Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cake

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

Before I started my dairy-free diet I didn't really eat many cakes and biscuits, but now I'm eating even less as there aren't that many sweet things that don't contain dairy.

So far I've only tried baking dairy-free rock cakes and some biscuits with relative success (I want to play with the recipes before I write a post). But I've lost a few pounds in weight (that I didn't want to lose) since I started this diet and so I thought it was time to start eating more cake.

I found this recipe on the brilliant Joy The Baker blog. Using avocado in a cake was a totally new concept, but I am supposed to be eating more of them for the good fats they provide, so it seemed like a good idea to try this cake. I really wanted Steve's family to try this cake, so I decided not to make the garish avocado frosting and opted for a simple chocolate butter icing instead. I used Vitalite as it's dairy-free and it's a Vegan Society approved product, so it's still a vegan cake if that's what you're looking for.

TASTE TEST:
Well Steve said this was the best chocolate cake he's ever eaten; so I definitely got the thumbs up from him! But his Mum was less keen on this cake as it was too dense and chewy for her tastes. I think it's because this cake is so incredibly moist; rather than the buttery and light sponge that she is used to making. Another reason for the heavier texture is I added too much flour (see below). I would make this again as it had a good chocolate flavour and it would have been perfect if I'd got the flour right!

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:
I always worry when I bake using recipes that measure in cups, because baking requires you to be very precise and using cups can give you so many variations. My 3 cups of flour came to 465g, which did seem like an awful lot. I've checked on a few websites and 1 cup is between 120-130g; so 3 cups would be between 360-384g. So I definitely overdid the flour! This is because I followed Ina Garten's method of using the cup to scoop flour out of the bag and then leveled off with the back of a knife. But I've now read this is the wrong way to do it! You should spoon the flour into your cup and then level it off. Here is a good article explaining how it should be done. I'm always learning!

I used 1.5 cups of caster sugar instead of 2 cups of granulated sugar, as I always reduce the amount of sugar in baking.

I used 1/4 teaspoon of table salt instead of the 1/2 teaspoon salt.

I used 2 Tablespoons lemon juice instead of the 2 Tablespoons of white vinegar as I didn't have any. I read you can substitute lemon for vinegar in most recipes. You have to include some sort of acid to react with the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) as this is what will make your cake rise in absence of the eggs. I owe any semblance of chemistry knowledge to Alton Brown!

My avocado wasn't as ripe as I'd like it to have been, so I squashed it through my potato ricer as I thought this would be the best way to mash it up and it did work!

The recipe below is how I made it, you can find the original here.

• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• Oven shelf: middle
• You will need: two 8-inch sandwich tins, greased and lined with non-stick baking paper

Ingredients:

• 3 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
• 6 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Bournville)
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 1.5 cups caster sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup soft avocado, well mashed, about 1 medium avocado
• 2 cups water
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice (that's the juice of 1 lemon)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C.  
2. Grease and line your tins. Set aside.
3. Sift together all of the dry ingredients except the sugar.  Set that aside too.
4. Mix all the wet ingredients together in a bowl, including the super mashed avocado.
5. Add sugar into the wet mix and stir.
6. Mix the wet with the dry all at once, and beat with a whisk (by hand) until smooth.
7. Pour batter into a greased cake tins. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. To ensure even baking, turn your cakes after half the cooking time has elapsed.
8. Let cakes cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto cooling racks to cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Butter Icing (an adaptation of a recipe from The Great British Bake Off Book):

• 125g Vitalite
• 390g icing sugar
• 4 Tablespoon milk (I used Rice Dream rice milk to make it dairy-free)
• 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder (I used Bournville)

1. Put the Vitalite in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until paler in colour and very creamy.
2. Sift the icing sugar in the bowl.
3. Add the rice milk and cocoa and beat in with a spatula to get all the icing sugar incorporated before switching to the electric mixer until very smooth and thick.

This makes loads of icing and I had quite a bit leftover. 

Booja-Booja Dairy Free Chocolate Truffles

Booja-Booja Espresso Chocolate Truffles - The Artist's Collection

Steve's sister was given these truffles from a PR company and she brought them over at Christmas as she didn't want them. Since I've been on my dairy free diet I haven't been eating many cakes, biscuits and sweets. It hasn't been a problem for me as I don't have a particularly sweet tooth, but it was nice to have an alternative to the Green & Black's chocolate that I've been eating. Plus I loved the box and it will be handy to keep my jewellery in it.

I was intrigued to try these truffles as they are dairy free and I didn't think it was possible to make truffles without dairy, as Steve and I made them during our stay at the Aviator Hotel and it was a simple mix of melted chocolate and double cream.

For some reason the ingredients for these espresso truffles aren't listed on the Booja-Booja website so I've copied them from the label on the box:
Chocolate (cocoa solids 55%, cane sugar, emulsifier: soya lecithin, vanilla), Coconut Oil, Water, Coffee 5%, Agave Syrup, Cocoa Powder.

Truffles aren't my favourite chocolates so I'm not an expert, but these were quite nice. I don't think they were as creamy as traditionally made truffles, but they were very close in texture. The chocolate flavour was deep and rich and the espresso provided just the right amount of coffee.

I personally wouldn't buy these for myself as they are very expensive. These truffles came in a beautiful handmade wooden box, so they retail for around £23. A standard box is around £7 which is still a lot of money for 16 chocolates, even if they are handmade.


I thought it would be a good idea to try making a hot chocolate from the truffles and I actually preferred consuming them this way. 

To make one serving:
I heated 200ml of Rice Dream (rice milk) in the microwave for 1 min 45 seconds and then stirred in 2 of the truffles until they melted and then added half a teaspoon of vanilla sugar. This produced a very chocolately hot chocolate and it's a good way for me to eat more calories as I've lost so much weight since going dairy free!
200ml Rice Dream = 94kcal
2 truffles = 122kcal
1/2 teaspoon sugar = 8kcal
Total calories = 224

Chocolate fudge brownies with Chocolate Drizzle

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

 

Even though I thought I’d found the perfect brownie recipe with my Best Ever Chocolate Brownies recipe, I still like to try new recipes to see if there is one better.

 

Steve’s Mum picked me up a recipe card from Tesco’s for their Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownies with Chocolate Drizzle and it looked extremely good. I liked the fact it contained less sugar (I always add less than the recipes state anyway) and a bit more flour. Even though I like brownies to be squidgy, they can sometimes be too squidgy and almost runny.

 

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:

As I stated, I used less sugar – 200g instead of 225g – and I used a mixture of half soft brown sugar and half caster sugar.

 

I didn’t have enough dark chocolate, so I substituted some with milk chocolate, which I think gives a good balance anyway. The milk chocolate was used for the chunks mixed in at the end and also for the chocolate drizzle. I didn’t need to add any water to the drizzle as it was runny enough.

 

I used a different sized tin than what the recipe stated. I used a 9-inch square metal disposable box which are the perfect size for baking brownies as they’re quite deep. I lined the tin first with a strip of non-stick baking paper to make the brownies easier to remove.

 

TASTE TEST:

Everyone loved these brownies and Steve’s Mum said they were the best she’d ever tasted! So I think I’ll be using this recipe from now on!

 

I think I could reduce the sugar even more next time, especially as I used part milk chocolate which is quite sweet anyway.

 

I’ve written the recipe as I made it – you can find the original on the Tesco website.

 

• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• Oven shelf: middle
• You will need: square 9-inch tin, lined with non-stick baking paper

 

Ingredients:

For the brownies

• 175g (6oz) plain chocolate, broken into pieces
• 140g (5oz) butter, cut into pieces
• 3 large eggs
• 100g (4oz) caster sugar
• 100g (4oz) soft brown sugar
• 100g (4oz) plain flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1tbsp cocoa powder
• 50g (2oz) milk chocolate, chopped into little chunks

 

For the chocolate drizzle icing

• 25g (1oz) milk chocolate, broken into pieces
• 2tbsp double cream
• ½ tsp golden caster sugar

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C. Line a 9-inc square tin with non-stick baking paper.
2. For the brownies: Place the dark chocolate into a small heavy-based pan with the butter. Melt over a low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
3. When the chocolate has cooled, whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer, until thick, pale, fluffy and almost doubled in volume. Pour in the cooled chocolate, then gently fold in. Sift over the flour, baking powder and cocoa and gently fold in. Carefully stir in the chopped milk chocolate, without over-mixing.
4. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and lightly spread it into all the corners. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the middle is just set and the top is slightly crusty. (If still wobbly in the centre, leave a bit longer.) Remove and leave until completely cold before removing from the tin.
5. For the icing: Put the chocolate into a small heavy-based pan with the cream and sugar. Melt over a low heat very briefly, just until the chocolate starts to melt, removing it before it boils. Drizzle over the brownies (I found using a whisk was the best way to get a random drizzle) then, when set, cut into 16 squares.

 

Cook's Tip

Leave the brownies in the tin until completely cold, as they'll crack if turned out too early.

Triple Chocolate Cookies made healthier!

 

MUNCH RATING: 3/5

 

I saw this recipe in the April issue of BBC Good Food magazine and they looked really good. But Steve and I are still on a sort of health kick, so I decided to tweak the recipe and make it a bit healthier.

 

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:

First of all I reduced the amount of caster sugar (the original calls for golden but I only had normal) and I only used the milk chocolate instead of adding dark and white chocolate chips/chunks. I also only used 100g of milk chocolate instead of 140g as I only had one 100g bar!

I didn’t use an ice cream scoop or measuring spoon to form balls of the dough, I just used my hands. For the first batch I made the balls about the size of a walnut and they were quite large. The recipe didn’t state to flatten the cookies, so even after they were baked they were really thick and still quite ball shaped. So I had to flatten them whilst they were still soft and bake them for a bit longer, about 15 minutes in total.

For the second batch I made the balls a bit smaller, about the size of a cherry tomato, and I flattened them so they were about 1cm thick. I baked these for 9 minutes and they were much better.

 

TASTE TEST:

I didn’t really like the taste of these cookies, but Steve and his Mum thought they were very nice. The texture was quite good, slightly crispy/crunchy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside.

 

The recipe below is how I made the cookies. You can find the original here.

 

• Makes: 24
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C
• You will need: baking sheets lined with Magic liner or non-stick baking paper

 

Ingredients:

• 100g soft brown sugar
• 50g caster sugar
• 100g butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 225g plain flour
• 100g milk chocolate, melted

 

Directions:

1. Heat oven to Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C. Line 1-2 baking sheets with baking parchment.
2. Mix the sugars and butter together with a wooden spoon, then add the egg, vanilla, flour and half the melted milk chocolate and mix together.
3. Using your hands, form balls of cookie dough about the size of a cherry tomato and place them onto the baking trays (they don’t spread much, so you can place them quite close together). Flatten the balls with your hands so they’re about 1cm thick.
4. Bake in batches for 8-9 minutes until pale golden and still soft to touch - they will firm up as they cool. Carefully transfer to a wire rack as soon as they can be lifted up, then drizzle with the remaining melted chocolate.

Chocolate French Macaroons a.k.a. Mandy Macs

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

 

OK, the picture above doesn’t look like French macaroons and that’s because they went a bit wrong! I used the recipe from the April issue of Delicious magazine and I did a bit of research online for some hints and tips, but I still failed.

 

One of the tips was to use old egg whites. I had a load stashed in the freezer which I defrosted in the fridge overnight and then left out on the counter to come to room temperature. This apparently helps to whisk them more stiffly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My main downfall was that I missed out the step of sifting the ground almonds and icing sugar. So the mixture was really thick and I must have over-mixed as I was trying to get the “ribbon-like consistency as it falls from the spatula”. I knew that the mixture wasn’t right, but I proceeded anyway as I didn’t think I could save this mess! It’s funny because I did consider only using 100g instead of 125g of ground almonds as I didn’t really want to open another packet. If I’d done this, then maybe the mixture wouldn’t have been so thick.

 

I used a 1cm plain nozzle inserted into a food bag and it was quite hard to pipe out the mixture. As you can see they don’t look particularly appealing and it looks like I should have got busy with a pooper scooper! I did tap the baking trays on the counter to give them a ‘foot’ but the mixture was so thick that it made no difference.

 

 

 

Another tip I read online was to bake them with the door propped open. So I baked one batch with the door slightly ajar, and the second batch with the door closed. They all came out exactly the same: domed and cracked!

 

 

 

 

 

 

So they looked nothing like they should, but I filled some anyway with Nutella and tried them. They actually tasted really nice and had a lovely chewy texture, like a brownie. Steve preferred to eat them as singles with Nutella spread on them. He declared this new type of macaroon should be called Mandy Macs (quite fitting as his surname is Macfarlane, so when we marry I will be Mandy Macfarlane). Steve’s sister is the only one of us who’s actually tried a proper French macaroon and she said they were nothing like what I’d made, but she thought they were very nice anyway!

 

I will have another go at making French macaroons, but I will probably try a different recipe. But my Mandy Macs will also be made again and hopefully I will be able to recreate this new sweet treat! So here’s my recipe for Mandy Macs:

 

• Makes: about 32 singles
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 3/325°F/170°C
• Oven shelf: middle

 

Ingredients:

• 110g icing sugar
• 65g cocoa powder (I used Bournville)
• 125g ground almonds
• 3 large free-range egg whites
• 75g caster sugar
• Nutella to fill or spread

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 3/325°F/170°C. Whizz the icing sugar, cocoa and ground almonds in a food processor to a very fine mixture.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt to soft peaks, then gradually whisk in the caster sugar until thick and glossy.
3. Fold half the almond, cocoa and icing sugar mixture into the meringue and mix well. Add the remaining half and mix for a few minutes until well incorporated.
4. Spoon into a piping/food bag fitted with a 1cm plain nozzle (tip: place the bag in a glass so you have both hands free).
5. Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper. Pipe small rounds of the macaroon mixture, about 3cm across, onto the baking sheets. Leave to stand at room temperature for 15 minutes to form a slight skin then bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.
6. Use the Nutella to sandwich the macs together or just spread on single ones.

Chocolate Cupcakes – Hummingbird Bakery

 

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

 

I bought the Hummingbird Bakery book when I visited the BBC Good Food Show in London back in November, as it was a bargain at only £4.99 from The Book People. But I have been reluctant to try any of the recipes because I’d read so many bad reviews about the book. Lots of people said that the recipes had been badly converted from the quantities that the bakery uses and that the recipes hadn’t been properly tested.

 

But then other people had raved about the book and I like to set myself a challenge in the kitchen, so I wanted to see if I could get at least one recipe from the book to work!

I decided to start with one of the cupcake recipes as that is what Hummingbird Bakery are famous for and from my baking experience the quantity of the ingredients in the recipe looked in proportion.

 

However, I was intrigued that so little butter was necessary for these cupcakes and I tried to convince myself that they were therefore a bit healthier than other cupcakes I’ve made in the past! Never mind that they’re full of sugar and slathered with icing!

 

The recipe says you can use a hand-held electric whisk or a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment. I chose to use the latter as I thought it would do a better job at mixing, as it has more speed settings than my ancient electric whisk, so I’d have better control. Plus an online friend told me that to get really fluffy icing it’s best to use an electric mixer, so it was worth digging it out from the back of the cupboard.

 

The method in the recipe was a bit alien to me as it tells you to beat the dry ingredients with the butter and sugar, then add the wet ingredients. I am used to creaming the butter and sugar first, then adding eggs and then adding the dry ingredients. But I followed the recipe exactly and everything went smoothly.

 

The recipe says it makes 12 cupcakes and it specifically says to use muffin paper cases. But I only managed to get 7 cupcakes from the mixture and I have read other people had the same experience. If you used normal fairy cake paper cases then you could easily make 12, but there’s no way you could make 12 muffin sized ones!

 

I checked my cupcakes after 20 minutes, but I had to bake them for about 30 minutes (but our gas oven isn’t that great) and I was a bit worried when they came out of the oven. They had sunk a little and didn’t look too pretty! But I guess that is what icing was invented for! I only made half a batch of icing because I didn’t have as many cupcakes and this was plenty.

 

 

TASTE TEST:

Well the cupcakes went down a storm with Steve’s family! They were really light and moist and Steve’s Mum said they were the best cupcakes I’ve made so far! So she now has a new favourite! Steve really liked the slightly chewy top of the cupcake, which he said reminded him of brownies.

 

I was really surprised they were so well received, but it has given me more confidence to try out more recipes from the book. I am also very curious as to what the real cupcakes from the Hummingbird Bakery are like and if mine were the same.

 

• Makes: 12 (if using small paper cases) or 7 muffin sized cupcakes
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 3/325°F/170°C
• You will need: a cupcake tray lined with paper cases

 

Ingredients:

• 100g plain flour, sifted
• 20g cocoa powder, sifted
• 140g caster sugar
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• a pinch of salt (I omitted this as I used salted butter)
• 40g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 120ml whole milk (I used semi-skimmed)
• 1 egg (I used a large one)
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 3/325°F/170°C.
2. Put the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined.
3. Whisk the milk, egg and vanilla extract together in a jug, then slowly pour about half into the flour mixture, beat to combine and turn the mixer up to high speed to get rid of any lumps.
4. Turn the mixer down to a slower speed and slowly pour in the remaining milk mixture (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Continue mixing for a couple more minutes until the mixture is smooth. Do not overmix.
5. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
6. When the cupcakes are cool, spoon the icing on top and decorate if you like.

 

Half a batch of Chocolate Icing:

Beat 150g sifted icing sugar, 50g soft butter and 20g sifted cocoa in an electric mixer on medium-slow until the mixture comes together and is well mixed (for this small quantity of icing you may need to add a dribble of the milk to help it come together). Then turn the mixer down to slow and add 20ml milk gradually and keep mixing until it has been fully incorporated. Then turn the mixer up to a high speed and beat for about 5 minutes until the icing is light and fluffy.

Mini Meringues with hazelnuts and chocolate

 

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

 

Today on Saturday Kitchen James Martin made a variety of meringues, so I decided to make this Matt Tebbutt recipe that I’d pulled out of BBC Good Food magazine recently as I had loads of egg whites stashed in the freezer. The recipe posted on the Good Food Channel website has some errors, so I’ve copied it from my magazine.

 

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:

Matt sandwiched his meringues together with cream, but I’m not a huge fan of cream so I’ve left them as they are. These meringues are incredibly light and crispy, but they still have a little bit of chewiness to them (not as chewy as a Pavlova meringue – for that you need to add cornflour or white vinegar).

 

The combination of chocolate and hazelnuts compliments the sweetness of the meringue and it reminded me of Ferrero Rocher.

 

They were really easy to make but they look quite impressive. I like the little peaks on the top and they actually made it easier to dip into the chocolate and nuts as I had something to hold onto!

 

• Makes: 24 individual ones or 12 if sandwiched with cream
• Oven temperature: Gas ¼/225°F/100°C (we have a gas Rangemaster oven, so I set it to halfway between ‘S’ and 1)
• You will need:  2 baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper/silicone

 

Ingredients:

• 50g shelled and skinned hazelnuts, toasted
• 3 egg whites
• 140g caster sugar
• 75g dark chocolate, chopped (I used 100g)
• 180ml double cream (optional)
• 1 tsp icing sugar (optional)

 

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 100C/80C fan/gas ¼.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with non-stick baking paper.
3. Put the nuts into a food processor and whizz until finely chopped, taking care not to over-process them.
4. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until they resemble stiff peaks.
5. Gradually whisk in the sugar a spoonful at a time, to form a thick glossy meringue. (A good test is to turn your bowl upside down – the meringue is ready if it doesn’t fall out!).
6. Using a teaspoon (I used a melon baller) spoon 24 small heaps of meringue onto the baking paper. Bake for about 1 hour or until crisp. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.
7. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water (or in the microwave). 
8. Dip the flat side of each meringue in the chocolate and then into the chopped hazelnuts. Leave to set on a wire rack (or back onto the baking paper, chocolate side up!). 
9. Whip the cream with the icing sugar until thickened, then use to sandwich the meringues together.

 

COOK’S NOTES:

• I used 100g of chocolate and this was just enough to coat all the meringues and I was literally scraping the bottom of the bowl!
• I had to swap my 2 trays around in the oven halfway through cooking so that they cooked evenly.

Profiteroles (Choux Pastry)

 

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

 

After watching the episode of Good Eats called ‘Choux Shine’ I decided to follow Alton Brown’s advice of using bread flour when making choux pastry. I didn’t use his recipe though, I just used bread flour instead of plain flour in a recipe I already had, because his recipe makes 48 profiteroles and I didn’t want that many. I’m not sure the bread flour makes a huge difference, but they did puff up in the oven and didn’t deflate when I took them out, which is the problem that some people have.

 

 

I’m not a huge fan of cream, so I filled them with ice cream instead. The chocolate sauce is really gorgeous and so easy to make. This quantity of sauce will be enough for 6-8 people, so I just put the remainder in the fridge where it can stay for 3 days.

 

I will try Alton’s recipe next time, as this recipe only makes 12 and they went down very well, so I’m sure that more will be needed for next time!

 

• Makes: 12 profiteroles
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 7/425°F/220°C then reduce to Gas mark 5/375°F/190°C
• You will need: a deep saucepan, a baking sheet lined with parchment or Magic Non-Stick Liner.

 

Ingredients:

FOR THE CHOUX PASTRY

• 25g butter
• 150ml water
• 50g plain or bread flour
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 egg, beaten

FOR THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE

• 100g plain chocolate (I used Asda Value)
• 150ml double cream
• 2 Tablespoons golden syrup

FOR THE FILLING

• Vanilla ice cream (I used Carte D'Or)

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 7/425°F/220°C.
2. Sift the flour onto a piece of greaseproof paper.
3. Put the butter and water into a deep saucepan and heat until the butter has melted. Bring to the boil.
4. Then add all the flour at once and quickly lift off the heat, beating hard with a wooden spoon until you get a smooth, thick paste that comes away from the sides of the saucepan (about 30-40 seconds). If necessary replace the pan over the heat and beat for a few minutes.
5. With the pan off the heat, add the egg yolk and beat really well until it is incorporated (it might seem like it has curdled and won’t mix in, but persevere!), then add the beaten egg a little at a time (you might not need it all) beating continuously. The mixture should be thick and shiny and be able to stand up on its own.
6. Place the choux pastry into a piping bag with a 1cm plain nozzle and pipe blobs in a circular motion onto the lined baking sheet.
7. Bake for 10 minutes at Gas mark 7/425°F/220°C, then reduce to Gas mark 5/375°F/190°C for 20 minutes, until they are golden brown and feel dry to the touch.
8. Remove from the oven, then use a skewer to poke a hole in the bottom of each one to allow the steam to escape and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Split the profiteroles in half, then sandwich the halves together with a generous teaspoon of vanilla ice cream.
10. To make the sauce: Place the chocolate, double cream and golden syrup in a small saucepan and gently heat until the chocolate has melted and the sauce is smooth and glossy. Pour over the profiteroles.

 

COOK’S NOTES:

• I recommend watching Alton’s ‘Choux Shine’ episode to get a really good idea of how to make choux pastry, as he shows you what the texture should be like. It’s also quite an amusing episode!
• Since my piping bag busted, I used a plastic food bag instead (like Alton suggests) and it worked really well.
• I made the pastry by hand, which was fine, but when I try Alton’s recipe I will use a mixer because it is a much bigger quantity and it will be easier to incorporate all those eggs!

‘Choux Shine’ episode Part 1

‘Choux Shine’ episode Part 2

 

Steve’s Birthday Chocolate Cake

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

Today was Steve’s birthday!

His Mum usually makes him a cake, but this year we agreed I would have the honour. Even though I’m pretty confident at knocking out a cake or batch of biscuits for afternoon tea, making a celebratory cake was a bit daunting as you want it to be perfect for the special occasion!

So I didn’t want to try anything too ambitious, but I still wanted it to be special. I wanted to make him the Ultimate Chocolate Cake from the BBC Good Food website, but a mix up with the food shopping meant that I didn’t have any buttermilk which is a vital ingredient. So instead I used the sponge recipe from the Chococcino Cake which I loved as it was moist and dense and it didn’t require any special ingredients. I didn’t have any mascarpone to make the icing, so I just made a chocolate buttercream which I nicked from a Rachel Allen recipe and it worked well. I tried to make chocolate curls but failed – I think the chocolate needed to be a bit warmer, but it’s such a cold rainy day today and the central heating hadn’t kicked in properly yet.

The cake still looked and tasted good so I was happy. I’ve also made him his favourite for dinner: Thai Massaman Curry. For dessert he requested Crème Brulee, which I made slightly differently so check out that recipe to read the verdict!

• Makes: 1 8-inch round cake
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• You will need: 2x 8-inch (20cm) round loose-bottomed sandwich tins

Ingredients for the sponge:

• 200g soft, butter, plus extra for greasing (I used Stork)
• 200g golden caster sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 140g self-raising flour, sifted
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 85g good-quality cocoa powder (I used Bournville)
• 2 Tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. Heat oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C.
2. Grease 2 x 20cm non-stick round sandwich tins.
3. Place the butter and sugar into a food processor and whizz until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one, whizzing after each egg until it is incorporated (you can add a tablespoon of flour with each egg to prevent it from curdling). Add the flour, cocoa and baking powder and process until smooth. Then add the milk and whizz again.
4. Divide the mix between the cake tins (use your spatula to create a slight dip in the middle so that when it bakes the top is level), then bake for 20-25 mins until it feels springy to the touch and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
5. When cool enough to handle, remove the cakes from the tins but leave on the bases to cool completely on a rack.

For the icing:

1. Place 75g room temperature unsalted butter in a food processor with 1 Tablespoon double cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and whizz until smooth. Then add 175g icing sugar and 1 Tablespoon good quality Cocoa powder and continue to mix until well incorporated. If it’s a cold day, you might need to add a little bit more cream to make it a spreading consistency.
2. Spread the icing over both of the cakes, then stack them.
3. Use a vegetable peeler to make curls of chocolate from a bar, this should work better if the chocolate is slightly warm.

Coconut and Chocolate Macaroons

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

I have an aversion to coconut, not so much the flavour as I like coconut milk in curries, but it’s the texture of desiccated coconut that I dislike. But Steve and his Mum really like macaroons and I had loads of leftover egg whites*, so I thought I’d give this recipe a shot.

It’s an incredibly easy recipe to make and the great thing is you can make up the dough and refrigerate it for up to a week or you can freeze it for 2 months.
They got a big thumbs up from Steve and his Mum. Bonus points were awarded to them being crispy/crunchy on the outside and nice and chewy in the middle. Of course I had to try one myself and I have to say that they weren’t as bad as I thought they would be! The texture of the coconut is still quite strong, but it wasn’t disgusting and I managed to eat a whole one!

• Makes: about 15
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• You will need: a medium saucepan, a silicone mat/parchment on a baking sheet

Ingredients:

• 4 large egg whites (100ml/100g)
• 260g (1¼ cups) white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 200g (2½ cups) unsweetened coconut**
• 45g (¼ cup) plain flour
• 50g dark chocolate, broken into pieces

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, mix together the egg whites, white sugar, vanilla sugar, salt, honey, coconut and flour.
2. Heat the mixture over low-to-medium heat on the hob, stirring constantly, scraping the bottom as you stir.
3. When the mixture starts to smell lovely and toasty (the smell of coconut is yummy!) and it just begins to scorch at the bottom (the egg white looks like it’s cooking on the bottom of the pan but it shouldn’t colour), remove from heat. Transfer to a bowl to cool to room temperature.
   (At this point, the mixture can be chilled for up to one week, or frozen for up to two months.)
4. When ready to bake, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat*** and preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C.
5. With your hands form the dough into balls the size and shape of golf balls and place them on the baking sheet about 1 inch apart (they won’t spread too much).
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until deep golden brown. Cool completely.
7. To coat the macaroons in chocolate: melt the chocolate in the microwave for 45-50 seconds on high. Dip the macaroons in the chocolate (top or bottom, it’s up to you) and put back on the baking sheet chocolate side up. Refrigerate 5-10 minutes, until the chocolate is set.

COOK’S NOTES:
*You can freeze egg whites and the best way is to put each individual egg white into an ice cube tray, so it’s easy to measure them out. You can also keep egg whites in the fridge for a couple of weeks in an airtight container.
**Available from supermarkets but it’s usually better value to buy from health food shops like Holland & Barrett/Julian Graves.
***I tried cooking these in my mini muffin tins because they were just the right size and they sort of came out in a mushroom shape which was cute. But you have to let them cool down so that they set, otherwise they just rip in half. So they were sitting in the tin (whilst I was watching Slumdog Millionaire) and they got soggy bottoms. Even though I’d greased the tin, some got a bit stuck, so I don’t recommend this method of cooking! Stick with the non-stick parchment or silicone! Or use Magic Non-Stick Liner from Lakeland which I’ve just discovered and it’s brilliant as it’s reusable.

Chocolate Cake

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

This chocolate cake uses cocoa instead of chocolate, so use a good quality cocoa for full chocolate impact! It might seem weird that the cake contains lard, but that’s what makes it so moist. I love the frosting on this cake too.
It’s cooked in a Swiss roll tin, so like any tray bake you can cut it up in any number of ways. I quite like it cut into squares and served in fairy cake cases.

• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• Oven shelf: middle
• You will need: a Swiss roll tin approx. 33 x 20 cm

Ingredients for the cake:

• 100g (4oz) butter
• 50g (2oz) lard
• 40g (1½oz) cocoa (I used Cadbury Bournville)
• 150g (5oz) brown sugar
• 150g (5oz) caster sugar
• 215ml (7½ fl.oz) water
• 250g (9oz) plain flour
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 120ml (4 fl.oz) milk
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice (this is necessary to react with the bicarbonate of soda. I use the stuff from a bottle)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for the frosting:

• 50g (2oz) butter
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 1½ Tablespoons cocoa
• 225g (8oz) icing sugar
• ½ vanilla sugar or extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C.
2. Grease and line your Swiss roll tin.
3. Place the lard, butter, cocoa and both the sugars in a saucepan with the water and heat gently under all the ingredients have melted, stirring all the time. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and leave to cool for about 10 minutes.
4. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large mixing bowl. Pour in the melted mixture and mix with a balloon whisk until smooth. Stir in the milk, lemon juice, eggs and vanilla extract.
5. Pour into your prepared tin and bake for about 30 minutes. The cake should have shrunk away from the sides and spring back when gently pressed. Or test with an inserted skewer to see if it comes out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
6. Make the icing: Place the butter, milk and cocoa in a small saucepan and bring to the boil stirring constantly, then remove from the heat. Sift the icing sugar into a large bowl, then pour in the wet mixture with the vanilla sugar or extract and mix well until you have a smooth frosting. Spread the warm frosting over your cool cake and leave to completely set.

Chocolate Rose Cupcakes

MUNCH RATING: 3/5

I used the recipe on BBC Good Food website (my favourite food website!) for the cake and the frosting, but I used milk chocolate instead of white chocolate. Even though I’m comfortable making cakes, the decorating aspect is something that I haven’t had a lot of experience with and I want to practice. So I used my new piping bag to pipe the frosting on – this video tutorial taught me how to do it like a pro!


I also decided to make some modelling chocolate from a new book I got today: Cupcakes by Sue McMahon. I used the modelling chocolate to make the ‘Simple Sugar Roses’ as it’s like sugarpaste and it worked really well. It was quite hot today, so I had to work quickly as it started to melt!

I thought the frosting and the chocolate roses were really nice, but I wasn’t too keen on the cake sponge. The ground almonds gave them a gritty texture and I prefer a lighter, fluffier sponge. But Steve’s family said they liked them!
I didn’t have any muffin paper cases, so I used normal fairy cakes cases, so they weren’t as deep but they still took 20 minutes to cook. I made 18 cakes, so I had to switch the bun trays around in the oven halfway through.

• Makes: 12 muffin-size or 18 fairy-size cupcakes
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 5/375°F/190°C

FOR THE CAKE SPONGE:

• 150ml pot natural yogurt
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 140g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100g ground almonds
• 175g unsalted butter, melted (I used Stork)

FOR THE CHOCOLATE FROSTING:

• 100g milk chocolate (I used Tesco Value)
• 140g unsalted butter
• 140g icing sugar, sifted

Directions:

1. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases and heat oven to Gas mark 5/375°F/190°C. In a jug, mix the yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract. Put the dry ingredients, plus a pinch of salt, into a large bowl and make a well in the middle.
2. Add the yogurty mix and melted butter, and quickly fold in with a spatula or metal spoon - don't overwork it. Spoon into the cases (they will be quite full) and bake for 18-20 mins or until golden, risen and springy to the touch. Cool for a few mins, then lift the cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely. Keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze as soon as possible.
3. Chocolate frosting: Melt the chocolate in the microwave on High for 1½ mins, stirring halfway. Leave to cool. Beat the butter and icing sugar in a large bowl until creamy. Beat in the chocolate. Cover and chill for up to one month.
4. Up to 48 hrs before serving (or the day before if it's really hot), bring the frosting back to room temperature, then spread or pipe over the cakes – with this amount of frosting I only managed to pipe it onto 8 cupcakes, the rest I had to spread it on.

FOR THE MODELLING CHOCOLATE:

• 50g golden syrup
• 100g plain chocolate, melted (I used Tesco Value)
• cocoa for dusting

1. Stir the golden syrup into the melted chocolate, until the mixture thickens. Transfer the mixture to a plastic food bag and chill until the chocolate is firm enough to handle.
2. Knead the modelling chocolate lightly before using to soften it. If it’s sticky, use cocoa to stop it sticking.
3. If you have hot hands, run them under cold water to cool them down before working with the modelling chocolate.
4. To make the roses: Roll out the modelling chocolate to 1-2mm thin. Then trim into a rectangle about 8cm wide. Cut off a 1cm strip of icing widthways, keeping the rest covered.
5. Carefully roll the icing up and around itself. For a more realistic rose look, start rolling slightly skew-whiff so that the outside edge of the finished rose sticks out further than the middle. With about 2cm to go, start to guide the end of the icing down and under to make a neat rosebud. Pinch to shape, then cut or pinch off the bottom. Set aside for at least 1 hr until firm. Repeat with the rest of the icing.

Paul Merrett's Chocolate Brownie Cookies

MUNCH RATING: 3/5

This recipe is from the TV show Economy Gastronomy and it’s by Paul Merrett. I don’t really like the TV show as I think it’s incredibly patronising, so I’ve only watched a couple of episodes and this is one of the recipes I saw. I thought they looked good and easy to make, so I thought I’d give them a try.
The mixture was really quite runny and the first batch I made (on the right of the picture) came out really thin. I’d used a tablespoon to dollop the mixture onto the baking trays. Even though I’d used greaseproof paper, the cookies still stuck like mad to the paper!

I got Steve to do the second batch (as I was busy making potato cakes) and he made them a lot bigger than mine (on the left of the picture) because he thought the first batch was too thin. He said the mixture had stiffened a little bit as it had been sitting on the counter for about 20 minutes whilst we waited for the first batch to cook and cool down. The cookies still spread loads and even though he’d spaced them out, they ended up touching each other when I took them out of the oven. His batch stuck to the greaseproof paper as well.

The end result is good as they do taste like brownies. They are nice and chewy, but slighty crispy as brownies should be. However, I don’t really rate the recipe itself and I would rather make proper brownies instead!

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:
I changed the method in Paul’s recipe to make it more logical and quicker to make by melting the chocolate in the microwave. His original recipe can be found here. I also didn’t use the nuts as I don’t like them and I used Lindt Lindor White Chocolates as that’s the only white chocolate I had in the house!

Ingredients:

• 2 free-range eggs
• 130g/4¾oz caster sugar
• ½ tbsp strong black coffee
• 20g/¾oz butter
• 200g/7oz plain chocolate, broken into pieces
• 30g/1oz plain flour, sifted
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 50g/2oz macadamia nuts, cut in half
• 50g/2oz white chocolate, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave for 50-60 seconds on Power 8. Set aside to cool for 4-5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar and coffee for 7-8 minutes, or until lighter in colour, thick and well combined. Use an electric whisk or hand blender to save your arms from aching!
4. Add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and stir until well combined.
5. Carefully fold the flour, baking powder and salt into the batter mixture until well combined.
6. Carefully fold the nuts (if using) and white chocolate into the batter mixture until well combined.
7. Line 1-2 very shallow baking trays with greaseproof paper. Spoon dollops of the batter mixture onto the greaseproof paper, leaving a generous space between each spoonful of batter (the brownie biscuits will expand during cooking).
8. Transfer the brownie biscuits to the oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until the brownie biscuits have risen but are still soft in the centre and the tops have cracked slightly. Set aside to cool and harden on a wire rack before serving.

Best Ever Chocolate Brownies

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

These brownies are truly decadent! They are super fudgy and squidgy and most definitely calorific but they are worth treating yourself. When they come out of the oven they are still really runny and undercooked, so they’re best when they’ve been in the fridge overnight and they’ve set a bit more.

My brother took these into work and his colleagues LOVED them! 3 of them have asked me to bake them a batch each!

Steve’s Mum likes to eat these with strawberries and cream as a nice dessert.

• Makes: 16 squares
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• Oven shelf: top
• You will need: an 8-9 inch square tin, greased and lined with baking paper

Ingredients:

• 185g unsalted butter
• 185g dark chocolate, roughly chopped (I used Tesco value)
• 3 large eggs
• 275g caster sugar, golden if possible
• 85g plain flour (or ground almonds if you have a wheat intolerance)
• 40g cocoa
• 50g white chocolate, roughly chopped
• 50g milk chocolate, roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C.
2. Put the butter and dark chocolate into a small bowl and place over a pan of hot water to melt. Allow to cool.
3. Beat the eggs and sugar for a few minutes using an electric hand mixer until pale, thick and mousse-like. This can take up to 5 minutes so be patient!
4. Fold the cooled chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.
5. Sift the flour and cocoa into the combined mixtures and gently fold in. Stir in the chopped milk and white chocolate.
6. Pour into the lined tin and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the mixture no longer wobbles when the tin is gently shaken. The top should be dark and have a shiny crust.
7. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for at least 1 hour before attempting to cut into squares.
8. Store in the fridge wrapped in foil for about a week, if it’s not eaten before then!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

I bought a couple of Non Stick 12 Cup Mini Muffin Pans from Amazon as they were only £4.89 each and I just couldn’t resist how cute the cupcakes would look!

The pans are really well made and although the non stick coating is good, I prefer to use paper cases rather than cooking directly in the tin. I bought 700 mini cases off Ebay for only £2.45 plus £1.99 postage, which is incredible value! The cases looked a little small when I put them in the tin, as the tin has a base diameter of 3.5cm and the cases have a base diameter of 2.5cm. But once I’d filled them with cake mixture they came out fine.

I made these for my brother’s birthday recently and he liked them! I love the mini cakes as you can just pop a whole one in your mouth! They took 10 minutes to cook at Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C.

The recipe for the cake is the Dark Chocolate Cupcakes one that uses sour cream. So I thought I’d try a different frosting that also uses sour cream, which makes a very smooth frosting with a slight tang to offset the sweetness of the cakes.

Frosting Ingredients:

• 100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 142ml (small pot) sour cream
• 2-3 Tablespoons light muscovado sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting Directions:

1. Gently melt the chocolate, sour cream and sugar in a small saucepan, stirring until the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth icing.
2. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
3. Chill in the fridge until firm until to swirl or pipe onto your cakes.

As the weather was so hot, I kept the cakes in the fridge after I’d iced them, but the cakes do taste better at room temperature so I recommend taking them out of the fridge about an hour before devouring!

Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies

MUNCH RATING: 3/5
I first tried this combination in San Francisco when Steve and I bought a hot chocolate and cookie from a Mrs Field’s shop (a bit like Millie’s Cookies). The cookie was soft and chewy and this recipe (I adapted it from a BBC Good Food book) is quite a good imitation and were well received by my chief tasters!
I have since found a recipe online for Mrs Field’s cookies, so I’ll try making that next time because it contains oats which I like to use so the cookies are slightly healthy!

This is still a great recipe though, because you don’t need many ingredients and it’s really quick and simple to make. However, they were a bit greasy.

• Makes: 18-20
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• You will need: large baking sheet, lined with greaseproof paper

Ingredients:

• 250g/9oz butter, softened
• 50/2oz caster sugar
• 100g/3½oz light muscovado sugar
• 300g/10oz self raising flour
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• 100g/3½oz white chocolate, roughly chopped
• 75g/3oz dried cranberries 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C.
2. Line 2 or 3 baking sheets with greaseproof paper (or bake in batches).
3. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Stir in the flour and milk and mix well until fully incorporated (It might look quite dry to begin with but persevere mixing and it will come together!).
4. Then stir in the chocolate and cranberries and mix well.
5. Divide the mixture into 18-20 equal portions and roughly shape each portion into a ball, about the size of a golf ball.
6. Put onto the baking sheets spaced well apart to allow for spreading. Lightly flatten each cookie with your fingertips.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes (mine took 17 minutes) until the cookies are pale golden around the edges, but still feel soft in the centre. (Depending on your oven, it’s a good idea to rotate the trays halfway through cooking to ensure even browning).
8. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

No Cook Chocolate Tart

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

I got this recipe from the BBC Good Food website and the original recipe can be found here.

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:
I tweaked it slightly by using chocolate chip cookies for the base, to make it extra chocolatey! There seemed to be a lot of butter in the base mixture, so I used a whole pack of biscuits so that it wasn’t so greasy.
Other people on the website have said that adding the vanilla to the chocolate makes it go funny, so I added it to cream instead as suggested.
This was really easy to make and tasted delicious – it’s very rich though so you only need a small portion!

• I used a square 8x8 inch tin as the rectangular one they suggested seemed far too big. It’s a good idea to line it with a piece of greaseproof paper which is bigger than the tin so that it’s easier to remove it from the tin.
• Serves 8 

Ingredients:

• 250g pack chocolate chip cookies (I used Tesco own brand)
• 100g butter
• 1 tbsp golden syrup or honey
• 100g bar dark chocolate (I used Bournville)
• 100g bar milk chocolate (I used a Cadbury Easter egg)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp icing sugar , plus extra for dusting
• 200ml whipping cream 

Directions:

1. Crush the biscuits by putting them in a large, strong, plastic food bag and bashing with a rolling pin. Melt the butter with the syrup or honey in the microwave, then stir in the biscuits. Press onto the base and up the sides of your tin and chill while you make the filling.
2. Break up the two chocolate bars and put in a large bowl. Melt in the microwave for 2-3 mins on Medium, stirring halfway through, then sift in the icing sugar.
3. Whip the cream until it just holds its shape. Stir in the vanilla extract, then fold into the melted chocolate. Pour into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Chill for at least 2 hrs or for up to 2 days.
4. Just before serving, remove the tart from the tin and slide it onto a flat plate (loosen edges first with the tip of a small pointed knife). You will find it easier to remove the tart if you leave it at room temperature for 30 mins.

Mini Chocolate Tarts

MUNCH RATING: 4 OUT OF 5

This is from Rachel's Favourite Food for Friends book and it uses half of the pastry batch made from using her Sweet Pastry recipe. You can make this as one big tart by blind baking a whole batch of the pastry and doubling the chocolate filling quantities. A big tart takes 17-20 minutes to bake.

• Makes: about 18 mini tarts
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• Oven shelf: middle
• You will need: 2 shallow bun/mince pie/mini bun trays 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 quantity Sweet Pastry

CHOCOLATE FILLING

• 75 g (2.5 oz) milk chocolate, chopped
• 75 g (2.5 oz) dark chocolate, chopped
• 100 ml (3.5 fl oz) cream
• 75 ml (2.5 fl oz) milk
• 1 egg, beaten 

Directions:

1. Roll the pastry very thinly, to about 2 mm thick (putting the pastry in between 2 sheets of cling film). *I found the easiest way to roll it thinly was to divide the pastry into 3 balls and then roll those out separately.
2. Cut into rounds to line the bases of the tins. *Use a cutter which is just slightly bigger than the holes of your tins.
3. Freeze the pastry (for about 1 hour) till frozen (this means you don't have to use baking beans). *I found that my pastry did rise in places, so next time I will try pricking the bases before baking.
4. Pop into a preheated oven at Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C and bake for about 8 minutes or until pale golden.
5. To make the chocolate filling: Heat the cream and milk to almost boiling point, then remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Stir to melt all the chocolate. Let cool slightly for a few minutes, then stir in the beaten eggs.
6. Pour the chocolate mixture into the pastry shells. *I found the easiest way to do this was to put the mixture into a Pyrex jug and pour from that.
7. Cook the tarts for another 8 minutes or until they are just setting.
8. Take out of the oven and allow to sit in the tins for 10 minutes before taking out. *They might look quite undercooked but if you leave them for a couple of hours the filling will set more.
9. Dust with icing sugar and serve. *This is optional as I found them sweet enough as they were.

Chococcino Cake

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

This recipe is from BBC Good Food and I made this for Mother’s Day and it went down very well! The chocolate sponge is lovely and moist and the coffee topping and filling is very creamy with just the right amount of coffee flavour. I only made half the amount of filling/icing (as 2 tubs of mascarpone seemed like far too much!) and it was plenty. This is definitely one of my favourite cakes.

Ingredients for the sponge:

• 200g soft, butter, plus extra for greasing (I used Stork)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 85g good-quality cocoa powder (I used Bournville)
• 140g self-raising flour
• 200g golden caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tbsp milk 

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/Gas 4.
2. Grease and base-line 2 x 20cm non-stick round sandwich tins with baking parchment, then lightly grease the parchment.
3. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder into a large bowl, and then tip in all the other sponge ingredients.
4. Using an electric whisk beat everything together until smooth (I just put everything into a food processor and mixed until smooth).
5. Divide the mix between the cake tins, then bake for 20-25 mins until cooked and golden.
6. When cool enough to handle, remove the cakes from the tins, then leave to cool completely on a rack. 

Ingredients for the filling and icing:

• 2 x 250g tubs mascarpone
• 85g golden caster sugar
• 4 tbsp very strong coffee dissolved in 4tbsp of water
• 50g dark chocolate, for grating 

Directions for the icing:

1. Beat the mascarpone and sugar together, then beat in the coffee.
2. Use half the mix to sandwich the cakes and spread the other half over the top, swirling with the back of a spoon to make pointy curls.
3. Finely grate the chocolate over the top, then serve. 

Half the icing:

• 1 x 250g tub mascarpone
• 40g golden caster sugar
• 2 tbsp very strong coffee dissolved in 2tbsp of water
• 25g dark chocolate, for grating

COOK'S NOTES: 
I made the cakes a day in advance and wrapped them in foil, so they stayed nice and moist. I iced them the next day and kept any leftover cake covered in the fridge as I didn’t want the mascarpone icing to spoil.

Chewy Cocoa Brownie Cupcakes

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

With just one week left in San Francisco and lots of baking ingredients to use up, I was on the hunt for a recipe that could help empty the cupboards.

I had an almost full pack of Nestle Toll House Cocoa and on the back was this recipe. I was a bit dubious about making the brownies as I've never had much success in the past - they've always been either too dry or undercooked with no hope of salvation.

But these are an absolute winner! The top is slightly crisp and chewy and the inside is soft and moist.

The recipe called for a 13x9 inch baking pan (which will make 2 dozen brownies) but I didn't have this, so I made cupcakes instead. I used normal sized paper fairy-cake cases and put them in my silicone muffin pan.

They are quite deep, therefore I needed to cook them for the full 25 minutes. When I inserted the toothpick it came out very sticky, but as they cooled down they continued to cook with the residual heat and the end result was perfect.

• Makes: about a dozen cupcakes
• Oven temperature: Gas Mark 4/350°F/180°C
• You will need: muffin/cake pan lined with paper cases*

Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cups (330g/11.5oz) granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks or 180g/6oz) butter or margarine, melted
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups (160g/5.5oz) all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (75g/2.5oz) Nestle Toll House baking cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (110g/4oz) chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/350°F/180°C
2. Place paper cases in muffin tin.
3. Combine sugar, butter and water in a large bowl. Stir in eggs and vanilla extract.
4. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Stir into sugar mixture.
5. Stir in nuts if using.
6. Fill paper cases to the top, they don't rise that much so won't overflow.
7. Bake for 18-25 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in the centre comes out slightly sticky.
8. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

* Because I used a silicone pan which is really flexible but not very stable, I put it on a baking sheet when I put it in the oven (just thought this might affect the cooking so thought I'd mention it).