Cinnamon Brownies.

I have few secrets, but the ones I do have... they're horrific. I don't often tell people for this exact reason, but I feel I need to be honest with you all.

I'm terrible at making brownies.

...But I made brownies.

With CINNAMON.

They came out perfectly moist, with just a hint of cinnamon spice. They're perfectly cooked, perfectly chocolaty and... have you ever eaten a brownie for breakfast? I have. It made me feel sick. It made me feel dirty. It was all oh, so wrong but... I'd do it again.

I'll tell you the story of how these babies came about. I'd made brownies before. I'd made them horribly. In fact, I'm not even sure I made brownies, because it was much more like a massive souffle. The brownie mix rose in the oven... and rose some more... and the middle was still completely gooey, despite being in there for an hour... then I got them out, and they were still towering above the edge of the tin and... it never deflated. Only when I poked it did it drop down, but it was still runny and horrible inside. I needed to prove to myself that I could make brownies.

So I did. I had to dash to the shop midway through making these, because I didn't realise we only had 3 eggs, rather than the required 4. Then, finally when the time came for me to add the flour and cocoa powder... I decided it was missing something, so I went to the spice box and found the cinnamon. I was a weird urge, but once I'd added a touch of it to the flour/cocoa powder... it felt so right.

And that's exactly what these brownies are. You'll want to make them and eat them all within a day. I would've if these weren't so intensely chocolaty, so instead I had to take some into college with me and they were demolished by friends and acquaintances of mine... I even offered one to my lecturer.

I'll be getting straight A's for the rest of the year.

Cinnamon Brownies.

Adapted from The Great British Book of Baking.

(I didn't use a square tin for this, we don't have one, instead I used a round cake tin. Also, feel free to omit the cinnamon, or change the milk chocolate to dark. Whatever takes your fancy.)

225g butter, diced

100g milk chocolate, broken up

1 tsp vanilla extract

200g sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

50g plain flour

50g cocoa powder

50g white chocolate chips

50g milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to gas-mark 4 (180 C/350F). Grease a 20cm tin, line the base with greaseproof paper.

Slowly melt the butter and chocolate in a small, heavy-based pan, on the lowest heat stirring frequently. Remove from heat and set aside to cool until needed.

Mix the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract together with a whisk, then whisk in the melted chocolate mixture.

Sift the flour, cocoa and cinnamon into the bowl and mix thoroughly.

Stir in the chocolate chips (alternatively you could use nuts, or a mixture of the 2) then transfer to the prepared tin and spread evenly.

Bake in the heated oven for around 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out with moist crumbs. (This will continue cooking once you’ve taken it out of the oven, so do not overcook it. [I personally had to leave it in for around 40 minutes, as my oven dislikes brownies])

Leave to cool completely before cutting into squares.

If you can stomach a whole batch of brownies, then go ahead and eat these all by yourself, but I highly recommend sharing. And, with Valentines Day coming up, you have the perfect opportunity to impress your friends, family and valentines with your baking skills, whilst showing the world how much of a generous, caring person you are.*

*(Disclamer: I don't usually condone "sharing" and I'm generally a selfish individual, so you can't sue me for any feelings of goodwill and generosity that may come from the act of "sharing")

Black Cherry Jam Muffins

Sometimes, I make things wrong.

And, sometimes, things explode all over the oven.

Sometimes, things go so wrong, and explode so much they frighten me out of making them again.

I thought that was the case with these babies. But I was wrong. So very wrong. There's nothing frightening about Black Cherry Muffins when they're RIGHT. Because they're so right, when they're right.

The tops are perhaps a bit too golden, but they're perfectly risen and so ridiculously lovely on the inside. I encourage you to give them a go. The crumbley top turns these amazing muffins considerably better. It's true.

Even though I made a mess, and might've made double the amount of crumble I needed. Who cares? The only thing that matters are muffins. Go on... Give 'em a go.

Black Cherry Jam Muffins.

Adapted from joythebaker.com

Makes 6 muffins

Batter:
50g butter
45ml milk
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
75g plain flour
75g sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp black cherry jam

Topping:
25g cold butter
25g plain flour
2 tbsp sugar

Pre-heat oven to gas-mark 5 and place rack in the upper-third of the oven. Line a cake tray with muffin cases.

Melt butter on a low heat in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and whisk in milk, egg, and vanilla until combined.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add milk mixture and stir well.

Gently fold in jam.

Divide the batter between muffin cases.

Rub butter into dry topping ingredients until crumbs are formed then sprinkle evenly over batter.

Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown, or until a skewer inserted into centre comes out clean.

Leave to cool on wire rack.

Then, enjoy. Really. Enjoy them. They don't last long.

An Adventure to a Place

Occasionally, I go to places. I'll be going to a place at the end of February for a week, and I went to a place this weekend.

I have no idea where I went. It was a pretty place, with lots of rocks and it was by the sea. Right by the sea. (Why I say that as though it's special I have no idea. I've lived right by the sea all my life.)

This place was somewhere in Dorset, past the Puddle's and past the Piddle's. I think we went through Dorchester at some point, and then we were in this place.

  

This is the place we went to. It is pretty, huh? There were a lot of flies around that seaweed, which made me want to run away and scream. A lot.

The sky did lots of pretty things like this...

...And this. It made me love the world a little bit.

There were lots of rocks. Have I said this? Here I am... With some rocks. And some noisy people who scared me and made me think rocks were going to fall down on them and I'd have to try to be brave and get past the fly infested seaweed to save them.

Luckily, that didn't happen.

I did find some rocks though. Rocks with things in. I was the champion of finding rocks with things in. My mum wasn't too great and my step dad was just terrible.

We also found a stick at one point, and I'm not sure how it happened.

But now that stick lives in our utility room, next to the drier and a pot of string.

If you have a clue where I went, that'd be helpful. I would ask the parentals, but I have a feeling I should know where I go and then that'll just make them think I'm stupid. I'm not. I'm just very unobservant at times.

Also, the place I go to in February will be very INTERESTING, with lots of lovely things. It's called Rome, and I hear it's pretty old or something. Should be quite the adventure, huh?

Lorren

Whilst I was away...

I know. I've been neglectful. I'm a horrible blogger. I've been baking, but not blogging, due to a crazy amount of college work, and volunteer work whilst I look for an actual job.

But the point is, I have been baking.

A raspberry crumble tart happened. It was... phenomenal. Scones happened too. I have a recipe for those, and it's coming your way soon. I promise.

 

An impromptu strawberry and apple pastry thing happened too. It had a soggy bottom, but it was yummy.

Apple pie, anyone? We got given a load of apples, and an apple pie was calling to me. I have pictures, I have a recipe, but... You'll have to wait :) I'm baking a load this weekend, including mini apple pies, so keep an eye out for that.

I love strawberries, don't you? Whilst this doesn't really represent anything I've baked, it does represent the sheer number of fruit salads I've made this year. I love them. What's your favourite fruit salad combo's? I'm a big lover of apple, kiwi, orange, strawberry and pineapple. Now I'm hungry.

Of course, another crumble happened, too. This one's apple and raisin. Too much crumble, not enough sugar... It could've been better. See, I admit to my mistakes.

Right now I have some brownies in the oven. They're a Christmas present for my friends at college. I'm praying they turn out alright. I've never made them (successfully) before. Wish me luck.

Apple and Raspberry Crumbles

Y'see... Yesterday was a bit rough. I was steamed, I was stabbed and I had my ankles and heels mangled to death by some shoes I love too much not to wear.

What's a girl to do on a bad day like that?

Grab an apple, some frozen raspberries and a lovely mix of flour, butter, sugar and oats, you say? Why, that sounds like a brilliant idea! A crumble it is!

Now, I'm a strong believer in crumbles being all down to preference. Some people love loads of fruit, some love loads of crumble, some people like somewhere in between. I personally like an even amount of both or a helluva lot more crumble. I'm talking a 1:9 fruit and crumble ratio here, guys. But you may be a little different. In fact, I'm sure you are. That's why I'm a little dubious with giving out this recipe. 

But y'know what? Bugger it. I love crumble, you must love crumble. So... lets make crumble?

Now, I only made one of these. All for myself. It was a little bit sad, and a little bit pathetic and a little bit selfish but... I don't care.

I ate that crumble in all my sad, pathetic, selfish glory and I grinned at my mother whilst she sat there looking disappointed with me. But y'know what? For that one moment that day, my aching bleeding feet didn't ache so much any more. And I'd exchange that for all the disappointment in the world any day.

Nom.

Raspberry and Apple Crumbles.

(Now. This makes one crumble in a 3.5inch diameter ramekin. Times it by however many crumbles you want, or by about 5-6 for a bigger crumble, probably more depending on the size of your dish.

Also, this is the one dish I make that I don't measure up exactly. I just grab a dessert spoon and do everything with that and my hands, purely because it doesn't matter if I go wrong with the measurements and even in the unlikely event that I do, it's easy to correct. So I absolutely encourage you to alter the measurements here if you see fit.)

Topping
35g plain flour
15-20g butter
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp oats

Filling
1 apple
7 raspberries (fresh or frozen)
a sprinkle of sugar

Preheat your oven to gas-mark 5 (375F/190C).

Put flour and butter into a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour until it's all crumbed together. (The general rule with making crumble topping, and short crust pastry, is half fat to flour so however much crumble topping you make, just stick to that rule and it should be fine but if you can squish it down in the bowl and it sticks together in a clump and then you can crumble it right back up again, it's perfect.)

Now, lightly rub in the sugar and oats and put the topping to the side.

Grab a chopping board and peel and hack up that apple. I cut mine into relatively small pieces, considering the size of my dish, so if you use a large one, just cut them up a little bigger. You may also want to cut up some of your raspberries too, if they're especially big, so you can evenly distribute them in the filling.

Now you fill up your dish with your filling! Once the dish is filled, sprinkle some sugar on top and mix it around a little bit.

Then take your topping and sprinkle it on top, pushing down lightly to compact it. Sprinkle a little more sugar and oats on the top, if it takes your fancy, and you're done. It's that easy.

Bake it in your preheated oven for 15 minutes, and then turn up the heat to gas-mark 6-7 (400-425F/200-220C) for a final 15 minutes until the top is golden brown.

You can eat it hot, or leave it to go cold and eat it later, like I did. You could even cook it, leave it to go cold (I'm thinking... the next day?) and then heat it right back up in the oven again so you can eat it warm! Isn't that great? Yeah, I thought so too...

Which is exactly why I scoffed the lot as soon as I'd eaten a whole load of lasagne, because I couldn't resist it any longer. Which just happens to be the reason why I have no pictures of the glory that was the finished result, or the filling which had all turned a wonderful shade of pink. So I'm afraid you'll just have to put up with a picture of the uncooked result.

It's still pretty wonderful though, wouldn't you say?

 

Plum Jam

Occasionally I like to do something daring. Occasionally I like to venture into the unknown, risking life and limb for the sake of something yummy. And I've done just that. I have risked my life or, at the very least, my sanity.

I made plum jam.

Yes, I know, that may not sound very daring and life threatening, but have you ever stood there, gazing at boiling hot plums as they slowly melt down to jam, and wanting to just reach right in there with your bare hand and salvage just one piece so you can experience the awesomeness of handpicked plums all over again?

See. Danger. But it was worth it and I'd do it again, because even scalding hot those plums tasted of a little bit of heaven.

I almost regret not eating the lot now, but when you're given 1kg of the juiciest handpicked plums in the world it's almost a little depressing to wake up and still see the pile of them sitting there, slowly getting less fresh with each day that passes. I had to do something.

When life gives you lemons, make lemon meringue pie, and when life gives you plums... make plum jam (or scoff the lot, it's really up to you. Either way fills your stomach with rainbows and happiness)


Plum Jam.

Adapted from allrecipes.co.uk and cottagesmallholder.com

(Apparantly this is also yummy if you make it with Damsons. Someone give that a go for me, yeah?)

-100ml water
-900g plums
-900g jam/preserving sugar (this already has the pectin added in)

Wash and dry plums.

Cut plums in half and remove the stones then place in a preserving pan, or large heavy bottomed saucepan, along with the water.

Bring the plums to the boil. As soon as they start boiling, reduce the heat and simmer gently until the plums are soft.

Return to the boil, and add sugar whilst continuously stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

Boil rapidly for around 5-10 minutes, stirring often.

Test for setting by dripping a bit of the jam onto a cooled plate (I whack a plate in the fridge or freezer for a bit), leaving it for a few moments, then pushing it with your finger. If it crinkles: it’s set. If it doesn’t, continue to boil and test for set again after a minute or two.

Take the jam off of the heat, and skim off any foam, then transfer to sterilised jars*.

Leave to cool at room temperature.

(*To sterilise jars, wash in hot soapy water and dry with a clean tea towel. Boil then lids to sterilise those. Put the jars into the oven on a baking trayand heat them before pouring in the jam.)

And now, for a toast, to some utterly gorgeous and mouthwatering plum jam.

Oh, how I love bad jokes.

And So It Begins...

We have a little joke in my family that when my parents pop their clogs my inheritance will consist of cook books, some farm animal ornaments and kitchen utensils.

the utensils

Y'know what? I'm completely cool with that. I'm ecstatic with that, actually.

The book I'm currently searching through is the most prize out of all my inheritance. It's a year older than I am and the pages are either falling out or stuck together with bits of cake batter and icing. I have, quite literally, grown up with this book. How many people can say that about a recipe book?

But even though I am armed with my favourite of all cook books, I'm still unable to find a recipe that I feel like making within the next few days.

I could make some yummy teacakes, or maybe a treacle tart?

Those fishcakes I've been meaning to cook up for a while now?

How about good ol' jam tarts made with homemade jam?

Oh, I don't know! I want to eat all of those things. Especially the fishcakes. Maybe I should make those and put that Thai Sauce recipe I found the other day to good use too?

Ah! This bloody cook book opened up a whole range of different foods to me, that a year ago I didn't even like, and now I'm stuck having to choose which ones I want to eat the most.

Cook book... you know I love you but sometimes, just sometimes, you really do make life a whole lot more difficult.

the cook book