All the naughty things in one pud!

A few weeks overdue, but well worth a read!

Having not been well all of Saturday and missed out on my dear friend Lara's birthday tea at Sketch which I was most upset about, I thought I would comfort myself and my fellow Sunday lunch guests with a slightly adapted "Mary Berry's Chocolate Roulade" with a white chocolate cream topping and homemade blackberry coolie. 

Personally I do think that if you are making a heavy- ish pudding complete with a lot of cake and creamy goodness you should really indulge your body in one - at least- of it's five a day. A great way to hide the heaviness of a pudding I find is to add a fruity sidekick to it- whether it's a few pieces of fruit or even a coolie. I also find that I then eat a little less too. 

What you will need: 

• 175g/6oz good-quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 6 free-range eggs, separated
• 175g/6oz caster sugar
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 300ml/10fl oz double cream
• icing sugar
• cream cheese
• 50 g butter
• flaked almonds to be toasted
• blackberry's or any other fruit you desire

First I do recommend that you prepare yourself well, this pud needs precision and timing or else you will inevitably meet with failure. (which I may have met on my first attempt ! )

What you do:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160 Fan/Gas 4. Lightly grease a 33cm x 23cm/13in x 9in Swiss roll tin then line the base and sides of the tin with a large sheet of greaseproof paper, pushing it into the corners. Make a small diagonal snip in each corner of the paper; this helps to fit the paper snugly into the corners of the tin. I didn't have a tin so I just spread the mixture (once ready straight on to a greaseproof sheet to size). Once cooked I then cut it down.

• Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. (Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water.)
• Place the egg whites in a large bowl and whisk until stiff but not dry. If you turn the bowl upside down, the whites should be stiff enough not to fall out

Tip for separating egg yolks. Use an empty (clean) plastic bottle. Over the bowl of eggs place the bottle opening over a yolk and press the air out of the bottle slightly and then release and it will suck the egg straight in- leaving the white behind! It's actually quite fun once you get going......

• Put the egg yolks in a separate bowl with the sugar and whisk using the same whisk on high speed for 2-3 minutes or until thick and creamy and the mixture leaves a thick ribbon-like trail when the beaters are lifted. Pour in the cooled chocolate and gently fold together until well combined.
• Gently stir two large spoonfuls of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen the mix, then fold in the remaining egg whites using a large metal spoon (you don’t want to squash out the air you have just beaten in). Sift the cocoa over the top and lightly fold it in. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and gently move the tin around until the mixture is level.
• Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes until risen and the top feels firm and slightly crisp. Remove from the oven, leave in the tin (expect the roulade to fall and crack a little) and set aside until cold.
• Whip the cream until it just holds its shape. Lay a large piece of greaseproof paper on the work surface and dust it lightly with icing sugar. Turn the roulade out on to the paper so its lining paper is on top, then carefully peel off the paper. Spread the roulade with the whipped cream, leaving a border of about 2cm/¾in all the way around the edges. With one of the shortest edges facing you, make a cut along it with a sharp knife, going about half way through the sponge. This will help to start the rolling up. Now roll this cut edge over tightly to start with and use the paper to help continue the tight rolling, by pulling it away from you as you roll. Don’t worry if the roulade cracks - that is quite normal and all part of its charm.
• Finish with the join underneath then lift the roulade onto a serving plate or board using a large wide spatula or two fish slices.

Topping

For the topping I made a white chocolate cream cheese frosting with toasted almonds, flaked chocolate and blackberry's.

50g (2 oz) white chocolate

1 (200g) tub cream cheese, softened

100g (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened

500g (1 1/4 lb) icing sugar   (more if it's too runny)

What you do:

• In small saucepan, melt white chocolate over low heat. Stir until smooth, and allow to cool to room temperature.

• In a bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in white chocolate. Gradually beat in the icing sugar until the mixture is fluffy.
• Toast almonds over light heat (no oil) in a frying pan or work and decorate to your taste.
• I also sprinkled some dark choc chips and lined blackberries down the middle

For the coolie

• In a pan on high heat, place a punnet of blackberries and 200g sugar.
• Start stirring and breaking the blackberries down.
• Add 5tbsps water and turn on to lower heat
• Use a potato masher to break down the blackberries, which should be softening
• Leave to simmer for 5 minutes on low heat
• Set asside until cool- put in the fridge if you can for an hr or more before serving. Add some mint leaves before you put in the fridge for added refreshing taste.

A Tip Top Trifle

So, with friends coming over for dinner and a rather busy week which seems to have disappeared in the blink of an eye I wanted to make a quick pud without any hassle. Wracking my brain for all of about 20 seconds it was an obvious answer - trifle!
With some homemade cake in the tin that had not all been demolished over the week I decided to utilise what I had around me and make up an alcohol free, fruity, cakey trifle- scandalous!

What you need-

Jelly
Fruit
Custard (tinned)
Whipping cream (or squirty cream)
Cake (anything you want)
Toppings (sprinkles,  chopped almonds, chopped fruit...etc)

What to do:

Cut the cake you have into bite-size cubes and place in to the bottom of a glass or bowl. I used about 6-8 cubes but you can use more or less.

Add fruit to your cake; I added strawberries, grapes, peach and cherries but you can use what ever you want. At this stage you would normally soak your trifle in some sort of strong alcohol i.e Sherry, however I was making a virgin trifle on this occasion. I do think that sometimes alcohol can ruin a pud and as much as I love a good glass of Chablis I'm not big on alcohol flavoured desserts. 

Cut the jelly in to cubes and dissolve in 100ml of boiling water. There are generally instructions on the back of jelly packs so I would usually follow these. I used the Robinson's strawberry jelly. You then fill the jelly solution up to 500ml with cold water and voila, you are ready to add the dissolved jelly solution in to your glasses / bowl. 

Pour the jelly solution on to your cake and fruit mix and place in the fridge to cool for about 2.5 hours. The more time you have to let your jelly set the better.

Once the jelly has set add custard on top. Again, it is your decision how much. I add about an inch and a half, leaving plenty of room for cream! 

In a bowl, whisk up some whipping cream- or alternatively you could use "squirty cream". Dollop on top of your trifle as neatly- or rustically (in my case) as you like.
Add sprinkles, chopped almonds, more fruit or anything else you can think of to the top and serve!

A simple, delicious dessert that doesn't break the bank with expensive ingredients! 

Enjoy!

"Chocohola" Truffles, Pure Decadence!

For those, like me who are obsessed with anything chocolate related, especially when rich and decadent and covered in more chocolate or nuts....will appreciate this one. 

I actually recently made these for the first time and they were so successful that I have decided to share with you lot! 

The batch I made made up about 50 chocolates in total! I literally couldn't believe how far the mixture went, it just kept going!

I personally made them for the guys I work with as a little Christmas treat and they seemed to go down really well, which was pleasing. I packaged them up (about 8 truffles each) in a box, that I decorated with my own home-made paper with a tag noting their name and what truffles they could choose. I had so much mixture left over I used some for a dinner party I had with a great food and restaurant blogger friend of mine!

Ingredients:

280g good-quality dark chocolate , 70% cocoa solids

284ml pot double cream

50g unsalted butter

The Making Process:

• Chop the chocolate and tip into a large bowl. For mine, I used 2 100g bars of 70% orange chocolate and 80g of 80% chocolate.

• Put the cream and butter into a saucepan and heat gently until the butter melts and the cream has started to simmer. Do NOT stop stirring as the cream can stick and burn really easily.

• As soon as it's really begun simmering, remove from the heatand pour over the chocolate. Stir the chocolate and cream together until you have a smooth mixture of chocolaty velvet!

• Add any flavourings to the truffle mix at this stage - I added a tsp of Vanilla essence. But you could also try bourbon, Grand Marnier, coconut rum or the zest and juice of an orange), or just leave plain. 

• Leave in the bowl to cool and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hrs.

• To shape the truffles, dip a melon baller in hot water and scoop up balls of the mixture- or you could also use spoon measures or just a plain old tsp (so long as the mixture is malleable enough!
• Roll the truffles into a ball - can be VERY messy!!! -  then drop the truffles onto greaseproof paper. Apparently a good tip is to - lightly coat your hands in flavourless oil (such as sunflower) and roll the truffles between your palms. I however just totally went for it and was head to toe of quickly melting  chocolate. 
• Now the fun part: Cover your truffles immediately after shaping. Tip toppings into a bowl and gently roll the truffles until evenly coated, then chill on greaseproof paper. 
• Try: crushed, shelled pistachio nuts; lightly toasted desiccated coconut; chopped up flake, or shave some white chocolate, or roll in cocoa powder, or just stick a plain old whole almond on top of the truffle. 
• To coat in chocolate, line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Melt 100g milk, dark or white chocolate for 10 truffles. Allow chocolate to cool slightly. With a fork, pick up one truffle at a time and hold over the bowl of melted chocolate. Spoon the chocolate over the truffle until well-coated. Place on the baking tray, then chill.
• Serving is totally up to you. For me I placed 8-10 truffles in a grease proof lined card box, tied with ribbon and a label, noting especially that "THIS ITEM CONTAINS NUTS"!! You could also put them all in individual foil or paper cases inside small, lined boxes tied with ribbon. Keep in the fridge until you're ready to give them as they melt VERY quickly!

I took this recipe off the BBC Good Food Guide but have heavily adapted it to my own personal experience.

Berry successful baking...

As Mary Berry stressed at The Cake and Bake show last rainy Sunday afternoon, 'Don't use fat free or  low fat ingredients in your baking!  Just don't! Help the farmers and the taste and have a smaller slice!' (Well....Maybe not quite her exact words but something along those lines!)

I have always been a foodie, growing up with my mothers home- cooked food; jams, chutneys and my favourite spiced apple and cinnamon tart. Not forgetting my fathers "special" curry recipe (given to him from an ageing Bahamian woman countless yrs ago) as a  regular back from weekly boarding school Saturday night treat!.  Food to me is all about enjoyment and experimentation and I like nothing more than cooking up a feast for my friends, family and boyfriend. 

The older I get ( ripe old age of 25 now) the more I like to indulge, not only in the delight of restaurant cuisines that London especially has to offer (we'll save that for another blog) but also for my own personal gastronomic creations. 

Diagnosed with the unfortunate Type one diabetes just a month away from my 18th birthday (when alco pops should have FINALLY become a legal weekly indulgence!!) I had to baton down the sugar and carb hatches and re-evaluate my teenage diet! (A hard task when your used to eating whatever and whenever). Anyway- without boring you on the trials and tribulations of T1 (this "ain't" no sob story!) I have spent yrs working out recipes that can be kinder on the waist line,  easier on the teeth and for diabetics, less insulin! Hurrah. 

Now, I'm no miracle worker; unfortunately I haven't yet mastered the double choc chip hazelnut, marshmallow and  clotted cream muffin for 0 insulin, 0 carbs, 0 sugar, 0 fat. However, I have trialled, tasted and adapted lots of recipes in the hope of allowing my body to enjoy and indulge in all those naughty things all you non diabetics can do! 

Anyway, to wet your appetite and tantalise your taste buds I'm going to start with two recipes I regularly make . The first being a perfect winter warmer (very low carb, low sugar and low fat) and the second, a "fruity chocolatey spongey treat". . .ha!

Butternut squash and chorizo soup with brown rice.

What you need:

1 butternut squash (medium size - chop in to 1 inch cubes)

2 onions 

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1 chicken (or veg) stock cube

1tsp coriander

1/2 tsp cumin

Twist of pepper

Chorizo

2 tbsp Olive oil or butter

Brown rice

Process:

1) Sweat off onions (finely chopped) and butter nut squash in olive oil or butter until onions are soft

2) Add spices and sweat off for a further 2 mins- if starts to stick add a tbsp at a time of water

3) Add chicken stock in 1pint of water 

4) Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes (until butternut squash is cooked)

5) Allow to cool slightly and blend in food processor or with hand mixer until a smooth and velvety texture

In a separate pan:

1) cook off 50g (per person- this is a small amount and therefore v low carbs for a meal and those taking insulin) brown rice in water

2) bring to boil and simmer until cooked, the water should have disappeared and the rice be pitted and cooked

In a separate pan:

1) Fry off cubes of chorizo in olive oil (1/4 tsp) - PLEASE NOTE: chorizo produces its own oil. This will be very hot and may spit so be aware

2) You should only need to fry for 2/3 minutes until chorizo has developed a crunchy coating

Serving:

1) Add cooked rice to the bottom of a deep soup bowl

2) Ladle soup slowly (not to break or move rice) on top of the rice

3) Add chorizo (4/5 pieces per person) to the top of the soup

For those wanting wanting even less carbs, just don't add any brown rice! 

A quick extra tip: Don't waste the butternut squash skin! It's delicious. Put them on to an oven tray with a quick spritz of olive oil then in to the oven at 200 degrees Celcius
 (fan assisted) for the duration you are cooking and prepping everything else: about 30 / 40 mins in total. 

The skins will crisp up and make a lovely accompaniment - make sure to add some rock salt on top!

Enjoy!  

Blissful Berry, Chocolate and Yoghurt Muffins

What you need:

 1/2 cups Self raising flour

1/3 cup rolled oats (any oats you have really!!)

3 eggs

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 cup plain yoghurt (I always use Yeo Valley natural yoghurt-NOT low fat version!) 

1/3 cup veg oil

200 g mixed berries (I always use 3/4 raspberries to 1/4 blueberries- but totally up to you, good to experiment!)

100g chopped up 70% chocolate (edible chunks - 1 cm cube) - if you want to be naughtier you can use white chocolate or milk choc- or none - for you healthy bears!

Process:

1) Preheat oven to 200degrees . 180 for fan assisted ovens. 

2) Put out 8 muffin cases - grease if necessary

3) Sift flour into mixing bowl. Stir in oats, eggs, sugar and yoghurt and oil and then mix. After a slight mix- you do not want to over mix- this isn't a cake, add the berries and chocolate and mix in. 

4) Bake muffins about for 23-25 mins. Check after 20 with a clean knife in the middle of one, if it comes out clean then it will be ready. You never want an over cooked muffin! 

5) Stand muffins on a cake stand/ wire wrack

6) Taste and smirk at your amazing delight! 

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The blueberry colour splits nicely

If you don't have a cake stand just use some old biscuit tins and layer for height and colour

Tilly likes to get involved with any baking I do! 

Delicious!

Enjoy baking / creating and let me know if you have any questions! Would love to hear how you get on / what you might change/ enhance etc.

Until next time! 

xx