Brownie Bowls

Here's one of those recipes you'll see floating around Pinterest and the like, brownie bowls. Quick and simple to make with nothing other than cupcake trays and your favourite brownie recipe.

Chocolate brownies
(Recipe adapted from Jo Wheatley's 'A Passion for Baking')

100g dark chocolate, chopped
85g milk chocolate, chopped
115g unsalted butter, diced
300g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, beaten
100g plain flour
50g self raising flour
30g cocoa powder

Two cupcake/small muffin trays
Your choice of ice cream and toppings

Grease the cups of one cupcake/small muffin tray and the underside of the second tray. Heat the oven to 170 degrees.

Melt the dark chocolate, milk chocolate a butter together in a large heatproof bowl either gently in the microwave or set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Once melted, stir until smooth and leave to cool slightly.

To the chocolate and butter mix, add the sugar, vanilla and eggs and combine. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and mix until smooth.

Divide the brownie mix between the cups of the first cupcake tray filling each about two thirds full. Gently place the second tin on top and bake for 30 minutes.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and gently take of the top tray. Leave to cool fully before serving with ice cream and your choice of toppings.

Onken: Strawberry Yogurt Eton Mess

When the invite slipped into my inbox for a second, more intimate, masterclass with Onken and Lisa Faulkner I was more than excited. After the last event in April myself and fellow foodies learnt some simple and inventive ways of using yogurt in everyday cooking. Some of the recipes we learnt have even become weekly staple meals for me!

This time round we gathered at the gorgeous Ham Yard Hotel for an indulgent 'Treat Yourself' evening in which Lisa showed us how to make seasonal dessert dishes with the Onken fruits range. These included Creme brulee, Eton mess, smoothies and ice lollies.

Its always lovely to have everything perfectly prepped and ready for you...with a glass of Prosecco!

You can find all of the recipes (including the Creme Brulee shown above) on the Onken website, here.

My favourite recipe of the evening was Eton Mess made with Onken fat free strawberry yogurt. A lighter, fresher twist on the traditional using yogurt instead of cream. Perfect for summer evenings and it looks great served in wine glasses.

After a long day travelling back from the Cotswolds on Sunday, I made my own to enjoy.

Onken Strawberry yogurt Eton Mess
(Recipe from Onken, serves 4)

3/4 punnet of strawberries (roughly 180g)
3/4 punnet of blueberries (roughly 180g)
25g sugar
1 lime
1 pot (450ml) Onken Fat Free Strawberry Yogurt
6 readymade meringue nests
100g chopped hazelnuts

Place two thirds of the hulled strawberries and two thirds of the blueberries in a small pan with the sugar and a squeeze  of lime. Warm slowly on a low heat until soft. Crush with a fork until smooth and chill.

Mix the remaining fruit, chopped, in a bowl with the yogurt and two crumbled meringue nests.

Divide the chilled puree between four glasses and layer over the yogurt mixture.

To finish, crumble over the remaining meringue nests, some fruit and a sprinkle of hazelnuts.

Feel free to use other fruit or any nuts of your choice. I used strawberries and raspberries in mine and some desiccated coconut.

Marmite Rolls

It's completely true, you either love it or you hate it. In my case, I love it.

   I'm a hoarder of recipes from neatly indexed magazines and books to a bursting folder of internet bookmarks. With the intention of actually getting around to baking them all sometime...Most often, sometime never comes.

   When I spotted a mention of this recipe in Olive's 10th Birthday edition (we're talking Autumn time last year), I'd already sussed the contents of my cupboards in order to bake these cheesy delights the very same day. For some reason, these rolls have stayed in my drafts ever since. This is by no means a reflection on how great they taste, because they truly are quite something.

   If you love Marmite then you'll love these cheesy delights. Although, the half of my family who strangely don't like it enjoyed these rolls just as much as I did.

Marmite rolls
(Makes 12, recipe from Lulu's Notes)
     600g plain flour
     360ml water
     12g salt
     12g fresh yeast
     125g Marmite
     300g grated mozzarella

• For the dough, place the flour, salt and yeast in a bowl and mix well. Slowly add the water and mix until smooth. Leave to rest in the fridge for 5-8 minutes to precent it from proving and becoming too sticky to roll later.
• In a small bowl put the Marmite, add a small quantity of water and mix well until it becomes smooth and runny. This will make spreading the Marmite on the dough a bit easier.
• Lay the dough flat in a rectangular shape. The thickness of the dough should not be above half a centimetre. Start spreading the Marmite evenly over the dough, leaving an empty gap of about a centimetre on the edge that is directly in front of you.
• Sprinkle the mozzarella on top of the dough and then start rolling your dough from the edge furthest away from you. The rolling does not have to be too tight, but also be careful that it's not so loose that Marmite will run down the tray. You can pinch the closure line just to make sure it will stay properly sealed. Cut your roll into individual pieces and lay them flat on a baking tray.
• While your rolls are proving, heat your oven to 210 degrees and add an ovenproof bowl of water inside to create some steam. Once the rolls are about one and a half times their original size, remove the water from the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. 

Lemon and Chia Seed Muffins

Chia seeds are a great replacement for poppyseeds in these lemon muffins.

The seeds are super nutritious, full of fibre, protein and omega-3 fats. Sourced from a flowering plant native to South America, these were a staple in the diets of ancient Mayans and Aztecs known to improve the energy and stamina of their warriors.