Creme egg brownies

As it is time for Easter and indulging I have a recipe treat for you! I have seen these dotted all over the place, originally from Eric Lanlard I believe and as I have a weekend of family gatherings I thought I would give them a try.

185g dark chocolate

185g unsalted butter

85g plain flour

40g cocoa powder

3 eggs

275g caster sugar

A bag of mini crème eggs

-Preheat the oven to 180ºC, gm4. Over a pan of water, melt the chocolate and butter together then put to one side to cool slightly.

-In a separate pan, crack in the eggs and whisk in the sugar until pale and frothy. Add this to the chocolate mixture and stir in.

-Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and gently fold in.

-Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes and whilst the mixture is in the oven, take a sharp knife and finding the join, cut them in half.

-After 15-20 mins, take the mixture out and squish in the egg halves evenly spaced apart.

-Put it back in the oven for 10 mins to finish baking and melt the crème eggs.

-Let the brownies cool completely in the tin before cutting.

Winter cobbler

This is a new recipe that I am trying – fingers crossed!  Due to this horrid weather I have reverted back to hearty rib sticking dishes.

\winter cobbler, serves 4

1tbsp oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

3 small onions, chopped

250g beef strips (can use mince or any other meat)

3 carrots.  chopped

4 medium sized potatoes, cubed

400g canned chopped tomatoes

2tbsp gravy powder

4tbsp water

Splash tabasco sauce to taste

Pepper to taste

-          You can add a handful of lentils, rinsed, just add 150ml of water to the dish.

For the topping,

225g self raising flour

Pinch salt

4tbsp butter

115g grated chedder cheese

1tsp chopped herbs

1 egg

150ml milk

1.        Preheat oven to 180ºC. Heat the oil in a pan and cook the garlic and onions over a low heat for a few minutes then brown the meat. Add the gravy powder and water and heat until thickened.

2.        Add in the carrots and potatoes and cook for a few minutes then add the chopped tomatoes and season to taste.

3.        Transfer to ann ovenproof dish and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes

4.        To make the topping, sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the butter and rub in then stir in most of the cheese and herbs. Beat the egg with the milk in a small bowl and add enough to the dry ingrediants to make a soft dough. Knead, then roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1cm thick and cut 5cm rounds

5.        Remove the dish from the oven and increase the temperature to 200ºC. Arrange the dough rounds around the edge of the dish, brush with the remaining egg and milk mixture and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Cook for a further 10- 12 mins and enjoy!

baking eggless brownies

Today, the weather is grim so the perfect activity for pip I decided was baking. I pulled a nice but easy recipe out ready for us to do then realised, no butter and Mr P ate the last of the eggs yesterday eep!

That put a spanner in the works, the shop is about 10 minutes’ walk away as I don’t drive but I decided to not chance it with the kiddies and wait for a break in the weather. In the meantime I realised I had also run out of biccies and was desperate for some choccy, I leafed through my recipe book in desperation and found this recipe that doesn’t need eggs and you can also use cocoa powder as I only had a small amount of chocolate drops left.

It comes out cakeier than the gooey deliciousness I’m used to but I topped it with mini marshmallows which replace the gooiness.  

• 170g/6oz self-raising flour
• salt
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 170g/6oz caster sugar
• 5 tbsp sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing
• 230ml/8fl oz  milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Grease and flour a 20cm/8in square cake tin with some of the sunflower oil.
3. In a bowl sift together the flour and cocoa powder
4. Add the sugar and salt and stir together.
5. Add the oil, milk and vanilla extract, and mix together until combined.
6. Pour into the tin, and bake for about 25 minutes, until the brownies spring back when gently pressed.
7. Leave to cool for five minutes, and then turn out onto a wire rack.

We may still attempt to pop to the shop after pips nap otherwise we will have an afternoon of eating brownies and warm milk watching a good old Disney film.