Blondes have more fun.

In Blackwater, this week, the weather has been a tad bleak.  It's been cold and overcast and wet.  While this weather doesn't suit itself to outdoor pursuits, it is perfection for baking.  In fact, I have woken up each day this week and thought "pastry weather" and so, am devastated that I haven't found the time to create the particularly stunning chocolate tart that I've been giving the eye.  But you know me, I don't wallow for long and I found myself the perfect baking opportunity last night.  The inclement weather called for comfort food and there, in my pile of recipe clippings, I found it. It was exactly what I was looking for and didn't even know it.  A blondie.

White chocolate is, and has always been, a particular favourite of mine - on its own and as an ingredient in any baked good or dessert.  Pair it with fruit and you have a match made in heaven.   I was in a wonderful world of my own...just me, the kitchen and melting chocolate.  The only thing better was what came out of the oven forty minutes later.

Black Cherry Blondies

100g unsalted butter, chopped

180g white chocolate, broken into squares

3/4 caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup SR flour

3/4 cup plain flour

1 cup tinned, pitted black cherries

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and prepare a 19x29cm (or thereabouts) slice tin. Melt butter and chocolate together in a saucepan over a low heat. Allow to cool slightly before stirring in sugar, vanilla and eggs. Sift in flours and combine using a folding motion. Pour the thick batter into the tin, top with the cherries and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Edges should crisp and golden. You can (should) allow to cool before you slice but we can never leave this alone that long!

This is beautiful served warm with icecream or cooled for morning tea.  We sliced it and enjoyed steaming hot with a sweet cup of strong tea. 

F. x

Sweet treats

It's no secret that my favourite dessert is Sticky Date Pudding. In fact, I display an abnormal compulsion to order it should it appear on a menu. It's perfection in all its juxtaposing facets: spongy in texture and dense in flavour. Who can go past its sickly sweetness and deep amber colour?

This recipe is slightly more versatile than one I have previously shared. It is baked as a cake and easily prepared in the food processor. You can serve large squares of this incredible pudding cake with warm caramel sauce and ice cream and stick to the traditional, or (as I have done today) cut it into "two-bite" sized bars with a smear of caramel for a light afternoon morsel. No one is going to accept a bowl of hot pudding and ice cream for afternoon tea but they'll be all over this is a jiffy.

The secret to getting neatly cut bars is to put the cake (once cooled) in the freezer for half an hour before cutting. This firms it up and takes off the stickiness that makes slicing difficult. Once out of the freezer, use a serrated-edge knife to portion the cake as you wish. These little bars suit me because you never feel quite as guilty stealing a second one! If you are serving in this way, also set aside your sauce for a couple of hours to cool (and thus, thicken sufficiently). This naughty sauce is a perfect one to have stashed in the fridge for topping ice cream, drizzling over cakes or shortbread (the sweetness cuts through a tart cheesecake remarkably well) or for attacking with a spoon when no one else is looking.

Sticky Date Cake

315g fresh dates

375mL boiling water

1 1/2 tsp baking soda (bicarb)

150g unsalted butter, softened

175g brown sugar

3 eggs

225g SR flour, sifted

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees C. Place dates, water and bicarb in the food processor with the cutting blade. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.  Pulse the processor 3-5 times to roughly chop the dates.  Change to the mixing blade before adding butter and sugar. Process until well combined.  Mix in eggs and flour until just incorporated. Pour mixture into a greased and lined 30cm square slice tin. Bake for 30 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in tin for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Sticky Caramel Sauce

150g unsalted butter, chopped

250mL single cream

265g brown sugar

Place all ingredients into a saucepan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.  Bring to the boil, keep stirring and cook for 8 minutes.  Caramel will thicken as it cooks.  Serve hot for a thin sauce or at room temperature if you prefer it thick and gooey.

Don't you wish you were at my house for afternoon tea today?

F. x

Afternoon Delight

The brilliant thing about a brownie (well, one of the many brilliant things about a brownie) is that even though it's aesthetically ugly, the uglier, the goey-er, the browner....the better! There's absolutely no fussiness in serving them up.  They are a guilty comfort which should look homemade and rustic.  Having some gorgeous ladies over this afternoon meant that I simply had to bake something.  Not sure how much time I would have (if only babies worked around our schedule!) my decision was based on ease and people pleasing.  Who doesn't love a brownie?!

These brownies are quick and easy but also have a yummy twist - coconut.  I, however, cannot take the credit for this addition after being inspired by my mothers groups' recent obsession with Summer Rolls (hence the name of these delights).  You know, that delicious chewy nougat covered in chocolate and coated in coconut - heaven!  As a result, I have also rekindled my lost love with the humble Summer Roll which has obviously now filtered in other aspects of my culinary existence.  Prepare yourself for mouthfuls of chocolatey goodness as you bite through the crisp exterior to reveal a molten and decadent core.  These glorious things are appropriate for all levels of entertaining, be it accompanying a coffee as you steal a quiet moment at home to yourself, or as a dessert served warm with icecream and a dusting of cocoa as you entertain.  And all put together in 10 minutes before you set the oven timer and forget about it until your house fills with the devine scent of warm chocolate baking.  It's too much!  Do yourself a favour...bake these!

Summer Brownies

175g unsalted butter, chopped

175g dark chocolate, chopped

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 cups caster sugar

1/2 cup dessicated coconut

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup plain flour

1/3 cup cocoa

Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius. Melt butter and chocolate together in a microwave safe dish, stirring every 30 seconds.  Set aside to cool slightly.  Sift together flour and cocoa.  In a different bowl, mix together eggs, sugar, coconut and vanilla.  Fold through chocolate mixture and combine well before adding flour and cocoa.  Ensure all ingredients are combined and pour mixture into a pre-prepared 20x20 baking tin (or a slice tin).  Bake for 35 minutes.  Top will be crisp but inside will still be soft.

This will become your 'go to' brownie recipe, I am sure of it!

F. x