Cherry Brandy Dark Chocolate Brownies

I love a good brownie but i can not tell you my disappointment when i bite into a brownie and it is dry and cakey. A good brownie should be stupidly rich, dark and gooey. I am not one for blondies or brownies that are too sweet, the darker the better. I have used my recipe for brownies and changed it again by adding some booze and fresh cherries to make them taste even better!

Some of my other bakes have looked elegant and photographed beautifully but it is difficult to photograph a gooey lump of chocolate and make it look elegant. I did decorate them with a pinch of red glitter to give them the festive edge but the selling point to these brownies really is the taste.

You will need:

185g unsalted butter

185g good quality dark chocolate

275g Light brown sugar

80g Ground Almonds

50g Plain flour

3 Large eggs

200ml Cherry Brandy

200g Fresh Cherries

100g Milk chocolate

1. Firstly stone your cherries and place in a saucepan on a simmering heat along with your Cherry Brandy. This will cook off the alcohol but marinates your cherries in a lovely boozy flavour. Leave these to one side until they are cool.

2. Now melt your dark chocolate and unsalted butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan until your chocolate and butter is melted, then leave to one side. Once cool add this to your flour, almonds, eggs, sugar.

3. Finally add in chunks of your milk chocolate and your Cherry Brandy mixture and gently stir in until you have a smooth consistency. Pour your mixture into a lined square tin. Use a deeper smaller tin if you want deeper brownies. Bake at 180 for 30 minutes or until a crust appears on top and it is firm to touch.

4. Remove from your tin and leave until completely cool before you cut them up. These brownies are amazing warm with some fresh whipped or chantilly cream or a little creme fraiche.

These are another example of bakes that would make good christmas gifts. Wrap in cellophane with red ribbon and make some home made gifts tags with a sprig of holly and give to incredibly grateful family and friends. 

Northern Italian Chocolate and Nut Cake

As promised, here is my first christmas bake. I saw this recipe in a magazine a while ago and it has been on my to-do list! Although it is not a bake it is a non-cook cake, traditional to the region of Siena. Having researched the recipe, it appears that traditionally this cake is made with candied peel but i have decided to use crystalised ginger instead which i think compliments the nuts and Amaretto nicely!

What is ideal about this cake is all  you have to do is bung all the ingredients in together and leave it to set. This cake is very rich so you could easily make a smaller version and wrap it in brown paper and give it as a gift at christmas. 

For the Cake you will need:

250g of good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa or more)

3 Medium egg whites

100g Crystalised ginger

200g Ground Almonds

100g Finely chopped Walnuts

50g Finely chopped Hazelnuts

200g Icing Sugar

4 Tbsp Amaretto

For the topping:

100g good quality dark chocolate

75g icing sugar, plus extra to dust

1. Line your tin, i have used an 18cm deep oven dish, with cling film and leave to one side. To make your cake melt the chocolate in a large heat proof bowl over a saucepan of bowling water, make sure the water is not touching your glass bowl. Once melted, leave your bowl to one side.

2. Meanwhile, lightly beat your egg whites with a fork for a couple of minutes and to this add your ginger, ground almonds, nuts, icing sugar and Amaretto.  Mix well and then add your chocolate and continue to stir until all your ingredients are mixed in. Pour your mixture into your lined dish and pop into your fridge until set.

3. In the meantime, to make the topping, melt your dark chocolate and add to your icing sugar and mix together. Turn your cake out onto a plate once set and use a spatula to cover the surface of your cake with your topping and once again leave to chill until set. Finally dust your cake with icing sugar or however you wish you decorate it, and enjoy at your leisure! This cake is very rich so you can cut your cake into 16 generous slices and not leave anyone feeling short changed.

I hope you enjoy this Italian classic as much as i do. I have made this recipe a couple of times and i find that this cake is perfect for an afternoon treat with a nice cup of strong coffee. Because this recipe is so simple you could add whatever you like, sour cherries would be a lovely combination with the nuts and ginger. Why not try this for christmas as a nice alternative!

Twelve Bakes of Christmas

My thoughts on the idea of tradition in food at Christmas, as well as my ideas for 12 Christmas Bakes!

I have never been part of a family who has used christmas to spend lots of money. Last year i made lots of homemade chutneys and jams, whilst my sister made homemade biscuits and it went down very well with friends and family. Christmas has always been pretty simplistic and traditional in my house, most importantly we can always guarantee that we will all be in the house, at the same time for one whole day. One thing that does not remain traditional in my house, is the food. I would argue that this is the case for many family homes in the UK.

Me and my little sister on Christmas day!

With the enormity of Italian cookbooks that have been published in the last three years, it appears that people's tastes are veering towards foods such as pannatone for christmas. Food that differs from your conventional british sunday roast and christmas pudding is instantly elevated to something that appears to be more special. When Marks and Spencers advertise their christmas produce there will always be a twist on a traditional classic. Lets be honest most of us will be seduced by the idea of orange and cranberry stuffing over the traditional.                                    

  The first time i felt christmassy last year was when i went to a local pub, after a walk in the freezing cold, and had mulled cider and a slice of stollen. It was nice to see a traditional norfolk pub serving this traditional chrismas german bread. It is amazing how the spices and fruit from the Stollen and the mulled cider, evoked more feelings of christmas than a roast turkey ever could. I didn't even know what Stollen was when i ordered it but it seemed instantly more appealing because it was different to the usual foods available at christmas.

Whilst flicking through my mum's recipe books for inspiration for some christmas bakes i stumbled upon a recipe for sticky ginger pudding cake. This recipe has been a staple in my house for years and is

Sticky Ginger Cake c/o 'Puddings and Desserts' by
Elizabeth Pomeroy

a particular christmas favourite. I almost didn't recognise it in its original 70s form, covered in whipped cream and glace cherries. Delving further into the cook book i found some really lovely ideas that would be perfect for christmas. I think the trap that we commonly fall into is sticking to what we know but we often forget that there are so many twists and new ideas that make christmas dinners instantly more exciting. There is always an archive for forgotten and amazing recipes hidden in old fashioned recipe books, it is always good to know the basics before jumping in trying to create something completely different.

This christmas i will be endeavouring to stay away from recipes that promise something completely new but draw upon the classics within Europe and add a few twists. The older recipes are the best, but it is just a case of adapting them or changing them to suit your tastes. For those of you who are not overwhelmed by traditional british puddings, i will re-introduce you to them in a way that give you more ideas for your christmas day. So keep your eyes peeled for my 12 bakes of christmas over the next 4 weeks!

* My 12 Bakes of Christmas *

Northern Italian Chocolate and Nut Cake

Sticky Ginger Cake with Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Pumpkin Christmas Bread with Spiced Fig Jam

Christmas Sundae with Mulled wine sorbet and brown sugar meringues

Stollen with Mulled Cider

Binham Blue and Walnut Filo Wreath 

'Better than Meat' Veggie Sausage rolls 

Stained Glass Window Biscuits

Chilli and Ginger Jam with Fig Biscotti 

Cinnamon and Hazelnut Monkey Bread 

Plum and Cranberry Fruit Pie

Cherry Brandy Chocolate Brownies 

My Cranberry and Orange Crumble Cake made for Christmas last year!

Orange Rose and Pistachio Cake

My lovely neighbour Sharon turned 50 this week and i have used the orange curd i made last week to create her a very special birthday cake. Orange, rose and Pistachio are very traditional flavours  in turkish cuisine but there is no reason why these amazing flavours can not be transfered into a very traditionally british sandwich cake. 

This cake does take a little more care and attention than my other recipes but is completely worth the time! Simply decorated with ground pistachios and crystalised rose petals ( ridiculously simple to make!), it makes a big impression against cream cheese icing with a touch of rose water. 

For the sponge you will need:

400g melted butter

2 whole medium oranges

400g light brown caster sugar

6 eggs

150g ground almonds

350g Self Raising Flour

For the decoration:

250g Full fat cream cheese

250g Mascapone

200g icing sugar

100g pistachio (without their shells)

1 tsp rose water

Rose petals

1 egg white

150g caster sugar

Orange curd ( one you prepared earlier!)

1. First things first, you can't have a beautifully moist and zesty orange cake without fresh oranges. So, place your two oranges in a saucepan of boiling water and boil on the heat for an hour. Make sure the oranges are constantly covered in water so that the oranges are cooked through. Do not peel the oranges, we want all of the lovely zest from the skin! Once cooked leave to cool ready for blitzing later.

2. Combine your melted butter with your brown sugar and then liquidise your two oranges, strain the stringy bits and add to the butter and sugar. Now whisk all of your eggs together until they become creamy and form stiff peaks. With a spatular gently combine the butter mixture to your eggs, do not mix too vigorously as this will beat out the air from your egg mixture.

3. Now weigh out your flour and combine with the ground almonds, once again gently combine to your egg mixture mixing enough to ensure all of your ingredients are mixed in. Now divide your cake mixture into 2 and pour into pre-lined sandwich tins and bake at 170 for 40 minutes or until cooked all the way through. 

4. Once your cakes are cooled slice each sandwich half in half again so you are left with 4 bits of cake in total. Now, place the bottom of the cake on a plate and generously layer with orange curd before placing cake layer number two on top. Cover layer number 2 with orange curd and layer number 3, leaving the top layer bare to cover with cream cheese icing.

5. I have always had a complete nightmare with cream cheese icing as it always goes runny but i promise that if you combine full fat cream cheese with mascapone and icing sugar to taste, your mixture will stay firm. Add one tsp of rose water to give it a little extra flavour which will go perfectly with the orange and pistachio. Put all of your icing on top of your cake and with a knife push the icing across and around the cake until it is evenly covered. 

6. To make crystalised rose petals pick some roses from your garden  or source some from somewhere that grows their roses without any pesticides. Lightly beat your egg white with a fork and then dip each rose petal in the egg whites and then sprinkle with caster sugar and leave on baking parchment to crystalise. This can be done days before you make and decorate your cake but if you want to do it on the day allow 2-3 hours for the rose petals to crystalise.

7. Finally roughly chop your pistachios or blitz in a food processor, make sure they still have lots of texture and are not too finely ground. generously sprinkle these over the top of your cake and arrange your rose petals to make it look like they have delicately fallen on top. Leave in the fridge to firm up but make sure you take it out in time before you serve as nobody likes cold cake!