Chocolate Fig Brownies

Healthy Food Guide Magazine published a selection of gluten free goodies in the February 2014 issue. They all looked tasty, but as the only nut free one, this is packed lunch friendly. They looked squishy and sticky, like any good brownie should be (I always find GF brownies disappointingly cakey) and looked easy to adapt. So, here goes...

125g Dairy and Soya Free Spread (Pure/Vitalite)

40g Cocoa

140g Light Muscovado Sugar (or caster sugar)

125g Dried Figs (about 7 figs), chopped very finely

120mls Milk Substitute

125g Wheat Free Self Raising Flour

1/2 tspn Baking Powder

(Icing Sugar to dust - optional)

Put chopped figs, spread, sugar and cocoa in a bowl and microwave until spread melted (or stir in a pan over a gentle heat). Sorry, no pictures of this bit, only decided to post it half way through making...

Stir well to form a thick paste.

Add the milk substitute and stir again.

Put the flour and baking powder in a bowl.

Pour on the chocolate mixture.

Fold in until well combined.

Pour into a greased lined tray (about 16x28cm).

Smooth out evenly.

Bake at 180ºC for 20-25minutes until slightly risen and firm to the touch.

Cool in the tin (if you can resist the chocolatey smell wafting through the kitchen).

Cut into 12-18 brownies and lightly dust with icing sugar to serve.

Try adding chocolate chips for a more decadent brownie.

Easter Biscuits

I love this time of year (as long as the sun is shining!), the garden is full of wild flowers, the pear and apple trees are covered in blossom, and boys are spending more time outside. This means they are using up more energy and I have the continued battle to try to keep weight on them (wish I had their problem!). 

Version 1

Easter biscuits are another favourite of mine. I love a good crunchy biscuit and the addition of a citrus tang and a bit of spice makes it all the better. But, just because a recipe says candy peel, or currants or something else your little monsters don't like, don't be put off trying, make the recipe your own. Swap the spices, or leave them out altogether. Use dried fruit your child will eat (dried cranberries, blueberries, cherries etc), or don't add fruit at all. 

I've made 2 batches this year, one adapted from this months Waitrose magazine (version 1) and the other from my trusty Good Housekeeping cookbook from the 70's (version 2). I can't decide which I prefer, so have posted both… For both recipes, I did a straight swap with the flour to wheat free and instead of the egg, used milk substitute. I had meant to make some cranberry ones, but, while I shouldn't complain about having a husband who puts away the shopping, I've looked twice and can't find the dried cranberries I bought last week anywhere! 

I only made half quantity, so if you want more biscuits, just double up the quantities below.

Version 1 (made about 18 x 5cm rounds)

110g Dairy and Soya Free Spread

60g Caster Sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

1/4 Lemon Zest

2 1/2tbsp Milk Substitute

175g Plain Flour or Wheat Free Plain Flour*

25g Ground Almonds (try ground rice or polenta for nut free)

1/4tsp Baking powder

3/4tsp Mixed Spice

1/4tsp Ground Cinnamon

25g Mixed Peel

50g Currants 

Version 2

Version 2 (made 12 x 5cm rounds)

100g Dairy and Soya Free Spread

30g Caster Sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

2tbsp Milk Substitute

100g Plain Flour or Wheat Free Plain Flour*

1/4tsp Mixed Spice

1/4tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2tbsp Mixed Peel

2tbsp Currants 

*If you're using wheat free plain flour, the blend can make a difference e.g. Orgran and Bob's Red Mill are more absorbent then Dove's Farm flour. If your mix seems a little sticky, leave to rest for 5 mins and if still sticky, add a little more flour.

Whisk the spread and sugar until pale and fluffy.

Add the milk substitute and whisk again until combined.

Add all the other ingredients and mix well.

Knead lightly and form a smooth ball.

Flatten slightly on a lightly floured surface.

Roll out to 3-5mm thick.

Sprinkle with extra caster sugar.

Cut into rounds.

Bake at 180ºC for 15-20 mins.

Cool on a wire rack (my oven is a bit dodgy at the moment and not cooking underneath, if your's are not crispy enough either, just put them back in the oven for another 5 minutes upside down)

Sour Cream Rhubarb Squares

I have a lovely rhubarb plant tucked away in a corner of my garden. I'm a fair weather gardener and only grow plants that need minimal input and this plant has needed even less than most. I obviously bought a pot of rhubarb with the intention of planting it and never quite got round to it. The pot has cracked away and a mound of rhubarb sits on top of a scrubby bit of grass between the raspberries and a shed. Despite it's complete neglect, every year it supplies us with vast quantities of the stuff.

I had a quick browse earlier for something to do with today's harvest and found this recipe for Sour Cream Rhubarb Squares on the BBC Good Food website. It only used 1 egg, so looked pretty simple to adapt. I couldn't bring myself to use that quantity of sugar though and quite like the sharpness of rhubarb. If you want something a little sweeter, you can always increase the sugar.

Topping

15g Dairy and Soya Free Spread

50g Caster Sugar (I didn't have any, so used Muscovado, giving darker colour)

1tsp Ground Cinnamon

75g Chopped Nuts (optional) or Oats - I used almonds

Cake

85g Dairy and Soya Free Spread

150g Dark Muscovado Sugar (or other sugar, just won't get the dark colour on the cake)

4tbsp Dairy Free Cream

210g Wheat Free Plain Flour (225g if using plain flour not GF)

250g Dairy Free Cream - I used Almond, but would work with Oat or Rice Cream

2tbs Lemon Juice

1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

300g Rhubarb

To make the sour cream, measure out the dairy free cream, add the 2 tbsp lemon juice, stir and leave for 5-10mins.

Chop the rhubarb into 1cm chunks. I used 3 medium sized stalks from the garden, but you may need a few more of the thinner shop bought ones.

In another bowl, melt the spread for the topping. 

Mix in the sugar, cinnamon and nuts and set aside.

Weigh out the sugar, spread and 4tbsp of dairy free cream into a large bowl.

Whisk together until light and fluffy.

Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and half the sour cream.

Mix well.

Add the rest of the sour cream and mix again.

Add the rhubarb.

Stir in.

Pour into lined tin (I think mine is about 20x25cm).

Spread out evenly.

Sprinkle over the spiced nut mix.

Bake at 180ºC for 35 minutes.

Leave to cool for 20 minutes before cutting into squares.

Great on it's own, or with suitable custard, cream or ice cream.

Basic Biscuit

Changing decoration can make all the difference to a plain biscuit
 to make it something special for a party

This is the go-to basic biscuit recipe I use when I need 'shape' biscuits as Mini Monster calls them. It's adapted from a recipe in The Australian's Women's Weekly book Cookies & Biscuits, and apart from the egg, it's pretty much a straight swap for wheat free and dairy free adaptations. 

The only thing I will say though is that if you're making it wheat free, the flour blend can affect the quantity needed. If you're new to baking, you might want to start with 10g less flour than recipe states and gradually add more if dough is too sticky. It's much easier that way then trying to moisten a too dry mix!

I usually only make half quantity (and add much less sugar) at a time, but unused dough will keep in the fridge for several days)

125g Dairy and Soya Free Spread (e.g. PURE Sunflower, Vitalite)

165g Sugar

4tbsp Dairy and Soya Free Cream (e.g. Oat, rice or almond)

260g Plain or Wheat Free Plain Flour

35g Self-Raising or Wheat Free Self Raising Flour

(or 295g Plain flour plus 1/4 tsp baking powder)

1tsp Vanilla Paste (or Extract)

Put dairy and soya free spread, 'cream', vanilla and sugar in a bowl.

Whisk together until pale and fluffy.

Add the flours (and baking powder, if using).

Mix with a spatula or spoon until mostly combined.

Add a little more flour if necessary and kneed lightly to form a soft dough.

Put on a lightly floured surface (if you use greaseproof paper, it reduces risk of cross contamination, as eel as making wiping worktop easier…).

Cover with cling film (reduces contamination from rolling pin, but also means you don't end up with a floury top to your biscuit) and roll out to desired thickness. 3-5mm usually works well.

Cut out biscuit shapes.

Place on baking tray.

Bake for 12-15mins at 180ºC.

If you're making jammy dodgers, put tsp jam on biscuits for last 10mins in the oven before topping with lid.

Tea cakes (Chocolate marshmallow ones, not bread)

Mulberry Marshmallow Filled Teacakes

Since I discovered how easy it was to make marshmallows I've had a craving for teacakes. I don't know how many times I've looked at the moulds on Lakeland's website and dithered over whether to order 1 (not enough for more than one each...) or 2 (but then realised they look too big for more than 1 anyway…). Then I looked online and realised hemispherical moulds came in many different sizes! I found one with 15 domes of about 3.5-4cm across and ordered it in time for 7 year olds birthday. Just. 

I hadn't planned to post this recipe yet as it was just an experiment, so I don't really have many pictures, but so many people on Twitter got excited I felt need to post it sooner. So here goes. It's another one of those recipes that looks more complicated then it is. Honest.

First I realised I was almost out of chocolate and needed most of it for the requested chocolate birthday cake (will also post recipe eventually, but don't feel you need to go for the same level of decoration!). 

'Naked' dragon during assembly

Ferno the Fire Dragon

Hunted around and discovered a Moo Free chocolate santa lurking at the back of the cupboard. Just don't tell the kids I melted it - I'm sure that by about June Mini Monster will suddenly remember he had one that he hadn't eaten!

My next mistake was putting the rest of the bowl of melted chocolate in the kitchen, ready to cover the bases when all assembled. Helpful husband ate it while doing the washing up, not realising I hadn't finished! Fortunately I found half a pack of chocolate buttons lurking in the bottom of the snack box…

I'd read somewhere about mixing a little coconut oil with the melted chocolate to give a crisp shiny finish, but I still got a bloom on my chocolate. Next time I'll skip the coconut oil (found coconut flavour overpowering) and try to temper the chocolate properly. Or not. Who cares if the chocolate is a little swirly? 

These seem complicated, but can be made in lots of little stages over a few days if necessary.

Biscuits (these can be made in advance)

60g Dairy and Soya Free Spread (Pure or Vitalite)

40g Caster Sugar

2tbsp (30mls) Oat Cream (or rice/almond cream)

1/2tsp Vanilla Paste (or extract)

145g Plain Flour or Wheat Free Plain Flour (may need a little extra if not using almonds)

25g Ground Almonds (optional)

1/4tspn Baking Powder

Put spread, sugar, vanilla and cream in a bowl and whisk together.

Add flour, baking powder and ground almonds, if using.

Mix together with a spatula until it comes together.

Add a little more flour, if necessary and kneed lightly.

Roll out to 2-3mm thick. 

Cut into circles slightly smaller than the diameter of your mould.

Bake for 12-15mins at 170ºC or until crisp.

Set aside (this amount of mix is much more than needed for the teacakes, so cut the rest of the mix into any other shape you want and bake. Or wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for a few days until you need more biscuits).

Chocolate

100g melted dairy and soya free chocolate (I used a mixture of Moo Free and Mortimer's for a slightly darker chocolate)

Brush the inside of your mould with melted chocolate (if you don't have a brush, just do what I did and use the back of a teaspoon, you just won't get such an even thickness).

If you're in a hurry, pop the mould in the freezer to set.

In the meantime, dip one side of the biscuits in melted chocolate and set them aside until ready.

Brush another layer of chocolate into the mould and leave to set again (I did this the day before I needed them).

Marshmallow (original recipe)

Vanilla and Mulberry Marshmallows

3 sheets leaf gelatine (I haven't had a go with vegetarian gelatine yet, but I'm sure it's possible too)

110g caster sugar

40g golden syrup

30mls water or fruit juice (I used about 60mls Mulberry juice reduced down to concentrate the flavour)

1/2 tsp vanilla paste (or extract)

Put sugar and syrup into a pan and just cover with cold water.

Heat gently until most of the sugar dissolved (do not allow it to boil at this stage) - swill the pan rather than stirring.

Remove from heat and put on a tight fitting lid for 10 minutes (the steam helps dissolve any sugar crystals remaining on the sides of the pan - if you leave these it will affect the caramelisation).

Return to heat and remove the lid.

Soak gelatine in cold water and set aside for 10 minutes.

Drain water off the gelatine and add the 30mls of water or fruit juice.

Microwave for 10-20 seconds to dissolve the gelatine (if you don't have a microwave, add boiling water, or hot fruit juice).

Bring to the boil and boil until you get to 130ºC - if you don't have a sugar thermometer, this is the 'hard ball' stage (fill a glass with cold water. Once the syrup has boiled rapidly and is starting to change colour, put a few drops into the water. If it breaks up it's not ready, if it goes into a long string it's not ready, if it forms a ball, but it's still soft when you squash it it's not ready, when if it forms a ball that is hard, you are there!)

Slowly pour the syrup into the gelatine mix, whisking constantly.

Continue to whisk until thick and pale and producing threads like chewing gum.

Assembly

Spoon marshmallow mix into chocolate shells - probably needs to be about 2/3 full (don't overfill or there will be no room for your biscuits - I pushed my biscuits down forgetting that silicon moulds are soft and shattered the tops of most of them!).

Pour the rest of you marshmallow mixture into an oiled tray to set. Cut into shapes and toss in a mixture of icing sugar and cornflour.

Top with the chocolate side of one of you biscuits.

Spread melted chocolate over the base to seal everything in (don't worry if you go over the edges, they can easily be trimmed).

Leave somewhere cool to set.

Turn out carefully - don't push bottom of mould! I stretched the mould around the edges to loosen it.

Enjoy!