Recipe: 3 Ingredient Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Fudge

This weekend I had a baking disaster.

By disaster, we're talking dry sponge, lumps of butter in the frosting, too warm frosting slipping down the cake, a drop in transit and for the finale, completely collapsing.

I was persistent, carried it to the Sunday dinner table (looking like a car crash), but it got trumped by my Mum's sticky toffee pudding.

And so I did what I always do in times such as this, seek inspiration and encouragement from Pinterest.

3 ingredient recipes, no baking? Yes please!

I think most colleagues and friends must assume that, like Nigella, I bake at all sorts of hours and sit in my pantry (cupboards) eating ingredients straight out the jar. Well, strictly speaking this is pretty spot on. And this is exactly what I did last night come 10pm, Horlicks in hand.

A few minutes of prep and you're away, this recipe can be left overnight to firm up. Monday morning = significantly improved.

There's not a recipe as such, just a few cup measurements. But when you're waiting for an advert break to finish on your weekend TV shows or for Netflix to load, there's just no time.

Peanut butter cup fudge
(Recipe adapted from Something Swanky, makes 24)

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter (approx. 180g)
3 1/2 cups chopped milk chocolate (approx. 500g)
1 bag Reese's peanut butter mini cups (approx. any left after you've tested a few)

Line an 8" square cake tin with foil. Line the bottom of the tray with half the Reese's cups. Melt the peanut butter in a pan over a low heat, stirring constantly. Pour in the chocolate and continue to stir until everything has melted. Pour the mix over the cups in the tray, give it a gentle wiggle to cover every gap. Chop the rest of the Reese's cups and scatter over the top. Leave out to cool overnight (or 4 hours at least). If the fudge has been cooled in the fridge, leave out for 30 mins until room temperature to slice, this way it won't crumble.

Once made, this should last a week in an airtight container or a few weeks in the fridge...I like mine straight from the fridge.

In Ashton's recipe, white chocolate is used. The flavour combinations are endless, next I may try white chocolate and custard creams or milk chocolate and mini eggs, dark chocolate and pretzels.

And if you don't believe I eat ingredients straight from the cupboard...

...no shame!

Recipe: Flourless Almond & Amaretto Chocolate Cake

I'm always in the mood for a slice of chocolate cake, or two.

Recently I've been trying to curb my sweet tooth a little. Chocolate and biscuits are the first thing I reach for when I'm hungry rather than having a proper balanced meal. Oops.

Surprisingly (or not) I only managed a week before baking a chocolate cake for the weekend. And I'll skim over the fact that I only lasted a few days before pouring a whole bag of mini eggs into my mouth. Because, well mini eggs!

And, another surprise, as much as I LOVE mini eggs, there's nothing that can beat homemade. Have 2, 3 or even 4 slices and I'm pretty sure it's 'better' than having something shop-bought with all those suspect ingredients.

Well that's my reasoning anyway. Seems a bit rich blogging about a recipe for chocolate cake and healthy food choices. But that's my life!

And now to the point. This cake is deliciously nutty, moist and a little boozy. Feel free to swap ground almonds for hazelnuts and Amaretto for Frangelico or whisky. Whatever takes your fancy. The cake can be stored for 4-5 days in an air-tight container so can be made ahead of time if you need.

Flourless almond and Amaretto chocolate cake
(Recipe adapted from Scandicilous Baking)

4 eggs
250g caster sugar
100g unsalted butter, melted
50ml Amaretto
50g cocoa powder (plus extra to finish)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp vanilla salt (see note)
200g ground almonds

Heat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a 23cm round cake tin.

In a mixer, whisk the eggs and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy, approx 5 minutes. Continue to whisk on a low speed whilst adding the butter, Amaretto and cocoa powder in stages, alternating between each until incorporated. Tip the baking powder, vanilla salt and ground almonds in and fold in with a spatula until just combined. Don't fold too much and overwork the mix.

Pour into the prepared tin, smooth the top and bake in the centre of the oven for 35-40 minutes. Once cooked, the edges should start to come away from the sides and a skewer inserted into the middle will come out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the tin and place on a wire rack to cool fully. Dust with a generous helping of cocoa powder or icing sugar and serve with strong coffee and Amaretto spiked cream!


N.B. Vanilla salt -  great to balance out sweet flavours when baking, but its not completely necessary. Feel free to use a small pinch of salt and a dash of vanilla extract instead. Alternatively, make a jar ahead and use in everything you bake! Recipe here from Joy the Baker.

Here's some other great recipes using nut flours from some blogger friends...

Chocolate and chestnut torte from Franglais Kitchen, here.
Popping candy brownies made with almonds from Emily's Recipes and Reviews, here.
French chocolate cake from Vagabond Baker. here.

Recipe: Spelt Waffles & January Waffle

Over the week I've enjoyed a few leisurely breakfasts with a few leisurely days off. My favourite breakfast being these spelt waffles with banana, currants and maple syrup. 

I also got the chance to try out my new waffle iron which was chosen specifically for the shape of waffles it makes. 

Taking stock of the month of January, here are a few other favourites...

A chilly 24 hours in Berlin including Boy, bratwurst and burgers. 

A lazy lunch in Reigate, having a mooch around the shops and a stop of at Cullenders for pea and bacon soup and the best flat white I've had for a while. Including an obligatory stop at Chalk Hill bakery to pick up a loaf or two to take home. 

Making the perfect snickerdoodles. Probably won't be long before there's a dog with a similar name, that's what they're doing with breeds these days, right?

Hearing in the news that a French court has overruled parents naming their child Nutella and named their child Ella instead for them. How considerate. 

That picture of a Daschund reading Jamie Oliver's Comfort Food on the loo. 

A visit to Joe's Southern Kitchen to start this year's chicken escapades. Could this replace my love of burgers?

Friendly deliveries from Abel & Cole and Ocado. They've got it just right. 

And whilst we're talking food (always) some of my favourite recipes from some friendly bloggers include Rosie's spicy chicken pho and Lucy's chocolate chip cookie dippers. 

And if you're looking for the waffle recipe, you can find it here. Regular flour would work also. 

Review: Berlin & Burgermeister

Over the weekend Boy and I spent a quick 24 hours in Berlin. There's so much more I feel we could've seen and would love to go back!

We both finished work late on Friday, leaving a measly 3 hour snooze before our friendly taxi whisked us along the M25 to Gatwick.

After a pit stop for breakfast we bundled onto the plane and took our seats. Flying over London just as daylight was breaking was a pretty impressive view. All those lights over the City looked like something straight from a movie.

We landed in Berlin just as snow started to fall and took a brisk walk to the train station half reading train timetables and half zipping up and tucking in every single layer of clothing possible.

First stop, the Fernsehturm in Alexanderplatz, Berlin's TV tower. Impressive 360 degree views from 368m up.

When we got back down to ground level we decided to start walking in the general direction of Kreuzberg for a lunch stop. Although we never seem to learn, the walk was much longer that it seemed on the map.

By this time we were ravenous and only one thing would do, Burgermeister. I'd heard great things about this little burger stand and after all the walking it was high time for some refuelling.

A small kiosk sheltered from the winter chill by its surrounding stickered fence, perched between a road and a U-bahn station. At first we did a couple of laps around to find the door, there was no way of seeing through all the stickers. Another couple must have taken pity on us and pointed to a small opening for us to push open.

Inside, a small kitchen and standing eating area and a few gas heaters dotted around. Full mostly of Berliner's, and very few tourists.

Boy and I ordered a cheeseburger, BBQ bacon burger and fries to share at the hatch, was presented with an order number and left to wiggle into a cosy (chilled) corner to wait for our food.

I'd say we waited around 10 minutes for our order, which isn't bad considering everything was cooked fresh from order.

Hand formed patties were perfectly cooked and seasoned. The brioche bun was perhaps my most favourite date. It may sound strange to say, but I've always found that brioche is always better outside of the UK. Grilled to perfection, a good balance between soft and grilled just enough to hold the integrity of the burger together.

Slightly warmed and content with burger lined stomachs, we took a short train ride back towards the centre of town to visit the next landmarks on our list.

Checkpoint Charlie was surreal and a bit strange that fragments of Berlin Wall were sold in a gift shop. Its strange to think of only how recently the wall between East and West had fallen and to have stepped over the cobbled border line.

Next, the Holocaust Memorial. 2711 columns form a maze-like memorial for the murdered Jews during the Holocaust. It was pretty moving to walk through the columns as they grew inside, think about those gas chambers.

Chilled and exhausted from our sightseeing, we stopped at a small restaurant local to our hotel for dinner. I ordered Bratwust with potatoes and Boy a Currywurst.

We stayed in Steigenberger am Kanzleramt, just round the corner from Berlin Hbf station. The hotel was gorgeous, ultra modern and possibly the best night sleep I've had in a hotel.

Unfortunately, it seemed a little remote and a long walk/train journey away from any other the restaurants I'd put on my list to try!

Recipe: Snickerdoodles

There’s a knack to baking and some things take a little longer to perfect. Brownies being the first thing that took a little practice (there’s a very specific level of chocolate fudginess required you know). But this time its biscuits. I have a fair few cookie recipes on my blog but other than custard creams I always struggle to make a biscuit that’s not cake-like. Countless attempts and variations of butter, chilling, rolling and cutting have all failed me. Usually embarrassed enough to stick to what I know and never attempt them again.

But then there’s Snickerdoodles. First attempt at baking, no problems at all. So when life gives you snickerdoodles eat the whole lot and worry about the rest later!

Snickerdoodles
(Recipe slightly adapted from Afternoon Tea with Bea, makes 24)

225g unsalted butter, softened
315g golden caster sugar
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
350g plain flour
2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt

sugar dipping:

2tbsp ground cinnamon
200g golden caster sugar

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and gently beat after each. Mix in the vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and beat on a slow speed until well incorporated. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for 15 minutes.

Heat the oven to 160 degrees and line two baking sheets with baking paper. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl ready for dipping the cookies.

Roll small pieces of dough into neat balls, about golf ball size, slightly flatten and dip each into the cinnamon sugar. Space evenly onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving some room for spreading between each.

Bake for 13-16 minutes until the edges are golden and the tops look dry. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire cooling rack.

Malted Milk Chocolate Cake

My earliest memory of birthday cakes was when I was very little and demanded a dog shaped cake. I also demanded that the whole entire head was mine and of course felt very, very sick after trying to eat all of that icing myself. I wasn't prepared to share...and not much has changed ever since!

Since then my brother and I tended to have those chocolate traybakes with sweets on top, cakes for sharing...

When receiving a few recipe books for Christmas, having a flick through and finding this I knew that it had to be the next birthday cake I made for someone else. Not only is it a great recipe, it's also not too difficult to transport on the train if needed!

My new recipe book, What to Bake & How to Bake It, is sure to be one of those books I'll always go back to for reference. The difference between many books and this is that each recipe is spread over a number of pages with a step-by-step photo guide. Very handy for things like doughnuts and cinnamon rolls.

Malted Milk Chocolate Birthday Cake
(Recipe slightly adapted from What to Bake & How to Bake It)

N.b. this chocolate cake isn't like the usual recipe I use, its egg free, super moist and not too rich...that way the whole family will love it.

Cake:
140g unsalted butter, softened
350g plain flour
25g cocoa powder
2tbsp malted milk powder, such as Ovaltine/Horlicks
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
2tsp baking powder
1/4tsp salt
300g light soft brown sugar
300ml milk
150ml vegetable oil
1tsp vanilla extract

Frosting:
200g dark chocolate, about 50% cocoa solids
120ml milk
25g cocoa powder
2tbsp malted milk powder
140g unsalted butter, softened
250g icing sugar
handful of sweets/chocolates to decorate

Heat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a 23 x 33cm traybake tin.

First, make the cake batter. Gently melt the butter in a saucepan and leave to cool slightly.

Into a large bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, malted milk powder, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt. Use a whisk to stir through (this will do the same as sifting it into the bowl). Add the sugar and continue to whisk to break up any lumps. Whisk together the milk, oil, vanilla extract and melted butter before whisking into the dry ingredients. Start slowly at first until everything is incorporated and then give it a good beat with the whisk.

Pour into the prepared tin, smooth over and bake for 30 minutes. The cake should have risen and slightly shrunken at the sides. A skewer should come out clean when poked into the middle. Remove from the oven and leave for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack and leaving to cool fully.

Once the cake has cooled, begin to make the frosting. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring a few times until smooth. Heat the milk in a small saucepan until steaming and gently bubbling, not boiling.

Into a large bowl, sift the cocoa powder and malted milk powder, gently stir in the hot milk to form a smooth paste. Set aside to cool for a few minutes. Add the butter to the paste, sift in the icing sugar and beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Fold in the melted cooled chocolate.

Pour half onto the cooled cake, smooth over with a palette knife before adding the rest and swirling around on top. The frosting will set after 30 mins or so.


This cake can be made up to 2 days in advance well wrapped and stored in a cool place.

Recipe: Sausage and Bean Lunchbox

As mentioned previously, I've taken some time out of my routine over the Christmas period. When returning to bake this weekend both recipes I made were pretty awful.

Never again will I cheat and melt chocolate in the microwave. I missed a tiny bit of foil and nearly blew up the kitchen with molten chocolate. Not an entirely bad thing you may be thinking, but I'm still wafting that burnt smell out of my flat.

Secondly, a recipe from a book I've had for some time promising healthier, natural treats. Not only did the biscuits require a whole expensive bottle of honey, they were tasteless and soft (and ugly!). Which reminds me, all recipes I've attempted from said book have been naff. I'm now going to recycle the book in the hope that it comes back in its next life as something more useful!

I had been tempted to throw the blogging towel in and join the circus. Except I'm not sure what I would do in the circus.

One recipe that I was pretty impressed with was Saturday night's dinner in which I threw everything in my fridge into one pot. Living on my own and working unsocial hours I spend some time each week making large meals that I can portion the leftovers off into the freezer for my lunchbox.

Admittedly this is quite a substantial lunch for a regular 9-5er, but you could add more vegetables than sausages. For me, this will be perfect to take to work this evening. I even got some nice new glass containers...just to make me feel more of a grownup.

Sausage and bean one-pot lunch
(Serves 4-6 depending on portion sizes)

6 sausages of your choice (I like the chunky Sainsbury's outdoor bred ones)
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves
2 celery sticks
a generous spoon of sumac/paprika or seasoning of your choice
2 peppers
2 tins chopped tomatoes
250ml vegetable stock
1 tin aduki beans/kidney beans or any other of your choice

serve with your choice of vegetables

To start, warm a large stock pot or pan with a knob of butter or drizzle of oil. Fry the sausages for a few minutes, turning to brown all the edges. Take out of the pan and set aside on a plate.

Cook the onions, garlic and spice in the same pan until the onions start to become soft and transparent. Whilst the onions are cooking, thinly slice the celery and peppers and add to the pan.

Add the chopped tomatoes and stock and bring to the boil. Turn down low to simmer and add the sausages. Drain your beans and add. Throw in a generous serving of salt and pepper and give everything a good stir to make sure all the sausages are covered.

Cover and leave to simmer on a low heat for 30 - 45 minutes.

To save on washing up, I used a fold out steamer to cook my vegetables in the last 10 minutes in the same pan.

Leftovers will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for a few days, or a few months in the freezer.

Still not quite a grown up with my lunch bag.

Recipe: Mackays Strawberry & Champagne Mousse Tart

For the past few weeks I've taken some time away from blogging. It all started with my annoyance at Google by changing some account settings and all the effort it took to get things back exactly the way they were. Then, the Winter sniffles came and, amongst other things, I found it increasingly more difficult to get back into my routine. 

It has been a novelty to me to be able to watch a whole episode of Game of Thrones without the need to rewind and rewatch as I'd previously been too engrossed in Bloglovin' or keeping up to date with my Twitter feed. 

It also got to the point where I didn't enjoy it much. Not even baking. And really what's the point of churning out posts that I'm not happy with?

So instead, I've been out for lots of nice meals, discovered new places and even met some blogger friends and chatted about life apart from blogging. 

My favourites include,

Meeting Flick and Frankie for dessert - and establishing that staying in is the new going out! Frankie's review of the evening had me giggling for ages. 

Drinking Butterbeer in the snow with Boy at Harry Potter film studios. We won't count how many times I've been over the years, all I care is that it snowed in Hogsmeade and I got a Gryffindor scarf.

Going to Waitrose Cookery School with my Mum and Grandmother for a Festive masterclass. Not only were the food and drinks incredible, everyone was so lovely, we all enjoyed ourselves so much. Even the brussel sprout haters were swayed!

Any blog posts that may have appeared have been scheduled from earlier bakes in the year. 

Including this little number. Perfect to make ahead if you've guests coming over of if you're popping over to a friends. I made this the day before serving and saved the pyrotechnics for the dinner table. Its a relatively straight forward tart, even more so if you buy a pre-made tart case from the supermarket (no one will know any different).

This recipe was made for Mackays as a way of showcasing my favourite of their preserves, strawberry and champagne. But I love it just as much on toast in the mornings, any day of the week.

Mackays Strawberry & Champagne Preserve Mousse Tart
(Makes a 22cm tart)

Sweet pastry tart:

375g plain flour, sifted + extra to dust
60g caster sugar
250g unsalted butter, chopped

Strawberry mousse filling:

220g Mackays Strawberry and Champagne Preserve
150ml whipping cream
1 packet of powdered gelatine (or 4 sheets)

Strawberry glaze:

120g Mackays Strawberry and Champagne Preserve
1 tbsp water

Garnish:

200g fresh strawberries

To make the pastry tart, add the flour and sugar into a food processor. Add the butter and process until the mix looks like breadcrumbs. Add 40 ml chilled water and process once more until the dough just comes together. Wrap the dough and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll out the chilled pastry and line a 22cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Chill the tart for a further 20 minutes whilst you heat the oven to 1800c.

Using a fork, prick the base of the pastry case so any air is released whilst baking. Line the pastry case with baking paper, fill with baking beans and bake blind for 10 minutes. Remove the beans and cook for a further 10 – 15 minutes and leave to cool in the tin.

For the mousse filling, bloom the gelatin following the packet instructions and set aside.

Heat the jam in a small pan on a low heat until it starts to loosen, add the gelatin and quickly stir through before removing from the heat and leaving to cool on ice. Whip the cream and gently fold into the cool jam mix.

Fill the cooled pastry case with the mousse, using a palette knife or the back of a large spoon to smooth over the top.

Place in the fridge to set whilst you make the strawberry glaze. Heat the jam in a small pan on a low heat and stir in the water until the jam has loosened and is slightly warm.

To finish the mousse tart, decorate the top with sliced fresh strawberries. Pour over the still-warm glaze and leave to firm up at room temperature before returning to the fridge to set 30 minutes before serving. Or, if making the day before, leave it in the fridge until needed.

Happy New Year to you all, for the end of the week! May your 2015 be filled with peace, love and happiness.

Recipe: Marzipan Mince Pies

Not a recipe as such, because I'm sure we're all pretty au fait with how to make a mince pie. But I thought I'd share my favourite mince pies.

These were the perfect excuse to use up the leftover marzipan I had from my stollen wreath.

For these I used a regular 375g pack of ready rolled shortcrust pastry, 1 jar of mincemeat and 100g marzipan. Roll out the marzipan, use a Christmas cutter to cut out the pie lids and place on top of the filled mince pies. Bake at 200 degrees for 20 minutes.

Happy Christmas!

Recipe: Stollen Wreath

A little bit of a twist to the traditional German stollen, this wreath is perfect to make in advance and store ready for the big day. Or alternatively enjoy in the run up...only 10 days to go!

Christmas Stollen Wreath

(Recipe adapted from Dan Lepard's Stollen in Short and Sweet)

375g strong white flour, plus extra for shaping

75g caster sugar

3/4 tsp fine salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cardamom (I didn't have any so just used all-spice instead)

50g ground almonds

2 tsp fast action yeast

200g dried mixed fruit (I used raisins, cherries, cranberries and mixed peel)

150ml milk

125g unsalted butter

1 medium egg, plus 2 yolks

2 tbsp dark rum (I used Amaretto instead)

finely grated zest of 1 lemon

oil for kneading

250g marzipan

melted butter and icing sugar and dried cranberries to finish

In a large mixing bowl, combine 350g flour, sugar, salt, spices, almonds, yeast and dried fruit. In a small pan, whisk the milk and remaining 25g flour on a low heat and bring just to the boil. Spoon the paste into another bowl. Use the pan to gently melt the butter, cool a little and beat this into the milk with the egg, yolks, rum and zest. Stir into the flour to form a sticky dough.

Leave to rest for 10 minutes, lightly knead for a few minutes, then leave to rise for 2 hours back in the bowl. Knead once more and roll out on a floured work surface into a long rectangle shape. Roll the marzipan into an equally long sausage. Lay the marzipan onto one edge of the stollen and roll. Press down to seal and place into a well greased bundt tin with the seal side at the top (which will become the bottom when upturned after baking).

Cover the stollen in the tin with a clean tea towel and leave once more until it has risen by half. Heat the oven to 200 degrees and bake for 35 - 45 minutes, remove from the oven and leave to cool for at least 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack or plate to cool. When still warm, brush a generous amount of melted butter over to seal and dust with icing sugar once cool. To finish, drizzle with some icing and top with dried cranberries. 

I've wrapped mine up in some wax paper and sealed in a large freezer bag to freeze ready for the big day. You could also make miniature stollen bites, just be sure to cook for less, 20 minutes should do.