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!

Three Cheese Artichoke Dip

I absolutely adore food and am definitely a self-confessed foodie, but for some reason the foodies in New York are completed obsessed with certain vegetables which in England we just don't really use at all. Eggplant and Artichokes can be found in any grocery store over the pond but here, they are only really available from green grocers or farmers markets. 

I was lucky enough to feast on Eggplant Parmigiana and Artichoke dip while I was out there, and sadly haven't had any of the sort since being back in London. I felt like I was seriously missing out, so decided to head off to the green grocer to pick up some artichokes. 

The manger of 'Leon's Fruit Shop' informed me that these artichokes were absolutely beautiful and had arrived straight from Brittany, fresh that morning. He also went to to tell me that I was very brave to use fresh artichokes, I just nodded and smiled to the comment, having no idea what he was talking about. However when I got home and went to get the artichokes out of the bag, I knew exactly what he was talking about, having been pricked and painfully stabbed by the ferocious spikes on the tips of the leaves. But it sure was rewarding getting the fresh artichoke hearts out, rather than using readily canned hearts. 

Anyway, lets get onto cooking the delicious dip.

Here's what you need.

3 Fresh Artichokes (or the canned equivalent)

1/2 Lemon

1 Garlic Bulb

200g Parmesan Cheese

200g Ricotta (could use Mozzarella instead)

200g Soft Cheese

1 Tablespoon of Mayo

1 Handful of Fresh Spinach

Pre-heat your oven to 180°C or 350°F.

Start by chopping off the stalks.

Rip off all of the outer green leaves (making extra sure not to prick yourself on the ends of the ferocious leaves).

Stop when you get down to the thinner purple tipped leaves, which make up the top of the 'choke'.

Cut all the excess of the green leaves off.

Squeeze some lemon onto the white flesh of the heart as they start to brown really quickly.

Cut off the top of the choke.

The purple leaves will fly everywhere when you start to cut it off.

This white spiky part is the base of the choke and although it looks all soft an fluffy it is certainly not!

They are like very fine little needles which stick into your skin the little buggers. They are also highly inedible due to the fact that they set off your gag-reflex and making you choke (hence the very appropriate name of 'choke'). Therefore avoid with extreme caution and try and remove as much of the choke as you can with a sharp knife.

Cut the artichoke heart into as small pieces as you like (the smaller the better as you don't really want huge chunks in the dip), and place into a large mixing bowl.

Finely chop up the garlic and add to the bowl.

Add the soft cheese.

Grate the parmesan into the bowl.

Add a dollop of mayo.

Large handful of spinach.

Crumble in the ricotta.

Then mix it all up.

And put it all into a oven proof bowl ready for cooking.

In it goes for about 20-30 mins until its got a golden colour on the top and some of the cheese is bubbling.

Et Voila!

A little taste of new New York in the comfort of you're own kitchen.

Best eaten hot and straight out of the oven, so the cheese is all gooey and delicious.

You can eat it with whatever you want; toast, crisps, crackers, crostini's, breadsticks...

(I think my sisters liked it - they couldn't quite keep their hands off it!)

If you don't quite finish it all in one session, be sure to cover it and keep it refrigerated. Reheat it for about 10 minutes in the oven when you're just dying for some more.

Bon appetit!

Eton Mess

I am slightly ashamed to say that my new guilty pleasure - that I am totally addicted to - is BBC 2’s ‘The Great British Bake Off’. Capturing the name very aptly, the show is completely and utterly British, from the kind natured contestants to the whole ‘its the taking part that counts’ spirit. But it’s not only the totally loveable Mary Berry or the continuous stream of sexual innuendos, it’s the gorgeous cakes and deserts that tantalise my tastebuds and make me absolutely crave some sort of delicious desert.

So in the very first commercial break of tonights episode I decided to whip up one of my absolute favourite deserts - Eton Mess. Fitting in with the themes of the show, Eton mess is a quintessentially British desert, which is traditionally served at Eton College’s annual cricket game against Winchester College.

This is one of the most simple deserts to make and only requires about 4 ingredients and takes about 5 minutes to put together.

Strawberries, raspberries, double cream, meringues and I was ready to go...

Put all the meringue nests into a bowl and crush them up (don’t worry about getting messy - just go for it!)

Next. Cut all the heads off the strawberries and cut them into quarters.

Add the cream and the berries to the meringues.

Then put the lime in the coconut and mix it all up (minus the lime and the coconut of course).

Et voila!!

Jolly good show!

What a spiffing desert.