Gorgeously Gooey Chocolate and Cherry Brownies

Who doesn’t love brownies? These gorgeous Chocolate and Cherry Brownies have a crisp crust and a delicious gooey centre. They are best served warm with a good dollop of vanilla ice cream. Brownies are always a favourite. Whatever the season, brownies never seem to go out of fashion.

Chocolate and Cherry Brownies

Gorgeously Gooey Chocolate and Cherry Brownies

Preparation time 15 minutes
Cooking time 35-40 minutes
Makes about 18

Ingredients
200g butter, cubed
100g good quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped
4 eggs, beaten
425g granulated sugar
100g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder, sifted
½ tsp sea salt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
100g dried or glace cherries

Method
Preheat the oven to 180c, gas mark 4. Line a small roasting tin with baking parchment.

Place the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and allow the ingredients to melt either over a pan of barely simmering water or in a microwave on a low heat. Allow to cool slightly.

Place the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl and pour in the melted chocolate and butter mixture. Fold together lightly until thoroughly combined. Pour into the prepared tin and place in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until a crust forms. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 15-20 minutes. Cut into squares when cooled.

Cooks Tips:
You can add other ingredients in with the cherries if you’d like. Pecans and brazil nuts work well instead of cherries.

Brownies are great to make with kids and a real family treat. Brownies are a good base for all kinds of wacky ideas you or your kids may have. Swap out the cherries and add chunks of Oreos, wedges of Snickers bars or drizzle with caramel and sea salt when they’re fresh from the oven. Make them into Christmas Brownies by adding chunks of chocolate orange and a couple of handfuls of cranberries.

Whatever you choose, they will almost certainly be delicious! How do you like yours?

Chocolate & Cherry Brownies

This recipe was developed in conjunction with an Appliance House Chef.

Recipe: How to make a Malteser Milkshake

One of the most popular posts I’ve ever written on this blog were some recipes for peanut butter milkshakes. They were incredibly good, but they also contained a healthy slug of bourbon, which made them a bit adult. Today we fancied a sweet treat, so we raided the cupboards and made this delicious Malteser Milkshake.

Recipe: How to make a Malteser Milkshake

How to make a Malteser Milkshake

You will need –
2 scoops of vanilla ice cream
1 packet of maltesers
350mls of milk
Squirty cream

Method –
Whizz the maltesers up in a blender until they’re crumbs (but not too fine, you still want a hint of crunch). Add the ice cream and the milk and whizz up together until blended. Pour into a glass and top with squirty cream and decorate with whatever you fancy, I put a couple of maltesers aside and popped them on top.

Many hands make light work, so I enlisted the help of the small boy to help make the milkshake. As you can see from his little face he was pretty happy with his creation.

What’s your favourite flavour milkshake?

Recipe: Arroz al Horno – food from the Costa Blanca

I really love cooking and trying new things, but being a busy mum these days the things I cook need to be quick, easy and nutritious, not to mention kind to my purse. When I was asked by Villa Plus to recreate a recipe from the Costa Blanca, I quickly accepted the challenge.

I struggled to come up with a suitable dish which went with my “bung it all in a pan and enjoy your holiday while it cooks” mentality. I wanted something that I could quickly prepare and just leave to cook while I could get on with the business of relaxing. Eventually I came across a recipe for Arroz al Horno. A traditional dish from Valencia which literally means oven baked rice. It’s a popular dish and each town and each family seem to have their own variation of it.

I managed to find all of the ingredients in shops in Didsbury in Manchester; going to the butcher and the greengrocer and then a deli for the last few bits. All of the ingredients could be found much more easily on a sunny Spanish market, but my meal feeding 6 comes in at just £1.66 per head.

Ingredients: (to feed 6, or 4 very generously)

1 lb of diced lean pork
3 small morcilla sausages (if you can’t find then use chorizo)
1 whole garlic bulb
500g of paella or risotto rice
2 pints of stock (I used vegetable but you could use chicken or beef)
4 medium tomatoes
1 pepper (I used yellow, but red or orange would work)
1 tin of cooked chickpeas
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
Olive oil (Spanish if you have it)
Pinch of saffron
Salt and pepper

Method: (Don’t panic, it’s easy)

Cut the morcilla into thick slices and pour two tablespoons (approx) of olive oil into a large frying pan. Fry the diced pork and morcilla until brown.
Slice up two tomatoes and cut the pepper into four or five thick slices and add to the pan. Throw in the whole garlic bulb.
Add the rice to the pan, the morcilla should be giving off some delicious oils by now, stir and let the rice soak up the oil. Tip in the tin of chickpeas. Add half the stock, a pinch of saffron and a teaspoon of smoked paprika. Season generously with salt and pepper and transfer to a casserole dish. Add the remainder of the stock and stir.
Bake in the oven with the lid on for 20 minutes at 220 degrees. After 20 minutes give it a good stir and add more stock if required.
Artistically decorate your Arroz al Horno by pushing the garlic bulb in the middle, draping the pepper slices around it and topping with halves or the remaining two tomatoes. Put the lid back on and bake for a further 10 minutes.
Then remove the lid and drizzle with some more olive oil, bake for a further 10 minutes, remove from the oven and serve.

The garlic bulb? The cloves should be perfectly cooked after their time in the oven. If you like you can squeeze the garlic out and mash a clove or two through your Arroz al Horno, or they’d be delicious spread on crusty bread.

It was incredibly quick and easy to make and it went down an absolute storm. I made the Arroz al Horno with pork, but recipes from the Costa Blanca region also use chicken or rabbit, some top with sliced potatoes or use different vegetables, which is how it should be, true Spanish cuisine is about using the best ingredients you have available to you at the time.

Recipe: Gin and Tonic Lollies – Just for grown ups!

These gin and tonic lollies are great fun at parties and barbecues. They’re perfect to make in advance for an easy dessert or for a refreshing summer treat once the kids are in bed. You can use whatever gin you have, choose your favourite gin and maybe spike it with some botanicals which complement your chosen gin.

You could also try using your other favourite drinks such as Pimms or Mojitos for a refreshing summer treat.

Gin and tonic lollies

Gin and Tonic Lollies

Makes 6 lollies – Ready in 4 hours

Ingredients
35 ml gin
½ lemon, juiced and zest finely grated
45 ml (3 tbsp) sugar syrup (available in most supermarkets)
250ml tonic water

Method
Prepare the ice lolly moulds by first rinsing them with warm water.

Combine all the ingredients in a jug and pour into the prepared moulds, leaving a small gap at the top. Clip the handles onto the moulds and place in the freezer and leave for a minimum of about 4 hours.

To serve the lollies, run the lollies in their moulds very briefly under warm running water and serve immediately.

Warning – they’re so good you might not be able to stop at just one!

Cooks Notes – these days most people have a favourite gin or favourite style of gin. You could easily swap out the lemon and add whatever you would normally serve with your favourite gin. Cucumber perhaps, or mint; a slice of pink grapefruit or a sprig of rosemary.

Likewise, these days tonic water isn’t just tonic water. There are several different styles of tonic water available which have been designed to complement different styles of gin. So you can make these Gin and Tonic Lollies with whatever gin and tonic is your favourite, or if you don’t have a favourite, normal supermarket gin and tonic is absolutely fine too.

Recipe: Gin and Tonic Lollies - Just for grown ups!

This recipe was developed in conjunction with an Appliance House Chef.

Tagliatelle with Goats Cheese & Courgettes

Yesterday, we received a lovely hamper from St Helen’s Farm. A lovely goaty hamper, which I will blog about properly at a later date. Right now we’ve got a fridge full of goats cheese, milk, butter and yoghurt and largely empty cupboards. The boys were due home and I had to think quickly about what to feed them. So I made this, tagliatelle with goats cheese sauce, courgettes and roasted cherry tomatoes. It took no more than 30 minutes to throw together and everyone cleaned their plates.

I’m a bit rubbish at weighing and measuring, I’m a dollop of this and a dash of that kind of girl, so I’ve tried my best to recreate the recipe for goaty goodness below.

Ingredients: (feeds around four people)

Tagliatelle – I use two nests of tagliatelle per person
One medium courgette per person
One punnet of cherry tomatoes
2 teaspoons of St Helen’s Farm Goats butter
Seasoning – salt, pepper & dried chilli flakes

For the sauce
40g St Helen’s Farm Goats butter
20g plain flour
425ml St Helen’s Farm Goats milk (I used skimmed)
120g St Helen’s Farm Mature Goats Cheese, grated
Seasoning – salt, pepper & dried chilli flakes

Method:
Slice the courgettes, melt the butter in a frying pan and sauté until they start to go soft. Meanwhile halve the tomatoes and place on an oven tray and season a little, roast for 15 minutes (check regularly) at 220c. Once the courgettes have taken on some colour and are starting to soften, transfer to an oven proof dish and put in the oven, but keep an eye on them.

While the courgettes and tomatoes are cooking, cook the pasta as per instructions on the packet.

In another pan melt the butter and add the flour, stir vigorously, then start to slowly add the milk, adding a little at a time and beating to ensure the sauce is smooth. Once all the milk has been added, season to taste and add the grated goats cheese and stir until melted.

Drain the pasta and combine with the sauce, add in most of the courgettes and stir. Serve on warmed plates, garnish with the remaining courgette slices and a pile of the unctuous roasted tomatoes.

Simple and delicious. This is going to be a family favourite this summer I think.

I didn’t quite have enough pasta in the cupboard so my picture looks a little on the saucy side.

Disclaimer: I was sent a free hamper of goaty goodies by St Helen’s Farm to try and see what I thought, that review will follow, but the clean plates mean my family genuinely loved it.

Recipe: Pork & Chorizo Kebabs with Harissa

These Pork & Chorizo Kebabs with Harissa are quick and pretty easy mid-week meal. They went down an absolute storm with my meat-eating boys. Here’s how I did it. It makes around 8 good-sized kebabs, enough for 4 hungry people.

Recipe: Pork & Chorizo Kebabs with Harissa

Pork & Chorizo Kebabs with Harissa

Ingredients:
500g of minced pork
4 large Spanish style chorizo pork sausages from our local butcher, skin removed
A bunch of coriander
2 dessert spoons of Maille Mustard with white wine, lemon and Harissa
One bag of salad leaves of your choosing
One tortilla wrap per kebab

For the salad dressing:
4 teaspoons of Maille Mustard with white wine, lemon and Harissa
2 teaspoon of honey
4 dessert spoons of cider vinegar
12 dessert spoons of olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Method:
Whizz up half of your bunch of coriander in a food processor, add two dessert spoons of Maille Mustard with white wine, lemon and Harissa, your pork mince and the chorizo sausage and whizz some more until it’s all blended but not smooth, you still want some chunky bits. Then form into sausage shapes around your kebab sticks. They should look like this:

Put on a non-stick baking tray and cook in a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes at 220˚ turning regularly.

Recipe: Pork & Chorizo Kebabs with Harissa

In the meantime make your salad dressing. Use a clean jar and add all the salad dressing ingredients listed above. Put the lid on the jar and give it a good shake until it’s all mixed together. Taste and adjust the seasoning if you need to. Just before serving toss your salad leaves in the dressing. Chop the remaining coriander.

To serve take a warmed tortilla wrap, spread thinly with some Maille Mustard with white wine, lemon and Harissa and top with your dressed salad leaves, drizzling any remaining salad dressing on them. Put your cooked kebabs on top, scatter with some chopped coriander, roll your wrap and enjoy.

The kebabs were a big hit with the harissa mustard adding an additional layer of flavour to the dish. I loved it in the salad dressing too and I virtually licked the jar clean.

Recipe: Pork & Chorizo Kebabs with Harissa

Scrambled Egg & Tomato Breakfast Wrap

Recently I’ve given up bread. Not all bread, but leavened bread because I eat too much of it, and when I cut it out I tend to lose weight a bit quicker.

I’ve struggled a bit with breakfast as I love scrambled egg on toast. I’ve tried just having scrambled egg but it felt a bit too frugal and it needed something else.

Searching for inspiration I found some tortilla wraps in the cupboard and came up with this breakfast wrap. I doubt it’s a new, exciting breakfast concept; but I love it and coming in at under 450 calories for a pretty hearty, tasty breakfast you can’t go wrong. And yes, I’ll admit it doesn’t look stunning, but it does taste amazing.

Chop two tomatoes into bite size chunks, put into a microwaveable dish and season to taste. I used salt, pepper, dried chilli flakes and a pinch of sugar. Microwave for two minutes, stir and microwave for one more minute.

Scramble two eggs however you’d normally scramble eggs. I add a dab of butter, no milk, no seasoning in this because the tomatoes are seasoned enough.

Take your tortilla, spread with the cooked tomatoes, top with your cooked eggs, roll it into a wrap and eat.

I think it’d also be great with some wilted spinach or chopped parsley. Whatever you fancy.

Honestly this is my new favourite thing. If I can’t have it for breakfast then I’ll have it for lunch. It might look a bit bland but it’s so good. In fact I think I’ll go and make another one right now!

Recipe: Cinnamon & Raisin Shortbread

If you’re a novice baker, biscuits and shortbread are a great place. Biscuits are fairly easy. They don’t need to be light and fluffy and they don’t need to rise. The one thing I can successfully bake,which usually gets stacks of compliments is shortbread. I usually bake plain or lavender shortbread but I’ve decided to mix things up and bake a cinnamon and raisin shortbread instead.

I inherited the basic shortbread recipe from my Grandma who was a cook and a pastry chef. She used to make fantastic puddings. I’ve taken her shortbread recipe and added a few other ingredients. I’m really pleased with the results, they’re a buttery, short, crumbly shortbread with a lovely cinnamon and raisin twist!

Recipe: Cinnamon & Raisin Shortbread

Cinnamon and Raisin Shortbread

Ingredients:
225g butter
130g caster sugar
350g plain flour
3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
50g raisins
Caster sugar for sprinkling

Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 180. You’ll need to have a couple of baking trays covered with greaseproof paper ready.

Rub the butter and sugar together with your fingers or using a food mixer. Then lightly rub in the flour and the cinnamon with a wooden spoon (I do this in stages to avoid a flour cloud in the kitchen). Add the raisins and mix through the dough.

I find the following method tidier and it stops you manhandling the dough too much. Once the cinnamon and raisin shortbread dough is almost together; tip it out onto a large sheet of greaseproof paper. Bring the dough together with your hands and then fold the paper in half with the mixture sandwiched in between.

With a rolling-pin, roll it out between the sheets of paper, so it’s about 5mm thick and cut into rounds. I used a glass for this and carefully lifted each cinnamon and raisin shortbread biscuit onto the baking tray. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar over each round.

I managed to get 18 large shortbread rounds out of the dough and I got another 18 mini round shortbreads too. Bake the mini rounds for just 10 minutes, they’re lovely with a cup of tea and their mini size makes them seem much fancier.

Bake the large shortbread rounds in the pre-heated oven for 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye on the shortbread, they don’t really want to brown. Once they’re baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool on a rack.

Recipe: Cinnamon & Raisin Shortbread

Shortbread can be a tricky beast, you don’t want your shortbread to brown, it needs to be pale in not over-baked. It’s tricky to see these shortbreads brown as the cinnamon makes them darker to begin with. Different ovens cook differently and I’ve found different butters behave differently too. So it’s best to keep having a peek. You want it to still be pale, but cooked through. You don’t want to dry it out and over-bake either.

Try if you can (I failed) not to gobble one down while they’re still hotter than the surface of the sun. Once cool, enjoy with a streaming mug of tea. They can happily be stored in an airtight tin for a few days, if they last that long.

Recipe: Cinnamon & Raisin Shortbread

These shortbreads were a massive hit, they were loved by all. I was cautious with the cinnamon as not everyone likes it. I think next time I’d put more cinnamon, but it depends how much of a fan of this spice you are. If you’re not sure how much you want to add, you can always taste the raw dough and add more if you think it needs it.

If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like my recipe for Crumbly Cranachan Shortbread with Whisky.

Recipe: Cinnamon & Raisin Shortbread