Back to uni and saying goodbye to summer Not complaining though at least I can use the cold weather as an excuse to drink more hot chocolate plus I’m a low key nerd This hot chocolate was made with cacao powder, coconut milk, whipped coconut cream and a dash of maple syrup (which I should really stop buying )
STUFF ½ cup non-dairy milk ½ cup coffee concentrate ¼ cup rolled oats 2 tablespoons almond butter (or other nut/seed butter) 1 ½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon flax seeds ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract 1 large ripe banana, preferably frozen pinch of sea salt pinch of cinnamon handful of ice, optional
STEPS In an upright blender, combine the non-dairy milk, oats, almond butter, cocoa powder, flax seeds, vanilla, banana, salt, cinnamon, and ice (if using). Put the lid on and bring the blender speed up to high. Blend until the smoothie is totally smooth and frothy. Enjoy immediately!
STUFF 2 frozen bananas (unfrozen is fine, but frozen gives a creamy texture) ½ cup smooth peanut butter ½ cup Greek yogurt ½ cup milk ½ cup espresso or coffee, cooled 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (optional)
STEPS Add all ingredient to a blender and blend on high until smooth.
Taste. If needed, add further ingredients to suit your taste.
Pour into a glass and serve with a draw. Drink and feel happily full and caffeinated.
When I woke up today, snow was falling thickly in the gardens and the roofs and the windows and the streets! It made me very happy as we did not have a single flurry this Winter. And, I wasn’t alone; from my window I could see little children giddily going to school, trying to catch snowflakes and imagining the snowmen they would build at recess! I think this impromptu Winter Day is the perfect occasion to indulge in those beautifully Crunchy Fudgy Brownies (I took inspiration from The Simple Things’s Ultimate Fudgy Brownies but added a bit of a crunch to it with nuts, cereals and seeds!) Whether you stay cosily inside, or go for a vivifying walk in the white powder; these are a wonderful treat to indulge in! Happy Friday!
Ingredients:
5 whole walnuts
¼ cup hazelnuts
150 grams/5.30 ounces dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)
100 grams/3.5 ounces unsalted butter
150 grams/5.30 caster sugar
2 eggs
25 grams/0.90 ounces plain flour
30 grams/1 ounce unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon quinoa crispies
¼ teaspoon fleur de sel or sea salt flakes, plus more for sprinkling
½ tablespoon pumpkin seeds
Preheat oven to 180°C/355°F. Butter a square or rectanglular brownie tin, and line with baking paper; set aside.
Crack open the walnuts, and gently remove the halvesfrom the shells, so you have ten halves.
Toastwalnutsandhazelnutsin a small frying pan over a high flame until fragrant and lightly browned. Remove from the heat, and transfer to a small plate; set aside.
In a medium bowl fitted over a small saucepan of simmering water, melt dark chocolate withbutter until silky. Stir in caster sugar, and remove from the heat. Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
Break in the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Then, whisk energetically for about 3 minutes, until mixtureis smooth and shiny (this is an excellent arm workout, too!)
Sift in flourandcocoa powder, and gently fold in with a spatula. When almost all the flourandcocoaare folded in, add toasted walnutsandhazelnuts,quinoa crispies andfleur de sel. Fold in until just blended and no white spec of flourremains.
Pourbatterinto prepared tin, and level the top with the spatula. Sprinkle liberally with pumpkin seeds and a pinch of fleur de sel.
Bake at 180°C/355°F, for 20 minutes, until the middle is just set and the edges are a bit cracked. Remove from the oven, and let cool for as long as you can wait (at least half an hour) before cuting into a dozen squares.
Ever since I baked (and devoured) these delightfully decadent Hot Cross Buns last year, I knew I’d probably have chocolate in them every year now (and still no sultanas!) So this year’s batch are these absolutely delicious Brandy Chocolate and Fig Hot Cross Buns! And I may have shared the recipe with Ava, who will bake my increasingly fanciful versions whilst her Nan bakes the raisin and sultana ones (it’s our Easter tradition now!); but since Julesis not coming home before next week, this dozen is all for me! I may be good and virtuous and save a few for her and pop them in the freezer until she, to, can revel –this is, after all the spirit of this day! Happy Good Friday!
55 grams/2 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1 large egg, lightly beaten
70 grams/2.5 ounces good quality dark chocolate
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon/
a bit of water
1 tablespoon good quality Brandy or Cognac
1 heaped tablespoon heather or Manuka H/oney
The evening before, place dried figsin a clean jar. Pour Cognac over the dried fruits, and seal the jar. Shake the jar energetically, and leave to soak overnight.
The following morning, drain the dry fruits thoroughly, saving the soaking Cognac (of which you should have at least a tablespoon) for the glaze. Chop soaked figs into small dices. Setaside.
In a medium saucepan, combine milk,butterandVanilla Extract, and heat over a low flame, until just simmering. Remove from heat and let cool, ever so slightly.
In a large bowl, combine strong white flour,castersugar,yeastandsalt, making sure the last two don’t touch at that stage. Add cinnamonandcocoa powder. Give a good stir. Add butter, and rub into the flour mixture, until it resembles coarse meal. Dig a well in the middle, and add the egg. Add half of the warm milk mixture, mixing ingredientstogether; Gradually add the rest of the milkas you might not need all of it. You should get a sticky soft dough.
Tipdough out on a lightly floured surface, and add figs. Knead them into the dough, for about 3 to 4 minutes.
Returndough to the bowl, cover with cling film, and prove, 1 hour and a half to two hours, or until doubled in size.
Roughly chop dark chocolate into small chunks.
Tipdough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead in dark chocolate chunks, a good 5 minutes, stretching the doughand folding it on itself before turning it and repeating, before returning to the bowl. Cover with cling film, and let dough rise a second time, about an hour to an hour and a half .
Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Again, tip dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 portions. Roll each portion into a ball, and arrange 12 balls on prepared baking tray, leaving a bit of room between them to allow them to grow and join. Prove one last time, for an hour, until buns are joining.
Preheat oven to 215°C/415°F.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour,cocoa powder and water, until you have a smooth paste. Spoon mixturein a small piping bag and pipe a regular horizontal line on each row of buns. Repeat process vertically. Place in the oven, and bake at 215°C/415°F, for 25 minutes.
Warm reserved soaking Cognac with more Cognac andManuka Honey in a small saucepan over medium heat, until it just becomes syrup-y.
Once baked, remove Brandy Chocolate and Fig Hot Cross Buns from the oven, and brush immediately with the warm Honey and Brandy syrup to give them a nice glaze. Leave hot cross buns to cool as long as you can, before enjoying slathered with butterand a nice cuppa!
Heatmilk over a low flame. Once simmering, stir in Vanilla Extract, caster sugar, dark muscavado sugarandcocoa powder. Stir well, until perfectly blended. Add Cardamom and Vanilla Rum and, continue stirring just foamy.
