baking Archives - Journeys Are My Diary

Recipe – Mocha Brownies

March 1, 2017 by Bel

Anyone who reads my blog often will know, that the majority of time I’m busy sewing and working on Closet Geek. However I do have a huge passion for cooking (especially baking) and it’s rare that I find an excuse to take time off work and do so. This half term, Lily and I have been doing a lot of baking because she’s currently doing a project called Scrumdiddlyumptious at school, which focuses on chocolate. We’re making an A-Z of Chocolate for her project and part of that involves making lots of yummy food! The basic concept of her project is for us to make a page for every letter of the alphabet. Some pages will be information and history about chocolate, while others will be recipes. I think in total we have about twelve dishes we’ll be making, but over half term we made about half that.

This recipe that I’m sharing today is for Mocha Brownies (chocolate and coffee flavour) and they were absolutely delicious! The finished product is very similar to the ones Megan made Minecraft Brownie Blocks with but these are sort of an adult version (I only say that, as some people don’t really like their kids eating/drinking coffee). I however, am addicted to coffee! My Instagram is a constant stream of ice coffee pictures, while my Amazon wishlist is littered with coffee machines, mugs and I even have a bean grinder on there! Anyway, the coffee brownies were a big hit so I decided to share the recipe here on my blog.

Ingredients
– 3 eggs
– 450g sugar (brown is best but white works too)
– 350g plain flour
– 200g cocoa
– 250g chocolate chips
– 1 tbsp instant coffee granules, dissolved in 60ml boiling water (I personally used a coffee pod from
www.gourmesso.co.uk which worked brilliantly and gave a strong intense taste)
– 200ml oil
– ½ tsp salt
– ½ tsp baking powder
– 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

To start off, it’s always best to preheat oven. This needs to be set at 180 oC (Gas Mark 4). After that you need to grease two square 8 inch tins (or at least that’s what the recipe said, ours was actually longer and rectangular).

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, coffee, sugar, salt, baking powder and vanilla essence.

Once the mixture is smooth and combined, sift the cocoa and flour into the bowl slowly, stirring as you go.

Next you need to add the chocolate chips (or chopped up chocolate if you prefer chunks) and stir well to make sure they are spread throughout the mixture.

Finally you will need to divide the mixture equally between the two tins. Give them a tap on the counter to level them out and knock out any air bubbles.

Cook in the centre of the oven for 35-40 minutes, until the centre is no longer runny. You may need to stick a knife or skewer into the mixture at various intervals, just to check if the brownie is setting. You’ll know it’s done once the knife or skewer can be stuck into the mixture and comes out pretty much clean of mixture.

Allow to cool and if possible place onto a cooling rack (this isn’t essential so long as you’ve greased the tins well or even used greaseproof paper). Once cool cut into squares and serve.

As I mentioned before, we made several other chocolate items including; chocolate ice cream, ganache, rocky road and even chocolate Yorkshire Pudding. Of course none of these things are vital to this particular recipe, but served together they were pretty amazing. We actually had some friends around on the same evening and we served everyone chocolate Yorkshire Pudding, with brownies, rocky road, ice cream and ganache. There was cream too. Everyone said how amazing it all was and I admit it really was. I’d love to experiment a bit more with the Yorkshire Pudding recipe however as it wasn’t as good as I think it could be. Otherwise though, it was all Scrumdiddlyumptious!

Book Review: Cooking for Geeks

January 11, 2016 by Bel

I was recently sent a really interesting looking cooking book called Cooking for Geeks and I was asked to review it. If you’ve ever fancied yourself as a Heston Blumenthal or some sort of mad scientist chef, this is the book for you!

This cookbook is its second edition and it is packed full of all sorts of weird and wonderful science. It answers questions you didn’t even know you have, provides information you never realised you wanted to know and gives you great ideas for the science behind inventing recipes yourself. Including everything from why we cook certain things at the temperature we do, what happens if you overclock a cooker and loads and loads of actual recipes, why you should use the best cutting board, this cookbook is definitely aimed at the curious, inventive and hardcore chefs.

You can find lab work – like Making Ice Cream with Salt and Water

Information on Whipped Cream, including how to make it and even putting it to use in chocolate mousse

And loads more!

If you’re looking for an interesting gift to give, then definitely consider this. It’s both an interesting read and also a thought provoking one. The book is available from a variety of places, including Amazon. RRP is £26.50

Sexism Vs Home Making Skills

November 30, 2015 by Bel

There was something on TV this week that got me thinking about sexism and how there is a thin line between sexism and being chivalrous for example. The topic in question was something on I’m a celebrity get me out of here, whereby a female was given the job of carrying logs and some members thought this unfair as she was a female and as such not as strong as the guys, where others argued women were just as happy to do those jobs and prove their strength. I personally felt it was a sexist thing to suggest, knowing that had I been in that position I too would have wanted to prove I could carry logs just as well as the next guy. HOWEVER, that’s not to say I wouldn’t be more than happy to accept if a guy offered to carry logs for me.

Growing up I think I’ve always been a fairly traditional thinker when it comes to getting married, having kids, being a stay-at-home-mum etc. but that’s not to say I believe it should be the same for everyone. I do think life is incredibly unequal and as per Jennifer Lawrence’s rant about actors being paid more than actresses, it may never really level off. Some women want the high power jobs and same rates of pay, some wish to run for parliament or to be head of the church etc. In this day and age I think it’s sad that we aren’t more equal, but at the same time is it really that backwards thinking to want to stay home, do the cooking and cleaning, sew/knit etc and have the guy earn the money and then come home to do the DIY.

A recent article I read on Craft-O-Maniac featured a survey done by Baytree Interiors that showed many people still want to learn home making skills and this is backed up by how many DIY, baking and home interior shows are on TV these days. Admittedly there is no gender specification as to who can watch these programs and it’s just as likely there are men out there who can knit, compared to women who do DIY. The survey showed that 31% of participants chose baking as their favourite hobby and 21% expressed the desire to learn sewing and altering clothes. As a stay-at-home mum myself, I love to cook (especially bake) and I recently started working on many sewing projects.

Am I a girlie girl? Sure. I do a lot of “typically” female jobs around the house, I paint my nails and wear makeup. Do I consider those jobs “women’s work”? Absolutely not. Chris does a lot of the DIY in our house but when I was single for four years I was more than capable of doing those jobs. And while I mend a hole in Chris’ trousers when he gets them, he’s also more than capable of doing so himself.

I don’t think that learning homemaking skills, or wanting a traditional lifestyle, makes you a sexist person. Just because we’re living in a modern society where things like jobs should be equal, it doesn’t mean we can’t have more old fashion values that still go hand-in-hand.

Recipe – Flapjack Squares

November 24, 2015 by Bel

Flapjack Squares

Though I’m currently trying to diet, there is nothing I like more than some sweet treats! Flapjack is a huge hit in our house and so I decided to share my recipe and method with my blog readers so you can make some yourself. This is a recipe passed down from when I used to cook with my Nanny as a child.

Ingredients
(Usually I prefer to cook in grams but this recipe was given to me in ounces)
– 16 oz porridge oats
– 12 oz butter or margerine
– 8 oz brown sugar
– 2 tbs golden syrup

Method

1. Weigh out the butter and sugar, adding to a pan on the stove. Add golden syrup and warm through till melted.

2. Weigh out the porridge oats and add to the pan. Stir through until the oats are all coated.

3. Grease a baking tray with marg/butter and then scrape contents of pan, into the tray. Flatten down, making sure mixture goes right to the edges of the tray.

4. Pre-heat oven to Gas Mark 4 and place the tray of flapjack into the oven. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, until golden but not too much colour.

5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for around 10-15 minutes. Cut into squares and remove from tray onto a cooling rack. Eat warm or allow to cool and then munch away!

42/52

October 19, 2015 by Bel

This week its separate pictures for a change! Megan is her eating a chocolate cupcake we made at the weekend. The cases were edible and for some reason this was exciting. Megan does love sugar paper mind you so I can see why. Lily was ill during last week but on Wednesday she was feeling a little better and dressed up. She even had on some makeup!

Recipe – Megan’s Minecraft Brownie Blocks

July 21, 2015 by Bel

Last week, Megan decided that she wanted to make brownies and since we were heading out to the supermarket anyway, I agreed to let her get the ingredients for her brownies. When we got back she set to making the brownies and did a pretty good job of managing by herself for the most part. After they were cooked and cooled she turned her brownies into Minecraft dirt blocks and though they didn’t turn out quite how she wanted them, I was still really proud of her!

Ingredients
100g unsalted butter
175g caster sugar
75g dark muscovado sugar
125g dark chocolate
1 tbsp golden syrup
2 eggs
1 tsp chocolate or vanilla extract
100g plain flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder

This makes approximately 9 large squares in a 20cm shallow square cake tin.

1) Pre-heat oven to 180/Gas Mark 4 and lightly grease baking tin and line with baking paper.

2) Place the butter, both sugars, dark chocolate (broken up) and golden syrup into a pan and heat through gently until all melted and combined. Leave to cool.

3) Beat together the eggs and flavouring and then add to the chocolate mixture once cooled.

4) Sieve together the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder, before folding carefully into the chocolate mixture.

5) Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tin. Place in the oven and cook for approximately 25 minutes. The cake will begin to pull away from the sides of the tin and the top will be crisp, but the inside of the cake should still be quite stodgy and soft to the touch.

6) Leave the cake to cool completely before removing from the tin and then cut into squares and serve.

Megan obviously cut out cake into bite size pieces as she wanted them to represent Minecraft blocks. After she’d cut them up she mixed some icing sugar with green food colouring to make and icing and dribbled it over the top of some.

Once she was done, she placed the blocks in a certain patter and then made the same look on her Minecraft game to represent her brownie blocks. I think she did a fab job, especially as she’s not much of a baker!

Week 28 – Monday Round-up

July 13, 2015 by Bel

For the most part, this week has been great. It’s been busy in parts but not to the point of feeling like you don’t have a moment to breathe! Monday started off with Chris heading out to work, taking Lily to school and then Megan and I attending an Open Morning at one of the schools she is considering for next year. It was between 10am and 12.15 but it was nearer to half past by the time we left. Megan ate her lunch in the car, we called in briefly at mum’s and then I dropped her back at school before heading home. The girls were going with their dad after school so I knew I didn’t have to turn out and get them again, meaning I got on with some work when I got home. That said I started to feel a bit rough and curled up on the sofa to watch TV and chill. When Chris got home we had takeaway and didn’t do an awful lot else!

On Tuesday I took both the kids to school (and Lily’s tardis that we made over the weekend!) and then came home again. It ended up as a busy morning, picking up parcels, doing some shopping, calling to see Chris’ Gran and getting my sewing machine serviced. We managed to grab lunch and a few hours to ourselves before heading out to get the girls from school and going out for dinner. After that we dropped Lily off with her Grandma and headed back to school as Megan was in her school play. Chris and I watched and thoroughly enjoyed it, before picking Megan up, collecting Lily and then heading home and putting the girls to bed. By that point I was exhausted and yet again, didn’t get an awful lot done that evening! I took a bath and read some of my latest book.

Wednesday was Sports Day and so I headed out to school with the girls. Lily went first in the morning, participating in 4 races, though as every KS1 group took part, it took all morning. The weather was dull and it even rained a few times, but it turned out okay, despite being cold. Lily and I then had lunch together (along with my mum) and eventually Megan joined us too. In the afternoon it was Megan’s turn and there was a Kingball Tournament for all the KS2 kids. This took all afternoon too and though my mum bailed on us, Grandma turned up to support and keep me company as well. We managed to leave school about 10 minutes early but it did make a difference when we came home and collapsed! We had takeaway for dinner and then Nat came around in the evening.

On Thursday I decided to really try hard with my diet. On Wednesday I’d had a nasty shock when getting on the scales and it was just the kick I needed to make me try again. After taking the girls to school and then popping to mum’s to drop off their stuff (they were staying the night), I came home and emerged myself in wrapping parcels and going to the post office, all just to keep busy. I was good for lunch and good for dinner and I felt so much better for it. I also remembered how much I love jacket potatoes! In the evening Amy and I collaborated to book our Inside Out cinema tickets for when she comes down to visit in a few weeks time. We booked with Vue which means we get Disney Store vouchers each and since we’re buying Tsum Tsums on a monthly basis at the moment, it all comes in handy!

The girls had stayed at mum’s on Thursday night as it was school disco and her having them saved me a lot of hassle, however I still needed to get up on Friday morning and head to school as Lily was in shine assembly. This was the last one of the year and I was so proud of her for being in twice (she was originally in it at the beginning of the year). No surprise but I cried when she was up at the front – I’m such an emotional mess when it comes to the kids! Afterwards I came home and set myself to sewing. I challenged myself to three dresses over three days and I’m happy to say I managed it! I made a dress for Amy’s daughter Liv on Friday, which took majority of the afternoon and a little into the evening. Once that was finished I started on Lily’s, cutting out the pieces that evening. I obviously picked the girls up from school at the right time, had dinner etc. but the majority of the day was spent sewing!

On Saturday I got up and began to sew again. I started on Lily’s dress and worked on till after lunch. At that point the girls and I headed into town as we needed a few bits of food and also some material/elastic/zips from Boyes. When we came back I continued to sew but I did take a break here and there – especially when Megan wanted to make brownies. However I got Lily’s dress finished by the evening and even started to cut out Megan’s pattern pieces. Megan made her brownies into Minecraft Blocks as she’s a nerd like that, but they tasted amazing and looked pretty cool too.

Finally on Sunday I got up and had to take Chris to work, so the girls had to come too. We packed our swimming stuff as I promised we’d go swimming over the weekend and so once Chris was dropped off, we went to the leisure centre. We spent an hour or so there, had showers and got changed. We then had to pop into Tesco again on the way home, where the girls decided they wanted to make their own version of Subway subs. We then came home, made lunch and did some bits around the house, before I settled down to sew. I sewed all afternoon and into the evening, stopping to make food for the kids, help with homework etc. and of course feed myself and Chris. However by about 10pm Megan’s dress was finished too and I was really pleased with them all!

So that was pretty much my week, I don’t think I missed anything! It’s been a good week but I have to admit things are always so busy at the end of term – I look forward to the holidays. As of today, the girls have a week and a half left of school and I have at least 5 things penciled into my diary that I still need to do with regards to school. That said, it’s nothing too hectic so it should be a good coming week! Hope you’re all having good weeks too, I’m off to sew again!

28/52

July 12, 2015 by Bel

What a busy weekend it has been, with barely a moment to breathe! I have to admit its been full of things I’ve wanted to do though so that’s been great! For a start I sewed three dresses, between Friday afternoon and Sunday afternoon. Lily is modelling hers in this first picture. On Saturday afternoon, Megan made brownies and they turned out amazing. She then went on to make Minecraft blocks out of them and they were great too. What a lovely weekend, spent pretty much solely with my two girls.

Nutella Cheesecake Recipe

June 2, 2015 by Bel

Nutella cheesecake is not only the nicest thing I’ve ever made, but also one of the easiest. A few weeks back, Megan and I stumbled on this really simple recipe and since it was so amazing, I wanted to share it with you! I can tell you now, it won’t last long once you’ve made it. Ours was gone in less than 24 hours! If you liked this recipe, then you’ll love this dubai cheesecake recipe too!

Ingredients

250g digestive biscuits
75g butter/marg
1 x 400g jar Nutella
100g chopped hazelnuts
500g cream cheese
60g icing sugar

Method

1. Break the digestive biscuits, into a processor. Blend until blitzed. Add 1tbs Nutella, the butter/marg (melted) and 3tbs hazelnuts, blitz again until mixed.

2. Place into the bottom of a lined/greased spring form tin. Press down to form a neat base. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

3. Beat the cream cheese and sieved icing sugar until smooth and then add the remainder of the Nutella. Continue to mix until all combined.

4. Take the tin out of the fridge and smooth the Nutella mixture over the base. Scatter the nuts over the top and place back in the fridge. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. Serve straight from the fridge.