Fruit and nut bars

I had recently been to a mind body soul fair and sampled some raw food bars. Not so delicious sounding, but actually not bad. I had also been having a bit of a healthy diet kick and the bars I bought werent bad but were not exactly cheap. However, on looking at the ingredients I thought..hmm these dont look too tricky.

So I googled a few recipes and came up with something that looked like it might taste a bit similar to the ones I had recently purchased. They were being touted as brownies and whilst I wouldnt go that far they do give a good chocolate hit.  I made a few tweaks and this is what I came up with, Imust admit I am now a bit hooked!

150g walnuts
250g stoned dates
5tbsp cocoa powder
4 tbsp dessicated coconut
1-2 tbsp runny honey

1. Blitz nuts in a food processor (use a blender at your peril - see notes at end)

2. Add dates and blitz

3. Add cocoa powder and coconut and then honey.

4. Tip into a bowl and squidge together to ensure a fully mixed dough

5. Line a 7" square tin with greaseproof paper and then push the dough out to the corners attempting to achieve a relatively even surface.

6. Chill in the fridge for an hour then take out of tin and cut into bars.

Notes - The recipie was originally from the Food.com website 
1 - Blenders may handle the nuts but may not like the consistency of the dates. Mine didnt and told me so with the smell of burning electrics.
2 - Dont just put a square of greaseproof paper in the bottom of the tin. Make sure some of the paper is overlaping and sticking out at least one side so that you can pull your chilled mix out of the tin. Otherwise, you may be digging knives in the sides and under to free it, it will make a mess and you will have squish it back in the tin again.
3 - I have since googled some more recipes and these dont look bad and have some good suggestions for combinations at the bottom of the page.

Rocky Road

This is the best recipe I have found for rocky road. The original recipe was quite Christmassy with amaretti biscuits but you can add whatever combination you like for the rocky part of the Rocky Road.

Providing you have the essentials such as some kind of biscuit that can be crushed and broken you could probably put anything in: nuts, cherries, popcorn (I saw Jamie Oliver do this on TV).

In the picture below, I replaced the amaretti with digestives as that is what I had in the cupboard. I have tried it with amaretti  biscuits and it is rather scrummy!

Basic Mix
250g/9oz dark chocolate, chopped
150g/5oz milk chocolate, chopped (you can change the ratio of dark and milk chocolate depending on your taste)
175g/6oz butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
4 tbsp golden syrup

The Rocky Bits!
200g/7oz amaretti biscuits
150g/5oz shelled Brazil nuts
150g/5oz red glacé cherries
125g/4oz mini marshmallows

1. Place the dark and milk chocolate pieces into a heavy-based pan. Add the butter and golden syrup and cook over a low heat to melt and combine

2. Place the amaretti biscuits into a freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin to make crumbs of various sizes.

3. Place the Brazil nuts into another freezer bag and bash in the same way.

4. Take the pan of melted chocolate mixture off the heat and add the crushed biscuits and nuts.

5. Add the glacé cherries and mini marshmallows. Fold the mixture carefully to coat all of the solid ingredients with the syrupy chocolate mixture.

6. Pour the mixture into a 25cm/10in x 30cm/12in greased and lined baking tray and smooth the surface as much as possible (although it will look bumpy).

7. Refrigerate for two hours, or until firm enough to cut.

Notes:
1. Dont be tempted to add the marshmallows to the mix first, add them last so the mix has cooled a bit or they will melt into a big sticky goo. 
2. I had less digestives that I thought when I made this and actually had to add a pack of Oreos. Didn't quite have the desired effect as they didnt crumble as much and soak up the moisture so dont give a 'crunch' - worth experimenting though.
3. Original recipe from Nigella Lawson

Chocolate Orange Cookies

I must confess, I didnt make these yummy cookies: my lovely neighbour Sue did and has kindly given me the recipe. I did eat them though and can vouch for their tastiness!

I am lucky that my neighbour and I share a passion for baking and we are quite often seen traipsing across the front garden with a sample of the latest cake/cookie/cheescake etc for the other to try.

6oz soft butter
3oz caster sugar
6oz plain flour
3oz corn flour
3oz chocolate orange segments chopped into small pieces

1. Heat oven to 190C/Gas 5/375F

2. Cream together the butter and sugar in a food processor or mixer.

3. Add the flour and cornflour, then mix until it forms coarse breadcrumbs and then add the chocolate pieces

4. Shape into 20 balls and place onto a greased baking sheet. Press down with a fork and bake for 10-15mins.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Torte

Definitely a dessert to impress at a dinner party! This is one of those desserts that actually tastes as rich, chocolately and satisfying as it looks. I would be happy to pay for this at the end of my meal in a posh restaurant, even if I do say so myself.

175g digestive biscuits
85g butter , melted
397g tin of caramel (such as Carnation caramel)
1 tsp sea salt , plus extra to serve
300g plain chocolate, broken into chunks
600ml tub double cream
25g icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Line the base of a deep, round 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin with a circle of baking parchment. Line the sides with one long strip that comes just above the sides of the tin - staple or paper clip where the strip overlaps to hold it in place.

2. Crush the biscuits in a plastic bag or bowl with the end of a rolling pin. Stir into the melted butter, then evenly press into the bottom of the tin. Chill for 10 mins.

3. Reserve 2 tbsp of the caramel. Stir the sea salt into the remainder and spoon into the centre of the biscuit base. Gently spread so the base is evenly covered but a visible 1-2cm border of biscuit remains around the edge. Chill for 20 mins while you make the chocolate layer.

4. Gently melt the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir 1 tbsp of the cream into the reserved caramel, then cover and chill until ready to decorate. Once the chocolate has melted, turn off the heat but leave the bowl where it is, and gradually stir in the remaining cream until you have a smooth, shiny, thick chocolate sauce. Mine started to turn into a big lump to begin with, byt keep perservering and stirring well as you add the cream and it should results in a smooth creamy mix.  Sift in the icing sugar and stir in with the vanilla extract. Lift off the heat and let the mixture cool for 10 mins.

5. Ladle or pour the chocolate mixture around the edge of the torte first, so it fills the biscuit border, sealing the caramel in the centre. Then ladle or pour in the rest and gently shake to smooth the surface. Chill for at least 5 hrs or up to 24 hours until firm.

6. Remove the torte from the tin, then carefully peel off the strip of paper and transfer to a serving plate. Spoon the reserved caramel-cream mixture into a small food or freezer bag. Snip off the tiniest tip of the corner to make a very small opening, then squiggle lines of caramel over the top.

Chill until ready to serve. Scatter with a pinch or two of sea salt before serving (though I didnt do this), then thinly (or not so thinly) slice. Eat with a drizzle of single cream, if you like.

Notes - The recipie was originally from the BBC Good Food Website  I didnt bother with the individual chocolates on top as suggested in the original recipe for a number of reasons:
1 - They are quite expensive;
2 - I couldnt find any;
3 - It would interfere with portion sizes if you dont put them in the right place;
4 - It would be more noticeable to my husband that I snuck another slither from the fridge when I had the munchies after breakfast the next day!!!

Death by Brownie

"Oh my good god!!!!" were my thoughts when I first saw this recipe!! I just love brownies and couldnt wait to try out these ones. In fact I was so excited, I would have happily made these at 10pm when I first came across them if it wasnt for the fact that I didnt have half the ingredients in the cupboards. Oh patience is a virtue which I have yet to posses.......

Now this is a bit of a cheat and isnt quite what I would usually do but it sort of still constitutes home baking as you still have to put the brownies together, well that is what I tell myself.

To make a full baking tray size brownie:

1 pack chocolate chip cookie mix (I used Betty Crocker box which makes 16 cookies)
2 rolls of Oreo biscuits
1 pack of brownie mix (again I used Betty Crocker box )

So in short, these are the ingredients:

Tesco seem to do their own cookie and brownie mixes in slightly smaller quantities which I will also have a go at and make in a smaller tin. Obviously, there are other brands available etc etc....


1. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper

2. Make up cookie dough mix according to instructions and cover the base of the baking tray, making sure you squidge the mix across and into the corners

3. Lay out the Oreo biscuits on top of the cookie dough

4. Make up the brownie mix according to the instructions and pour/spread over the layer of Oreo biscuits.

5. Put in over for around 35-40 minutes until the top is firm and a skewer comes out clean. Obviously if you like your brownies slightly underdone then reduce the cooking time.

6. Allow to cool and cut into pieces.

Notes: Recipe originally from this blog.  If you are feeling inspired and have a favourite brownie or cookie recipe you could try these instead of the cheats version. However bear this in mind: I attempted this as I had a great brownie recipe and didnt want to completely cheat......though it backfired on me. My brownie recipe was quite runny, the Oreos floated to the top, I poked them down again, but again they floated up. Result was a slightly crispy Oreo above a rather under done brownie!!!! Oh well we live and learn. I therefore recommend a slightly stiffer brownie mix if you have your own recipe.

Spotty Praline Squares

This has to be one of my favourite traybakes. It's a bit fiddly to make as it has a few different stages but the results are worth it: gooey, chocolately, caramel loveliness!!

140g butter

80g light muscovado sugar

200g pain flour

25g cocoa powder

40g chopped roasted hazelnuts

250g nutella

2 medium eggs

50g ground almonds

300g caramel sauce or dulce du lech (ready boiled condensed milk)

100g plain chocolate

white chocolate buttons to decorate

1. Heat oven to gas mark 4 or 180 C. Whisk the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and fold in with the hazelnuts. Put in a buttered 22x31cm swiss roll tin and smooth with a spoon. Prick liberally with a fork and bake for 30 ins until firm to the touch.

2. Whisk together the nutella, eggs and almonds; spread onto the shortbread and smooth. Return to the oven until just set. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

3. Once cooled, spread with caramel sauce and put in the freezer for 30mins to harden.

4. Melt together the cream and chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Spread onto the caramel layer and decorate with chocolate buttons. Leave until hardened before cutting into 24 squares

Notes: Recipe originally from Essentials Magazine. You may note in the magazine in the picture they manage to get 4 buttons per square. If you can calculate that type of spacing prior to cutting it up then you are a better person that me...or perhaps they cut larger squares...now there's an idea!!!!