Forbidden Brownies

I don't know what it is about The Great British Bake Off, but it always, without fail, gives me a massive yearning to bake. It's hard for me to admit it, but I am really not much of a natural baker, no Mary Berry, no Nigella Lawson and so I resort back to my old pal Betty Crocker to help me out from time to time.

She really has outdone her self this time as I have created the best brownies in the entire world!

I really do not want to blow my own trumpet or anything but these are really too good to be true. 

Gooey chewy melty chocolatey pieces of heaven. A trifecta of all things delicious, and usually banned from the kitchen when you're meant to be "on a diet". But how can you resist a layer of chocolate chip cookie dough, followed by a layer of malteaser's, topped off with another layer of chocolate fudge browne? 

The honest answer is - you can't!

I was desperate to try this amazing cookie/brownie combo after seeing the Slutty Brownie's on The Londoner - only issue is that I do not like Oreo's one little bit, therefore I wanted to recreate them with my own little twist.

So here's how you make them.

Here's what you need:

400g Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix
400g Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
250g Malteaser's
1 egg
Butter for greasing the baking tray
Splash of oil to add to the mixture

Preheat you're oven to 180°C or 350°F.

Grease up the baking tray to stop the brownies from sticking.

Follow the instructions on the back of the cookie dough box adding a bit of extra oil to make sure the dough is nicely bound together.

Spread the mixture evenly over the base of the baking tray.

Pour out all the malteaser's over the cookie dough and press them into the dough.

Now onto the brownie layer.
Add 70ml of water to the mixture.

Splash of oil.

Crack in the egg.

Now mix it all together till it becomes a silky smooth texture.
I almost stopped at this point, the bowl of liquid chocolate brownie mixture looked like part of Willy Wonka's chocolate river. I felt like Augustus Gloop unable to resist myself, but I knew the result in the end would be so worth it.

Spread the brownie mixture over the top of the malteaser's, and put into the pre-heated over for 25-30 minutes.

Now look what you've created!

Look at those layers.

Cooked malteaser's turn into these chewy gooey bites of heaven. 

Let it cool for about 10 minutes and with a sharp knife cut it up into smaller pieces unless you just can't resist so just grab a spoon and a glass of milk and dig straight in.

Enjoy warm from the oven and with a huge glass of milk. 

(If you don't manage them all in one serving, wait till they're cool, cover, and put in the fridge. And to reheat put back into a warm over for 5 - 7 minutes.)

Now if you'd excuse me I'm going back to my brownies which are just so good that they should really be forbidden!

Bon appétit!

The Great British Countryside

The family and I wanted to enjoy the last days of our Great British Summer and what better way to do that, then a walk in the country. We headed off to Chenies, which is an absolutely beautiful little village about 20 minutes outside of Greater London.

Greenery, beautiful old mansions, woodland streams, waterfalls it was like we stepped into an episode of BBC's 'The Great British Countryside'. 

Also felt like it was a perfect opportunity to whip out my Kurt Geiger biker boots. Fur lined and all snuggly it felt like I was walking on a cloud.

This seriously worried us.

What sort of disgruntled farmer would be this strict about his land?! And to reference the law....madness! We were constantly on the look out for this cruel grumpy looking man, sitting on a tractor with a huge shotgun, but thankfully no one of such description turned up.

What I wore... GAP Blue Oxford Shirt, Abercrombie Cut-Offs and Kurt Geiger Biker Boots.

And what my gorgeous little sister wore, Jack Wills Navy Gillet, and Topman #Trending Now T-Shirt.

My sister spotted this tree which has an uncanny resemblance to Dum Dum. For those who know what I'm talking about, I'm sure you'd all strong agree. And for the rest... you should really watch Night At The Museum.

We followed our mammouth walk with a huge pub dinner at The Cricketers. Gorgeous homemade pub food using locally sourced ingredients, with a very cosy interior. A perfect end to our summers evening.

Charcuterie Board

Garlic Ciabatta with Melted Cheese

8oz Steak Burger

Skate Wing

Roast Lamb

Beer-Battered Cod & Chips

Tempura Red Mullet Salad

Vanilla cheesecake

Rice Pudding

Taywell Sorbet's

Chocolate Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream

Sticky Toffee Pudding

We spent the evening gorging ourselves on huge portions of scrumptious food accompanied by a continuous stream of Pimms and Gin & Tonics, and then headed home feeling rather uncomfortably full.

What a glorious day!