Whoa, did someone says Guinness? And Chocolate? Guinness Brownies

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Guinness. Lovely Guinness. Wonderful on its own, and it would seem, pretty good with chocolate too, but in honesty I already knew that, as evidenced here and here.

Because Guinness is good for you, I fervently believe that these brownies will have health giving properties. It is a mere detail that they contain stuff which may not form part of a calorie controlled diet, for the reason that these are so beneficial is that I defy anyone not to sit down with one of these bad boys and a cuppa and not feel completely restored, or else just a little bit better about the trivialities of life. Here is some photographic proof of the restorative properties of Guinness, from a small visit to Dublin more years ago than I would like to admit.

Has Guinness

Gets smiley

This is not necessarily a shameful attempt to get in early on the whole ‘what shall I cook for St Patrick’s Day?’ internet traffic, more an encouragement for those who may be pre-disposed to celebrate the day with a pig under their arm/wear a ‘Kiss Me, I’m Irish’ t shirt/don a snazzy leprechaun hat to do something slightly less predictable. Actually, scratch that. This blog is no place for sanctimony and so this is not the time and place to tell people how to live their lives.  You crack on with whatever it is you’re planning, but make these brownies as well, because they are amazingly glorious. In fact, don’t wait ‘til St Patrick’s Day to make them. Make them now.

You’re welcome. Slainte!

Guinness Brownies, adapted from 'Baked in America' by David Muniz and David Muzniak

Makes 12 humungous ones

Ingredients:

8oz plain flour

6oz plus 2 tablespoons cocoa

½ tsp salt (or taste the batter once it’s mixed; you might need a smidgen more)

12oz dark chocolate - I used 72% cocoa. Go big or go home.

6oz white chocolate

6oz unsalted butter, cubed

6 large eggs at room temperature

12oz caster sugar - original recipe says granulated but, not for me.

1 tsp vanilla extract

16fl oz Guinness, at room temperature

9oz milk chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190c

Grease a 12 x 9 x 2 inch pan really, really well. I then line it with foil, in a bit of a cradle style so I can lift the brownies out afterwards.

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients – the flour, the cocoa, the salt.

Place a heatproof bow over a pan of simmering water and melt the white and dark chocolate and the butter. Don’t allow the bottom of the heatproof bowl to touch the simmering water or you risk the chocolate seizing. Set aside to cool a little. You don’t want it so hot that it will ‘cook’ the eggs when you add them.

Talking of eggs – in yet another bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until the mixture becomes light and creamy and the beaters/whisk leave a ribbon like trail when you pull it out of the mixture.

Put the mixer onto medium and carefully add the melted chocolate mixture, stopping periodically to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Ensure that the mixture is completely amalgamated together. Reduce the speed to low, add the vanilla and then add the flour mixture in stages, allowing the flour to mix completely into the batter before adding more. Do not overbeat.

Finally, continuing with the mixer on low, add the Guinness, and mix until everything is well combined.

Carefully pour the batter into the prepared tin, giving it a bit of a shake so it all levels out and fills the corner of the tin. Once the mixture has settled, scatter the chocolate chips over the top.

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the centre emerges with set crumb, not raw mixture. Do not overbake. The mixture will probably shrink from the edges of the pan.

Allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting into big slabs/removing them from the tin. I put mine in the fridge to speed the process a bit. I have no idea if this is correct but patience and Guinness and chocolate have never really gone together in my life, so….

A Trifle Late for Christmas, but maybe it will do next time around!! Baileys and Banana Trifle

 

 

Of course, if I was any good, I  would have made this from scratch, but considering I am not on Bake Off or Masterchef or something, and I am, in fact, a frazzled mother of two who wanted to do more than she had time to, this trifle is 'assembled', but honestly, it is not the worst for it. It is, frankly, scrumptious and I don't care that I didn't make it. It saved the day when I realised that my plan to have a trifle on my Christmas buffet was seriously not going to happen in time. Forgetting to start the night before was the reason everything went to pot. I should start to leave myself lists everywhere so I have a fighting chance of being organised.

 

So, all of the ingredients I got at the supermarket. The exertion on my part consisted of whipping the cream (by proxy, of course; out came the trusty Kenwood), peeling a couple of bananas, opening a tin of conny onny (Carnation) caramel and locating the Baileys in the drinks' cupboard. A quick assembly job and a grating of chocolate over the top and you are good to go. And your guests will be extraordinarily grateful for, I repeat, this is scrumptious!!

 

The original recipe is from the BBC Good Food website. I made a 'super trifle' and instead of serving them in individual glasses, I made one big affair for people to take as little or as much as they want. One must never be stingy with trifle. I also used whipped double cream instead of extra thick because I wanted something pliable enough to pipe, and they had none left in the supermarket. Grrrrr. I also, because it was a big trifle dish, upped the quantity of cream, caramel and brownies, because you cannot have enough of any of those if you ask me!

 

Bailey's and Banana Trifle, adapted from BBC Good Food Website

 

Ingredients:

 

600ml double cream, whipped to a stiff peak

7 tbsp Baileys

400g chocolate brownies (I got the ones that you can often get from in store bakeries)

3 bananas, sliced

500g pot vanilla custard

one tin of carnation caramel (or dulce de leche)

50g chocolate, grated

 

Method:

 

Whip the cream with 1 tbsp Baileys, and set aside.

 

 

 

In a pretty trifle bowl, place the brownies, broken up if need's be. Drizzle with the remaining tbsps. of Baileys.

 

 

Top with the sliced bananas, custard, caramel sauce and Baileys cream. (I decided to pipe the cream over the top... you don't have to!)

 

 

 

When ready to serve, grate chocolate over the top.

 

Can be made a few hours ahead

Almost virtuous - Oat Bran Brownies

 

 

Well, not really. I don't suppose these would constitute diet food, but I suppose they're better than eating, I dunno, lard. And as there is a conspicuous absence of posts on this blog just now, and there aren't enough cakes on it anyway, and I am trying to be good. Well, two outta three ain't bad...

 

I have banned myself from buying cookbooks, unless they are a penny on Amazon and at that price I sort of justify it to myself even though at the moment when they arrive I have nowhere to put them. And when I saw that 'The Loaves and Fishes Party Cookbook' was a penny, I decided I had to have it, as I love 'Summer on a Plate' and I am a Barefoot Contessa fan, thus knowing 'Loaves and Fishes' through association. So, a quick perusal in a spare half hour one night revealed lots of lovely recipes which I will try at some point (maybe when I am retired) but I wondered what these brownies would be like. So I tried.

 

I cooked these a bit longer than I should, mainly because Lola and Finn aren't always so keen on the gooey centre of the typical brownie. I also think that these probably needed less time than typical brownies, maybe because of the oats; I don't know in truth. But actually despite them being a bit overcooked, the texture wasn't dry - it was, well, cakey really. If you want them gooey brownie style, then don't cook them so long. And maybe, just maybe, the addition of oat bran did mean that I didn't necessarily feel the need to eat more than one, or maybe two....

 

I adapted the original recipe in that I mistakenly put three quarters of a cup of brown sugar instead of half a cup of brown sugar and a quarter of cup of caster sugar. I also wonder whether oatmeal and oat bran are the same thing. I had oat bran so that was what I used. I wonder how different it all might have been if I had had the right ingredients and not been mistaken? No matter, these were glorious!

 

Oat Bran Brownies, adapted from 'The Loaves and Fishes Party Cookbook' by Anna and Sybille Pump

 

Ingredients:

 

6oz dark chocolate (I used Menier 70% dark chocolate)

half a block of butter (about 4oz)

3/4 cup of oatbran

2/3 cup plain flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp of coarse salt

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 tsp instant espresso

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Method:

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter and line a 8 x 8 x2 inch baking pan

 

 

 

Melt the chocolate and butter together, and set aside.

 

 

 

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.

 

 

 

Stir in the eggs, chocolate and vanilla

 

 

 

Pour into a the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, until the top has set and there is dry crumb on a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake.

 

 

 

Cool in the pan uncovered. Make sure the brownie is cool before you cut into slices.

 

 

 

 

Definitely not lost in translation: Chocolate and Banana Clafoutis, ou Clafoutis Chocolat et Banane

 

 

Many, many years ago I was really quite good at speaking French and was verging on fluent. Then I decided to study English at university and the whole thing started to unravel. Years of not really engaging with the language began to take its toll and as the visits became fewer, the more my knowledge waned. Fast forward about 10 years or so and my first visit to rural France in too long a time resulted in me just hearing 'noise' which I knew was French, but which meant absolutely nothing to me. Only when I managed to blurt out the phrase 'Est ce que vous parlez plus, plus lentement s'il vous plait' did I manage to cotton on to the odd word. A real fall from grace for the woman who had discussed the works of Jean Paul Sartre, in French, for her A level oral French examination. I was sad. And annoyed.

 

So, for the recent trip, I decided to immerse myself as much as possible in the language. Searching out French radio on long wave radio, TV5 on the cable telly, Pimsleur French III in the car to and from work, resulting in strange looks from fellow commuters as I sat at traffic lights, remonstrating with an absent Frenchman about my hotel room being dirty. I even rediscovered my gallic shrug, resulting in my losing the panicky squeak when I tried to communicate in a language that was not my own. The result was that I performed a lot better this time around, with about 90% communication and 10% gesticulation. Result!

 

Anyway, you may be wondering where I am going with this and up to now there has been a distinct lack of recipe mentioned. I was in the supermarket in France just before returning to the UK and I happened upon the magazines. I resist the temptation to buy food magazines in this country because it's a slippery slope. I buy one, I'll buy two, I'll buy them every month and before I know it I'll have piles of them all over the house, but I figured buying a French one would be 1) a one off, and 2) a good way to immerse myself in a language that I had rediscovered a love for and that I wanted to use. So this is what I bought:

 

 

 

...and there are lots of lovely recipes I want to try, but I started with this one, Banana and Chocolate clafoutis.

 

My alterations to the recipe were few. The original recipe calls for 180ml of milk to be added to the chocolate mixture. I added 60ml because I was concerned about the 'runniness' of the raw batter mixture. I didn't think it would set and so erred on the side of caution. It might have been that my eggs might not have been as 'gros' as the ones called for in the recipe. Either way, I would exercise a bit of caution in case the batter becomes far too runny. I also added a pinch of salt to the batter mix to bring out more of the chocolate flavour.

 

Several words about bananas. You want ones that are pleasingly yellow and slightly yielding. If they're turning black I don't think they lend themselves to this recipe. You want bananas that are going to keep their shape and not disintegrate to mush. Yuk. keep those for banana bread.

 

Clafoutis chocolat et banane, translated and adapted from the recipe in the French publication 'Cuisine de Grand-Mere'

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad, generously.

 

Ingredients:

 

100g of dark chocolate

50g butter

50g caster sugar

3 large eggs

2 tbsp cornflour

180ml full fat milk (I used 60ml, see explanation above)

a pinch of salt

3 large bananas

 

Method:

 

Preheat the oven to 180c (Gas 6)

 

 

 

Melt the chocolate gently in a bain marie or double boiler - basically in a bowl placed over simmering water. Don't let the bowl touch the water or else the chocolate will seize.

 

 

 

When the chocolate is melted, add the butter and combine.

 

 

 

Then, add the sugar. Stir to combine.

 

Let the chocolate mixture cool slightly, so that it doesn't scramble the egg that you are about to add to it.

 

 

 

Beat the eggs together, then slowly add them to the chocolate mixture. Stir until the chocolate mixture and eggs are well combined.

 

 

 

Add the cornflour little by little, whisking it in and taking care not to create (or leave!) lumps in the chocolate batter. Add a pinch of salt.

 

Lastly, add the milk to the batter, little by little, until the mixture is well combined. You may want to add less milk.

 

Butter six ramekins, or one larger souffle type dish (actually, I used a cake pan).

 

 

 

Slice the bananas and place into the bottom of the ramekins or dish.

 

Pour the batter mixture over.

 

 

 

Place in the oven for 20 minutes for ramekins or 30 mins for a larger dish. The clafoutis is ready when it is set but with a little wobble.

 

Allow to cool slightly.

 

 

 

I served this with cream and it was tremendous!

 

 

Missing France! Chocolate Mousse with Orange Florentines

I actually made these before we went to France, because I was wanting to get in a vaguely French mood (like it needs so much effort, but anyway...) and unusually I actually didn't order a chocolate mousse for pudding whilst I was in France recently, as my head was turned by 'des glaces', however, a French trip in the past has not been complete without several chocolate mousses, so, here we are: chocolate mousse, with the (not necessarily so French) inclusion of some Ottolenghi orange florentines, which I figured might be a fitting accompaniment.

Because I had decided I wanted to make the florentines, the original recipe for the mousse (which is from 'French Brasserie Cookbook' by Daniel Galmiche) was for the mousse to have candied orange zest adorning the top, but I omitted this, mainly because it was a bit of a faff and I had other things to be doing, and also because I felt I had enough orangeyness going on. I instead elected to grate some dark chocolate over the top for that delightful dark chocolate hit before the mellowness of the mousse.

The recipe suggests that once chilled for the hour it recommends, if you keep them in longer you should take the mousses out of the fridge about half an hour before serving. If your kitchen is warm, like mine, and you have been cooking the main course, you might want to lessen the half hour that is recommended.

Also, I doubled the recipe because I was concerned the original might not be enough for everyone coming for dinner. The recipe below lists the original quantities, which I believe will feed four quite generously, and if you are having chocolate mousse, then generousness is pretty crucial if you ask me.

Anyway, served in double shot glasses, breaking off shards of florentine to scrape the edges of the glass to get the last of the chocolateyness of this dessert. I can think of worse things to undertake.

Bitter Chocolate Mousse adapted from 'French Brasserie Cookbook' by Daniel Galmiche, accompanied by Orange Florentines, taken from 'Ottolenghi: The Cookbook' by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.

Serves Mum, Dad, Lola and Finn generously.

Ingredients:

For the mousse:

3 1/2 oz plain chocolate (66 - 70% cocoa solids) chopped into small pieces

3 oz caster sugar

3 egg yolks

5 fl oz double cream

1tbsp icing sugar

For the florentines:

Makes about 20x8cm florentines or 12x11cm florentines

2 medium/large egg whites

100g icing sugar

260g sliced almonds

zest of 1 orange

sunflower oil for greasing the baking trays

Method:

To make the chocolate mousse, put 2 1/2 oz of the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and place it to rest on a saucepan of simmering water, ensuring the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water underneath.

Heat the chocolate and stir occasionally until it has melted, then remove from the heat and keep warm.

 Very hard to capture a ribbon like trail!

In a separate heatproof bowl mix together the sugar, egg yolks and two tablespoons warm water. Rest the bowl over simmering water once more and beat until it turns pale, thickens perceptibly and trails ribbon like shapes when you lift the whisk or the beaters from the bowl. This could take 10 minutes or so.

Slowly stir in the melted chocolate until well combined.

 I poured my mousse mixture into a jug because I was filling shot glasses with it. Quite tricky without a jug!

In another bowl (I used my mixer) whip the cream and icing sugar to soft peaks and gently fold it into the chocolate and egg mixture until it is smooth and combined. Don't overwork it.

Divide the mousse into four glasses (or whatever you intend to serve it from) and cover with cling film. Place in the fridge for at least an hour to set and it you are leaving it to chill for a longer time, then remove from the fridge 30 minutes before serving (though read the note above)

Whilst the mousses are chilling, make the florentines.

Preheat oven to 150C (300F), brush a large tray (or two) with oil or use baking paper and still brush with oil. (Very important - they will stick without a decent coating of oil)

 

 

 

Mix the icing sugar, egg whites and orange zest until uniform, then fold in the almond to coat with the binding mixture.

 

 

 

Plop a large truffle-sized amount of mixture onto your oiled tray, and gently flatten with a fork, making the biscuit as thin as possible without creating too many large gaps. The biscuits should be about 8cm wide to make 20. This, however, is a fiddly, quite messy job and yours may look as 'home made' as mine.

 

Repeat until the tray is full – you don’t need to leave much space between each one as they don’t spread out much at all.

 

 

 

Bake until the biscuits are golden brown Check from 12 minutes but it could take longer depending on the size and the thickness your biscuits end up being.

 

Check under one biscuit to see if they’re golden underneath too. Put more mixture on another tray whilst the first batch are baking.

 

Cool before trying to remove from the tray. They may stick a little if you don’t use paper, but if you’re using a thin baking tray you can bend it slightly and this will help you get a spatula underneath without breaking them up too much.

 

 

 

Remove the mousses from the fridge. You could melt the remaining chocolate in a heatproof bowl over water and swirl it onto the top of the mousse, or else you could just grate it onto the top and then eat any chocolate that is left. Your choice.

 

 

 

To serve, place a mousse on a side plate (if you like) and accompany it with one or two of the florentines.