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Chocolate Espresso Brownie Bites

/ Claire / Leave a comment

These are super fudgy, rich and indulgent little brownies and perfect to serve with coffee.

Espresso brownie bite3

You could cut larger pieces and serve as a dessert with cream, but I think they are best cut into small squares as a little treat with hot coffee.

These are very quick to make and rather than buttering and flouring the tin, I line with foil so there is no problem getting them out – just leave to cool and lift out.

I actually think they are at their best when they have fully cooled and been allowed to stand for a while. If you make them the night before, they will be perfect for coffee the next day.

If you want the full coffee taste, but not the caffeine, you could always use decaf.

Espresso brownie bite4

Ingredients
2 (100g) packs of good quality dark Belgian chocolate, broken into small pieces
120g room temperature butter, plus extra for greasing
2tsp vanilla extract
3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
250g caster sugar
140g plain/all-purpose flour
3tbs good quality cocoa
2.5tbs espresso powder
½tsp salt
50g milk chocolate and chocolate espresso beans or chocolate covered coffee beans to decorate

Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F and prepare a 20cm/8inch square tin by buttering and lining with foil, leaving a little extra either side so you can pull the bake out afterwards. Butter the foil to ensure nothing sticks.  A tin with square corners is best.

Espresso brownie bite2

Melt the dark chocolate and stir in the butter until both are melted, smooth and shiny. I do my melting in the microwave and the residual heat should melt the soft butter, but you might need an extra 10-20 seconds if it’s a very cold day.  Leave to cool a little.

In another bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together, add the vanilla and stir in the melted chocolate and butter mixture. Do not beat, just stir, you don’t want air bubbles in your brownies.

Sieve together the flour, cocoa and salt and gently mix into the wet ingredients until just combined – taking care not to over-mix.

Pour into the prepared tin and give it a few taps to release any air that might be trapped in the mixture.

Espresso brownie bite1

Bake for 35 minutes until the tops are shiny. The centres will be fudgy and moist.

Leave to cool in the tin to firm up, before lifting out and cutting into squares.

If you are decorating, melt the milk chocolate and either spoon or pipe a little onto each brownie and place a chocolate espresso bean onto each one. White chocolate would work well here too.

Espresso brownie bite

Christmas Spiced Mincemeat Friands

/ Claire / Leave a comment

Friands are so easy to make, a Christmas themed recipe was inevitable!

Christmas Friands

These friands have the addition of ground mixed spice in both the cakes and the glaze for that unmistakable Christmas flavour.

As before, I use refrigerated Two Chicks egg whites from the supermarket. So much easier than separating egg whites and then finding something to do with all the yolks. I also used some homemade mincemeat that was given to me as a gift, but there are lots of really good jars of mincemeat in the supermarket at this time of year.

Christmas Friands2

I sometimes like to customise shop bought mincemeat with a little extra brandy, pistachios or cranberries, but as the children were going to eat this one, I kept it simple. This particular jar had slivered almonds which made it particularly good to eat.

Ingredients:
6 large egg whites/250ml Two Chicks pasteurised egg whites
250g icing/powdered sugar, sieved with 2tsp ground mixed spice
130g ground almonds
100g plain flour, sieved
Zest of 1-2 satsumas or clementines
160g melted butter + extra for buttering the pan
1 jar of good quality mincemeat

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C and brush the friand tin with melted butter.

In a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, whisk the egg whites until frothy and then add the melted butter and zest.

Mix in the ground almonds and add the icing sugar and spice on low speed. Finally, fold in the flour until just combined.

Half fill a 12-hole friand pan with the mixture and add a heaped teaspoon of mincemeat to each one. Don’t be tempted to add too much, or it will bubble out due to the high sugar content.

Using the rest of the mixture, cover the mincemeat, dividing it equally between each one. The mincemeat will be encased inside.

Christmas Friands closeup2

Bake for around 30 minutes, or until they are cooked through. A toothpick inserted should come out clean.

Leave to rest for 15 minutes before gently turning out onto a wire cooling rack. Leave to cool completely before preparing the glaze.

Christmas Friand close up

Glaze:
1 cup of icing sugar, sieved with 1tsp of ground mixed spice
Juice of the two satsumas used for the cakes, plus the zest and juice of an extra one – enough to make a dropping consistency.

Simply mix together the sieved icing sugar, spice, zest and enough satsuma juice to make a dropping consistency – I used all 3 satsumas, but mine were very small ones.

Drizzle over a little of the spicy, zesty glaze and dust with a small amount of sieved icing sugar.

Christmas Friand inside

These are spicy, moist and delicious, with a juicy mincemeat filling – a really good alternative to the traditional mince pie. Serve with coffee for a festive treat.

Pumpkin and Raisin Loaf Cake

/ Claire / Leave a comment

This spiced pumpkin cake is very easy to make, incredibly moist and full of plump raisins.  The glaze is made with dark brown sugar and pecans and has a flavor like bonfire toffee.  Just the thing on a cold autumn night.

pumpkin loaf

Cake:
A little butter for greasing the tin
2 cups plain/all-purpose flour
¾ cup dark brown sugar
¾ cup caster sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 cup pumpkin puree
½ cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup pecans – roughly chopped
½ cup raisins

Glaze:
2oz butter
¼ cup dark brown/molasses sugar
2 tbs milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ cup icing/powdered sugar
¼ cup Pecans – roughly chopped

pumpkin loaf indoor

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/375°F and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment

Mix together the flour, baking powder, soda, spice, and salt.

In a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar, oil and eggs until light and airy and then add the sour cream and pumpkin. Beat until smooth.

On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients until just incorporated. Stir in the raisins.

Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake for around 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

pumpkin loaf1

Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes to cool and settle, before placing on a cooling rack. You can glaze when still a little warm, but not hot as it will just run off.

When the cake has cooled enough, prepare the glaze.

pumpkin loaf2

Place all the ingredients, except the pecans in a saucepan and stir over a medium heat until it comes up to a boil. Whisk together for a couple of minutes until smooth and thickened. Finish by adding the pecans.

This dark and bubbling glaze will be phenomenally hot, so allow it to cool for a few moments before pouring over the cake.

pumpkin loaf slice

Enjoy with a hot chocolate or good hot coffee.