Sweet & Simple Bakes - White Chocolate & Orange Cookies

I discovered the lovely Sweet & Simple Bakes blog a month ago and couldn't wait to try the October recipe. Every month readers are invited to try a sweet recipe, blog about it and send an e-mail link so that results can be included in the monthly round up.

I was a little apprehensive about using the orange/chocolate combination as I'm not a fan of Terry's chocolate orange! I shouldn't have worried though as I discovered that I do like orange with white chocolate, especially when combinbed in a melt in the mouth cookie.

Easy to make, and a delight to eat, these went down very well with everyone who tried them.

The recipe can be found here and here is the end result:

healthy brownies

I decided on Bill Granger's new book, Feed Me Now, for my recipe book of the week as it is the newest addition to my collection and there are quite a few recipes i want to try.
At the weekend i made "healthy" chocolate brownies to give as Easter gifts, and packaged them up in cellophane parcels with some Cadbury's mini eggs for a touch of colour. You'll have to trust me that they looked pretty cute, as i forgot to take any photos. Bad food blogger...
Anyway, here's the recipe when you need a virtuous chocolate fix.

healthier chocolate & date brownie - makes about 15-20
140g unsalted butter
140g pitted dried dates, finely chopped
60g good quality cocoa powder (i use Green & Black's)
90g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
95g soft light brown sugar
3 medium eggs
1 tsp natural vanilla extract

here's how:
Preheat oven to 160C/gas 3.
Lightly grease a 20cm square baking tin and line the base with baking paper.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the chopped dates, take off the heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
Sift the cocoa powder, flour and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar and stir to combine.
In another bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla together, then stir in the dates and butter.
Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 20 minutes or until set.
Turn out and cool on a wire rack (i always wait for 10-15 mins to allow the mixture to set a little) and then cut into squares and enjoy without feeling too guilty.

happy mother's day!

Remember me?? Apologies for my extended absence... life's been hectic. It started with my parents moving house after two years of trying to downsize. From agreeing a sale to moving house, it all happened in under six weeks and i was tasked with selling furniture on ebay and helping on move day. I've only just recovered...

Then i had to go to France for work and in between i've been catching up with friends and family...

Long story short, i've been neglecting my blog and my lovely readers so i now need to make amends!

To kick off with, i thought i'd share some sweet treats from our Mother's Day afternoon tea.

My sister Claire made this delicious cake from a Domestic Goddess recipe:

Cherry Almond Loaf Cake - makes 8-10 slices



Ingredients:
200g natural-coloured glace cherries
250g self-raising flour
225g butter, softened
175g caster sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
2-3 drops almond essence
100g ground almonds
6 tbsp milk
23 x 13 x 7cm loaf tin, buttered and lined

Method:
Preheat oven to 170 C/gas mark 3.
Halve the cherries, wash them in a colander under cold water, then pat dry, toss in some flour and shake well to get rid of excess.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs and almond essence, then gently fold in the flour and ground almonds.
Fold in the cherries and then the milk and spoon the thick mixture into the prepared loaf tin.
Bake for 45 mins to 1 hour, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Leave in the tin on a wire rack until completely cooled.
Serve with a proper cup of tea.

And i made these yummy gluten-free brownies, also courtesy of Nigella, which has got to be the easiest brownie recipe ever:

Flourless Chocolate Brownies - makes 16 squares


Ingredients:
225g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids (i used Green & Blacks)
225 g butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
200g caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
150g ground almonds
100g chopped walnuts

Method:
Preheat oven to 170 C/gas mark 3. Butter and line a 24cm square baking tin (or use a foil one).
Melt the chocolate and butter gently over a low heat in a heavy-based saucepan.
Take off the heat, mix in the vanilla and sugar, and allow to cool a little.
Beat the eggs into the pan along with the ground almonds and chopped walnuts.
Turn into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 25-30 mins, until the top has set but the mixture below is still gooey.
Allow to cool for as long as you can resist, and cut into squares.
Nigella suggests serving these "squidgy-bellied" squares with hot chocolate sauce and ice-cream, but they are just as good served on their own, minus the additional calories!

choco-latte

So i wake up on a sunday morning planning to go running, but i hear the wind and rain outside and think... run... schmun...! There were much more enjoyable things i could be doing with my time. I needed chocolate and there was only one woman to turn to. The one and only Domestic Goddess. I flicked through her books but couldn't find anything quite chocolatey enough so i tried the website and found this. The results speak for themselves. Latte anyone?