Sunday 29 April 2012

Chocolate Snickers Brownies

There's no such thing as "too many brownie recipes", which is why I never stop looking for them. Browsing Two Peas & Their Pod I came across a recipe for Peanut Butter Snickers Brownies. But since the peanut butter was meant to be swirled into the prepared brownies without being mixed with anything first, I decided to leave it out as I don't like it by itself. I can tell you, they are delicious without it, but if you really want the peanut butter, swirl a third of a cup of the creamy kind over the brownies before you bake them. Snickers aren't my favourite chocolate bar, but paired with these brownies I love them; the chocolaty, fudgy indulgence of the brownie with chewy, crunchy bites of Snickers is heavenly. 

Saturday 28 April 2012

Chocolate Fondants with Salted Caramel

The other night I made something so gooey and decadent I could have cried. The chocolatyness? Insane. The salted caramel? *drools speechlessly* The combination of the two is so rich and indulgent - just imagine digging in to the picture above, taking out a gooey spoonful of warm deliciousness and eating your way to dessert heaven. Excuse me while I have a mental breakdown. This recipe is adapted from this month's edition of Woman & Home Magazine. Brace yourself. 

Tuesday 24 April 2012

Rocky Road Cookies

A friend of mine recently gave me a recipe for these cookies and I tried them immediately. I LOVED them. The cookie was sooo chocolaty and the marshmallows on top surpassed any gooeyness I've ever experienced before. A combination to die for. Let's just say I'll be making these on a regular basis from now on. 

Sunday 22 April 2012

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Whenever I eat out, nine times out of 10 I'll get the Sticky Toffee Pudding. And if I don't, it's only because of a legally-binding contract with someone else at the table stating that I'll get a bite of theirs. I love the sweet, sticky satisfaction that oozes from each mouthful, which is why I like to make it at home sometimes a lot. This recipe is from an M&S book but I used a different sauce recipe - I'll post both and you can decide which one you want to try, but both are yummy.

Friday 13 April 2012

Sweet & Salty Chocolate Cake

I don't like salt. I don't like adding a large amount in baking, and I don't like sprinkling it over food. Yet this recipe, from the Hummingbird Bakery: Cake Days book, looked interesting as I had heard about the wonders of salted caramel. I was curious as to how salt would work in caramel, let alone this cake, so I made it. It took hours - I started at around 5:30pm on Wednesday, first making the salted caramel, then the silky chocolate caramel frosting. Then it was time to bake three layers of intensely chocolaty cake, one layer at a time as I only had one tin. After a thorough cleaning of the kitchen, it was almost midnight, so I thought I would wait until the morning to assemble the cake. The frosting had hardened in the fridge overnight - waiting on it to soften was agonizing as I couldn't wait to put all the yummy elements together (as it turns out, I love salted caramel). Assembling the cake was exciting. Each layer of chocolate cake was spread first with the salted caramel, then the frosting. The result? A moist chocolaty cake with a twist: caramel that oozes from each layer with salt that only serves to complement a unique, decadent flavour. After one bite, my sister declared it the best thing I have ever made. And I've made a lot of stuff.

Monday 9 April 2012

Chewy Caramel Brownie Pie

Another recipe from The Pastry Chef's Baking, this is a delicious brownie with a caramel topping and a sprinkling of nuts and chocolate. The intensely chocolaty, fudgy brownie goes perfectly with the chewiness of the sweet caramel - and it's all baked in a round dish. Doesn't it sound better to say "I ate half the pie" than "I ate all the brownies"? No? Oh well. 

Saturday 7 April 2012

Sticky Toffee Cupcakes

Sticky toffee pudding is one of my favourite desserts; the moist, sticky sweetness is just irresistible. After the success of Cookie Dough Cupcakes from Making Cupcakes With Lola, I decided to try another of their recipes. The cake part is essentially sticky toffee pudding - delicious. The topping is not the traditional butterscotch sauce but a luscious mixture of home made rum-infused toffee with white chocolate ganache. It certainly puts the 'sticky' in sticky toffee! If you don't already own the book, this is just one reason to buy it, as it's filled with loads more delicious recipes like this one. If you like sticky toffee pudding, you'll love these cupcakes. 

Friday 6 April 2012

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Have you ever wanted to whip up a batch of cookie dough just to eat it straight from the bowl? Or have you been in the midst of making some, and decided you'd rather not have the long, torturing wait while they bake? This is a recipe for cookie dough lovers everywhere: a chocolate chip cake (which is just like cookie dough except being lighter to work as a cake), an egg-less cookie dough filling and a frosting which, yes you've guessed it, possesses that delicious cookie dough taste. If you've ever had Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough Ice Cream, you'll know what I'm talking about. The recipe is from one of my newest baking books, Making Cupcakes With Lola, from the owners of the famous London bakery. 

Wednesday 4 April 2012

Creme Egg Fudge


Don't you love Creme Eggs?! The indulgent milk chocolate shell encasing gooey sweet deliciousness that's just MEANT to be licked...yuuum. If someone had told me just a week ago that is was possible to recreate exactly this decadent deliciousness at home, then I'd say they were crazy. CRAZY! But then I saw this recipe from Shugary Sweets. I'd say it's an exact recreation a miracle. If you want to make them in the traditional egg shape then feel free, but either way, prepare yourself for some serious indulgence.