Flourless Salted Chocolate Pretzel Cake

I feel like pretty much everything I bake is chocolate, even besides the brownies. When flicking through my cookery books I was looking for the ultimate chocolate cake, something super dense and fudgey for a dessert. The difference with flourless chocolate cakes, is just that, they're dense and incredibly moreish. Essentially all the great bits of a brownie but in cake form.

This cake is a little different to those I've made before. Usually a sugar syrup is used in recipes to help keep a cake moist, but in a flourless cake I don't really understand why that would be a problem like this recipe calls for. Anyone know? Sugar aside, this cake is baked in two stages. The first half is baked until just firm, cooled and the remaining batter poured over the top for a second bake. The result gives a crisp base and a dense fudgey topping with a shiny, slightly flaky topping.

F L O U R L E S S   S A L T E D   C H O C O L A T E   P R E T Z E L   C A K E
(Recipe adapted from The Cook and Baker, serves 10)

240g salted butter, chopped

360g dark chocolate, chopped 

pinch of sea salt

285g soft light brown sugar

5 eggs, separated

handful of crushed pretzels, for dusting

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line the base and sides of a 9 inch springform tin.
• Melt the butter and dark chocolate in a medium pan over a low heat. Once fully melted take off the heat and stir through a generous pinch of sea salt. 
• In a small pan, melt the sugar in 60ml of water and bring to a gently boil. Pour the syrup over the chocolate mixture and beat in the egg yolks.
• Whisk the egg whites on a medium speed until stiff peaks.
• Fold the egg whites into the chocolate gently until combined.
• Pour half of the batter into the tin and bake for 30 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool fully.
• Pour over the remaining batter and bake for 25 minutes.
• Leave to cool completely once more before removing from the tin and scatter the crushed pretzels over the top to decorate. 

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Pretzel Cinnamon Rolls

I'm a sucker for cinnamon buns. But each time I make them they're never Pinterest perfect. I guess with a little practice I could master them, so on the weekend I was feeling a little adventurous and got some dough proving.

I always find that it takes much longer for my dough to double up on first prove than recipes suggest. My flat is warm so I don't know what I'm doing wrong? If you've got any bun tips then help a girl out!

I first spotted these on Pinterest and couldn't wait to try them out. A combination of my two loves, salty pretzels and sweet sticky cinnamon buns. 

Think of those pillowy soft cinnamon coated pretzels you get in shopping centres but swirled into a bun. Instead of quickly boiling the buns like you would with pretzels to give that chewy outside, these are brushed with a bicarbonate of soda solution to do the very same thing. Sprinkled with salt these will turn pretty dark once baked but I promise they'll be squidgey cinnamon pillows on the inside.

P R E T Z E L   C I N N A M O N   R O L L S
(Recipe adapted from The Kitchn, makes 12 rolls)

450g plain flour, plus more for kneading

7g dried packet yeast

4tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 large egg

100g dark brown sugar

3tbsp ground cinnamon

75g unsalted butter, softened

1tbsp bicarbonate of soda

salt for sprinkling 

• Add the flour, yeast, sugar and salt to a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, add the egg and 175ml of warm water. Mix together with your hands to form a sticky lump and tip onto a floured surface. Knead for about 10 minutes until you have a smooth, slightly sticky ball.
• Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for about 1 hour in a warm place.
• Lightly grease a large ovenproof dish or tray.
• Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
• Once the dough has doubled in size, tip out onto a floured surface and roll out to a 20 x 12 inch rectangle. 
• Spread the butter over the dough, reaching all the edges. Sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar.
• Tightly roll the dough into a log starting with the short edge. Cut evenlt into 12 pieces, each an inch thick. Arrange onto the oven dish, leaving space between each roll. Loosely cover with some greased cling film and leave to rise once again in a warm place for about 30 minutes,
• Heat the oven to 180 degrees. 
• Mix the bicarbonate of soda with 3tbsp of hot water and use a pastry brush to brush over the tops of each of the rolls. Immediately sprinkle with salt and bake for 35 minutes, until risen and darkly golden.

These rolls are best eaten on the day, but if by rare chance you've some left, gently warm them and you're good to go.

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Pretzel M&M Brownies

  In order to give my team at work a little boost last week I decided to take in some baked goods. I've been a little slack on the baking recently, but after a physio session I felt up to some easy baking...especially as the secret of brownies is as little folding as possible.

   Speaking of secrets...I've done a little recipe comparison into what makes the ultimate brownie over the past week and found the best tips in Lily Vanilli's Sweet Tooth. This may be obvious to others, but brownies have not been my friend in the past.

   Using a little self raising flour helps to give a bit of leavening to the mixture. But as the batter is so dense it will sink down resulting in a fudgy texture. I like to use big chunks of chocolate as well as cocoa powder to make them even denser.

   In an attempt to start using my baking books more, my research lead me to a good brownie recipe in Jo Wheatley's A Passion for Baking...the only Bake Off related book I own. A good choice for proper home baking recipes, I can't think of anything in there I wouldn't give a go.

Pretzel M&M Brownies
(Makes ..., recipe adapted from A Passion for Baking)
     100g dark chocolate, chopped
     85g milk chocolate, chopped
     115g unsalted butter, diced
     300g caster sugar
     1tsp vanilla extract
     2 large eggs, beaten
     100g plain flour
     50g self raising flour
     30g cocoa powder
     80g M&Ms
     Salted pretzels to top

• Heat the oven to 170 degrees and line and grease a 20 cm square tin.
• Tip the dark chocolate and 25g of the milk chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Add the butter and melt together, either in the microwave on a low setting or in the bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir until smooth and leave to cool slightly.
• Add the sugar, vanilla and beaten eggs to the melted chocolate and butter, and mix to combine. Sift both of the flours and cocoa powder into the bowl and mix until smooth.
• Fold in the M&Ms and remaining 60g of chopped milk chocolate. Spoon into the prepared tin, spread level and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 30-35 minutes.
• Leave to cool in the tin, then cut into squares.

What do you think makes the ultimate brownie?
Any recommendations for GBBO related books?