Chocolate Orange Brownies by Cheryl O’Bryan

Ok, so I don’t have time to bake what I planned for the competition but here’s a recipe I posted back in July last year that I will enter for the competition. So easy and so tasty!

Chocolate Orange Brownies
Delicious, quick and very easy!
Makes 16

3 eggs
100ml vegetable oil
2 Oranges
200g sugar
100g wholemeal flour
10g baking powder
60g oatmeal
60g Cocoa powder

Beat the eggs with the oil. Add rind and juice of both oranges. Mix in sugar, flour, oatmeal, cocoa and baking powder. Stir to combine. (Add nuts or choc chips if desired at this point.) Place mixture into a greased tin about 6x9inches and bake in oven at 160 C for about 20 minutes or until top is baked and crispy but middle is still a little squidgy. (It will continue to cook as it cools.) When cool sprinkle with caster sugar or dust with icing sugar/cocoa. YUMMY!!

Tacle Mandarin Olive Oil Cake with Candied Tacle Mandarins by Mary Leonardi-Cattolica Sansen

Adapted from In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite by Melissa Clark

Tacle Mandarins (you’ll need 4 for the cake and a dozen or more for the candied mandarins)
1 cup sugar
Plain Greek yogurt
3 large eggs
1 3/4 cups Manitoba flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil preferably a mild one from Liguria

Preheat oven to 160C/350F
In a large bowl, zest 3 of the mandarins. Combine with the sugar rubbing the zest into the sugar with your fingers until completely distributed.

Supreme 3 mandarins by cutting off the top and bottom, then cutting away the skin and the white pith around the fruit. Then inserting the knife between the skin of each section and the flesh, cut the flesh away from the skins dropping the flesh into a bowl. break up the pieces of fruit. Set aside.

Halve the remaining Mandarin and juice so that you have about 1/4 cup of juice. Add yogurt to the juice until you have 2/3 cup of liquid. Add to the sugar mixture and whisk well. Add the eggs, and once again whisk well to combine.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour baking powder, baking soda and salt to combine. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then, using a rubber spoon or spatula, fold the oil into the mixture a little at a time until combined. Gently fold in the mandarin pieces.

Scrape the mixture into a loaf pan and bake until a skewer comes out clean, 45-55 minutes.

Allow to completely cool before serving with whipped cream and candied mandarin sections if desired.

Drunken Torte by Francesco Russo

Here is a recipe I have made in many occasions.
It came from a relative in Rome . I think she got it from a magazine a few years ago and cannot remember which one. Pictures are my own.

Drunken Torte !

A light gooey mixture that combines chocolate and red wine, very easy to make.
Here are the ingredients and the recipe:

250 gr sugar
70 gr bitter cocoa
150 gr soft butter
4 eggs
150 gr flour
1 glass of red wine
1 sachet raising agent ( pan deli Angeli for those on Italy )

Melt, sugar, butter, cocoa and wine very gently on a low flame in a saucepan.
When all nicely melted together save some of the mixture in a glass and put aside.
Into the rest of the mixture add the eggs, the flour and raising agent. Wish until smooth and bubbly, I use an electric whisk !
Put into a 20cm non stick cake tin and bake for 25 minutes at 160 degrees c.
Put a toothpick into cake if it comes out clean it’s done .
When cake has cooled down pierce gently at various points on the top and pour on the glass of the saved mixture and serve !

 

CHOCOLATE ORANGE BRANDY GATEAU by Geraldine Fayers

Here is my chocolate contribution, Sorry I haven’t a picture
but will get one as soon as I can,

CHOCOLATE ORANGE BRANDY GATEAU
Ingredients
8 oz Plain Flour
8 oz Sugar
8 oz Soft Margarine
4 Eggs
1½ teaspoons baking powder
Juice & Grated Rind of 2 Oranges
2oz Cocoa

Put all ingredients into mixer and blend until well mixed.

Line a round 9 inch tin with greaseproof paper and put in cake mixture.
Bake in pre-heated oven Mark 4 or 180 c. For about 35/40 minutes –
Keep testing.

Turn out onto a large plate or cake board spread with foil – enough to reach up and
over the cake. (Remove greaseproof paper)

Marinade
3 Teaspoons Coffee Powder
6 teaspoons sugar
4 tablespoons brandy
8 fl oz orange juice – if fresh not available use 100% carton juice

Put coffee & sugar in a jug and add a 2/3 tablespoons boiling water – enough to dissolve.
Add orange juice and brandy. Pour over the hot cake and gently pull the foil up around the sides and top. Leave until it has thoroughly cooled. Leave in fridge for an hour or two, Then fold the foil back over the plate or cake board.

Topping
6oz dark chocolate
6 drops of glycerine
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water. Add glycerine. Spread over the cold cake. Leave to set.

Best eaten with a fork!

Chocolate Cake Torta di Cioccolate by Anita Grosser

5 eggs yolks 3 tbsp sugar
250 gr butter 200gr bitter chocolate 100gr milk chocolate
100gr flour 4 cl Grand Marnier.
5 egg whites beaten stiff

Put the butter and chocolate in a bowl and place in a bain marie to melt.
Mix the egg yolks and sugar till thick and creamy add the flour with the Grand Marnier and mix well. When the butter and chocolate is completely melted add the other mixture of eggs etc, and last fold in the egg whites. Bake at 220° for 10 min. please set a timer!!!! The inside of the cake should be soft.
sorry no pic.

Chocolate, Cranberry and Pistacio Brownies by Sarah Topps

Whilst back in the UK last Christmas-time we were lucky enough to go out for lunch at The Cottage near Ruddington where we had the most delicious, gooey brownies we had ever tasted for dessert. When we asked the waiter is it would be possible to share the secret recipe with us, he very kindly did, so here it is. Thank you.

200g butter, diced
300g dark chocolate
280g light brown sugar
4 tbsp cranberry or orange juice
4 medium eggs
200g plain flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
80g dried cranberries
100g sliced pistachios
icing sugar to dust (optional)

Make 18 large brownies. Takes 45 minutes.

1. Preheat oven to 160 oC (fan) or 180 oC or gas mark 5 and grease and line an oblong cake tin
2. Melt the butter and 200g of the chocolate, slowly in a bowl over a pan of warm water and leave to cool
3. Warm the juice and soak the cranberries
4. Beat the eggs and the sugar for around 5 mins with an electric mixer or 10 mins by hand. You will know when it is ready as the mixture doubles in size and is thick and creamy like a thick milkshake!
5. Sieve the flour and cinnamon together
6. Cut the remaining chocolate into small pieces
7. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and fold in carefully
8. Add the cranberries and diced chocolate to the flour mixture.
9. Fold the flour into the rest of the mixture
10. Pour into the cake tin and bake in the centre of the oven for around 30 minutes. You will know when it is cooked as the top goes shiny and starts to crack a little and it should still be slightly soft in the middle if tested with a skewer or piece of spaghetti
11. Leave to cool in the tray then once cooled, cut into triangles or squares and dust with icing sugar if you like

Serve with thick cream or mascapone and we like to eat it with a compot made from poached oranges and cranberries (cooked lightly together for 5 minutes on a low heat). Yummy!

fiance cake

Reblogged from madonna del piatto:

• 

this is my minimalist ciaramicola, the traditional one has confetti sprinkled on top of the meringue. Typically, I forget to buy them.

CIARAMICOLA. I love this cake because it’s beautiful and so reminiscent of ancient times.

Ciaramicola is a traditional cake from Perugia, Umbria’s capital city. In a past when things were simple, young women made it  for their fiancé as a gift for Easter.

Read more… 441 more words

Check out this delicious cake

Simnel cake – one of my favourites

From the BBC Food Website

For the recipe go to their website: BBC Food Website

RHUBARB CURD SHORTBREAD

From Sarah Shatz at Food 52

On top is a silky and tangy blanket of rhubarb curd (made just like lemon curd) and beneath is a pad of thick and crumbly spiced shortbread. Genius! We made the shortbread in the food processor…

To read more and for the recipe click here:

Orange, Carrot, Ginger, Honey and Bran Muffins

Orange, Carrot, Ginger, Honey and Bran Muffins by Sarah (sorry no photo yet, but next time we make them).

Healthy Muffins (or so I would like to believe!). We haven’t used any sugar in this recipe, just honey, so try the mixture before you cook it as it may not be sweet enough for your taste buds. You can always add more!

Prep Time 15 mins

For the muffins:

250 g self raising flour

1 cube of fresh ginger, grated, or 1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tbsp mixed spice

3 tbsp honey (or more or less to taste)

1 tbsp treacle

100 ml milk

100 ml olive oil

2 large eggs (preferably home grown!)

3 carrots, grated

1 largish orange

1 cup of bran

For the topping:

125g sultans or raisins

1/2 packet cream cheese

small amount of icing sugar for topping

preheat oven to 180oC

1. Sieve flour into a large bowl. Add the mixed spices and ginger.

2. Beat eggs lightly and then beat in the milk, treacle, honey and olive oil.

3. Grate the carrots and orange zest and add to the dry mixture.

4. Stir in the bran and the sultanas.

5. Stir egg mixture into the flour mixture gently. The mixture should not
be too stiff or too runny, just add a little milk if too stiff.

6. Spoon out into 12 (approx) cake cases.

5. Bake on 180oC for about 20 minutes. You can test with a piece of
spaghetti to make sure they are cooked in the centre. It should come out
clean, with no bits of cake mixture stuck to it.

6. Mix the cream cheese with the icing sugar, or if being really healthy, more honey.

7. Leave muffins to cool and then ice with the frosting.

8. EAT!

We often substitute some of the ‘flavours’ for others. I think when in season, this recipe would be good with walnuts too.

PS If you can’t get treacle don’t worry, they are just as good without it, we just love the treacle flavour.