Mint Chocolate Brownies

This Recipe comes from Essentials magazine March 2013 Issue

 

For The Brownies

 

325g Dark Chocolate chopped into small pieces

250g Unsalted butter , cut into chunks

400g Caster sugar

5 Large Eggs Beaten

A Quarter of Tsp Peppermint Essence

200g Plain flour

16 After Eight Mints ( Cheap versions work just as well!!)

 

For The Glaze

 

75g Dark chocolate broken into small pieces

75g Unsalted Butter chopped into small squares

A quarter of A Tsp Peppermint Essence

100g Icing Sugar

 

1) Heat oven to 150c and line the base and sides of a 20cm square tin with greaseproof paper. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water until smooth, stir in the sugar , eggs , peppermint essence and a pinch of salt until smooth , then fold in the flour.

2) Pour half the mixture into the prepared tin , lay the mints on top then pour on the remaining mixture. Smooth the top and bake for 40 mins. Leave to cool in the tin. Transfer to a chopping board and chill for 1 hour.

3) To Make the glaze , melt the chocolate , butter and peppermint essence in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water until smooth and set aside. Mix the icing sugar with a few drops of boiling water  until just runny.

4) Spread the glaze over the cooled brownies, drizzle icing over them in long straight lines , then use a cocktail stick up and down through the lines to “Feather ” Chill until just firm then cut into 16 squares.

 

 

Peanut Butter & White Chocolate Blondies

These are like Brownies but without the cocoa powder! The recipe comes from the book Bake by Rachel Allen

125g Plain Flour sifted

1 Tsp Baking powder

100g Butter softened

150g Crunchy Peanut Butter

175g Soft Light Brown Sugar

1 Egg Beaten

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

75g White Chocolate chopped

 

20cm x 20cm Square cake tin

 

1) Preheat the oven to 170 c , Butter the sides of the cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.

2) Sift the flour and baking powder into a small bowl and set aside.

3) In a large bowl cream the butter , and peanut butter together until very soft, Add the sugar , egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the flour , baking powder and the chopped chocolate and mix to form a dough.

4) Place the dough in the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 25 to 30 mins or until golden brown and almost firm in the centre.

5) Allow to cool in the tin before removing and cutting into squares.

 

 

Raspberry Torte

This recipe comes from Jo Wheatley winner of The Great British Bake off 2011

 

150g Self Raising flour

150g Unsalted Butter softened

150g Caster sugar

150g Ground Almonds

2 Large Eggs Beaten

150g Frozen Raspberries plus extra ( defrosted!!) To serve

Icing Sugar to Dust

 

1) Turn oven to fan 160 c  and butter a 23cm cake tin and line with a disc of buttered baking paper. Tip the flour , softened butter , caster sugar , ground almonds and eggs into a bowl and beat or whisk together until pale , light and fluffy.

 

2) Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared tin and spread level with a palette knife. Push  the raspberries into the mixture.

 

3) Bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for about 1 hour checking after about 45 mins and covering loosely with foil once it has browned, to prevent the top from colouring too much. Cool in the tin for 5 mins and then transfer to a cooling rack until cold. Scatter with extra raspberries and dust with icing sugar to serve.

 

Bakewell Cheesecake

This recipe comes from Easycook magazine March Issue 2013

200g Almond Biscuits

100g Toasted flaked Almonds

Half Tsp Almond Extract

100g Butter melted

900g Full fat soft cheese

250g Caster sugar

4 Tbsp plain flour

1 Tsp vanilla extract

3 Large Eggs

200ml Soured cream

150g Cherry Jam

Icing Sugar and Cream  to serve

 

1) Turn oven to 180 c fan . Line the base and sides of a 23cm springform tin with baking paper. Crush the biscuits and 75g of the Almonds  to crumbs. Mix with the Almond extract and melted butter, then press into the base of  the tin and bake for 10 mins. Set aside to cool while you make the filling.

 

2) In a very large bowl whisk together the cheese and sugar until creamy. Whisk in the flour , then the vanilla extract , the eggs one at a time and then the soured cream, Put spoonfuls of mixture into the tin , dotting in tablespoons of jam as you go. Smooth the top as gently as you can.

 

3) Carefully put the tin on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 10 mins. Scatter with the remaining almonds. Decrease the oven to 90 c fan and bake for 35 mins more, turn off the oven keep the door closed and leave the cheesecake to cool for 1 hour then open the oven door and leave it ajar for another hour. Cool for a third hour at room temperature , then cover and chill overnight. Remove from the tin and carefully peel off the parchment. Dust with icing sugar and serve with cream.

 

Lemon and Blueberry Drizzle Cake

This recipe comes from Essentials magazine March 2013 Issue

 

125g Butter

125g Caster sugar

3 Medium eggs

175g Self raising flour + 1 Tbsp extra

Zest and Juice of 1 Lemon

100g Blueberries

For the syrup

50g Caster sugar

4 Tbsp Lemon Juice

 

For the icing

 

125g Icing Sugar

1 tsp Blueberry Jam

Lemon Juice

Extra Blueberries to Decorate

 

1) Heat the oven to 170 c , Grease and double line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper. In a large bowl whisk together the butter , sugar , eggs , 175g Flour and the zest for 3 to 4 mins until light, Toss the blueberries in the extra 1 Tbsp of flour and then fold in. Spoon into the tin , smooth the surface and bake covered with a sheet of foil for 40 mins , uncover and cook for a further 10 to 20 mins until golden and springy to the touch.

 

2) Meanwhile gently heat the sugar and lemon juice until dissolved , bring to the boil and boil for 2 mins. Set aside.

 

3) Spoon the syrup over the case as soon as it comes out of the oven, and leave to cool for 30 mins. Remove  from the tin and leave to cool completely.

 

4) Sift the icing sugar into a bowl , then press the jam through the sieve scraping it off  the underside. Stir to combine adding a little lemon juice a few drops at a time until you have a just runny consistency. Drizzle over the cake , leave to set for a few mins then decorate with some extra blueberries.

 

Key Lime Pie

This recipe comes froma very old Asda magazine !

 

150g Digestive Biscuits crushed

75g Butter

2 Large Egg Yolks

397g Can Condensed Milk

100ml Freshly squeezed Lime Juice

Finely grated zest of 1 Lime

Icing Sugar to dust

Lime slices and zest  to decorate

 

1) Put the biscuits in a bag and roll firmly with a rolling pin. Melt the butter and  mix with the biscuit crumbs. Put in a 19cm flan tin and press firmly against the sides and base with the back of a spoon to make a flan case.

2) Put the egg yolks and condensed milk into a bowl and mix together , then add the lime juice and zest, and stir until the mixture thickens slightly.

3) Turn into the flan case , level the top and chill for 2 hours until the filling sets. Dust with icing sugar. Decorate with grated lime zest and thin lime slices.

 

Baked Cheesecake with Blueberries

This recipe comes from The book Bake by Rachel Allen

 

175g Digestive Biscuits

75g Butter melted

175g Blueberries plus extra for decorating

450g Cream cheese

150g Caster Sugar

1 Tsp vanilla extract

4 Eggs lightly beaten

Icing sugar to dust

 

24cm diameter spring form / loose bottomed tin.

 

1) Preheat the oven to 180 c . Butter the sides and base of the cake tin.

 

2) Place the biscuits in a food processor and whiz  until quite fine. Mix the crushed biscuits with the melted butter and press down into the base of the tin so that it is nice and  even. Spread the blueberries over the base and allow to chill in the fridge while you make the topping.

3) Beat the cream cheese , sugar , vanilla extract and the eggs together in a large bowl until smooth and creamy. Pour over the top of the blueberries and then bake in the oven for 40 mins or until it is pale golden and should only wobble very slightly when you gently shake the tin .

4) Allow to cool in the tin for about 10 mins , Then run a knife around the edge to loosen it and carefully remove  the cheesecake from the tin. Transfer to a serving plate , sprinkle over a few blueberries if you wish then dust with icing sugar.

 

Sticky Ginger Lemon Drizzle cake

This Recipe comes from Good food magazine November 2012 issue

 

140g Butter cut into cubes plus extra for greasing

300g Self raising flour

1 Tsp bicarbonate of soda

4 Tsp Ground ginger

2 Tsp Mixed spice

1 Tsp Ground cinnamon

140g Dark Muscovado sugar

140g Black Treacle

140g Golden syrup

300ml Whole milk

1 Large egg

 

For the Lemon Drizzle

 

Zest and Juice of 1 Lemon

50g Granulated sugar

50g Preserving sugar

 

For The Lemon Curd Filling

 

About Half a jar of Lemon Curd

2 Balls of stem ginger diced

 

For The creamy icing

 

4 Tbsp Syrup from the stem ginger jar

100g Soft cheese

200ml Double Cream

3 Tbsp Icing sugar sieved

 

1) Heat the oven to 140 c fan and grease and line a deep 20cm round cake tin ( I used 2 smaller tins ) with baking parchment. Put the flour , bicarb and all the spices into a food processor , add the butter and whizz  until it has disappeared , then tip into a mixing bowl.

2) Put the sugar , treacle , golden syrup , and milk into a saucepan and heat , stirring gently until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and bring  the mixture to just below boiling point.

3) Pour the treacle mixture into the dry ingredients stirring with a wooden spoon as you go . Beat in the egg until the mixture resembles a thick pancake batter. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 50 mins to 1 hour ( Around 25 mins for 2 smaller cakes ! ) , until a skewer  poked into the center comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin .

 

4) Split the cake through the middle ( No need if making 2 smaller cakes! ) For the drizzle stir the lemon zest  and juice into the sugars  , then spoon all over the top half of the cake.

 

5) For the filling , mix the lemon curd with the diced ginger. For the icing beat together the ginger syrup , soft cheese , cream and icing sugar until thick enough to hold its shape. Spread the lemon curd filling  all over the cut side of the bottom cake , dollop the creamy icing on top  , then sandwich with the other half of the cake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Double Chocolate Cookies

This recipe comes from Easy cook magazine Oct 2012

 

175g Butter softened

85g Caster sugar

200g Plain flour

2 Tbsp cocoa powder

100g Chocolate chips Milk or Dark ( I used milk )

 

1) Mix the butter and sugar together with  a wooden spoon ( or a food processor! ) Stir in the flour and cocoa powder , and then stir in the chocolate chips – you will probably need to mix it together with your hands at this stage. Halve the dough and roll each piece into a log about 5cm thick. Wrap in cling film and chill for 1 hour. ( You can chill the dough for several days if you are planning to make more biscuits the same week. can be frozen for up to 1 month.

2) Turn oven to fan 160 c or conventional 180 c. Slice the logs into 1cm thick rounds , then transfer to a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 10 to 12 mins. Leave to cool on the tray.

 

Honey & Almond Cheesecake

This recipe comes from an old Asda magazine from Easter many years ago!

 

250g Digestive  Biscuits  ( I use chocolate covered ones as it binds the base together better! )

50g Butter

500g  Soft cheese

100g Set honey

2 Large Eggs

2  Tbsp flaked Almonds

 

To serve

 

Icing sugar sifted

Fresh Raspberries

 

1) Preheat the oven to 160 c ( Fan oven ) . Place the biscuits in a food processor and mix until they form fine crumbs. Tip into a large bowl . Melt the butter then mix this with the biscuit crumbs , stirring until evenly mixed.

2) Pour the mixture into a 20cm deep , non stick loose bottomed cake tin, pressing the crumbs down firmly with the back of a spoon. Chill in the fridge for 5 to 10 mins.

3) Beat the soft cheese , honey and eggs with an electric whisk until smooth, pour into the prepared tin and place on a baking sheet.  Scatter over the almonds and bake for 30 to 40 mins until golden , it will still feel a little wobbly but it will set as it cools.

4) Turn off the oven , open the door and leave the cheesecake until completely cool to help stop the surface cracking then chill for a few hours before serving.

5) Serve with raspberries and dust with icing sugar.