Blondies

Gordon Ramsay

Ingredients

230g butter, plus extra for greasing
340g dark brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
280g plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
240g white chocolate, chopped into small chunks
4 tbsp dried cranberries


Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Lightly butter a 23cm square cake tin and line with greaseproof paper.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan and whisk in the sugar and salt. (A good whisk now will make the mixture slightly lighter and fluffier.) Add the vanilla extract and whisk again. Remove from the heat.
3. Add the eggs to the butter mixture and stir well. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into a large bowl, then whisk in the egg and butter mixture a little at a time. (It’s important to do this in stages so that you don’t get any lumps.)
4. Leave the mixture to cool slightly, then fold in the chocolate chunks and the cranberries. (If the mixture is too hot, the chocolate will melt.)
5. Spoon into the prepared cake tin and spread out evenly. Bake for 35–40 minutes until the outer edges are firm and the middle still a little soft.
6. Leave to cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes, then cut into squares before serving. Once cooled, the blondies will keep in an airtight container for up to a week.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Laura Vitale

Ingredients

1 Loaf of Challa Bread (1 pound loaf) cut into cubes
6 Eggs
1 1/2 cup of Heavy Cream
2 1/2 cups of Milk
1 tsp of Vanilla Extract
½ cup of Sugar
1/2 cup of Brown Sugar
4 Tbsp of Cocoa Powder
½ tsp of Cinnamon
1 cup of Semisweet Chocolate Chips


Steps

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together all the ingredients except the challa bread, make sure you get a nice smooth mixture.
  2. Add the bread cubes and sit to make sure its coated in the custard, let it sit for about an hour.
  3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, butter a large casserole dish with a bit of butter.
  4. Add the custard mixture to the buttered pan and bake for about an hour or until puffed and golden and set in the center.

Chocolate Fondant

Howdens Joinery with John Topham

Ingredients

90g softened unsalted butter, plus a little extra for greasing the rings
90g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), finely chopped
2 medium eggs
2 medium egg yolks
120g caster sugar
45g plain flour, sieved


Steps

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
  2. Butter the inside of the metal rings, and line each one with non-stick baking parchment to come just above the top. Stand them on a parchment-lined baking tray.
  3. Melt the chocolate very gently in a bowl over a pan of hot water. Add the butter and stir until thoroughly mixed.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolks and sugar until evenly combined. Mix in the melted chocolate, and gently fold in the flour. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
  5. Spoon the mixture into the parchment-lined rings, until they are about two thirds full. Chill them in the fridge for at least an hour (they will keep for up to 6 hours).
  6. To bake the fondants, place the tray in the centre of the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Let them rest for 2 minutes before carefully lifting away the metal rings and parchment. Transfer them to small serving plates and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Malt Chocolate Doughnuts

Gordon Ramsay

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar, plus 2-3 heaping Tbsp for dusting
2/3 cup whole milk
One 1/4-ounce package active dry yeast
3 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
Pinch of sea salt
2 egg yolks
2-3 heaping Tbsp malt powder, such as Ovaltine, for dusting
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

For the filling
1 cup heavy cream
2-4 Tbsp runny honey, to taste
9 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
4 Tbsp unsalted cold butter, cubed


Steps

  1. Heat the sugar and milk in a pan for about 5 minutes until the milk is warm—105-115°F—and the sugar has dissolved. Place the yeast into a bowl, pour in half the warm milk, then mix and set aside. Place the remaining milk back on the heat and add the butter. Heat gently for about 3 minutes (be careful not to let the milk boil).
  2. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the egg yolks, yeasted milk, and the hot milk. Mix together, drawing in the surrounding flour to make a dough.
  3. Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and knead with floured hands for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Dust with a little extra flour if the mix is too sticky. Place in a clean bowl dusted with flour. Cover with plastic wrap to keep the dough from forming a skin on top and leave to rise in a warm place for 1-11/2 hours until doubled in size.
  4. When the dough has risen, knock it back by giving it a thump and knead lightly on a floured work surface. Roll out the dough with a floured rolling pin to a thickness of about 3/4 inch and shape it into a 9 x 6-inch rectangle. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 12 rectangular pillows, then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and leave to rise again for 30-40 minutes until doubled in size. (This will make the doughnuts light and fluffy once cooked.)
  5. Meanwhile, make the filling. Put the cream in a pan and mix in the honey to taste. Put the chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl. When the cream is almost boiling, pour it over the chocolate mixture and stir until well mixed, smooth, and glossy.
  6. Combine the remaining sugar with the malt powder in a bowl and set aside. Put the oil in a deep-fat fryer and heat to 340°F, or fill a large saucepan one third full with vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat until a cube of bread dropped in it sizzles and turns golden brown in 30 seconds. Fry the doughnuts, in batches, for 3-4 minutes until evenly golden brown and cooked through, turning them in the oil once or twice. (You will need to moderate the heat between batches according to whether the doughnuts brown too quickly or too slowly.) Using a slotted spoon, remove the doughnuts from the hot oil and roll in the malt sugar to coat.
  7. To fill the doughnuts, spoon the warm chocolate filling into a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle. Make sure you pipe the chocolate filling while it's still warm. If it cools down too much, it will set and be difficult to work with. Insert the nozzle into the doughnut and gently squeeze in the filling. Serve right away.

Marshmallow Whoopie Pie

SORTED

Ingredients

plain flour (140g)
cocoa powder (40g)
1 tsp bicarb of soda
buttermilk (90ml)
1 tsp of vanilla extract
butter (80g)
brown sugar (140g)
1 egg, beaten
handful of mini marshmallows, halved
dark and white chocolate chips
nuttella to decorate
extra marshmallows.


Steps

preheat the oven to 200°C.
beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, an electric whisk might be easier.
pour in the beaten egg, vanilla extract and buttermilk slowly and continue to whisk hard.
sieve in the dry ingredients and fold into the mixture gently until fully combined.
stir through the marshmallows and chocolate chips then scoop individual teaspoons full of the mixture onto a baking parchment lined tray, leaving plenty of space between each one for them to spread.
bake in the oven for 8 minutes then remove and leave to cool completely.
smear the flat side of half of the whoopies with a thin layer of nutella then stick another whoppie on top, flat side towards the nutella.
dust with some icing sugar to decorate and get your friends and family to tuck in.

Raw Chocolate Avocado Slice

Bondi Harvest

Ingredients

1 cup of medjool dates, seeds removed
7 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 cup of walnuts
4 medium avocados
zest of 1 orange
150g 100% raw cacao powder
4 tablespoon of honey
Bee Pollen, to garnish


Steps

  1. Grease a fluted slice tin.
  2. Place dates and 2 tablespoons coconut oil in a food processor. Process until they form a paste. Add walnuts and process until combined.
  3. Transfer mixture to prepared tin and smooth out to form base of slice.
  4. Process avocado, zest, remaining coconut oil, cacao and honey until smooth and combined well.
  5. Transfer mixture to tin and spread over base.
  6. Sprinkle with bee pollen to garnish. Pop i tin the fridge for 2 hours to set.
  7. Slice to serve.