Easter recipe- Chocolate Creme egg brownies

Well this will harden your arteries! These are super super indulgent so much so I sat down to eat one and had to stop... I refused to eat a brownie, that is a first!

Surprisingly these are easier to make then first thought and has an instant wow factor!

Ingredients:

•  185 grams of unsalted butter/ margarine
• 185 grams of dark chocolate (70% ideally)
• 85 grams of plain flour
• 40 grams of cocoa powder
• 100 grams of Cadbury's Mini Creme Eggs
• 3 large eggs
• 275 grams of golden caster sugar

1. Preheat the over to 160 degrees centigrade/ 320 degrees Fahrenheit and line a small baking tray with baking paper. Break the chocolate into small chunks and add to a bowl along with the butter, place in the microwave and blast until melted. If you would rather do it over the stove in a bowl above water, then by all means but I had places to go, people to see and come dine with me to watch! Once melted place to one side to cool slightly.

2. Add the sugar and eggs into a bowl and whisk until light, pale, fluffy and double in size. Then pour the chocolate down one side, this will prevent any air being knocked out and slowly whisk until all combined. Make sure you have mixed all the chocolate by scraping around the mixing bowl if necessary.

3. Weigh out the cocoa powder and the flour and add again down the side. Whisk gently until all the dry ingredients have been mixed evenly. Pour into your lined baking tray.

 4. Now here's the tricky bit, remove the foil from the creme eggs and try to resist eating them... tricky I know but you will only cry if you eat them all. Place the egg on a chopping board and look for the line to joins the two chocolate shells together, take a knife and gently crack the egg open, then place on top of the brownie mix. Keep repeating this until all the mixture is covered with creme eggs, then place in the oven for 25-30. When you take it out, it should have a slight wobble in the middle.

 Leave to cool for ten minutes in the tin then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling, then cut into pieces.

These are so rich and so yummy! These would make a lovely alternative to an Easter egg or just to spoil someone (or yourself!)


Next time I will be making a yummy lemon curd Easter pavlova!

And FYI around the world has its own facebook page, here you will find updates and all sorts of things! Please like and share!

Around the World in eighty bakes

Norway- Saffron Hot Chocolate

Okay, so first of all....



I am very truly deeply honestly sorry...... I have been so caught up with lots of things in my life, from being a man eating plant in little shop of horrors, going to Germany to sing and lots of other things and sadly I have left all my fellow travelers alone for months... so for all the time that I haven't been here, I am very very sorry!

But regardless I AM BACK BABY! and here is a super indulgent hot chocolate inspired by Saint Lucia buns from Norway.

A Little History:

Saint Lucia buns are traditionally eaten on Saint Lucia day, which is on the 13th of December and during advent. They are traditionally an S shape and contain currants and of course saffron. Sadly I couldn't find any historical information, but I will keep looking! :)

Ingredients (1 cup of hot chocolate)

• 100 grams of 70% dark chocolate
• 100 milliliters of full fat milk
• 50 milliliters of double cream
• a pinch of saffron 
• Your Favorite tea cup

1. Melt the chocolate and milk in a saucepan, stirring occasionally and keeping an eye on it to make sure it doesn't burn, when is is done it should be glossy but you should still be able to pour it.

2. Using an electric whisk, but the cream until it forms soft peaks, GENTLY AND BY GENTLY I MEAN THINK OF THIS AS A BOMB!!!!! fold in a small amount of saffron.

3. Pour the melted chocolate in to you fave tea cup or mug, then add as much of the saffron cream as you want, lock the doors, turn down the lights, pretend you have a pet husky and you looking at a Norwegian sun set.

And there you have it!

I will promise to do my blog more, I cant believe I have left it this long! I am going to think of a great bake for you all!

Thank you X

This is Halloween (everybody scream!!!)

So its one of my favourite times of the year again! HALLOWEEN!!!!! Anybody who knows me will tell you that I love anything scary or Halloween related! So I thought that I should combine two of my favourite things in the world, Halloween and baking. So gather around and pull up a chair beside the fire and listen to the spine tingling tale of attempting to create a Halloween party.

A Little history:

The word "Halloween" has been around since 1745 and comes from the Scottish term for all hallows eve. There are many theories on how Halloween started but the most common theory I could find was that originally Halloween was called all hallows eve and was celebrated by all saints day, which was a catholic holiday which celebrated the Christian saints and martyrs and was celebrated on November the first. All hallows eve was celebrated in order to rid evil spirits before all saints day.  

What I made for the party:

• Blood Sucker Cocktail
• Halloween punch
• Chocolate Mice
• Blood
• Sausage mummy dippers
• Bone Cake
• Zombie Hands
• Cupcakes

Blood:

This is super duper easier that really I don't have to write many steps! Just make sure you leave plenty of time for your "Blood" to set! 

• 1 Packet of Strawberry Jelly
• 1 Packet of Raspberry Jelly
• 1 Packet of Blackcurrent Jelly

1. Make all the jelly to the packet instructions and leave to set over night in the fridge

2. Once set, mix all the jelly together with your hands so it resembles blood and then shove some little Halloween decorations in to give a creepy effect!

Chocolate Mice:

These are super cute and also super eye catching!

For the Mice:

• 100 grams of plain chocolate
• 5 table spoons of sour cream
• 125 grams of chocolate biscuit crumbs (I used sainsburys basics bourbons)

For decorating:

• 5 tablespoons of chocolate biscuits crumbs
• A pot of silver balls
• flaked almonds
• liquorice string

Method:

1. Melt the chocolate and mix with the sour cream, then add the biscuit crumbs. Cover and chill until firm (I suggest over night or on the morning of the party)

2. Once set, roll level tablespoons of mixture into little balls and then create a point for the nose, roll in the biscuit crumbs, add the eyes (this is fiddly so I used a tweezer) add two flaked almonds for the ears and then add a liquorice string at the end for a tail. Chill for another two hours until firm.

Zombie hands

Me and my mates love anything to do with zombies! So these seemed like a must to make, luckily you eat them instead of them eating you!

• 1 Pack of puff pastry 
• grated cheese 
• one egg, beaten

Method:

1. Roll the puff pastry out and using a pastry brush cut roughly around it with a knife. Then make indents for the fingers.

2. Then lie flat on a baking tray, prick with a fork and then sprinkle with cheese and brush with a little egg. Pop in the over for 10- 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and golden and then pastry looks crisp. Leave to cool and arrange in glass.

Sausage mummy dippers:

These little fella's are so adorable and look really snug when they are all wrapped up!

Method:

• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 tablespoon of ketchup
• 2 tablespoons of french yellow mustard
• 12 chipolatas
• ready rolled pastry

1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade and brush two baking trays with a little bit of oil. Then mix the honey, ketchup and mustard together in a bowl and brush them on the sausage's.
2. Roll out the pastry and cut it into thick strips, then wrap them around the sausage's and leave a gap at the top, cook for 20 minutes and then leave to cool for a little bit. Then using mustard dot two little yellow eyes on the top!

I also made cup cakes and bone cakes using the bone tin from Wilkinson's, you can use the Victoria sponge recipe for this!

I got all my decorations from Wilkinson's, who have the most amazing Halloween things at really inexpensive prices from cupcake cases to banners!

I also made some decorations inspired by the game slender the eight pages, if you are accustomed to this game then I would direct you to go on youtube (after you finished reading this!) and watch people playing it, the reactions are priceless!

My dad also carved some pumpkins which he grew at the allotment.... he really doesn't enjoy carving pumpkins, plus I made him miss the footie!

I also made some drinks as well, the Halloween punch is non achaholic but if you want to make it with booze in then add a splash of vodka!

Halloween punch:

• 500 millilitres of cranberry juice
• 1.5 liters of lemonade
• 3 limes, juice only
• gummi worms
• decorations
• ice

1. Pour everything into a large bowl, then plop the worms and other decorations in.

Blood sucker cocktail:

• 40 millilitres of Bacardi
• 15 milliters of cointreau
• 60 millilitres of pineapple juice
• strawberry puree/ sauce

1.In a cocktail shaker add ice, the rum, cointreau and pineapple, then pour on ice. Blob strawberry sauce around the edge of the glass, and watch as the blobs run down, add your drink!

During the evening we played the mummy game, which involves wrapping people in toilet paper and then seeing who can get out the fastest, we also played spin the bottle and bobbing apples!

I really enjoyed my Halloween party and hopefully you can have a wicked Halloween too!