Chocolate Fondant Puddings

I'm back! I have just moved house so you have to excuse the radio silence on the blog the past few weeks. This weeks post is again chocolate related but it does date back to Easter Sunday so after my chocolate fast I couldn't help but do a chocolate related desert. I spent Easter in Cheltenham with my sister, Aisling, and her boyfriend, Matt. After having a lovely lunch in a country pub with Matts family we went home to prepare another feast. It is tradition in my family, as I'm sure it is in many other houses, to have spring lamb on Easter Sunday. I requested that this be on the menu Easter Sunday as it was my first Easter away from home. They didn't disappoint. We had the most delicious Spring Lamb with all the trimmings.. Roast potatoes, roasted carrots and parsnips, cauliflower and leek in cheese sauce, gravy and of course mint sauce. I didn't help out for dinner at all.. but I was in charge of desert. 

Which brings me to my choice of desert as you can tell from the title, Chocolate Fondant Puddings. It was actually suggested to me by my cousin a few weeks ago that I should do this recipe on my blog (if you're reading this Ryan sorry you didn't get to sample- next time!). I researched the recipe and tweaked it to my liking. There were three of us for dinner but this recipe made 4/5 depending on the size of your ramekins. I got five out of it because these ramekins were quite small but looking back I probably could have got 6 out of it. I popped 2 of them in the freezer for Aisling and Matt to have at a later date. Again like my cookie recipe you can just pop these in the freezer and take out whenever you need them. Just be sure to wrap well with cling film. I could not get over how simple these were to make. I always wondered when I got this desert in a restaurant how they got the outside sponge cooked so well but the inside to remain all gooey. Well it all comes down to timing. Just follow my recipe below and you too can have perfect Chocolate Fondant Deserts. 

Ingredients

100g Dark Chocolate
100g Butter
100g Caster Sugar
100g Self Raising Flour
2 Eggs
1 Egg Yolk

Extra butter and cocoa powder to prepare the ramekins.

Method

Place the chocolate, butter and sugar together in a heatproof bowl and melt over a saucepan of simmering water. Be sure not to let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. When melted and well combined take off the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

While your mix cools you can prepare your ramekins. Grease the ramekins with butter and then dust with cocoa powder. This will make it easier to remove your puddings from the ramekins to serve.

After your mix has cooled slightly whisk in the eggs. When well combined add the flour. You can add a drop of vanilla extract at this point but this is completely optional. I added a tablespoon of maple syrup to my mix but again this is completely optional.. I just saw it in my sisters cupboard and threw a spoon in for good measure!!

Then divide the mixture equally between the ramekins. If you are preparing these in advance just pop them in the fridge until ready to bake. Ideally they should rest in the fridge for about an hour before baking so ensure you have this time when preparing them. When ready to bake place in the oven at 190C for 13-15 minutes. If cooking from frozen cook for an extra 2-3 minutes. When baked the top of the pudding should have a sponge like texture and springs back to touch.

Once baked remove from the oven and run a butter knife carefully around the edge of the ramekin. What I did was ran the knife along the top of the ramekin and gently pressed into the pudding separating it from the glass. Then you can tip the pudding straight onto a plate or what I did was tip the pudding onto a paper towel in my hand and then placed onto the plate.

These puddings are best served hot so straight to the table with them (or the couch in our case!). Serve with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

I hope you try this recipe. If you do please let me know how it turned out. You can find me on instagram, twitter and now facebook too! Quick disclaimer.. I would like to thank Matt for the use of his camera and photography skills for the pictures on this post. If it was possible I would do all my baking in Cheltenham for pictures like these!

Happy Baking!

O x

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

So this post is a bit late.. Sorry I was MIA last week. Work got a little crazy and the weekend got even crazier!! So this week I baked Chocolate Chip Cookies. I found it very hard to get the consistency just right in these cookies but finally managed to get a winning combination. These cookies are what I call 'Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies' as they have a crisp edge but a yummy chewy centre. I have always been a fan of cookies or 'biscuits' as we call them at home. I remember in both my grannies houses there was always a stash of biscuits in the biscuit barrel when we went to visit. The poor women would barely get a hello from me and I was off in search of the sugary goodness! I remember my Lala always had 'Club Bars' in hers and with my Nana it was a variety but I always remember there being 'Fig Rolls' left at the bottom when all the chocolate covered ones were gone!! Such great memories..! 

Anyway what I am trying to say is in an Irish house hold there is always a stash of biscuits in case 'visitors' called unexpectedly and the "mortification" if someone calls unexpectedly and you have nothing in the house.. I can hear my own mother now "And I haven't a bit here to offer you with the tea". Well, my cookie recipe is perfect for freezing. No I don't mean freezing the baked cookies but freezing the dough. So if someone calls to say they'll be over in 20 mins there is no excuse for not having the house smelling like freshly baked cookies when they arrive!

Just follow my simple recipe for the dough and how to bake them, then at the end I will show you the best way to freeze them.

Ingredients

325g Plain Flour

1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

1tsp Salt

200g Butter (Soft, at room temp)

150g Caster Sugar

150g Soft Brown Sugar

1tsp Vanilla Extract

2 Eggs

300g Dark Chocolate Chips

Prepare

Preheat oven to 190C / Gas Mark 5. Line a baking tray with Parchment Paper.

Method

Begin by combining the flour, bicarb and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl (if using a free standing mixer use this bowl here) add the butter, caster sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract and mix to combine. If you're using a free standing mixer use paddle attachment or use hand held whisk and beat until creamy.

Then beat in your eggs. Once eggs have been incorporated gradually beat in your flour. I had my mixer at a medium speed for all these steps. Be sure to stop mixing every once in a while and scrape down any ingredients that may be stuck to the side of the bowl and scrape the bottom of the bowl too.. any places the mixer may have missed. Once flour has been combined stir in your chocolate chips (do not beat or whisk as you don't want them breaking). I have mentioned in my recipe 'Dark Chocolate Chips' .. You can use whatever type of chocolate you prefer. I just prefer the dark chocolate chips because I like the sharp taste of the dark chocolate against the sweetness of the cookie. So now you should be left with a nice pliable dough like below. 

Now, what you can do here is split the dough into two halves and roll out into large sausage shapes and cut accordingly. These rolls can be wrapped in cling film and placed in the fridge until ready to use. They are easier to cut went they have been in the fridge for about 20-30 mins. For me, using an ice-cream scoop, I scooped out equal (ish) portions and placed on the baking tray as seen below. 

I placed them in the oven for 9-11 mins. Be careful not to over cook as they will be very hard and you won't have that yummy chewy consistency. Be sure to leave plenty of space between them as they will spread!!

If you want to freeze your dough all you have to do is place the tray into the freezer when you have the cookies placed on it. You can obviously place more cookies on the tray if you're freezing them but just make sure they're not touching.

Place in the freezer for about one hour. When they have frozen just take the tray out of the freezer and place your cookie dough balls into a zip lock bag and put back into the freezer. They will not stick together when they have frozen. When you want to bake them from frozen just take them out of the freezer, straight onto a baking tray and place into your preheated oven. 

Alternatively if you used the rolled dough method you can just placed the wrapped roll of cookie dough in the freezer and take it out of the freezer and put into the fridge a couple of hours before cooking or until soft enough to cut.

If frozen they will obviously take a little longer to cook; about 13-15 minutes. Just keep an eye on them. You will know they're done because they will look a lovely gold brown colour all over.

Perfect with a cup of tea or coffee or you could do it like the Americans do have it with a nice cold glass of milk.

These cookies are honestly so so easy to make and very handy to have in the freezer whenever you have guests coming around. I hope you enjoy making them. Please let me know if you try them and what you think of them. If you have any questions just comment below or you can find me on instagram or twitter.

Happy Baking!

O x

(I just love the tulips this time of year..!!)

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Jam and Cream Swiss Roll

My mother used to always make us the best birthday cakes as children. My favourite was a princess castle I got for my 5th or 6th birthday (I think). I also recall ballet slippers, bumble bee and a caterpillar. They were amazing. We were never allowed to see them though until they came out with candles on them at our parties but that didn't stop us looking high and low for them. Anyone who grew up in an Irish household may (or may not) have had a good sitting room and an every day sitting room. Well we were only allowed in our good sitting room for Christmas but this was where I spotted my princess castle cake that year.. I saw it through the window in the back garden and I was in awe! As we got older though we grew out of the novelty cakes and having big birthday parties so I remember as teenagers we would have a family dinner and after dinner we would have a cake purchased from the local bakery. My favourite was a jam and cream swiss roll. A light and fluffy sponge filled with strawberry jam and fresh whipped cream. Delicious! For this recipe I used a strawberry jam that had 'no bits' as its just the one I prefer but you can use any jam you want. You can also leave out the cream if desired or add more than I have put in here. To bake this I used a 37 x 27cm silicone flexi-sheet from lakeland but you can use any swiss roll tin or shallow baking tin you have. As you may notice the flour and caster sugar quantities are the same and there is one egg for every 25g of flour and caster sugar so if you do have a smaller baking tin just adjust your quantities as desired!

Ingredients

(as shown above)

125g Self-Raising Flour

125g Caster Sugar

5 Eggs

150mls Fresh Cream (whipped)

Jam

Prepare

Preheat your oven to 200^oC / Gas Mark 6

Line and Grease your Swiss roll tin or a shallow baking tray

Method

Begin by placing the caster sugar and eggs in a large mixing bowl and whisking on high speed (if you have an electric mixer) until light and fluffy. This may take about 2-3 mins. If hand mixing this may take longer.

Then fold in the flour until well incorporated. Be careful not to over mix as you will lose all the air you have whisked into the sugar and eggs. 

Place the mix into your prepared tin and spread out to all the edges and smooth. Place in your preheated oven and bake for 7-10 minutes or until golden brown and springs back to touch. 

Remove from the oven and place on another sheet of grease proof paper that has been sprinkled with caster sugar. Leave to cool for a few moments and then roll up (from the shortest edge) with the grease proof paper and leave for another few moments before rolling out and leaving to cool completely before filling.

Because this is a relatively thin sponge it won't take that long to cool. You can use this time to prepare your fillings. Depending on the size of your sponge I used about 3 heaped tablespoons of jam. I placed the jam in a bowl and stirred it to loosen. If your jam is very thick or just out of the fridge place in the microwave for about 10 seconds before stirring. Spread the jam over the sponge  covering the sponge but leaving about 2cm around the edges and repeat with the whipped cream. Leaving those spaces free around the edge of the sponge will prevent your filling from over spilling.

Now this is completely optional but I trimmed about 1cm off the long edges of the sponge before folding it. This just tidies up the edges a bit before you roll it. Now with the shortest edge facing you, begin folding using the paper to help you and roll tightly. 

Sprinkle with icing sugar when serving. Don't be too worried if your sponge splits; It adds to the character of it I think :-). I hope you all enjoy baking it as much as I did. Let me know if you try it or if you have any questions for me? You can find me on twitter and instagram. 

Happy Baking!

O x

Triple Chocolate Chewy Brownies

They are exactly as the title says: Triple Chocolate Chewy Brownies. My mouth is watering just writing that. I chose this recipe to be my first recipe post because they are by far my favourite thing to bake and not just because they are so so simple to make. It is because they taste so unbelievably good and you can easily add your own favourites to the recipe. I've added chocolate chunks and hazelnuts to this recipe and I know a friend of mine adds walnuts when she bakes them. Baking these brownies also fills the kitchen with the most amazing smell. Don't believe me? Why don't you try for yourself...

I always get all my ingredients prepared before I start any recipe. I cannot tell you the amount of times I have began baking something only to realise I have forgotten to weigh out an ingredient and then I panic and get all flustered. Not good! So weigh out all your ingredients and have them ready to just pop into the mix. 

If you would like to leave out the milk and white chocolate chunks and just have plain chocolate brownies that is completely up to you. I have done them both ways and both ways are still really yummy! 

I have been making these brownies for years now and have made them for many occasions and they are a big crowd pleaser. 

Ingredients 

(as shown above)

3 Eggs

325g Caster Sugar 

175g Butter 

130g Plain Flour 

200g Plain / Dark Chocolate 

100g Milk and White Chocolate Chunks mix (optional)

2 Tbsp Chopped Hazelnuts (optional)

Prepare

Preheat your oven to 170^oC / gas mark 3

Line a 12" x 8" x 2" baking tray with parchment paper

Method

  Begin by melting the chocolate and butter together over a Bain-Marie. A Bain-Marie is basically a fancy word for a hot water bath. Place a heat proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. It is extremely important that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water as it will scald the chocolate and it will burn.

Once the butter and chocolate have melted you will be left with a glossy chocolaty mixture. Take this off the heat and gradually stir in the caster sugar and mix until well incorporated.

Now add in the flour. Once the flour has been well incorporated add the eggs and mix until you have a thick and gooey mix! Stir in your chocolate chunks and hazelnuts if you have decided to add them to your brownies.

Spoon the mixture into your lined baking tray. Try and ensure you have some parchment paper hanging over the edge of your baking tray as it makes it easier to grab and lift the brownies out of the tray when cooked.

Now, when I cooked the brownies this time I sprinkled the chocolate chunks on top thinking they would sink down into the mix. I would not recommend this as they only partially sunk into the brownie and unfortunately some of them burned at the tips from the heat of the oven. I have just added this picture because it looks so yummy!! Also a good example of the parchment paper coming out over the tray.

Bake your brownies in your preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes. When cooked the brownies will be flaky on top but soft in the centre. A cake tester or toothpick inserted into the centre of the brownie should return wet with crumbs. Be careful not to over cook as the edges will become hard and crunchy.

Remove the brownies from the baking tray and cool on a wire rack. When cooled  completely cut to size and sprinkle with icing sugar if desired. 

These brownies can be served cold but I have also served them warm as a desert with vanilla ice-cream or whipped cream. Just blast in the microwave for 15-20 seconds on full power. 

Check out that soft chewy centre...!!

As I mentioned in my welcome post, technology and me don't really mix and when I began preparing for this post I realised my camera had no battery! Case and Point! I took these photos with my phone and I have to say I really don't think they turned out too bad..!! 

Let me know if you try out this recipe and how it worked for you. You can also find me on Twitter and Instagram  so please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.

Happy Baking!

O x

Welcome!

For my first post I am going to begin by telling you a little bit about myself and how this blog came to be. My name is Orna and I grew up in a small town in Co.Waterford, Ireland. I heard the big city calling so I moved to London in 2012 and I fell absolutely head over heels in love with this city and now consider it my second home. 

I have been baking for as long as I can remember. Both my grandmothers were fantastic bakers so it is most definitely in my genes. My earliest memories are baking 'Queen Cakes' with my Nana. I remember standing on a chair at the kitchen counter helping (but probably being more of hindrance than a help) and waiting for the buns to go into the oven so I could get on with the all important task of licking the spoon. Nowadays I bake whenever and wherever I feel. When I'm upset, I bake. When I'm angry or stressed, I bake. When I'm happy, I bake. I think you get the picture. I can easily say I am at my happiest when in the kitchen baking and nothing beats the feeling of someone really enjoying your baked goods or the look on someones face when they see the cake you've spent hours creating for them.

I have been told for years I should start a blog but technology really isn't my forte so I could just never get the hang of it. Then there is also the fact that I am a self confessed lazy bones! But seeing as baking is such a passion of mine I thought it was about time I started. As mentioned before I am a bit technically challenged so please bear with me as I get this thing up and running!

I hope that through reading this blog my passion for baking rubs off on you and you get as much joy from recreating my recipes as I did putting them together. 

Happy Baking!

O x