Chocolate Pudding Cake with Raspberries

For the one year anniversary of Belleau Kitchen's brilliant Random Recipes Challenge, Dom asked us to think back and return to the first book from which we chose a random recipe.  The first time I entered this challenge I made scones from Eat Drink Live by Fran Warde. On going back to it I had to 'randomly' hunt around a little for a baking recipe amongst the salads and other savoury options and finally came to this one for Chocolate Pudding Cake with Raspberries.  It's one of those recipes that's tucked away a little in the bottom left hand corner of the page near the crease, with no photograph - the poor relation to the other recipes on the page with their artfully styled pictures.  But I randomly made this one and what can I say but thank you Dom! Without this challenge this little beauty would probably have never seen the light of day and that would have been such a shame as it is absolutely bloody delicious.


The Recipe


250g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
200g butter
1 tspn instant coffee, dissolved in 1 tbspn hot water
5 eggs
100g caster sugar
75g plain flour
150g raspberries (I used less than this)


1. Grease and line a 20cm springform tin. Preheat oven to 170c/gas mark 3.
2. Put the chocolate, butter and instant coffee in a small saucepan and heat gently until melted, smooth and glossy.  Set aside.
3. Beat the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Then add the flour and chocolate mixture and combine lightly.
4. Pour the batter into the tin. Stud the top with the raspberries and bake for around 40 mins or until the cake feels firm and is starting to shrink from the sides.


Lovely eaten warm or cold!

Raspberry & Buttermilk Pancakes

Happy New Year!  With January comes resolutions of healthy eating, more exercise etc etc.  I don't generally believe in diets - I think life is all about balance - balancing on your toes on the edge of the scales generally gives you a lower weight reading.  


That of course isn't what I really mean.  I generally watch what I eat in the week, trying to err on the side of healthy, while indulging more at the weekend. However after Christmas I did feel I wanted to kick start myself back into a healthy eating mode so I dug out an old book about GI recipes.  I don't really see GI food as a diet as such but a general way of eating quite healthily.  Since first reading the book several years ago I've probably adopted some GI ways of eating without even realising, such as always buying brown rice and occasionally using wholewheat pasta (it just doesn't taste as good though) among other things. 


So this week I'll be cooking recipes from this book and I thought I'd start it with these delicious  pancakes.  I was surprised to find the recipe on which I've based them in amongst the others but apparently buttermilk is low in fat and the rest of the ingredients are pretty healthily.  I even swapped the sweetener listed in the ingredients for Agave Nectar so it contains even less sugar than listed.  I did use less buttermilk than in the recipe so I didn't have to buy 2 tubs. I made up the difference with normal milk.  I also added some raspberries into the mixture which gave a lovely fruity hit when eating them.  


This is my entry into this month's Breakfast Club Challenge which is being hosted this month by Food, Je t'aimee.  The theme this month is January Detox and in light of the fact these pancakes are a pretty healthy option I thought they would fit nicely.


The Repice (Adapted from Living the GI Diet)


240g wholemeal flour
1 tbpn baking powder
1 tspn agave nectar
300ml buttermilk
150ml milk
2 eggs
2 tbspns rapeseed oil
150g raspberries


1.  Mix together the flour and baking powder. In a separate bowl whisk together all the other ingredients except the raspberries. Then whisk into the dry ingredients. Fold in the raspberries, saving a few to add to the cooked pancakes.
2. Heat a little rapeseed oil in a frying pan. Add dollops of the mixture. Wait until bubbles appear on the surface of the pancakes then turn over and cook for another couple of minutes.
3. Serve with the remaining fresh raspberries and a drizzle of honey.

Chocolate & Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies - A Random Recipe

When it came to my blog I got all out of kilter in July and August due to some lovely weekends away and a long holiday.   September has been a bit like going back to school for me and the routine has returned.  With that return to more normal weekends has been the chance to see what blogging challenges September has brought.  Dom over at Belleau 'spanking brand new' Kitchen (and very nice it is too!) set us the task this month of sifting through any saved recipe cuttings and picking one to make for his Random Recipe Challenge.  I love this idea - I am a serial magazine recipe snipper.  As a consequence I have recipes shoved in the front of books, in the magazine rack and in my 'to do' pile, all waiting to be tried out. If they make the grade they then get written or stuck in my actual recipe folder.  It wasn't hard to randomly select one and this ridiculously rich brownie recipe was the one I found. I think it is from an old copy of Sunday Times Style which was featuring recipes from the Green & Black's cookbook but I'm not 100% sure as I don't have the full article. I've been meaning to make this brownie recipe for ages, mainly because it looked so sinful on the picture. It is very puddingy in the respect I think it would be better eaten as dessert rather than with a cup of tea.  It tastes as decadent as it looks.  A little goes a very long way (probably on the hips too....).

The Recipe

For the brownie:

280g unsalted butter (yes more than one block of butter, sinful I told you)

170g dark chocolate (70% cocoa at least)

350g golden caster sugar (sinful again)

70g plain flour

pinch of salt

5 eggs

2 tspn vanilla extract

100g white chocolate, broken into small pieces

For the cheesecake:

350g cream cheese (I used 300g as that's what size the large tubs come in)

75g golden caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

170g fresh raspberries (I used one punnet)

1. Heat the oven to 180c/gas mark 4.  Grease and line a 20cm square tin.

2.  Make the brownie mixture by melting the butter and chocolate (microwave is fine and easy).  Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Combine the sugar, flour and salt in a large mixing bowl, pour over the cooled chocolate and mix until smooth. Beat the eggs separately before adding to the mixing bowl along with the vanilla extract and the while chocolate.  Blend together until the mixture is shiny.  Pour into the prepared tin.

3.  Make the cheesecake mixture by whisking the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and eggs until smooth and creamy.  Pour this over the brownie mix, trying to create an even layer.  Drop the raspberries into the tray.  Use a fork to swirl the mixture for a marbled effect.  

4. Bake for about 45 mins. The brownies should be set but still wobbly.  Leave to cool.

Raspberry & Coconut Friands

I'm a bit late posting this - summer has kicked off in all its glory with BBQs, drinks al fresco and cheering on Mr CB at his first 10km run.  All these fun and games haven't left me with much time to bake let alone write about the end result. I did find some time on Saturday afternoon however to make these delicious individual cakes whose recipe came from the wonderful Redonline. It was another excuse to get out my cute mini loaf tins too.  The sharpness of the raspberries works really well with the sweet macaroon centre.   I served them up at the carb loaded pre-run dinner with a scoop of ice cream. 


The Recipe


75g butter
grated rind of 1/2 lemon
3 medium egg whites
100g icing sugar
40g plain flour
50g dessicated coconut
25g ground almonds
a few raspberries


1. Preheat the oven to 200c/gas mark 6.   Lightly oil 6 individual metal friand or mini loaf tins and line the bases with greaseproof paper, then put the tins on a baking sheet.  Warm the butter and lemon rind in a small saucepan until the butter has just melted then leave to cool.
2. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then gradually whisk in the sugar, a bit at a time. Continue to whisk until smooth and glossy. 
3. Sift the flour over the top.  Add the coconut and ground almonds and gently fold together.  Gradually fold in the melted butter until just mixed. 
4.  Divide the mixture between the tins and smooth the surface.  Press a few raspberries into the cakes.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until the tops are golden and a skewer comes out clean.  
5.  Leave to cool for 5 mins then loosen the edges with a knife, turn out on to a wire rack and dust the top with sifted icing sugar.  

White Chocolate and Raspberry Roulade

This month's We Should Cocoa Challenge was set by Chele of the brilliant Chocolate Teapot blog. Chele challenged us to create a Swiss roll or a roulade, of course containing the obligatory chocolate element. I have previously made one roulade before which was a lemon sponge version and was basically pretty awful. Let's just say if I had dropped it on my foot it would have resulted in a trip to A&E. For this reason I was a bit dubious how this challenge would work out. I also decided to put a little extra pressure on myself by making it for pudding for friends who were coming round for lunch yesterday. Having completely slept in I didn't have much time to get this ready let alone the rest of the lunch!


I found the recipe for this White Chocolate roulade which is meringue based on a magazine website. So I got out my newly bought Swiss roll tin and got going. Yes the roulade cracked when I rolled it but according to Delia that's fine and let's face it what Delia says goes. I love this recipe and was also pleased as it was my first meringue attempt too. I made a raspberry coulis which I drizzled over the roulade when I served it. In hindsight I should have taken the photo after the addition of the coulis as my poor roulade does look a bit anaemic in this picture.  I had actually planned to take a photo of a leftover slice but it all went. I blame the 3 year old who came back for seconds!


The Recipe


4 egg whites
200g caster sugar
5ml each cornflour and lemon juice
100g white chocolate, broken into pieces (I used Lindt)
200ml double cream
5ml vanilla extract
1 punnet raspberries


Preheat oven to 160°C (140°C fan) mark 3. Line a 33cm x 23cm (13in x 9in) shallow baking tin with parchment paper.
Put the egg whites into a large bowl and whisk until stiff but not dry. Gradually add the caster sugar, whisking all the time, until the mixture is thick and glossy. Beat in the cornflour and lemon juice until well combined.
Spoon the meringue into the prepared tin and spread out evenly. Bake for 25min until a light golden crust forms. Leave to cool in tin for 5min. Lightly dust with icing sugar a rectangle of greaseproof paper a bit larger than the baking tin, then invert the meringue on to the paper. Remove tin, leaving paper on the meringue, and leave to cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, then remove from heat and leave to cool. Make the coulis by blending the raspberries and icing sugar until smooth. Sieve into a jug. In a medium bowl, whip the cream and vanilla until the cream just holds its shape, then fold in the cooled white chocolate.
Peel paper from the meringue, then evenly spread over the cream mixture. Sprinkle over hazelnuts and raspberries. Using the paper underneath it to help you, roll up the meringue from the short edge. Don't worry if cracks appear - they'll add to the log effect.
Transfer to a serving plate, drizzle over coulis, dust with icing sugar and serve.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Buns

I was in New York a few years ago and must have walked what seemed like miles to visit theButtercup Bake Shop on 2nd Avenue on the East Side. Actually I just looked at the map to check the address and it clearly wasn't miles - maybe I was wearing heels or something - the point being that I felt I had made a real effort to visit this shop! Anyway, apart from buying a couple of amazing cupcakes (it was at the time when the whole cupcake thing hadn't really kicked off properly in the UK) I also picked up their cookbook.

After last week's cupcake semi disaster I decided to steer clear of this type of cake and instead looked in the 'Breakfast Basket Quick Breads, Biscuits, Coffee Cake, Buns, and Muffins' chapter and decided to give these buns a go. I'm not sure you'd be wanting to have them for breakfast (not exactly the most healthy way to start the day!) but they would definitely be nice with a mid morning tea or coffee. The original recipe uses raspberry jam but I changed that to fresh raspberries mixed with a little icing sugar. What surprised me most is how light they are - I would have thought the cream cheese would have made them quite heavy but it doesn't at all.

The Recipe

120g plain flour

1 tspn bicarb of soda

1/2 tspn baking powder

1/4 tspn salt

230g cream cheese

120g unsalted butter

200g sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tspn vanilla extract

60ml milk

90g plain flour

40g raspberries mixed with a little icing sugar

Preheat oven to 175C.

1. Grease and flour a 12 cup muffin try (or use silicone so you don't have to do either).

2. Combine 120g flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and set side.

3. In a large bowl beat the cream cheese, butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the mixture, alternating with the milk. Add in the additional 90g of flour and stir until well combined.

5. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups. Add a dollop of the raspberry mixture on top of each one and swirl with a knife. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Raspberry & Lemon Torta

Recipe

This is a Tana Ramsay recipe - I've never tried any of hers before but this came out really well. It was easy to make - it's quite 'pudding like' in that is is quite dense and moist so would be nice served warm as a dessert. Haven't tried it yet cool as I've just had some after it came out of the oven.

115g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

450g raspberries (I used frozen ones defrosted. I used about 350g though and thought that already seemed like quite a lot)

juice 1/2 lemon

225g golden caster sugar

3 eggs

250g plain flour

2 tsps baking powder

finely grated zest 1 unwaxed lemon

1. Preheat oven to 160c/140c fan/325f/gas 3. Butter a 20cm round tin and line base with greaseproof paper.

2. Place raspberries and lemon juice in a bowl and put to one side. In another bowl whisk the sugar and eggs until pale and thick. Carefully fold in the flour, baking powder and lemon zest then stir in the melted butter.

3. Put the batter in the tin and then add the raspberries including juice on top. Sprinkle the top with sugar.

4. Bake for 70 mins (I had to bake mine for more like 90-110 mins). Cool in tin and then on rack.