Showing posts sorted by date for query brownies. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query brownies. Sort by relevance Show all posts
I normally like to bake my husband something special at the weekend. Usually it is a cake, but we already had some cake in. (I bought a lemon loaf at Costco on Thursday.)
I thought maybe some muffins or squares. Then I picked up this book and went looking through.
Its a cookbook I picked up at Marks & Spencer a while back. The recipes in it always turn out. So far not a dud in the bunch.
I did have rather a lot of dessert apples so when I spied the recipe for Upside-down Toffee Apple Brownies, I thought to myself *DING *DING * DING this is it!
My husband loves apple anything! Dessert apples are sweet eating apples, that you might eat out of hand.
Think Red Delicious, Pink Ladies, Gala, Fuji, Honey Crisp or Golden Delicious! All are great Dessert Apples. I had Pink Ladies.
The recipe starts out much as an upside down cake would, with you melting butter and brown sugar together. In this case light muscovado sugar.
Muscovado has a higher molasses count than regular brown sugar, but if you can't find muscovado use brown sugar. Or you could add 1 TBS of molasses to the mix.
The sugar and butter mixture gets poured over the bottom of the pan and then you lay sliced apples evenly over top.
The batter is a simple one. Again, butter and muscavado sugar are creamed together.
Some eggs get beaten in, and then a mixture of flour, baking powder and baking soda are stirred in, along with some ground mixed spice.
Don't worry, I have actually attached my recipe for making your own mixed spice right to my recipe this time!
Once that is all mixed together you fold in some grated eating apples and chopped toasted hazelnuts! That's it.
Spread that over the apples in the pan and bake!
The end result is an incredibly moist and chewy cake type of brownie. So tasty warm with a hot cuppa, or if you wanted to turn it into dessert a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream would also go very nicely.
Yield: 9
Upside-down Toffee Apple Brownies
prep time: cook time: total time:
All the flavours of a Toffee Apple in a brownie. Wonderful served warm with a hot cuppa or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
ingredients:
For the Toffee Apple Topping:
- 85g light muscavado sugar (can use brown sugar) (1/3 cup packed)
- 55g butter (1/4 cup)
- 1 dessert apple, cored and thinly sliced
For the Brownie Base:
- 115g butter, plus extra for buttering pan (1/2 cup)
- 175g light muscavado sugar (can use light brown) (3/4 cup packed plus 1 1/2 TBS)
- 2 large free range eggs, beaten
- 210g plain flour (1 1/2 cup)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 1/2 tsp ground mixed spice
- 2 eating apples, peeled and coarsely grated
- 85g chopped toasted hazelnuts (1/2 cup)
instructions:
How to cook Upside-down Toffee Apple Brownies
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 inch square non-stick baking tin well. Set aside.
- Melt the butter and sugar for the topping together in a small saucepan. Pour into the prepared baking tin. Arrange the apple sliced decoratively over the bottom of the tin on top of the toffee sauce.
- Beat the butter and sugar for the brownie together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs a bit at a time to incorporate. Sift together the flour, soda, baking powder, and spice. Stir into the creamed mixture until combined. Stir in the apples and nuts. Spread over the apples in the baking tin. (I find that what works best is to apply 6 large dollops evenly spaced and then to spread the dollops out.)
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until firm and golden brown. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes prior to tipping out onto a square platter. Cut into squares to serve.
NOTES:
Make Your Own Mixed Spice:
You can easily make your own mixed spice: Combine 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 1 tsp each of ground coriander and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and all spice. Mix well and store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.
You can easily make your own mixed spice: Combine 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 1 tsp each of ground coriander and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and all spice. Mix well and store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it #EnglishKitchen
My husband was very happy with this bake. He scarfed down two of them right away. I don't know how he stays so thin. We are like Jack Sprat and his Wife! Never mind . . . we are who we are. I hope you will try these delicious apple brownies. I think you will be well pleased with them!
PS - After one session with the Chiropractor my back feels at least 50% better. I can't wait for my next few sessions. I bet I will soon be feeling better than I have in years! I highly recommend!
Just as promised here I am today with Ten easy and elegant dessert parfaits! Oh, I do so love to make dessert parfaits in the summer time!
For one thing they make great use of all of the fresh fruit that we have available and coming into season, especially berries!
Our strawberries are finished now, but you can still get good local ones in the shops. There are also plenty of blueberries, raspberries and the blackberries are just beginning!
These Raspberry, Ice Cream and Brownie Parfaits are a real favourite and so easy to do. Especially if you have some ready made brownies about.
The berries are sweetened with a bit of sugar and then layered in pretty glasses along with softened vanilla ice cream, crumbled brownies and milk chocolate chips!
What's not to like about that? Nothing! These are so simple to make and oh so tasty!
If you don't have brownies, you could use chocolate cookies, or pound cake . . . crumbled vanilla sandwich cookies, etc. The world is your oyster!
You can let your imagination go wild with these!
If you wanted to you could even macerate your raspberries with a bit of Chambord raspberry liqueur, or drizzle with a bit of Mozart Dark Chocolate liqueur for something really special, especially if you are entertaining!
Raspberry, Ice Cream & Chocolate Brownie Parfait
Yield: 4
A little taste of Heaven on Earth I believe.
ingredients:
- 250g fresh raspberries (2 cups)
- 2 TBS sugar
- 450g vanilla ice cream (2 cups)
- 4 brownies, crumbled
- 2 TBS milk chocolate chips
instructions:
How to cook Raspberry, Ice Cream & Chocolate Brownie Parfait
- Sprinkle the sugar over the raspberries and let sit for a few minutes to macerate. Stir the ice cream until a bit soft and then begin layering the ingredients into four parfait or decorative glasses, beginning with a bit of ice cream, half a crumbled brownie, some of the berries, some more ice cream, more crumbled brownie, more berries and some chocolate chips to finish. Serve immediately.
One of my absolute favourite combinations however has to be these Mixed Berry and Lemon Cream parfaits!
A mix of berries is macerated in orange juice and sugar (you could use Cointreau or Gran Marnier if you wanted to.) You whip some cream and fold in lemon curd.
And then layer the berries and some crumbled shortbread biscuits along with the cream in pretty glasses. Oh boy, so yummy!
Summer Berry & Lemon Cream Parfaits
Yield: 4
So delicious you won't be able to resist!
ingredients:
- 450g mixed summer berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries) (2 cups)
- 2 TBS sugar
- the juice of 1/2 orange
- 240ml double cream (1 cup)
- 2 heaped dessertspoons of lemon curd (1/4 cup)
- a few crumbled shortbread biscuits
instructions:
How to cook Summer Berry & Lemon Cream Parfaits
- Sprinkle the sugar and the orange juice over the berries in a bowl. Leave to macerate while you make the lemon cream.
- Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold in the lemon curd.
- Crumble the biscuits. How many you will need will depend on how many biscuit crumbs you want in your parfaits. I would calculate one biscuit per parfait.
- Have ready four decorative glasses or parfait cups. Beginning with the cream, layer in the fruit, biscuit crumbs and lemon cream, ending with a dollop of the cream on top, plus a few berries and some biscuit crumbs to garnish. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
*Eight Easy & Elegant Dessert Parfaits*
Each serves four
Parfaits
are perfect, quick, easy and delicious desserts to serve! They take
advantage of the natural flavours of fresh fruit and they don't require
baking. A plus in the summer when fresh fruit is readily available!
Here are some suggestions for some delicious combinations!
Strawberry Parfaits:
Sprinkle 450g (2 cups) sliced strawberries with 95g (1 cup) of sugar,
the grated zest and juice of one orange and 1 TBS Balsamic vinegar. Set
aside for 15 minutes. Whip 240ml heavy cream (1 cup) with 95g sugar
(1/2 cup) until soft peaks form. Starting with the fruit and ending
with the cream, make 3 layers in each of 4 dessert glasses.
Ricotta Cheese, Walnut & Honey Parfaits:
Stir enough heavy cream into 250g ricotta cheese (2 cups) to obtain a
soft consistency. Starting with the cheese building the parfaits in 3
layers, drizzling each layer with some nicely flavoured honey (Greek is
lovely) and a sprinkling with portion of chopped toasted walnuts.
Finish with honey and nuts.
Pineapple Caramel Sundae Parfaits: Sprinkle
450g (2 cups) chopped fresh pineapple with a few spoonfuls of soft
light brown sugar, or to taste. Stir 450g (1 pint) of vanilla frozen
yogurt until soft. Starting with the pineapple, layer in the pineapple
and frozen yogurt in four dessert glasses. Drizzle with some prepared
caramel sauce and serve immediately.
Jelly Parfaits: Prepare
a package of cherry or raspberry jelly according to the package
directions and pour into 4 dessert glasses. Add mixed berries, sliced
strawberries, or sliced banana and refrigerate until the jelly is firm.
Top with a dollop of whipped cream or creme fraiche and a scattering of
the fruit you have used in the jelly.
Mixed Berry Creme Fraiche Parfaits:
Sprinkle a few spoonfuls of sugar over 125g (1 cup) of blueberries and
125g (1 cup) of raspberries to sweet them to taste. Add the grated zest
and juice of one lemon. Let sit for about 5 minutes. Whip 120g (1
cup) of creme fraiche with 30g (1/4 cup) sour cream until fluffy.
Starting with the berries, layer the berries and creme fraiche mixture in
four glasses and chill until needed to serve.
Ambrosia Parfaits: Sprinkle
a few spoonfuls of sugar over the peeled segments of 1 orange and 1
grapefruit (with their juices) to sweeten the fruit. Starting with the
fruit, layer wedges with whipped cream and coconut flakes in each of
four glasses. Top with a scoop of marshmallow fluff and a maraschino or
fresh cherry to serve.
Chocolate Sandwich Cookie Parfaits:
Stir a 450g (1 pint) of chocolate ice cream to soften slightly.
Starting with the ice cream, layer the ice cream with crumbled chocolate
sandwich cookies (2 for each parfait) in each of four dessert glasses.
Drizzle each layer of cookie with chocolate sauce. Top with a dollop
of whipped cream and some chocolate chips, chunks or shavings. Serve
immediately.
Its truly amazing what you can do with a bit of imagination and whats in the store cupboard when it comes to creating simple and delicious summer desserts! Happy Weekend!
Up tomorrow: Chocolate Birthday Cake
I decided to bake a cake for Todd so as to make up for having baked Brownies the other day. He is not fond of chocolate as you know. He loves coconut, and so I decided to bake him a Coconut Cake.
I had seen a recipe a few weeks back on Clodagh McKenna's FB Page for a Cloudy Coconut Cake. (Way back in the archives of 2017) But the link never took me to any recipe for it. I decided to wing it.
Winging it isn't something I would recommend to people without much experience in the kitchen. You are likely to experience many more failures than successes. I have been baking and cooking for about 50 years now so I can do so without too many problems.
I used a basic layer sponge cake recipe and replaced milk with coconut milk and added a bit of coconut oil as well . . . for plenty of coconut flavour and moistness.
The lemon in the cake batter comes from the use of the juice of one lemon. When you use something like lemon juice in a cake, you need to add bicarbonate of soda to counteract the acidity and help get a rise. Not sure why that is. Its a chemical reaction of sorts.
You could use half butter and half shortening and get a lighter cake, but I don't mind cakes which are a bit dense and so use all butter.
There are more coconut and lemon flavours in the frosting/filling. A bit of coconut oil and the zest and juice of one lemon goes into the butter cream.
I went for broke and added a layer of lemon curd to fill as well . . . Todd was not so happy about that, because he not only doesn't like chocolate, but he also doesn't like lemon . . .
If I had left out the lemon curd he probably would not have noticed . . . but alas . . . I never do anything halfway . . . and so he did.
He really enjoyed the cake otherwise however . . . I know . . . its not quite natural to dislike chocolate and lemon . . .
I used large natural, raw coconut flakes to decorate the top of the cake.
I think they looked really nice. They are also not sweetened . . .
The cake itself is pretty sweet enough. You could toast them I suppose, but I liked the way they looked in their raw state. I thought they gave the cake a really pretty finish!
Yield: Makes one 8 inch layer cake
Coconut & Lemon Cake
A rich and moist layer cake with beautiful coconut and lemon flavours. Frost and fill with a lemon frosting and dust with coconut flakes to finish. You can also add a layer of lemon curd to the filling if you wish. (completely optional)
ingredients:
For the cake layers:
- 300g plain flour (2 cups plus 2 1/2 TBS)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 285g caster sugar (1 1/2 cups)
- 240g butter, melted (1 cup)
- 240ml coconut milk (1 cup)
- 2 large free range eggs
- the juice of one lemon
- 1 TBS coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- 120g butter softened (1/2 cup)
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- the finely grated zest and juice of one lemon
- 250g icing sugar, sifted (scant 2 cups)
- 100g raw coconut flakes to decorate (1 cup)
- Lemon Curd to fill (Optional)
instructions:
How to cook Coconut & Lemon Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter 2 8-inch round layer cake tins and line the bottoms with baking paper.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, and soda. Stir in the sugar. Whisk together the melted butter, coconut milk, eggs, lemon juice, coconut oil and vanilla. Add all at once to the dry ingredients. Using an electric whisk beat together until smooth and well combined, stopping to scrape the sides occasionally. Divide between the two cake tins, levelling each off. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, until risen and golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean.
- Let cool in the tins for 10 to 15 minutes before tipping out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the icing, place all of the ingredients into a bowl and beat well with an electric mixer until smooth, light and fluffy. Place one cake layer, top side down, onto a cake plate. Cover with a portion of the icing and lemon curd if using. Top with the other cake layer, top side up. Cover the remainder of the cake with the icing and then sprinkle the coconut over all to decorate. Cut into wedges to serve.
- Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.
Can you see how moist and delicious that cake is? Its just wonderful. I am afraid I will never win any awards for food photography. I am far too impatient to leave things for hours and hours in the refrigerator setting up. I find myself just wanting to dig in!
I was so embarrassed today. We went to the grocery store this morning to do my weekly shop, only to have my card turned down at the cash register. Not once, but twice. And then we tried Todd's card and his was turned down also. Has that ever happened to you? I wanted to wither up and disappear into a hole in the floor. I have never had it happen before. But then again, normally I check our bank balance before I go shopping. Today I neglected to do that. Lesson learnt!
In any case this will be a slim pickings week to say the least. I rise to the challenge. Thank goodness we have a fairly generous store cupboard! Perfect for times like this! Oh boy! I don't think I will ever be forgetting to check our bank balance prior to shopping again!
This brownie recipe I am sharing today is one I baked early last week. It is not Rocky Road in the sense of the North American style of rocky road, although it is similar to be sure!
The recipe comes from this cookbook I bought at M&S a long time ago when we were living down South. The M&S cookery books are usually quite good if you can get your hands on one. They are filled with good dependable recipes.
I love M & S (which stands for Marks & Spencer's). I am always telling Todd, if we won the lottery I would shop there all the time. You can't beat their clothing. We always buy our nightclothes there and Todd gets his shoes there. Quality. And everything wears well.
It is the same in the food hall. Quality. You do pay a bit more for their food, but it lasts twice as long as food you buy anywhere else. Funny that!
Anyways, back to these Brownies. Rocky Road here in the UK, is a type of slice that is made from melted chocolate with butter and then stirring in broken biscuits (usually digestives), candied cherries and marshmallow bits. You press it all into a pan and then stick it in the refrigerator. Its quite nice actually!! Very sweet.
These brownies are not made of melted chocolate, butter and broken biscuits. The batter is a simple brownie batter . . . with melted butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder . . .
You stir candied cherries and toasted walnuts into the batter . . . glace cherries. You could use maraschino cherries if you wanted to. Just dry them off very well. I always rinse my glace cherries in warm water and dry them off anyways.
They get baked like any other brownie gets baked . . .
They have a thick chocolate glace icing . . . its not runny, but it's not fluffy either.
This gets spread onto the top of the cake and then you lightly press some mini marshmallows into the top over the icing, just so that they adhere.
Let them set and then you can cut them into bars to serve.
These are amazingly good. The brownies are moist and hold well together . . . with a nice crunch from the toasted walnuts and a bit of sticky sweet cherry surprise here and there, that I quite liked!
I think I would actually call them a bit dangerous actually . . . in that you will find yourself sneaking into the kitchen to cut off one more sliver when nobody is looking. Oh, I am so naughty!
Rocky Road Brownies
Yield: 16
Quite simply delicious. Not the North American version of Rocky Road, but the British with glace cherries, walnuts and marshmallows.
ingredients:
- 225g butter, melted (1 cup)
- 100g plain flour (3/4 cup)
- 140g caster sugar (3/4 cup)
- 3 TBS cocoa powder, sifted (not drinking mix)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 large free range eggs, beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 70g glace cherries, quartered (scant half cup)
- 70g toasted walnuts (scant 2/3 cup)
For the frosting:
- 200g icing sugar (1 1/2 cups)
- 2 TBS cocoa powder, sifted
- 3 TBS evaporated milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 60g mini marshmallows (1 cup)
instructions:
How to cook Rocky Road Brownies
- Preheat the oven to 165*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Butter a 9 inch square baking tin and line with baking paper. Set aside.
- Whisk together the melted butter, eggs and vanilla. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into a bowl. Stir in the sugar. Make a well in the centre. Add the wet ingredients all at once. Beat well to mix together smoothly. Stir in the cherries and walnuts. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until just firm on top. Leave to cool in the tin.
- To make the frosting, place all of the ingredients into a bowl and beat together with an electric whisk to give you a spreadable consistency. Spread over the cooled brownies. (It won't be really thick, but it shouldn't be runny either.) Sprinkle the marshmallows on top, pressing down slightly. Leave to set before cutting into squares to serve.
- Store any leftovers in a tightly covered container.
I remember going to a cooking show when I was working down South and they had several celebrity chef's on. They both baked Brownies. It was a brownie-bake-off. The end result was somewhat disgusting. the Brownies were like melting in the middle cakes. A good Brownie shouldn't be soupy or messy. You should be able to pick it up with your hand and eat it. I felt like telling them so . . . but I didn't because I am polite, and well . . . they were the celebrities. 😲
Happy Saturday! If you are looking for a tasty treat to bake the family this weekend, do bake these. You won't be sorry that you did!
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