Double Chocolate Fudge Brownie

I refuse to make excuses for the amount of butter, eggs and milk in this dish. It is on all accounts a Jenny Craig consultants nightmare served up with a side of homemade jam. Granted it is an excellent way to use up old bread, but that’s no longer the purpose for cooking this dish. I cook it because it tastes superb and makes me feel really good.

When it comes to dessert cookery,  I don’t like to travel to far outside my comfort zone, opting for the more memory educing, old fashioned favorites that my Nana’s used to prepare for our huge household. Apple crumble,  golden syrup dumplings, sago plum pudding and steamed apple puddings were among my favorites and most often requested Sunday dinner treat. Bread and butter pudding in all it’s enriched goodness has the ability to render me helpless when served warm with ice cream.

This version is great for slicing and toasting where the old school recipe has turned from a pudding into a cafe ready slice, with the only difference in the two being it’s appearance and deliver method. Slices are a lot easier to portion than a pudding, and  I am able to heat it through on a flat grill or sandwich press to give it back it’s crisp warm benefits so it can be kept in the refrigerator until required.

However, you can  use this recipe  either way, as a slice or as a pudding cooked in  a loaf tin or  cake round. The only other consideration I feel that I need to point out is to ensure the bread you are using is of top quality. I use an organic sourdough from  artisan bakers Brasserie Bread with crusts removed that is about 4 days old, the perfect way to use up rather than toss out. The only problem here is,  I rarely have any left over bread in the house as it gets scoffed up as soon as it arrives. I’ve taken to buying extra bread so I can luxuriate and allow father time to step in and stale it up for a dessert pudding treat.

Bread and Butter Slice Recipe

Recipe yields 8-10 thick slices

1  stale loaf of organic sourdough or similar, about 800gms in total weight
200 gms butter ~ softened so it’s spreadable
8 egg yolks
1500 mls milk
3/4 cup of caster sugar
1 vanilla pod ~ split and seeds scraped

If not already done so for you,  cut the bread into slices about 10cms in thickness and remove the crusts. Keep the crusts for breadcrumbs if desired.

Preheat the oven on fan bake to 180c. I use an Electrolux combination steam oven on interval steam set at 180c which gives  additional moisture and superior finish  to this recipe.

Using a pastry brush for quick even coverage, generously  brush the bread slices with butter on both sides.

Heat the milk, vanilla pod and seeds  over medium to high heat or induction setting 8 until the milk almost comes to the boil.

In a large metal bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until well combined and set aside.

As soon as the milk scalds or almost boils, pour directly on to the yolks and sugar, whisking furiously  to combine quickly and effectively. Remove the vanilla pod.

Pour the mixture back into a clean pot and return to the cooktop on medium heat or induction setting 6.

Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, cook-out the custard until the mixture coats the back of the spoon. Avoid bringing the mixture to the
boil as this will cause the custard to split.

When the custard is ready, remove from the heat and pour back into a  clean metal bowl, whisking to help cool the mixture down a little. Pour the
mixture  into a jug for ease in pouring on to the bread.

Grease a non stick loaf tin with butter and arrange a layer of bread on the bottom of the tin, slicing the bread if necessary to get it to fit snugly into the base of the tin. Pour some of the custard over the bread and repeat until all the bread and custard is used up and the loaf tin is full to the brim.

Place in the oven, with a tray under it to catch any drips and cook for 35-45 minutes until golden and slightly risen.

Remove from the oven and cool in the tin if using as a slice. You will notice that the loaf will deflate slightly, which is normal. If serving as a pudding, serve immediately with ice cream or pouring cream.

When I serve it as a slice I like to accompany it with dollop of home-made plum or strawberry jam.

Super Easy Deep, Dark, Rich and Delicious Chocolate Cake

I love the idea of desserts that are Minimum effort for Maximum results. I’ve never been much interested in the happenings of the pastry kitchen and tend to leave the intricately designed and balanced desserts to those who enjoy making them but chocolate cake…there has to be efficiencies in the method somewhere

When it comes time to nurture my sugary side, I like to produce beautiful, simple yet stunning examples of cakes, sweets  and treats. This cake slash pudding, the Deep, Dark, Rich and Delicious Chocolate Cake is the perfect example of no fuss HUGE reward for something simply divine.

As a chef, I approach most kitchen tasks by writing what is known affectionatly in the industry as a “prep list”.  This prep list contains all the days duties and tasks that must be completed before we go to service, which is the crazy time in restaurants when orders start flooding into the kitchen. I always find myself leaving the sweets on a prep list till last which is the perfect indicator of ones affectionate or disconnection to a particular area of a commercial kitchen. “Give me simplicity”  I scream, and low and behold this little gem of a recipe comes sliding across my desk.

To produce a seriously deep, dark, rich Chocolate cake  result, it’s best to use the darkest Chocolate you can lay your hands on. I use an organic chocolate with 70% cocoa solids so it’s a bittersweet symphony of snap and smooth. This cake is also on the runny side when it goes into the cake tin so line and grease your mold well before pouring it in.

Deep Dark Rich and Delicious Chocolate Cake

125gms/4 ozs  Dark bittersweet chocolate at least 70% cocoa solids

3oogms/10 ozs dark brown or muscavado sugar

225gms/8 ozs unsalted butter ~ softened

1/4 cup of golden syrup

2  large eggs ~ at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

200gms plain flour ~ sifted

1 tsp of bicarb soda

250mls/8 fl oz of boiling water

1/2 tsp sea salt flakes

Preheat the oven on Fan Bake at 180C/350 F

• Cream the softened butter with the dark brown sugar with an electric beater or by hand until light and fluffy and the sugar has dissolved.
• Melt the chocolate on induction setting 2 until smooth or in a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water. Allow the chocolate to cool slightly before mixing lightly through the creamed butter and sugar.
• Mix through the golden syrup, eggs and vanilla extract unit well combined, paying attention not to beat to furiously. sprinkle over the salt and stir through.
• Stir together the flour, and baking soda and add bit by bit along with the boiling water, mixing carefully after each addition.
• Pour into a cake tin or loaf pan that is well greased  and lined with non stick baking paper.
• Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
• Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack to rest.
• Serve with cream, ice cream, berries, sliced with butter, spooned with mascarpone or on its on whilst still warm. This cake also improves over time  and is great if allowed to sit for a day before serving ~ if it lasts that long!

Photo credits : Chocolate cake www.hafizismail.net

Chocolate mixing and chocolate pieces @robertokapp

Enjoy your chocolate cake!!

photo by andycoan

Its a kind of magic…

This nursery style pudding sits in the realm between steamed pudding and cake. A hybrid of the two eagerly combined to create a delectable pudding worthy enough to grace the dinner table, the kitchen table or the dining lap.

If you’re like me and find aromatic spices enticing, and syrupy molasses comforting, you will cherish this pudding du jour that can be churned out in a matter of minutes with a few simple twists of your whisk.

Gingerbread pudding

Ingredients

3/4 cup plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1  teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tsp  ground cloves

pinch freshly ground black pepper

50g  minced ginger

100mls hot water

75g / 6 Tbs dark muscavado sugar

1/3 cup grapeseed oil

6 tablespoons blackstrap molasses

pinch salt

1 large egg

photo by perry_marco

Procedure:

• Preheat the oven on Fan bake to 180C/350 F
• Grease a loaf tin or pudding basin with baking spray.
• Into a bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and spices and ginger.
• Whisk in the hot water, sugar, oil, molasses, and salt until well-blended and then sift in  the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.
• Lastly, add the egg and beat until incorporated. The batter will be thin and watery ~ not to worry! As it will firm up on baking.
• Pour into the tin and cook in the  oven for 30- 40  minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

• Serve the pudding warm by cutting into generous slices and pouring over some liquid cream or serve with a scoop of creamy ice cream. A warm silky custard would also work beautifully.

Serves 4-6 for dessert

The day I found out my Grandma was gravely ill, I booked a flight back home to New Zealand  to be with her and then went straight into the kitchen to soothe my soul by baking her “World Famous in New Zealand” Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese  Icing.

The recipes origin remains somewhat  a mystery, but its destination was always a well planned route ~ my stomach!

The smell of this cake baking reminds me of how a visit to my Nana’s always started with a phone call from me to say ” I’m on way Nana. You got time to pop one of your delicious carrot cakes in the oven…?” She always did.

I love you Nana.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil or light olive oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup plain flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cups grated carrot

For the icing

1/2 cup icing sugar

60gms cream cheese

30gms unsalted butter

Delicious and moist when wrapped in this creamy frosting!

Methodology:

Preheat the oven to 160 C / 320 C

Into a mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla extract and beat well.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and baking powder and add to the wet ingredients , combining well.

Now mix in the cinnamon spice and grated carrot and pour the cake batter into a well greased cake tin.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes. The cake is cooked when a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean of any batter.

Allow to rest for 10 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack.

Cover the cake with the lemon cheese icing  once it has cooled completely.

To make the icing:

Soften the cream cheese and butter in the microwave on medium power for 30 seconds. Place the cream cheese, butter and icing sugar into a food processor and blend unitl the mixture is smooth and well combined.

Smooth generously over the cake and serve in thick comforting slices.

Lyndsay Jameson ~ Master Baker

Captains log… Stargate 4.

The latest installment of this great Chocolate circumnavigation of the globe finds us sweeping through uncharted skies.

Chocolate. Funky?

‘You must be kidding me’, you say. Oh, I couldn’t possibly me more excited to share these recipes with you!

After much salivation and smacking of lips, I have successfully compiled a list of 9 wonders of the chocolate universe, slightly left field, unusual and rather unique.

So to boldly go where no foodie has gone before, try one or try them all! Send the link to your friends and tempt them too with a little chocolate appreciation.

Looking for more chocolate recipes?

To have your cake and eat it too, try 21 of the best  Chocolate cake recipes.

Chocolate Cookies anyone? I have gathered for you a list of 15 fantastic chocolate cookie and biscuit recipes.

For lovers of chocolate and ice cream, you wont want to miss 12 “hot” chocolate ice cream recipes for bookmarking!

Bananas. Chocolate. BBQ. from On Food and Wine

Churro with hot chocolate from Eating Club Vancover

3 minute chocolate cake miracle from The Internet Chef

2 ingredients chocolate mousse from Just Cook It

Special Chocolate covered blueberries from 5 Star Foodie

Chunky double chocolate cheerios from Greedy Gourmet

Chocolate pasta with raspberries from Taste Buddies

Ever so yummy-Seroms inside out smores from Clumbsy Cookie

A girl has got to do what a girl’s got to do.

The task had been set, the lines had been drawn.

It was my job to seek out and search through all the chocolate recipe posts that appeared in my twitter stream and extract the best!

And I must say, there were literally hundreds of recipes that opened themselves up on my browser ready to be visually devoured  and deliciously salivated over.

I came across so many wonderful recipes, so rather than put together a colossal-sized post with hundreds of recipe links, I decided to break the post up into tasty chocolate sections to tease and tantalize, starting with this twitalicious offering of moist and delicious Chocolate cakes.

Remember to keep an eye out for this continuous Salute to Chocolate by The Internet Chef where there’s something for the chocoholic in everyone.

From moist cakes to chewy cookies, decadent ice creams and  superb parfaits,  lick-able lollipops and totally tipsy tarts, as well as access to some of the best food blogs on the internet and its all Chocolate Baby!

So don’t forget to BOOKMARK this page and FAVOURITE  this tweet on Twitter, go grab yourself a hot chocolate, sit back and enjoy the view.

If you like what you see, retweet (RT) away and let your friends know where the chocolate is.

You really can have your cake and eat it too!

Cinnamon Chocolate Bundt Cake from The Food Librarian

Emily's Vegan Chocolate Cake from Two Spoons

Black Magic Chocolate Cake from My Baking Addiction

Dark Chocolate Stout Cake from Baking For The Cure

Sachertorte Chocolate Cake from Apple Pie,Patis & Pate

The Best Chocolate Cake in the World? from Clumbsy Cookie

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake from a Yankee in a Southern Kitchen

Banana Chocolate Caramel Bundt Cake from Cookworm

Delicious and Moist Chocolate Cola Cake from Pink Byte

Wicked Wholemeal Chocolate Cake from Gels Kitchen

Plate- Lickingly Good Chocolate Cake from Zoe Bakes

Chocolate Genoise Cake from Passionate about Baking

Good Chocolate cake from A Yankee in a Southern Kitchen

Moist Chocolate Carrot Cake from Mochachocolata Rita

Heaven and Hell Chocolate Cake from Foodo' del Mundo

Healthy Chocolate Cake with a Secret from Healthy Indulgences

Double Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling from Bella Eats

Dark chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream from Imperrfections

Chocolate cake with a peanut butter frosting from Sugarlaws

Chocolate Zuchinni cake from Tracey's culinary adventures

The Andon-Reid Inn's Choco-Mania Souffle Cake from Inn Cuisine

photo by mao_lini

There are a myriad of tangible things one can achieve in 3 minutes.

In 3 minutes you could win the Eurovision Song Competition.

3 minutes is all you need to start a dance party like this king of the fandango managed to do at the Sasquatch Music Festival.

Take 3 minutes out of your busy schedule and learn how to play the ukulele or  invest 3 minutes to find your soul mate.

But when given the challenge to cook a chocolate cake in 3 minutes, I have to declare I was skeptical.

I decided to bring in the big guns, the heavy hitter so to speak. My 14 year old niece Lilly, to test the theory~ An edible chocolate cake in 3 minutes that doesn’t begin life in a packet. Hmmmm… We had to have our witts about us.

I began feeling anxious. Was there going to be enough time or  were we leaving it to the last minute?  The last 3 minutes. It was the final day of the mid-winter school holidays…we had to get humming!

Scouring the Internet, I came across scores of quick cooking cake recipes, but none of them  were deemed  acceptable.  Using Lilly’s intuition we were able to tweak the recipes to something we could both be proud of.

Drum roll please…

Lilly’s Totally Edible 3-Minute Wholemeal Chocolate Cake Miracle

4 tablespoons of wholemeal self-raising flour

5 tablespoons of caster/fine sugar

2 tablespoons of cocoa powder

1 large egg

3 tablespoons of milk

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

3 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips

Pinch of salt

Into a bowl  or using a blender~ mix together all the ingredients until well combined.

Pour into a large mug and cook on high in the microwave for 3 minutes!

Serve immediately with fresh strawberries, creamy ice cream, runny cream or on its own with a long spoon.

Share with someone you love!

The Healthy Snack

From the depths of one small metal box covered with slender calved pink fairies and wistful looking princesses, I endeavour to supply my culinarily adventurous 7  year old daughter Coco with an  appetizing array of healthy snack lunch offerings for her to take to school each day.

I have discovered that the more ambitious  we become with the daily delights, the more disappointed we end up  by whats available on our supermarket shelves.

A trip to my local supermarket, recycled canvas bag in hand, had me tripping and fumbling my way through a product list on the back of a granola bar that contained no less than 39 separate ingredients.  I thought I was buying a cereal bar not a tub of polyunsaturated  cholesterol free omega enriched low salt margarine.  Healthy snack? I think not.

As I’m not one that normally sports a scientist in my handbag when I go to the grocery store whom is able to tell me what raising agents 170  and food acid 296 are doing shacked up together in my cereal bar alongside a mountain of sugar and a truck load of fat (breathe breathe), I decided that what’s best for me and little Miss Coco is a matter of refining and simplifying the snack  process.

So in times of great inspirational need, I find myself chatting with fellow foodie friends on twitter like @dragonskitchen and @figandcherry and visiting my favourite Internet food blogs to help me collect a beautiful selection of healthy snack recipes that I can now share with you in all there wholegrain glory.

I have avoided recipes that are high in fat, sugar and anything artificial or plastic sounding, as well as trying to keep it interesting and palate exciting for who is now a mighty pleased wee scholar.

Microwave potato chips by Nooschi

Baked masala vadai- Chef In You

Baked chicken buns- Cafe Nilson

Fruited muffins- Dishing Up Delights

Bento box ideas- Soy and Pepper

Watermelon pops by The Hungry Housewife

Apples and nutella by Taste Duds

4 ingredients Granola bars- Kiss My Spatula

Peanut butter honey bars- Active Life Cooking

Nut free granola bars by Vegan Visitor

Potato chips- The Good Mood Food Blog

Healthy chocolate cake by Healthy Indulgences

Corn and black pepper crackers- NYtimes

Monkey bars by Healthy Tasty Chow

Popcorn snack mix- Latest Addictions

Oatmeal Almond Cookies- ZOMTbakes

Roasted Pepitas-The Brassica Diaries

Smoothie roll up by Veggie Wedgie

Banana choc granola bars- Bitchincamero

Roasted Chickpeas by The Sweetest Kitchen

Golden beet chips by Foodista

Multigrain energy bars- Wholegrain Gourmet

Superfood your popcorn by Veggie Wedgie

Garlic Edamame by The Cooking of Joy

Cinnamon spiced dates by Veggie Wedgie

Smoky cashew nuts by Dana Treat

Oat Fig Bars from Artsy Foodie

Granola Bars by The Sugarshop

Apple chips by Food Lovers Journal

Homemade snack bars by Food 4 Tots

If you love our posts, please Nominate Bridget Davis for a social media award in the Shorty Awards

Once upon a time… I began compiling recipe links that would flitter seductively past me in my twitter stream as I sat doodling and discussing the day’s happenings with friends and fellow foodies.

After much clicking and opening, I would downsize  my favourite  selection  to a manageable and rather appropriate

15 Top Recipe Posts.

Well I’m pleased to announce that keeping my selection contained to within 15 recipe posts is no longer achievable.

This post has seen my 15 Top Recipe Posts increase to 25 glorious offerings in order to share  as many of the high calibre resources  that I have been fortunate enough to click through to.

Listed below are my Top 25, but if you think I’ve missed something out, please feel free to let me know via twitter or direct email.

bridget(at)theinternetchef(dot)biz.

Happy dining!

Banana Pineapple Cake- Belachan2

Braised Char Siew-- House of Annie

Lime Square Bars- Evil Shenanigans

Kahlua Fudge Brownies- The Recipe Girl

Billionaires Bacon- Sauver

Vanilla and Rhubarb Jam- Food in Jars

Whiskey Ginger Ribs- Gastronomic Blog

Banana bread Ice cream- The Kitchen Illiterate

Spicy cilantro Peanut Slaw-Kalyn'sKitchen

Perfect MacnCheese- My Cooking Quest

Radicchio Salad- Fare To Remember

Tequila Marinade- The Parsley Thief

Very Good Chocolate Cake- A Yankee in...

Toasted Cheese Sandwich- Taste and Tell

Black Sesame Ice Cream- My Buttery Fingers

Lychee Granita- Seasaltwithfood

Juicy Lucy Burgers- Food Mayhem

Milliondollar Cake- A Yankee in Southern Kitch

Root Beer Cookies- Makes and Takes

Pear Butter-- Bittersweet Blog

Drunken spaghetti--The Cooking Photographer

Peanut chocolate caramel bars-- 17 and Baking

Dulce de leche- the easy way-- Pigpig's Corner

Cheesecake Brownies--Rosa's Yummy Yums

Millionaire's Shortbread-- Baking For The Cure