Beat together the melted butter and sugar to combine well. Beat in the egg, salt and vanilla. Beat in the banana. Sift the flour over top and sprinkle on 3/4 of the chocolate chips. Stir all well together and then spread into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the centre is set. Transfer to a wire rack and cool in the pan. Frost when almost cold.
To make the frosting, melt the butter in the saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar and milk. Cook, stirring until it comes to the boil. Remove from the heat and cool for five minutes. Whisk in the icing sugar. Spread on top of the brownies. Let set until completely cold before cutting into squares.
Mix the meat together with the egg, onion and garlic powders, salt, pepper and thyme. Pat out into a 14 inch by 8 inch rectangle on a piece of cling film. Cover with the bread crumb mixture. Sprinkle evenly with 120g of the cheese (1 cup). Starting from a short end, roll up tightly. Place seamside down into an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 1/2 inch loaf dish.
Bake uncovered, for 55 minutes. Whisk together the maple syrup and the ketchup. Brush over top, then sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Return to the oven and bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes, until glazed and the cheese has melted. Let stand for a few minutes before cutting into slices to serve.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Basics to Brilliance is divided up into three beautiful chapters: Savoury, Need to know, and Sweet. There is also an indepth Glossary and Index.
Most of the recipes are the basic version followed by variations and simple flavour change-ups so one recipe becomes many and your repertoire grows naturally. For example, buttermilk fried chicken also becomes crispy chicken burgers, southern-style crispy chicken salad with buttermilk dressing and buttermilk fried chicken and slaw slider. Prawn dumplings can also become ginger, chilli and prawn dumpling soup and crispy golden prawn dumplings, and perfectly cooked steaks with a few additions become grilled beef skewers, with a chimichurri sauce or Korean Steak Tacos with Kimchi.
Basics to Brilliance really is a recipe book for the keeping.
In terms of cooking and recipes it's a great book for those less confident in the kitchen, as well as those who already have some experience in that field and want to broaden their skills. The recipes are not complicated, instructions clear and easy to follow, the ingredients widely available despite the author living in Australia.
There are recipes for "basics" like roast chicken, meatballs, pork belly, beef and sweet things like sponge cake or brownies. Each "master recipe" explains how to make your dish foolproof and also how you can simply change it to create entirely new dish! For example, with a simple addition of different spices, a slightly different cooking method, or even simply using your leftovers to create a completely new dish.
This is a beautiful book. A real joy for the eye with high quality paper, great photography and a very pleasant layout. It's a book sure to inspire and one that would make a a perfect gift for someone who likes cooking/baking.
At the age of eight, Donna Hay skipped into a kitchen, picked up a mixing bowl and never looked back. She moved to the world of magazine test kitchens and publishing, where she established her trademark style of simple, smart and seasonal recipes all beautifully put together and photographed. It is food for every cook, every food lover, every day and every occasion. Her unique style turned her into an international food-publishing phenomenon as a bestselling author of 20 cookbooks, publisher of donna hay magazine, newspaper columnist, and creator of a homewares and food range. Donna is a working mum of two beautiful boys, Tom and Angus, and resides in Sydney, Australia.
BASICS TO BRILLIANCE
By Donna Hay
- Hardcover: 400 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins (5 Oct. 2017)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1460751426
- ISBN-13: 978-1460751428
Note - I was sent a copy of this book by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of reviewing it. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange. Any and all opinions are my own.
Hard at work now putting the final touches onto the manuscript of my cookbook. I am getting really excited about its impending publish. It won't be long now.
It has taken a bit longer than originally thought. I don't think my Editor thought I could do or would do as much as I did so it's going to be quite a large book, but having seen the draft, I can tell you now it is also going to be a beautiful book and I am feeling really good about it!
I have also re-done some photographs of some of the recipes in the book and I thought I would give you a tiny sneak peak here today of what you have to look forward to.
Peppermint brownies. Just one of the several hundred recipes you are going to find in the book! Let me tell you now, the index alone is 8 pages, double columned. That's a LOT of deliciousness to look forward to!
And this recipe is just a sample of what is in there. They are dense and moist . . . and have a beautiful peppermint flavour.
Mint and chocolate go so well together! It is a flavour combination made in heaven.
They have a sweet and glistening chocolate ganache topping. This is decorated with a melted white chocolate drizzle that you run a toothpick through to give it an extra pretty finish.
These are some of my favourite brownies ever, which is saying a lot, and so very pretty!
*Peppermint Brownies*
Makes about 30, depending on how large you cut them
Delicious brownies that get even better tasting after a couple of days! Fantastic!
225g unsalted butter (1 cup)
225g of good quality unsweetened chocolate (8 ounces)
2 tsp peppermint tea leaves
383g caster sugar (2 cups)
4 large free range eggs
2 tsp peppermint essence
pinch fine seasalt
140g plain flour (1 cup)
For the chocolate glaze:
60g unsalted butter (1/4 cup)
60g good quality unsweetened chocolate (2 ounces)
60g semi sweet chocolate (2 ounces)
2 TBS golden syrup (can use corn syrup)
For the White chocolate trim:
60g white chocolate (2 ounces)
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking tin and line with parchment paper, allowing it to overhang by at least 2 inches above the long sides so that you can lift them out easily once baked and cooled. Butter the parchment paper.
Heat 2 inch of water in a small pot to a gentle simmer. Place the chocolate (chopped) and butter (chopped) for the brownies into a heat proof bowl. Set over the simmering water without allowing the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Cook and stir, until the butter and chocolate have melted and are uniform, some 6 to 7 minutes. Turn off the heat, but leave the bowl over the water.
Place the sugar and the peppermint tea in a food processor. Blitz until the tea is finely ground. Stir this mixture into the melted chocolate mixture. Beat in the eggs one at a time and then stir in the peppermint essence and salt. Sift the flour over top and then fold it in. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bang lightly on the counter to settle and then bake in the heated oven for 35 to 40 minutes until well set and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out almost clean. Allow to cool to room temperature in the pan, on top of a wire rack, before proceeding. Once cool, lift out by the paper handles and peel off the paper. Place onto a foil lined board, or tray.
To make the glaze bring the water in the pot back to a gentle simmer. Place both of the chocolates (chopped) along with the butter (chopped) into a bowl and set over the simmering water, again without allowing the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Cook and stir until smooth and melted. Stir in the golden syrup. Spread the chocolate glaze over the brownies in an even layer using an offset spatula.
Place the whit chocolate in another bowl and set over the simmering water, stirring until completely melted. Drizzle the melted white chocolate over top of the chocolate glaze in lines. Run a toothpick the opposite way through the white chocolate lines to make a decorative pattern. Allow to set for several hours before cutting into squares to serve. Keep well covered and serve at room temperature.
These delicious brownies really make for a delicious change from the regular variety. Its nice to note as well that you can also cut the recipe in half, and bake them in an 8 inch square pan, which is just the right size for my small household. Bon appetit!
-Skinny Chocolate Chip Cookies ( Pack of soft dairy-free chocolate chip biscuits – only 37Kcal each)
AND my absolute favourite . . .
-Skinny Carrot Cake Pearls ( Carrot cake sponges piped with a quark based low fat cream cheese frosting.)
All of them were delicious. And it was nice to feel like I was actually putting something a bit healthier into my mouth, instead of a whole pile of sugar. I really, really enjoyed them, and I think it is something which I will buy myself in the future, especially since most of they can be frozen for up to six months, which means I can stock up, pop them in the freezer and then just enjoy as and when.
You can order from their website: https://skinnybakery.co.uk/#shop
Their products are also available in Selfridges.
Follow them on Facebook
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Many thanks to The Skinny Bakery for sending me these delicious cakes to try. Although I was sent them free of charge, I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are completely my own. I quite simply love LOVE them! (Especially the Carrot Cake ones!)
When I first moved over here twelve years ago . . . there were some things that you just couldn't find. Things like Betty Crocker cake mixes, Marshmallow Fluff, and Skippy Peanut Butter, amongst other things. You never know what you will miss until you can't have it any more . . .
Over those years I have had to learn to adapt some of my favourite recipes to use other ingredients that are available over here . . . but there were still some things that you just couldn't adapt no way . . . no how. I used to bring back oodles of stuff each time I went over to Canada to visit my family. Todd used to do a lot of moaning about that . . . but I just reminded him of how he would feel if he couldn't get marmite anymore!
I confess to having a certain fondness for Brownies. Little fudgy bites of chocolate gooey-ness that I have a difficult time to resist. The Toddster could take them or leave them. (He's not human!) I don't make them very often as a result of that because if I do, then I am the only one in the house that will eat them, and I don't need to be eating them! I do often bake them if we are having company.
Its Father's Day this Sunday and I thought it would be fun this morning to share with you some of the things I wish I could cook for my dad. Unfortunately he is all the way over in Canada, so it will have to be just a wish list. I suppose I could cook some of them for Todd, even though he's not my dad. He probably wouldn't complain too much! Here are my choices and I hope you will give some of them a go yourself as well! The "Dads" in your life are sure to appreciate them!
I have always made my own convenience mixes for things . . . . biscuit/scone mix, cookie mix, muffin mix, etc. One of my favourite convenience mixes to have to hand is my Brownie Mix. It comes in very handy and so easy to make and to store. It does make a lot, but you can always cut the recipe in half to make less. Today I used it to make these delicious Easter Basket Brownies!
I am really behind on my cookery book reviews and I thought I would get the first one in today. I received this book back in February, We Love Kale, over 100 Delicious & Healthy Hand-Picked Recipes. This book is really different in that it was written by food bloggers, some of whom I know personally and who are my friends. Lucky them to get to participate in such a wonderful opportunity as co-authoring a cookerybook! I guess you can add the title of cookery book author to their cv's!
Boy, its hard to believe but Christmas is in just a little under three weeks. If you are like me, I am sure you are in the middle of all of your Christmas preparations . . . baking, planning, cooking, etc. I try to be so organized each year, but every year it always catches up with me and I end up not being as organized as I thought!
That is when recipes such as these Easy Lemon Brownies come in really handy. Delicious and quick to make, they are as simple as stirring a couple of things together and banging them into the oven!
Don't get all judgmental on me now . . . I am as good a baker as the next person, but let me tell you . . . cake mixes and prepared icing will always come in handy, and I . . . for one (and I know I am not alone in this) . . . happen to enjoy the convenience of these products and I am really happy that we are getting a lot more varieties of them here in the UK now!!
When I first moved over here, there was very little of these types of things available! I happen to think that they produce some very tasty cakes all on their own, but I also love to use them to bake other things.
These Easy Lemon Brownies use a Betty Crocker Zesty Lemon Cake Mix and a can of Betty Crocker Zesty Lemon Icing. I was so excited to discover these newest flavours.
And they also have a Spice Cake Mix now and I saw Strawberry Frosting the other day in the shops as well! (The wheels are turning!)
You simply mix the Zesty Lemon Cake Mix together with some melted butter and some beaten eggs and spread the batter in a pan. It's as simple as that!
Nothing could be easier. They only take 15 minutes in the oven . . . and before you know it they are cooling on the side board.
Waiting for them to cool enough so that you can spread them with that delicious Betty Crocker Zesty Lemon Icing.
I sprinkled the top with some white chocolate chips and chopped toasted walnuts to dress them up a bit. Of course you could always stir them into the batter . . . but I liked the look of them scattered over the top.
I always toast my nuts. I just think that a light toasting really helps to enhance the flavour of nuts. Do let them cool before you use them though . . .
Just look at how dense and fudgy they are . . . and they have a full on lemon flavour too. I just ADORE Lemon anything, don't you?
Uh huh . . . I thought so!
Once
cold, spread the top with the zesty lemon buttercream frosting. You
will not need it all. Scatter the chocolate chips and toasted walnuts
over top. Cut into 16 squares. Store any leftovers in an airtight
container. You can also freeze them.
These were really, really, REALLY good. So good that I (who shouldn't be really eating anything like this) ate two the day I baked them, then Todd ate two also, and then I divided up the rest into containers and gave them away, because I really don't NEED to have anything that deliciously irresitable in my house! Hot dang!
Don't say I didn't warn you! Seriously the lemon flavours of both the mix and the icing were spot on. I am going to have to go to the shops and buy another of each so I can then just bake them as a cake, because I am thinking the cake will be exceptionally tasty also. I'll make sure to bake it when the missionaries will be about. Just to make sure I don't eat it all.
You know a couple of weeks ago I was just saying how much I wished that the Betty Crocker people would get a lemon flavoured cake mix here and there it was! My wish came true! Many thanks to the people at Betty Crocker for sending me this new cake mix and the icing to try! I am so thankful to have yet another delicious flavour to add to my larder!
Dare I wish for another flavour? Hmmm . . . they have strawberry icing . . . strawberry cake mix would be good! Take Note! And a nice vanilla cake mix would also be very nice.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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