I baked something today that my chocolate hating husband did not like at all. A gal sometimes just has to do what a gal has to do.

Sometimes you just have to feed your need for . . . chocolate.  And as we all know women love chocolate. I am no exception, candy. . . cake, cookies, brownies . . . donuts. If its chocolate I am in!

 

Baked donuts though . . . so it's not a bad thing . . . baked Chocolate Donuts. These are made with buttermilk.   You know how moist buttermilk makes things. 

These Baked Chocolate Buttermilk Donuts are exactly that. Moist and chocolatey, dense even, without being the least bit heavy.

 

Ever since I was a child I have had favorite donuts. I love cake donuts. I like the yeasted ones as well, but I love cake donuts best of all and especially, chocolate cake donuts.  

Chocolate cake donuts. Chocolate sour cream donuts . . . they were available at Tim Hortons back home. These are not them.   But they are close.

 

Dense and quite chocolatey . . . without the added faff of frying . . . not to mention extra calories.   The buttermilk glaze is quite, quite scrummy . . . with just a hint of sweetness.   

 I added chocolate spaghetti sprinkles . . . for show you know.  I'm a showy kind of gal.  I like things to look at least as good as they taste. We eat first with our eyes.



I love these chocolate spaghetti sprinkles.  They are pretty without going over the top and add a touch of crunch to the outsides. 

 But you could leave the chocolate spaghetti off entirely. You could even choose a different kind of sprinkle altogether. I just think you should  bake these donuts at your earliest convenience.



You WON'T be sorry.  Ok, so your waistline may groan a teensie little bit.

If you are like me, I'm sure you'll be able to ignore it . . . SCRUMMO! These are quite simply fabulously tasty!



*Baked Chocolate Buttermilk Donuts*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

One word . . . SCRUMMY!

100g plain flour (1 cup)
190g sugar (1 cup)
84g cocoa powder (3/4 cup)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
a pinch freshly grated nutmeg
6 fluid ounces buttermilk  (3/4 cup)
4 fluid ounces cold coffee (1/2 cup)
2 fluid ounces vegetable oil (1/4 cup)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 large free range egg

To glaze:
130g icing sugar (1 cup) sifted
few drops vanilla extract
3 to 4 TBS buttermilk



Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 5.  Spray two nonstick baked donut pans with nonstick spray.  Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, soda, baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Whisk together the buttermilk, coffee, oil, vanilla and egg.   Whisk these into the dry ingredients until combined.   Fill each donut pan hole 3/4 of the way full. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until they spring back when lightly touched.  Let sit in the pan for about 5 minutes before tipping out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Whisk together all of the glaze ingredients until smooth.   Dip the cooled donuts into the glaze and set aside on a wire rack to allow the glaze to set.   Delicious! 

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My friend Shirley posted a photo of a delicious looking ice cream cake on Facebook on Christmas Day.  Oh my but it looked good.  I just had to ask for the recipe. This was her reply:

   " I lined a loaf tin with cling film then put after eight mints on the bottom and sides. Then soften some ice cream and add whatever you like. I used some brownie chunks and mint areos. Then pop more mints on top and re-freeze. I dusted with icing sugar before serving. You could use anything in the ice cream mix....Christmas pudding, choc chunks, cranberries, cherries, toffee etc. Customize it to taste!"



Easy peasy!!  I hesitate to even call it a recipe because it's so simple even a child could make it!  All you need are a variety of bits and bobs to layer with the ice cream in the pan.  If you didn't want to use mints on the outsides, you could use flat chocolate biscuits, which would be nice, or custard creams, or whatever.

 

You  could drizzle the layers with your favourite kind of ice cream topping . . . Dulce de Leche, Chocolate Fudge, Strawberry Jam . . .

 

You could use any flavour of  Ice Cream you want to use.  I am thinking that chocolate ice cream would go really well with bits of marshmallow, cherries . . . toasted praline nuts . . . or broken up Terry's Chocolate Oranges.

 

Hopefully you can see where I am going with this.   Just use your imagination and what you have to hand, just making sure that the flavours you use are ones which go well together.  Cherry and  toasted almonds.  Milk Chocolate and Orange.  Lemon and Vanilla.  Peanut butter and Chocolate.   Broken Digestives, peanut butter, chocolate and marshmallows . . .  there is no end to the combinations you could come up with.

 

The most important thing is to have fun with it.  I don't think I've ever seen an easier dessert or one that was as ooohed and aaahed over.  Happy New Year!




* Simple Ice Cream Cake*
Makes about 10 servings
Printable Recipe

This is so easy to do and so adaptable.  I hesitate to even call it a recipe.   It's just basically layering ice cream with some of your favourite goodies.

1 litre of vanilla ice cream (1/2 quart), slightly softened
1 box of thin mint chocolate patties (such as After Eights)
4 mint aero bars, broken
5 shortbread biscuits, broken up, or broken up
(brownies or other sweet squares or biscuits, even rice crispie squares
work well.  You want something which will go with the mint)
pieces of fudge or caramels chopped

To serve:
icing sugar to dust
little chocolate candies and sprinkles, silver dragees, etc.

 

Line a loaf tin with some plastic cling film, allowing it to drape over the sides.  Line the tin with a layer of the mint patties.  (Place them so that their right sides will be facing out, when you unmold the cake.)
Fill the tin with 1/3 of the softened ice cream.  Top with 1/2 of the broken aero bars, biscuits and fudge bits top with another third of the ice cream pressing it down. Sprinkle with the remaining aeros, biscuits and fudge and then top with the final third of the ice cream.  Top with a final layer of mint patties.  Fold the cling film over top to cover tightly and place into the freezer for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

When you are ready to serve, Uncover the top of the cake and tip it out onto a serving tray about 15 minutes before you plan on serving it.  Carefully peel off the cling film.  Dust with some icing sugar and sprinkle with candies, dragees, sprinkles, etc.

Cut into slices with a warm wet knife to serve.

Note:  The best thing about this is that you can use whatever you have to hand.   Candy cane ice cream would be lovely, or chocolate ice cream with chocolate orange chunks.  Malteasers, leftover Christmas chocolates, crumbled Christmas pudding, or whatever else is available.

Mmmm . . . Next up Chocolate Orange Chip Cookies, filled with lots of chocolate orange chunks, semi sweet chocolate chips and toasted walnuts.

This recipe is a little bit of a cheat as it uses a boxed brownie mix, but I think most of you will forgive me for that! Now you CAN have your brownies and EAT them too!

 

If you are really adverse to using mixes . . . I have a from scratch recipe for a light brownie which you can see here.  I am thinking it would work just as well as the  mix. But I am adding no guarantees here as I haven't done this myself.   Not yet, anyways.  When I do, I'll report back!



I am always looking for lighter options.  I know that it may not seem like that from looking at a lot of the recipes that I post on here, but it's true. If I can figure out a lighter way of doing something . . .



AND actually have the adaptation taste as good or better than the original recipe . . . then I am all for that!

 

It's not always possible, but these tasty brownies do just that.  Seriously!!



Less fat, just as much taste as the original.  I did not ice mine.  I simply dusted them with a bit of icing sugar to serve.  It dresses them up quite nicely . . .
I'll guarantee nobody will even guess that these are low fat.

 

They're really easy to make too . . . the only difficult part will be eating just one.



I betcha can't!  And if you can???  Well . . . then,  you're a much stronger woman than I am!

 

*Low Fat Cheesecake Brownies*
Makes one 8 inch square pan
Printable Recipe

Deliciously low fat alternative to the real thing.  Rich and fudgy too.  You'll never miss the fat.

1 package of brownie mix
2 heaped dessertspoons of smooth applesauce (about 1/4 cup)
2 large free range egg whites, divided
2 TBS water
125g of light cream cheese, softened (1/2 cup)
95g of granulated sugar (1/4 cup)
2 TBS plain flour

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Spray an 8 inch square pan with nonstick cooking spray, and line with baking paper, leaving an overhang for lifting.  Spray the paper.  Set aside.

Whisk together the brownie mix, one of the egg whites, the apple sauce and water until smooth.  Pour into the prepared pan.  Stir together the cream cheese, remaining egg white, sugar and flour until well blended.  Pour this over top of the brownie batter.  Cut through the batter with a knife several times to create a marbled effect.

Bake for 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with fudgy crumbs attached.  Don't overbake.  Cool completely in the pan on top of a wire rack before removing and cutting into squares.

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'm happy to say though that in recent years quite a few things have  become easily available . . . things like Gold Fish Crackers, Marshmallow Fluff, Skippy Peanut Butter and at least a few cake mix flavours . . . such as Devils Food and Carrot.  I'm still waiting for Crab-Apple Jelly, Captain Crunch Cereal and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner to catch on . . . but I live in hope.

 

Being able to get some of these things though, means that I can now cook some of our favourite treats in my English Kitchen, like these delicious Brownies that I baked for the Missionaries yesterday . . .

 

Yes, they are a bit of a cheat because they use a boxed cake mix . . . but I know you won't hold that against me.  I've tried through the years to develop my own base . . . but I just haven't been able to crack it just yet.  The base for these is soooo moist and  fudgy and chocolatey . . .



And that fluffer nutter topping.  Fluffer nutter is a popular sandwich combination in North America . . . sandwiches spread with marshmallow cream and peanut butter.  In fact I do believe that it is so popular that you can now find it already mixed in jars.

 

I think though . . . fluffer nutter sandwiches were an Amish invention . . . but you can feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

How can something that is soooo bad for you be soooo good!! 

 

In any case, no matter if it is a cheat . . . and no matter where it comes from . . . you can now make them here . . . in the UK, and with British ingredients.  The bottom line is this . . . they're fabulously delish and now I can make them here, at home . . . without dragging a heavy suitcase across the Atlantic, or paying an outrageous price at one of those speciality shops.

Life is very, very good.



*Fluffer Nutter Brownies*
Makes one 9 by 15 inch pan
Printable Recipe

These could not be easier, and they are fabulously, moreishly delicious!  I bet you can't eat just one!

1 500g box of Devils food cake mix (Betty Crocker, double layer cake)
2 large free range eggs
125ml of sunflower oil (1/2 cup)
120g of smooth peanut butter (2/3 cup)
1/2 of a 213g jar of marshmallow cream  (2/3 cup)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 397g tin of sweetened condensed milk (14 ounce)
a couple handfuls of milk or dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Butter a 13 by 9 inch baking dish really well.  Set aside.

Mix together the oil, eggs and cake mix until well blended.  Spread this mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.  Set aside.

Whisk together the peanut butter, marshmallow cream, vanilla and sweetened condensed milk, until smooth and amalgamated.  Spread this mixture evenly over top of the chocolate mix.  Scatter the chocolate chips over top.

Bake for15 to 20 minutes, just until the edges are light golden brown and the centre is almost set.  You want it to be a bit gooey.  Allow to cool completely before cutting with a sharp knife into bars  for serving.  Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to two days, or in the refrigerator for longer, allowing them to come to room temperature for serving

You can now buy Marshmallow Fluff at Asda and I believe Sainsbury's.  The Cake mixes are pretty much available in all of the shops and you can get the Skippy Peanut Butter in Waitrose and Sainsbury's.

 

We had the Missionaries for tea today. There are two sets of two each here in Chester, now . . . but you are only allowed to feed two at a time. One set has a car and the other doesn't. Today we had the car-less ones and next week we'll have the other pair.

 

 We've only ever had girl missionaries once . . . I liked to spoil them too . . . and it was fun to share recipes with them . . . but that was only once for a few months.  They were nice girls, well . . . young women really.  They helped to pack up our books for us when we were moving back up here to Chester from Brenchley in Kent.

 

Girls add a special touch to everything they do . . . the nicest thing was when I was unpacking the books and found a little note from one of them.  She had drawn a little picture and left a message and tucked it in amongst the books.  It was so nice to see . . . and helped me to feel a bit less bereft . . .
Boys/men . . . not quite the same, but special in their own unique ways.  I do like to spoil them all . . . and part of how I do that is feeding them whenever I can.

 

Today I did my special oven baked pork chops for the lads.  They went down a real treat along with mash and carrots . . . salad (girls like salad, boys not so much), crusty rolls . . . and for dessert some scrummy Fluffer Nutter Brownies (Look for them tomorrow) and a little taste of home . . . pistachio pudding.

 

I managed to get one photo of the chops plated, but that is all.  Todd doesn't like me photographing the food when they are here.  He's afraid they will think I'm a bit of a nut, I think . . . but that's ok.  I don't mind who thinks I am a nut . . . so I got one photo.

 

The others . . . I took them in the kitchen when I was plating up . . . what the eye don't see the heart don't grieve they say, and Todd was none the wiser . . . 

You want a nice thick pork chops for these . . . old fashioned ones with a bit of fat and bone.  Those are the more tender ones.  It's more of a method than a recipe really . . . very simple and very delicious.  You can adapt it to as many servings as you wish.  They are always very well received.  And today . . . well, today was no exception. ☺

 

*Oven Baked Breaded Pork Chops*
These directions are for one chop, but can be multiplied
to as many as you want to serve.
Printable Recipe


This is more of a method than a recipe.  It is the way I have been doing my breaded pork chops for years and years.  They always end up tender and moist.  The crumbs on the bottom don't always stick, but they do meld into the juices to make a luscious sauce and the crumbs on the top always stay put.  All in all they are truly delicious.

1 bone in pork chop per person
salt, pepper, dried sage and garlic powder
2 TBS of fine dry bread crumbs per chop
butter to dot
apple juice

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F.  Line a large shallow baking tray with foil and lightly grease the foil.  Onto the baking sheet place as many chops are you are wanting to serve.  Obviously if you are only cooking one or two you will want a smaller baking tray.  Dust the top surface of each chop with some salt, pepper, sage (rubbed between your fingertips) and garlic powder to taste.  Then sprinkle a tablespoon of bread crumbs evenly over top of each one. Dot with butter.  Pour apple juice into the baking tray evenly around the chops, trying not to disturb the crumbs on top. Place the tray into the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, checking to make sure the apple juice does not boil dry in the pan.  Once the crumbs have begun to brown on top, remove the pan from the oven.  Carefully turn each chop over without disturbing the crumb topping and repeat the process for seasoning and crumbing on the underside.  If you need more juice in the pan, once again pour it around the chops.

  Return the pan to the oven and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, until nicely browned on top and the juices have thickened into a bit of a sauce.  Check every 10 minutes or so to make sure the pan is not going dry and top up with more juice if need be.  Serve hot with some of the pan juices spooned over top.  Fabulous!

 

I have a fabulous  recipe for Double Chocolate Chunk Blondies that I just love. They always turn out rich, moist and perfectly scrummy.  Moreish even . . . In fact I'd go so far as to even call them dangerous.



Yesterday I decided to shake things up a bit and switch a few things around . . . using the same batter, so that they would keep that moist and fudgy texture . . .

 

But substituting the vanilla flavor with ginger . . . in four delicious forms.  Some in the form of the syrup from a jar of Preserved Ginger-root, some as finely grated fresh ginger, some as dried ground ginger and finally some as chopped preserved ginger-root.  Oh I do so love preserved ginger-root.



I could just pick knobs of it from the jar and eat them like candy.  They're just lovely.  You might be tempted to think that with four kinds of ginger, it would be too much, but you would be completely wrong.  It was just the right amount, giving lots of flavour and just a touch of heat, but in a very good way.



I offset it with white chocolate.  Ginger and white chocolate are a marriage made in heaven.  Oh my . . . they are perfect together . . .  You get the crisp sweetness of the preserved ginger, and then that creamy sweetness which provides an equal amount of balance in the opposite direction . . .



And then I added the crunch of Macadamia Nuts . . . just love Macadamia Nuts, don't you???
A friend once sent me a tin of honey roasted ones from Hawaii and they were sooooo good.  Almost the best nut temptations that I have ever eaten . . . and I have dreamt about them since . . . hopefully one day I will be able to taste them again.

 

Maybe I will be able to figure out a way to make them myself.  Now that is a challenge . . . I just may try.
In the meantime, these squares are so deliciously good.  Every bite brings you fabulous textures . . . fudgy cake, creamy chocolate, snappy ginger, and crunchy nuts.  T'was a splendid idea I think.



Oh, all of this experimentation and taste testing is a tough job . . . but somebody has to do it . . .



 *Ginger, White Chocolate Chunk and Macadamia Nut Blondies*
Makes 48
Printable Recipe

Deliciously moreish blonde brownies, moist and  stogged full of four kinds of ginger, white chocolate chunks and scrummy macadamia nuts! What's not to like?

140g of butter, melted (1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 TBS)
400g soft light brown muscovado sugar (3/4 cup plus 1 TBS, lightly packed)
1 TBS ginger syrup from a jar of preserved ginger in syrup
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger-root
1 tsp ground ginger
2 knobs of preserved ginger in syrup, coarsely chopped
3 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
300g of plain flour (2 1/2 cups)
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
50g of macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped (1/2 cup)
100g of coarsely chopped good quality white chocolate (1 medium size bar.  I use Green & Blacks)

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Line a 9 inch square pan with baking paper, leaving an overhang.  Lightly spray with cooking spray.  Set aside.

Place the butter into a large saucepan and melt over low heat.  Stir in the muscovado sugar, ginger syrup, grated ginger-root, ground ginger and preserved ginger.  Mix well.  Allow to cool until lukewarm.  Beat in the eggs.  Sift together the salt, baking powder and flour.  Fold this into the wet ingredients, just to mix and blend.  Don't overmix.  Stir in the nuts and chocolate.  Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan.

Bake for 25 minutes, until just firm.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before lifting out onto a rack, using the overhang.  Allow to cool completely before removing the paper and cutting into squares.  Store in a tightly covered container for up to 4 days.

 

Did you know that this is National Chocolate Week?  I didn't until yesterday and I can't think of a more delicious week to celebrate!  As you know I LOVE CHOCOLATE, but the Toddster doesn't.  Meh . . . what do men know about such things . . .

 

I have had a cookbook entitled "Bake Me I'm Yours . . . Chocolate" in my bookcase for a while now.  It's a part of the Bake Me I'm Yours series put out  by D&C publishing.

It's a cute little book, which contains over 25 beautiful Chocolate Creations.   Written and put together by Tracey Mann, it consists of over 123 pages, and is fully illustrated with color photos throughout.  It's not a large book in size, and would easily fit inside a handbag.  Printed on quality paper and soft covered.



It's set up in convenient sections and includes all the basics you need to know about baking and decorating with chocolate as it's main theme.

 

Included are an extensive tool list so that you need never be in the dark as far as knowing what to use and when to use it.  Basic techniques are covered such as tempering chocolate and using chocolate paste.  Basic recipes are  also included for things such as chocolate sponge cake, brownies, ganache, chocolate cupcakes, amongst others.



Each recipe and technique is beautifully photographed and illustrated.



You can learn now to make perfect chocolate curls . . .

 

Be able to create fantastic Celebratory Creations!



From beautiful and simple every day cupcakes . . .



To fabulously decorated Christmas Cakes!!

If Chocolate is your thing . . . and you like to decorate and create beautiful baked goods, then this is the book for you!

Right now you can purchase it at RUCrafts for the low price of £2.99   I don't know about you, but that is pretty affordable in my opinion, not much more than the price of a hot drink in a cafe and you'll have it with you for a whole lot longer too!

bake me I'm yours . . . Chocolate
by Tracey Mann
Published by D&C (David and Charles) publishing
ISBN - 13: 978-0-7153-3764-6
ISBN - 10: 0-7153-3764-5
UK £6.99

In honor of National Chocolate week I am offering the chance for two of you to win a copy of this lovely cookery book!!  All you have to do is leave a comment in the comment section of this post and on Monday next I will use an independent number picker to pick two entries from all of the comments to receive a copy of this book, and it doesn't matter where you live.  They will ship it anywhere!  So . . . what are you waiting for?  Get commenting!!

Giveaway now closed.  Thanks for playing!