Category: Chocolate

Banana loaf with Lindt Chocolate

Banana Loaf #badboy

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I’m on a roll at the moment or should I say loaf. I’m slowly working my way through Mary Berry’s Baking Bible and adding and changing recipes until I feel I have mastered them or added a twist that leaves me happy.   The latest conquest was Banana Loaf.

Luckily for me, my colleagues are not keen on banana’s once they are showing signs of ripening which also gave  my the perfect opportunity to try out my new tin liners.  I love baking and I think I’m doing okay, but lining tins is not my area of strength so theses are a welcome addition.

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This bad boy is perfect (it’s no secret any great banana loaf needs really ripe bananas).  My first loaf was plain banana. My next bake had chocolate (a handful of chopped up dark chocolate) then I added Clark’s Maple Syrup and finally maple syrup and pecans which became the office favorite. The balance of Maple syrup was a learning curve and after 3 attempts and feedback from the office I think I have the right balance.

Lindt Dark Chocolate
Clarks Maple Syrup and a handful of  Lindt Dark Chocolate

So what next….

Line your tin. Now you’d think this is straight forward but be careful choosing your tin. For this recipe you needs a 2lb /900g loaf tin; if you’re not sure measure out and this size tin should hold one litre of water.

Ingredients

  • 100g (4oz) softened butter * (very important don’t cheat this)
  • 175g (60z) Caster sugar
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 2 Ripe Banana’s mashed
  • 225g  (8oz) self raising flour
  • 1 level teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons of milk

The Extras

  • 2 tablespoons of Maple Syrup (I use Clarks)
  • 2 tablespoons of pecan nuts, cut in halves.
    or 1 handful of chopped dark chocolate (both is too much so I recommend you pick one or the other)
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  1. Pre-heat your oven to 160c (fan assisted)/gas mark 4 and lightly grease and line your 2lb loaf tin (bottom and sides).
  2. Measure out your ingredients into a mixing bowl and the mashed banana and if desired the maple syrup mix well for 2 minutes or until well blended.
  3. Next stir in your chocolate and or pecans
  4. Pour / spoon the mixture into your lined tin and level the surface
  5. Bake on your middle shelf for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
  6. Leave to cool in the tin on your cooling rack for 5 minutes, then turnout and peel off the parchment until cooled.

Or if like me, why not have slice while still warm with a cup of tea!

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Banana loaf with Lindt Chocolate
Banana Loaf with Lindt Chocolate
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Finished article. Serve immediately with custard, cream or ice cream

All round winner – Jaffa Self Saucing Pudding

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Made this first for my Mum’s birthday meal.  My mum doesn’t have the sweetest tooth in the family that belongs to my Dad.  He truly is a pudding / dessert lover…and if he could, he would eat puddings for starters, mains and afters!

They both raved about this pudding, in fact Dad said its the best pudding he’s ever had. Since then David’s parents have enjoyed this  and they have requested this for the Ord family Easter Sunday dinner.  With this in mind I thought it was time to share this wonderful pudding with you.

I first found on the BBC Good Food website and I have made no tweaks as its perfect.

  The Batter

  • 250g self raising flour
  • 140g golden caster sugar
  • 50g cocoa powder
  • 100g soften butter
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Zest and Juice of 1 orange
  • 3 eggs
  • 150ml Milk
  • 100g orange milk chocolate (I use Terry’s Chocolate Orange)

    The Sauce
  • 200g  light muscovado sugar
  • 25g cocoa
  • 300ml boiling water
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Self Saucing Jaffa Pudding

 

  1. Butter a 2-litre baking dish and heat oven to 160°C fan/gas 4 and put your kettle on.
  2. Put the flour, caster sugar, 50g cocoa, baking powder, orange zest and a pinch of salt in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Chop your chocolate into pieces.

    I aim for pieces about the size of a Cadburys’ buttons give or take; this means you find lovely pieces of half melted chocolate in each mouthful.

  4. Squeeze the  orange juice into a pyrex jug and whisk in the 3 eggs, melted butter and milk.
  5. Pour onto the dry ingredients and mix together until smooth  (it takes about 2-3 minutes in  my Kenwood)
  6. Stir in the chocolate chunks and then scrape everything into the buttered dish
  7. Mix 300ml of boiling water from your kettle with the light muscavodo sugar and remaining 25g of cocoa for the sauce.
    Batter Mix
    Batter mix before your pour the sauce over
  8. Slowly pour this all over the pudding batter which will look very wrong at this stage!

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    Batter covered with the bubbling hot sauce mix
  9. The Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 30 mins or until the surface looks firm, risen and crisp.
    Finished article. Serve immediately with custard, cream or ice
    Self Saucing Jaffa Pudding

     

 

I hope you like this pudding as much as we do and if you do try this please let me know if you make any additions as I’m always looking for new ideas.

Louise x

EatBakeBlogGB

#EatBakeBlog Seeking Brownie perfection

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Ever since I dined at the Saddleroom in beautiful Coverdale over a year ago I have been trying to recreate this brownie which was a little piece of heaven.

20160120 Perfect Brownie

Ingredients used:

  • Pack of unsalted butter (250g)
  • 250g golden Caster Sugar
  • 225g dark muscovado sugar
  • 100g cocoa powder
  • 4 large eggs (whisked)
  • 100g Self Raising Flour
  • 85g Blanched Chopped Hazelnuts
  • 4 Tablespoons of dark rum (or leave out)

Equipment you will need : scales, large glass bowl (about 20cms in diameter), pan to sit the bowl on, good heatproof spatula or wooden spoon, fork or whisk, baking parchment (greaseproof paper) and a square bake tin (21cms or 22cms).

The method. I  writing this bullet pointed as I think it makes it easier to follow, but first heat your oven to 180C or if a fan 160C (equivalent Gas mark 4) and lightly grease a square non-stick baking tin and line it with baking parchment /greaseproof paper.

  1. Weigh out your ingredients first and beat the eggs – this makes the process easier, leaving you to focus on baking rather than weighing (I lay them out in order of use it helps me when I am doing new recipes it keeps me focused on where I am)
  2. Put a pan of water (about a 1/4 full) on to simmer and place the glass bowl that sits neatly on top making sure the water is not too high that it is touching the bottom of the glass bowl.
  3. Cut the butter into 8 pieces and place in the bowl
  4. Add both sugars and the cocoa and stir regularly so it doesn’t stick until the sugar is dissolved and you have a rich chocolate mix.
    EatBakeBlog Butter Sugar and Cocoa mix
  5.  Take the bowl off the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes
  6. Add the beaten eggs bit-by-bit into the mix until you have a smooth and glossy mix.
  7. Stir in the self raising flour and chopped hazelnuts and the rum and mix until you cannot see any flour (really scrap down into the bottom of that glass bowl).
    Eatbakeblog Chopped Hazelnuts
  8. Pour the mixture into your lined tin.
    EatBakeBlog Ready to bake
  9. Place in the oven on a middle shelf and bake for 35 minute or longer if needed (check by putting a skewer (or a sharp knife) into the mix our looking for a slightly clean blade.
  10. Remove and leave to cool in the tin – this is really important; your brownie is still cooking and developing its flavour.

Turn out only once it is cool. I turn it out onto a board so I have the base upwards it makes cutting it easier as the top should be crunchy and it will crumble.

Your Brownies should keep in an airtight (I use an old biscuit tin lined with greaseproof paper) for about 3 days and we are sure it tastes better on day 2. This is still the best  brownie I have made but I am still seeking the chewy perfection.

 

Eatbakeblog Hazelnut Brownie
Hazelnut Brownie by EatBakeBlog

Thanks for reading my blog and if you like this then please show your support and comment below or share on social media.

 

Louise x

#EatBakeBlog

Bake off round 3

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For the third time we are going into Bake Off mode at work. This time I’ve decided to make a Chocolate Cake complete with a ganache topping. I’m pleased to say it was a victory. Moist, tasty and rich enough not to require any cream to complete or dilute it’s decadence.
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I was so impressed and excited I decided to bake a Brownie (to the left) and below.
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The Brownie is not my preferred recipe (it contains mayonnaise) but I do love the texture it produces.

The result was as follows for the Ganache.

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