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As the saying goes 'The proof is in the pudding' ... Look at these stunning chocolate brownies! Baked to perfection by my dear friend Pete using the recipe from this blog; with the idyllic backdrop of Toulon, it does make them look pretty tempting to say the least!

Hopefully this snippet will tempt you to bake the Brownies from The Perfect Bake...

p.s. When asked by Pete "Does it matter if I use caster sugar rather than granulated sugar?" My response was not particularly, let me tell you why ...

Brownie Fact: It is the white sugar in Brownies that creates the crackly top too them. Use brown sugar and they won't have quite the same top to them. Some people think, the darker the sugar, the moister the brownie; this is not true, it is the fat in the chocolate and butter that make them moist!

The Cookie

So with my life deep in essays this weekend, today the England v Wales rugby match is my half time break. To make this break far more pleasurable I am baking cookies & lots of them, I shall be baking two batches of the recipe as I want to make several flavours. Cookies are a great sharer and way better than shop bought packet cookies. They are also remarkably easy and cheap to make, you can add any extras that you wish into the mixture after you have completed the basic dough. Better yet, you don't even have to cook them & can always roll the mix up in cling film, freeze & take out when you fancy a couple of cookies or simply crumble into softened ice cream and re-freeze.

Makes 12-15 Cookies

(depending on how much mixture you eat whilst making)

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C

Bake to perfection for 8 minutes

You will need the following:

185g Butter

100g Caster Sugar

85g Brown Sugar 

(if you don't have Brown Sugar just use 185g Caster Sugar)

225g Self Raising Flour

1tsp Vanilla Essence

75g of your flavour of choice

1pinch of salt

Method:

Measure out your butter & then melt the butter in the microwave for 1 minute

Mix together the butter, sugar & vanilla essence

Add in the flour & salt and mix well

Next add a pinch of salt

Add in your flavour of choice, this could be any of the following or whatever you fancy; 

white chocolate, milk chocolate, chopped nuts, raspberries, strawberries, chopped mini eggs, oats or raisins. If you would prefer slightly flavoured cookies e.g. cinnamon or mixed spice add 1tsp of the flavour. If you would prefer citrus cookies add the zest of 1 lemon or 1 orange along with the juice of half of the fruit.

Today I have opted for milk & dark chocolate chip cookies
(30g dark chocolate, 45g milk chocolate)

Oats & raisin Cookies 

(50g oats, 25g raisins)

Finally Double Chocolate Cookies with raspberries

(50g cocoa & 25g raspberries

Drop the mixture into cookie dough balls using a desert spoon to roughly gage the size of your cookies

Place a maximum of six cookie dough balls per tray 

(you need a gap of about 5cm between each cookie)

Once baked for 8 minutes remove immediately & place on a wire rack to cool down. 

Be patient this will take time, do not get tempted to move the cookies off the trays, they will be flimsy still until cooled & hardened

Once hardened, remove from tray & eat!

Enjoy ...

The Perfect Victoria Sponge

Yesterday was one of my favourite South African's birthday & to celebrate I obviously baked! It is a MUST to be able to whip up a cake... they are far too simple to make & far too expensive in the shops to buy unless you want a dry cake that needs an entire cup of tea to wash it down (waste of calories in my opinion).

The Victoria Sponge is so easy to make and one that will always impress. The best bit if that you can adapt this cake to make it a pudding, birthday cake or afternoon tea purely by decoration and filling.

Serves 10-12 

(depends on the generosity of your slice)

Pre-heat oven to 180°C

Bake to perfection for 20 minutes

You will need the following:

For the Sponge:

175g Butter

175g Caster Sugar

175g Self-Raising Flour

3 Eggs

A few drops of Vanilla Essence (not essential)

For the Filling:

3 tbsp of the Jam of your choice, I choose raspberry

You can add whipped cream or butter icing if you wish

For the icing:

Icing Sugar

Alternatives:

Butter Icing, Water Icing, Cream Icing

Method:

In a bowl measure out your butter and caster sugar

Cream the two together till they are combined in a smooth & fluffy mixture

Next add the eggs, one at a time

Add the Flour and mix in well so there are no lumps

Add a drop of vanilla essence if you wish

When your mixture is looking nice and combined, pour into two circular greased (removable bottom) baking tins. If the mixture is not of a ribbon consistency the cake will be dry when it is cooked, so it is essential that you have measure out your ingredients precisely

 Good Old Fashioned Advice: DO NOT be tempted to open the oven door whilst the cake is cooking, the oven temperature will drop and your cakes will not rise properly

After 20 minutes baking , let your cakes cool on a wire rack. 

Then run a knife around the edge of your pan and push the cake out from the bottom

If the cakes have risen in the middle, level out the bottom layer of your cake so you can spread the jam on the cake evenly (If you wish to add cream or butter icing place this on the under side of your top layer and sandwich together)

Place the top layer on top and dust with icing sugar using a sieve

Serve with a couple of pieces of fruit of the flavour jam you have used. Today I used raspberry, so a few raspberries to decorate! 

Enjoy ...

Pancakes

Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day) marks the start of Lent, obviously you will have all thought long & hard about what you are going to give up for 40 days & 40 nights! When I was younger I used to chose to give up mushrooms every year because they were obviously my favourite food that I couldn't go without. Now rather than giving something up, I try & take something up.

Pancake day is a great excuse to get everyone together & indulge in a tasty pudding. Just a word of warning; if you read this DON'T YOU DARE then go & buy ready made pancakes or pancake mix ... they are far too simple to make and ready made pancakes & pancake mix are a total rip off, so not really options at all. The idea with pancakes is that you have the ingredients in your cupboard so you do not have to go & buy anything. I thought I would get ahead of the game so you can follow this simple recipe & reap the rewards on Tuesday evening or any time after...

If you do not have a set of scales I have included alternative measurements for the flour in brackets so you will just need a measuring jug.

Makes 8 -12 pancakes 

(depending on the size & thickness of your pancakes)
If possible try & use a non-stick frying pan, if not add a little extra butter when it says to do so in the method

You will need the following:

150g Plain Flour (Jug: 200ml)

2 Eggs

300ml Milk

Pinch of Salt

1 tbsp of Butter

Method:

Measure out your flour into a bowl or measuring jug
(if you are opting for chocolate pancakes, add the 40g cocoa now)

Add the eggs

Next, measure out 300ml of milk 

Then add the milk to the eggs and flour, with the pinch of salt

Get any old hand whisk (not electric) or fork if you don't have a whisk & mix your mixture until it is combined & all of the flour is off the edges

Good old fashioned advice: Once you have combined the mixture, whisk for approximately another minute and leave the mixture to stand for half an hour. 
(I'm not so sure as to why but my mother has always told me to do so & the one time I didn't do it, the pancakes were a bit of a flop - so it must be a valid point!)

Once the half hour is up you can focus your attention on the fun part. Melt 1tbsp of butter in a frying pan over a hot heat. Pour a little of the excess butter into your batter mixture with a spoon & whisk into the mixture.

Pour a small ladle of your mixture into the pan (discard the first pancake...it always goes wrong - so don't waste too much mixture on it). You will need roughly just under a ladle full of mixture per large pancake

As soon as  your mixture hits the pan you want to tilt the pan side to side & in a circular motion so that the mixture spreads evenly over the base of the frying pan. You don't want your pancake too thick otherwise it will not fold properly when cooked 

When the mixture looks slightly cooked through (roughly 1 minute) & a semi skin forms on the top, it is ready to flip

The art of the flip is all down to you! If you aren't brave enough to flip, use a fish slice to flip your pancake. It should be a light golden colour 

Cook the pancake for another minute on the other side. 

(if you are opting for the banana & chocolate pancake below, add the Nutella now)

Take your pancake out of the pan & it is ready for the filling of your choice. After several pancakes you may need another tsp of butter to grease the pan 

Present the pancakes as you wish, here I have simply folded into quarters. If you have one of the other fillings you may wish to simply roll your pancake

Enjoy with ...

Pancake combinations:

THINK BIG WITH YOUR FILLINGS & ENJOY ... lets face it, you might as well make up for what you are going to miss out on in lent. If it is chocolate you are giving up - go chocolate. 

Lemon & Sugar Pancakes

Simple & classic...use the juice of 1/4 lemon for every pancake & sprinkle with as much sugar as you feel necessary

Chocolate Pancakes

Add 40g cocoa powder when making the pancake mix. When cooking the second side of your pancake place 30g chocolate on top of your pancake for the duration of cooking the second side. Eat immediately!
Banana & Honey Pancakes
Slice a banana lengthways & caramelise in a frying pan over a medium heat with 1 tbsp of sugar for 2 mins on each side. Serve 1/2 a banana per pancake & drizzle with honey
Cheat's Raspberry Compote Pancakes
In a saucepan add 2 tbsp of raspberry jam with 50g of raspberries, 1 tbsp of sugar & 1 tbsp of water. Simmer gently for 10 mins until the mixture thickens slightly. ideally start making the compote just before you make the pancakes as it tastes great when hot. Serve with a few fresh raspberries.
Banana & Chocolate Pancakes
Follow the method for caramelising bananas as set out in the banana & honey recipe. Spread you pancake with Nutella once cooked & serve with 1/2 a banana per pancake.

Caramelised pineapple & golden syrup pancakes 

Chop a 1 inch-thick slice from your pineapple. Cut away the skin & cork out the core of the  pineapple. Caramelise your pineapple in a frying pan over a medium heat with 1 tbsp of sugar for 2 minutes on each side. Serve hot with golden syrup drizzled over the top.

Apple & Cinnamon Pancakes 

Peel & segment your apple. Cook in a saucepan over a medium heat for 5 minutes with 2 tbsp water, 1 tbsp sugar & 1 tsp cinnamon. Make sure you stir the apples so they don't stick to the bottom of the saucepan.

Crêpe Suzette

If you have a casual tipple of Grand Marnier, Cointreau or brandy floating around your drinks cupboard & fancy a challenge then pluck for a Crêpe Suzette. 

In a bowl mix 150ml orange juice, the grated zest of 1 orange, the juice & zest of 1 lemon & 3 tbsp of your tipple of choice. Cook your pancakes & leave to one side. 

In the same frying pan melt a bit of butter, pour in the sauce & heat gently. Add a pancake & allow to heat through before folding it in half twice to make a triangle shape, then move it to the side of the frying pan. Repeat this until all of your pancakes are re-heated & soaked in the sauce

If you're feeling really indulgent you might as well serve your pancakes with some ice cream...

Don't break the bank ...

So, I feel that some of you may need some encouragement to actually pick up that spoon & starting creating you're own perfect bakes! Some people can be put off by the idea of creating the perfect bake at home; instead they will head to their local supermarket of choice and buy ready made treats as it seems easier and cheaper. I can tell you now, although it may be easier, it will most definitely not be as tasty and surprisingly, it can be cheaper to bake at home. 

As I trundle around the supermarket on my weekly food trip, usually half asleep, in a world of my own or eyeing up what other people have in their trolleys (always amusing), I find myself slipping in the odd extra baking ingredient to top up my supplies ... I have news for you; it doesn't cost the earth! 

There are some basic ingredients you should always have on hand (with these you can satisfy any sweet craving with the odd added extra):

• Self-Raising Flour (1.5kg - 50p)
• Butter or Margarine (butter 250g - £1.20 or margarine 500g - £1)
• Eggs (12 woodland eggs - £2)
• Sugar (granulated 1kg - 99p or caster 1kg - £1.99)

My tip - its o.k. to go value. We do it in our normal food shop, so why not with baking products. Once it is cooked it will taste a million dollars! For example, the white chocolate in my brownies ... basics chocolate 35p for a 100g bar; like I said, doesn't have to cost the earth! 

From this, I hope you can only conclude that when you are thinking of buying that shop made birthday cake or pack of cookies, that you think about it long and hard and pluck up the courage to buy some baking store basics & buy the supplies that will keep you baking for a while! 

Brownies

Sorry to disappoint those who may think I should be sharing a great love heart-shaped biscuit recipe in the spirit of Valentine's Day. Currently, with no offer of a hot date for tomorrow evening this doesn't really appeal to me! Therefore, I chose chocolate & lots of it ...

Brownies are the ultimate sharing bake. As my friend would say, its all about the 'goo'. The trick with brownies is timing ... get the cooking time right and you will have the perfect 'gooey' brownie, too little it will simply be hot mixture, too much, it will basically be a cake; which isn't always a bad thing!

Brownies can have many variations ... fruit, chocolate chunks, nuts etc. the choice is all yours. There is also nothing wrong with just keeping it simple. Today I am going to use raspberries & white chocolate as my added extras (my token to Valentines). 

Makes 12 thick squares

(depending on how many squares you get, depends on how thick you want your brownies)

Pre-heat oven to 180°C

Bake to perfection for 22 minutes

You will need the following:

225g Granulated Sugar
50g Cocoa Powder
75g Self-Raising Flour
100g Butter
1/2 tsp Salt
2 Eggs
2tbsp Milk
(Extras: 50g Raspberries & 100g White Chocolate)

Method:

Mix the granulated sugar, cocoa powder, self raising flour and salt together

Melt the butter in the microwave for 1 minute, then add to the dry mixture

Add the eggs one at a time & then add your 2tbsps of milk

Next, this is the time to add any extras you want to your brownies ... today I am adding raspberries (frozen) & white chocolate

Pour the mixture into a baking tin roughly 15cm x 20cm in size and bake for 22 minutes. Do not be tempted to open the oven door, keep it closed & take them out at 22 minutes. Let them cool down ... have faith that they will set. You must leave them too cool down completely before cutting them up.

Hannah's Top Tip: If you decide you want them solely for yourself, put them in the freezer & take them out when you fancy ... eat from frozen or pop them in the microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds and serve with ice cream for puds 

(you can appear the perfect hostess/ host with a moments notice!)

Enjoy ... 

Thanks to Ginny & Hannah today for your fabulous help