apple and Salted Caramel Duffins.

Omnomnom. Have you ever seen such Autumnal sugary goodness? This recipe legitimately bundles up autumn all nice and cosy and snug in a pillowy duffin and I quite frankly cannot get enough of them. A soft and doughy doughnut muffin 'aka duffin' wrapped in a crisp, cinnamon sugar blanket; encasing a salted caramel centre and topped with a little hillock of sweet, cinnamon apple chunks. Oh my my. Please and thank you, yes I would very much like one of those whilst I frolic happily in a pile of crunchy autumn leaves.

Recipe

Makes 12 little bundles of sweet, cinnamon sugary, duffiny goodness!

For the Duffins:

210g plain flour
2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
165g caster sugar
1 large egg
188ml buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

65ml sunflower oil

For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating:

100g Unsalted butter, melted

200g caster sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

For the Apple and Cinnamon Compote:

1 Granny smith apple peeled and diced into very small cubes

20g butter

1 tsp. cinnamon

20g brown sugar

A splash of water or apple cider

For the Salted Caramel:

125g light soft brown sugar

75ml double cream

1/2 tsp. sea salt 

Method

1. Start by preparing the duffins. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan/ Gas mark 4 and sieve the plain flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar into a large bowl. Add the freshly grated nutmeg.

2. Next, whisk the buttermilk, large egg and sunflower oil together and add the vanilla extract. Pour the liquid ingredients slowly into the dry ingredients and stir using a spatula until just combined.

3. Take a 12-cup muffin tin and use a little oil to lightly grease each hole in the muffin tin. Spoon the duffin mixture into the muffin tin holes, filling them two thirds full. 

4. Bake for 20 minutes until golden and well-risen and until the surface of each duffin springs back when lightly pressed with a finger. 

5. While the duffins are baking, melt the butter in a small saucepan over a low-heat, pour into a bowl and set-aside. Now, add 200g caster sugar to another bowl and stir in 2 tsp. cinnamon to create the cinnamon sugar.

6. Remove the muffin tray from the oven once the duffins are cooked and gently lift the duffins out onto a wire cooling rack. Immediately dip the duffins into the melted butter, coating fully and then roll in either the sugar or cinnamon sugar to liberally and evenly coat them before allowing to cool completely on the wire cooling rack.       

7. Whilst cooling, prepare the apple and cinnamon compote. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat, add the brown sugar, cinnamon and a tiny splash of water and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. 

8. Add the apples and cook until soft. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. The mixture will thicken as it cools.

9. Next prepare the salted caramel. Heat the brown sugar, ½ tsp. salt and cream in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. Bubble for a few minutes as it thickens, then leave to cool. I find it easier to fill the duffins while the caramel is still a little warm though as when it is completely cool it becomes very thick and harder to work with.

10. Once the duffins are cool, use a cupcake corer, apple corer or sharp knife to gently remove the centre  of each duffin, creating a hole. Finally, fill each duffin with 1-2 tsp. salted caramel and top with a mini tower of roughly 1 tsp. apple compote and indulge and enjoy immediately!

Thank you for reading!

Coffee and Walnut Cake.

It really has become very autumnal over the last few days. There's a chill in the air and the nights are drawing in. I settled into my cosy bed last night with a big wedge of this scrumptious coffee cake and my Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets book and could not have been happier on a Sunday night. Now I love autumn. I love wrapping up warm in big chunky scarves and toasty oversized beanies and coats. I love stomping my boots through crunchy leaves of burnt orange, forest green, copper and bronze. I love woodland walks with the wind nipping at my rosy cheeks and twigs snapping under my feet. I love clasping my hands around a mug of hot chocolate towered high with a mountain of cream. Autumn and Winter are definitely my most favourite times of the year and also the times which really offer the best of the best grub I do believe- with big hearty, warming meals and indulgent cakes and desserts to tuck into and as such, I felt like a nice, BIG slice of this coffee and walnut cake was definitely an essential for a lazy September Sunday.   

A moist, mellow flavoured, mouthwatering crumbly coffee sponge dotted with walnut pieces, sandwiched together with lashings of sweet, fluffy coffee buttercream and finished off with crunchy praline walnut halves and mocha bean and walnut white chocolate shards. Simply delicious.

Recipe

Makes 1 humongous and tantalising 3 tier naked layer cake, could anything be better than that?

For the cake:

265g unsalted butter
265g light brown sugar
4 large eggs, beaten
4 1/2 tbsp. strong black coffee 
265g self-raising flour
2 tsp. baking powder
175g walnut pieces

For the coffee icing: (For the most marvelous and moreish icing that you just cannot stop dipping your finger in/ eating whole overflowing spoonfuls of/ restrain yourself from licking the whole entire bowl spotlessly clean of:)

230g softened unsalted butter
400g icing sugar
2 tbsp. strong black coffee
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the white chocolate, mocha bean and walnut shards:
100-200g melted white chocolate
Mocha beans and walnut pieces and halves to scatter onto the melted chocolate

For the walnut praline:
100g caster sugar
8 walnut halves

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/ fan 160°C and grease and line the bottom of 3x 20cm loose-bottom cake tins.

2. Cream together the butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Beat in the coffee.

3. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and fold in until fully combined. Fold in the walnut pieces.

4. Pour equal amounts into the prepared cake tins and bake for 20-25 minutes minutes until bronze, risen and the surface springs back when pressed lightly with a finger. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for 10-20 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

5. Prepare the chocolate shards. Melt the white chocolate in a pyrex dish over a pan of simmering water. Once melted, pour onto a parchment/ grease proof paper lined baking tray. Spread the white chocolate using a knife, spoon or palette knife to form a smooth slab of chocolate. Scatter with mocha beans and walnut pieces or halves. Allow to firm up, refrigerating if needed to ensure that the chocolate is solid. Once hardened but still slightly soft, the chocolate can be cut into triangles or shards. Alternatively, wait until completely solid and the chocolate slab can be snapped into shards.

6. Prepare the praline walnut halves. In a saucepan over a low-medium heat, warm the caster sugar until the sugar melts and dissolves to form a glossy, deep bronze caramel. Stir through the walnut halves and use a spoon to transfer the hot toffee coated walnuts onto a parchment/ grease proof paper lined tray or baking sheet. Allow to go solid. Note. work quickly when dunking the walnuts as the toffee praline hardens almost instantly as the toffee cools.  

7. Prepare the icing. Add the softened butter to a bowl and sieve in the icing sugar. Add the vanilla extract and coffee. Beat together until thick, pale, smooth and creamy. Sandwich each layer of sponge together with icing, covering the cake entirely and scraping the sides with a clean palette knife to remove excess and create a naked layer look. Top with the white chocolate shards and create a border of alternating mocha beans and praline walnut halves.

Alternatively. for a more rustic, simple look just create a border of plain walnut halves and mocha beans around the cake edge. Simply wonderful. 

8. Grab a slice!... or maybe just gobble up the whole thing! Can anyone really ever have too much coffee cake?

Thank you for reading!

Garden Cake.

As the warm summer days draw to a close and more thankfully our bodies are no longer called upon to be bikini ready - let’s drown our sorrows for the soon to be forgotten sunshine filled days with a good old slab of cake, and just in time to tuck into with tonight’s second helping of bake-off as well. Slightly delayed is this post for Garden cake as last week was cake week in the tent whereas this week is all about biscuits however, it is always a good time to indulge in cake and this is a very good cake to indulge in indeed. Largely taken from Justin Gellatly’s Bread, Cake, Doughnut, Pudding cookbook; just scaled up and paired with my favourite orange cream cheese frosting; this cake is scrumptious. Sweet; lightly spiced; nutty and mind-blowingly moist. I love a good carrot cake, in fact it is my favourite of all cakes and this is up there with the best I’ve tried. Walnuts and courgettes are a very wonderful and welcome addition too but, do perhaps warn any eager eaters who aren’t avid bakers that the green flecks in the sponge are in fact courgette and most definitely are supposed to be there and no your wonderful cake is not speckled with mould. How very dare you!?

Decorate with edible flowers from; rose petals to violas; and fuchsia to lavender and you have yourself an utterly delicious cake ready to devour as you bid a fond farewell to the sun-kissed days August brought us.

Recipe

Makes 1 ginormous and delicious 3-4 tier naked layer cake, aren't you lucky?

For the cake:

190g carrots, peeled and grated

190g cougette, grated

210g walnuts, finely chopped

zest of 1 1/2 oranges

6 eggs

330g caster sugar

330g light brown sugar  (yep, that's one hefty amount of sugar to coat my teeth but also one delightful dollop of sweetness to fill my belly. I know which one wins for me!)

450ml vegetable oil

450g plain flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. bicarbonate of soda

3/4 tsp. grated nutmeg

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp. ground ginger

a pinch of salt

For the cream cheese icing: (For the most tantalising, terrific icing you have ever tasted in your life, please see below:)

100g softened unsalted butter

250g full fat cream cheese 

zest of 1 orange

600g icing sugar

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/ fan 160°C and grease and line the bottom of 4x 20cm loose-bottom cake tins.

2. Add the grated carrot and courgette to a large mixing bowl with the chopped walnuts and orange zest and mix well. 

3. Add the eggs, sugars and oil and beat well for a couple of minutes with an electric whisk. 

4. Sieve in the flour, spices, baking powder and bicarb and fold in until fully combined. 

5. Pour equal amounts into the prepared cake tins and bake for 30-35 minutes until bronze, risen and the surface springs back when pressed gently with a finger. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

6. Prepare the icing. Add the softened butter, cream cheese and orange zest to a bowl and sieve in the icing sugar. Beat together until thick, stiff, pale, smooth and fluffy. 

7. Sandwich each layer together with icing, covering the cake entirely and scraping the sides with a clean spatula to remove excess and create a naked layer look. Scatter with edible flowers and mint leaves. 

Note. I produced 4 layers of carrot, courgette and walnut cake however, only used three layers to make my cake as I felt it was tall enough. If you feel the same, why not make cake pops with the remaining sponge? Just crumble your cake to fine crumbs and stir in some remaining cream cheese icing before moulding into small balls. Place on a baking paper/parchment lined tray and cool in the freezer until fairly solid. Melt white chocolate and coat the cake balls before returning to the freezer to dry the chocolate. To decorate why not stick on a crystallized flower or two before the chocolate dries?  

8. Tuck in!

Thank you for reading!