Chocolate Brownies

Chocolate Brownies

Inspired by:

Family Circle Children’s Cookbook.

Why?

These brownies were a 'best wishes for the future' present to a friend.

I used:

200g dairy free margarine (or 3/4 cup vegetable oil)

½ cup cocoa

2 cups brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence/powder

1 cup gluten free plain flour

2 eggs

What I did:

Preheat oven to 180C. 
Grease/line a 20cmx30cm long tin.
Over a very low heat melt margarine and cocoa in a saucepan, mixing with a wooden spoon. 
Once melted, add sugar and vanilla and mix well. 
Take off heat (turn off element), add flour and stir until smooth. 
Add eggs and beat well. 
Pour into tin and bake for 20mins (if you want them fudgy inside) or until the tester comes out clean (if you prefer them more cake like).
Let them cool, then refrigerate, or eat warm.

Comments after eating Chocolate Brownie!

I love this recipe. It’s my favourite brownie recipe of all time (so far). It’s so quick, so easy, hardly any dish washing and it is hard to get wrong (although I did burn the cocoa and margarine once at the beginning, when I was making them with a new oven and the result was not so tasty -so I’d advise against doing that). You can add nuts, or chocolate, or icing, or whatever else you think will taste nice. This is my celebration cake of choice. People ask me when I’m making some again. Try it and see!

Update: I have attempted to make these vegan! By adding 50g of dairy free chocolate, and 1 large banana to the mix instead of the eggs (add them last). It worked well, they are quite fudgy and probably don't need as much dairy free margerine/oil. The mixture takes longer to cook 30-40 mins, and will still be runny when it comes out of the oven. Once it has time to set/be refigerated, they are crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside- delicious. TIP- don't use self raising flour when doing vegan brownies!

Chocolate Pudding

Chocolate Pudding

Inspired by: My friend Anne from Norway

Why?   

 A few friends and I had a cooking day where we cooked lunch and dessert. Anne’s recipe was for chocolate pudding.

I used:

200ml water

200g dairy free dark chocolate

2tbs cocoa

1L dairy free rice milk

80g corn flour (gluten free)

castor sugar-to taste (we used 2 tbs sugar)

1 tsp vanilla essence/powder

What I did:

Melt/mix water, cocoa and chocolate together in a saucepan on medium-low heat stirring continually. 
Once the chocolate is melted, take off the heat and gradually stir in the milk, and then the flour. 
Put back on heat, making sure the mixture doesn’t boil or burn, mixing continually. 
Add vanilla and sugar to taste and continue stirring until mixture thickens (like mayonnaise). 
Take off the heat (turn off stove), pour into a serving dish and allow to cool, serve warm or refrigerate until cold.

Comments after eating chocolate pudding!

Delicious! It’s so smooth, I can’t believe how simple it was to make. It makes enough for 6 so there’s plenty to share!

Savoury Capsicum, Zucchini and Carrot Cake

Savoury Capsicum, Zucchini and Carrot Cake

Inspired by:

Bon Appetit- bacon cheddar quick bread with dried pears

Why?

I wanted to use up my egg yolks (from chocolate mousse), and I wanted to try something different. I didn’t have any of the ingredients for this recipe, so I thought I’d substitute with some vegetables and see what happened!

I used:

1 medium/fist size potato grated

½ a zucchini grated

1 medium carrot grated

½ a small capsicum chopped finely

1/3 cup dairy free cheese substitute (if you have one)

1 ¾ cups gluten free self raising flour

2 tsp dried basil

2 tsp garlic flakes

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

3 large eggs (plus 3 egg yolks)

1/3 cup dairy free rice milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

What I did:

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease/Line cake tin 25cmx35cm long or equivalent.

Grate vegetables and cheese equivalent (if using) in one bowl. 
In another bowl combine oil, eggs and milk and whisk well. In a large bowl add salt, pepper, basil and garlic to the flour and mix. 
Pour egg mixture over the flour and stir until combined, then add the grated vegetables and cheese equivalent. 
Once the mixture is thoroughly mixed, pour into the prepared tin, making sure the spread of mixture is even. Bake for 30 mins or until a tester poked into the centre comes out clean. 
Leave to cool and store at room temperature.

Comments after eating Savoury Capsicum, Zucchini and Carrot Cake!

Surprisingly good, I am not really a savory person, but this was good. I think it would have been perfect with some bacon. For a concept so new to our family, it all got eaten, so I think that says a lot!

Banana Cake

Banana Cake

Inspired by:

Family Circle Kids Cookbook

Why?

It looked so quick and easy, and there were a couple of bananas that needed to be used up! (always happens to me!)

I used:

60g dairy free margarine

½ cup caster sugar

1 egg

1 tsp powdered vanilla/essence

1 cup gluten free self raising flour

¼ cup dairy free rice milk

2 ripe bananas mashed

What I did:

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease/line 25cm circular cake tin or equivalent.

In a saucepan, melt butter on low heat, without boiling. 
Take off heat (turn off element), and add sugar, egg and vanilla to the saucepan and beat well together with a wooden spoon until well mixed. 
Then, sift in flour without stirring. 
Add milk and mashed banana, stir until just combined. 
Pour into cake tin. 
Bake for 30 mins.
Eat while warm, or wait until it is cool.

Comments after eating banana cake!

Nice and light, and healthy. This cake left me wanting more. It didn't last very long at all. It was gone by the next day between sharing it with work friends and visitors. Now I'll have to make some more for me!

Chocolate Mousse (Slice)

Chocolate Mousse (Slice)

Inspired by:

A recipe posted on the Nigella website by someone in the community. I have looked for it and can’t find it anymore.

The idea of Mousse cake- it sounds easy to eat and delicious

Brownie recipe- Family Circle Cookbook for Kids

Why?

I have tried the chocolate mousse before and it is fabulous. My husband always eats chocolate mousse for dessert whenever we go out for dinner, so I was bound to make it again soon! I decided on trying it as a slice because I wanted to see if it could taste almost like a rich chocolate cheesecake, or have the texture of one, or just make chocolate mousse easier to eat with your fingers!

I used:

Base:

100g dairy free margarine (melted)

1 cup gluten free self raising flour

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup cocoa

1 Tsp powdered vanilla /essence

Mousse:

200g dark chocolate- dairy free

6 egg whites (from fresh eggs)

3 egg yolks (from fresh eggs)

A pinch of salt

What I did:

Preheat oven to 180C, and grease/line 20cmx30cm tray.

For the base, combine sugar, flour, cocoa and vanilla in a bowl and gradually add margarine. 
Mix until well combined, the mixture may be quite grainy. 
Press mixture firmly into tin and bake for 15-20 mins (I baked for 20 mins and the base was a bit hard, maybe bake less or add a touch more margerine?). 
Take out of the oven to cool.

For the Mousse:

Crack open the eggs and separate the whites from the yolks, keeping three yolks in one bowl/container, and all the whites in another. (You can use the other 3 yolks in another recipe.)

Now it is time to whisk the egg whites and salt until they are snow white and form stiff peaks.

If you have an electric mixer use the whisk attachment. It is also very possible, although a good work out, with a hand whisk (I made my first batch with a hand whisk-whisking is in the wrist) or hand beater. 
This batch I did with the hand beater and it took me between 5 and 10 minutes to get the whites right.

Once you have whisked the egg whites and salt set it aside in a cool place.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler/bain- marie and take off the heat.
Mix the 3 egg yolks into the melted chocolate and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, mix a tablespoons worth of egg whites into the chocolate mixture, as you mix in the egg whites take care to stir in the same direction. 
Slowly add the rest of the egg whites, bit by bit. 
Once it is all combined, pour into serving dishes of your choice and place in the refrigerator until set. (5 hours?)

Comments after eating Chocolate Mousse (Slice)

Delightful. Our guests loved it too. At first the base was a bit too hard as I had overcooked it, or had not got the ingredient ratios right for a brownie biscuit. But a few days in the fridge and the base softened quite well. It's a big chocolate hit, but as a slice you can eat it in little bites over several days. After about 6 days the mousse separates from the base when you cut it. This would taste great with a mint flavoured mousse!