All That I'm Eating

Recipe ideas for budget meals, everyday cooking and a little indulgence. Travel inspiration and restaurant reviews too.

Dark Chocolate, Orange and Hazelnut Brownies

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Gooey orange and hazelnut dark chocolate brownies
I sit at home sometimes, nothing unusual there, and things pop into my head and then I can’t get them out. If I have a hankering for a particular food, place to go or thing to do nothing else will suffice until I lay my hands on that thing. One evening last week I really needed some chocolate. I didn’t want wishy washy unsatisfying chocolate I wanted full on, one slice is enough, complete chocolate indulgence. The kind where you feel like you have a chocolate hangover when you’re halfway through the first bite. My dark chocolate, orange and hazelnut brownies were created out of desire and the need to use up some hazelnuts in the back of the cupboard. I’ve been practising my brownie recipe for some years now so I thought I’d try a variation on my plain recipe.

Ingredients

You will need (for nine brownies):

  • 100g salted butter
  • 180g golden caster sugar
  • 70g light muscovado sugar
  • 120g dark chocolate with orange (the stuff I used had caramelised orange peel in)
  • 1 tbsp golden syrup
  • 2 eggs
  • Splash vanilla extract
  • 100g plain flour
  • 2 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 50g roughly chopped hazelnuts (mine were blanched)

Method

Line a (roughly) 20cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper. You could grease the tin but anything for a life of easier washing up. Melt the butter, sugars, chocolate and golden syrup together in a pan over a low heat until melted and well combined. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Beat the eggs and vanilla extract together then whisk in the cooled chocolate mixture. Mix the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder together then fold this into the chocolate mix. Gently mix in the hazelnuts. Pour the brownie mix into the tin then bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 25-30 minutes. Mark into pieces while still hot.

I think everyone likes their brownies differently; some prefer them cakier, some want them still gooey and others will have them like fudge. The thing I like about this recipe is the corner pieces are cakier than the edge pieces which are fudgier and the (best) centre brownie which is still slightly liquid. The middle piece is my favourite and I try to take it out when it’s fresh from the oven to enjoy hot. This of course is somewhat awkward as you need all manner of kitchen implements to try and extract it; it’s like culinary Operation but well worth the effort. The chocolate is just intense enough, the orange is more of a whisper and the hazelnuts add a welcome texture. Exactly what I wanted. read more

Dried Blueberry and Almond Cereal Bars

By 19 Comments

Dried Blueberry and Almond Cereal Bars
You know when you buy an ingredient to make something and the remainder of it sits in the cupboard waiting to be used? I had a bit of this going on with oats, flaked almonds, seeds, maple syrup and dried blueberries. To use them (or as many of them as I could) up I made some lovely crumbly cereal bars. I wanted to keep the butter to a minimum to try and keep them a little on the healthy side.

Ingredients

You will need (for 12 cereal bars):

  • 225g oats
  • 100ml maple syrup
  • 150g butter
  • 75g dried blueberries
  • 50g flaked almonds
  • 1 tbsp poppy seeds

Method

Preheat an oven to 180C and lightly grease a baking tray. The one I used was about 20cm x 20cm.

Melt the maple syrup and butter together in a saucepan on a low heat until melted and well combined.

Mix the oats, dried blueberries, almonds and poppy seeds together then pour in the syrup and butter and stir together until well mixed.

Press the mixture into the prepared baking tray and then place into the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Mark into pieces while still hot then remove from the tray when cooled. read more

Review: Maple Pecan Cupcake Recipe from Baking Mad

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Goose Egg
I learnt something about myself the other day: I am not a domestic goddess. Let me explain. I was sent some baking goodies from Baking Mad and I had chosen to attempt their recipe for Maple Pecan cupcakes. I planned to give them to my Mum for an early Mother’s Day treat. I went for a walk to the pub last week and was offered a goose egg to take home; excellent for my cupcakes. All was going well and I was ready for baking. In my head I’m swishing around the kitchen; mixing a bit there, sprinkling a bit here, birds are singing and the radio is playing non-stop jolly tunes. This is not quite how it happened.

Ingredients

You will need (original recipe here, mine is slightly different):

  • 2 eggs (I used half a goose egg)
  • 125g butter
  • 125g caster sugar
  • 225g self-raising flour
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup

    For the icing:
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 65g butter
  • 125g icing sugar (I used the Silver Spoon Chocolate icing sugar I was sent)
  • Chocolate chips to decorate (I used the Silver Spoon ones I was sent)

Method

Preheat an oven to 180C and line a cupcake tin with 12 cases. I don’t have a cupcake tin so I use silicone cupcake cases.

Place the eggs, butter, sugar, flour, vanilla and maple syrup in a bowl and mix together until smooth. I used an electric hand whisk for this.

Divide the batter between the cases then place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until baked.

Remove the cupcakes from the oven and leave to cool.

Make the icing by beating together the butter and icing sugar then add the maple syrup and beat until light and fluffy. read more

Leek, Cheese and Potato Pie

By 16 Comments

cheese potato and leek pie ready to serve
I like pastry. I also like cheese and I would happily barge anyone out of the way to get my hands on a cheese, onion and potato pasty. The perfect combination of cheese, potato, onion and pastry can be hard to find and I like chunks of potato and onion not a mush; so I thought I’d best go about making my own version so I can make it just right. It’s also British Pie Week next week so the timing of my pie baking is ideal.

Ingredients

 You will need (for a pie for four):
1 medium potato, peeled and in small cubes
 £0.20
1 large leek, finely sliced
 £0.50
1 tbsp plain flour
 £0.02
75ml milk
 £0.05
125g strong cheddar cheese, grated
 £1.00
Small handful chopped chives
 £0.20
Salt and pepper
 £0.02
Small knob of butter plus extra for greasing
 £0.10
Milk for brushing
 £0.02
Readymade and rolled shortcrust pastry
 £1.50
Total
 £3.61

Method

Boil the potatoes and cook for 7-10 minutes or until tender then drain and put to one side. Fry the leeks on a medium heat in a little butter for around 10 minutes, until softened, then add the flour. Cook for a minute then add the milk and stir well while heating to make a thick sauce. Add the potato, cheese, chives and salt and pepper to the cooked leeks. Preheat oven to 180C and lightly grease a pie dish with butter. Take two thirds of the pastry and line the pie dish. Trim any excess pastry, prick the base with a fork, line with greaseproof paper then fill with baking beans or rice and bake for 12-15 minutes then remove the beans and greaseproof and return to the oven for 2 more minutes. Pour the filling into the pastry case. Brush the edge of the pastry base with milk and roll out the remaining pastry. Top the pie with the pastry and press the pastry well onto the pastry base. Trim any excess and brush the top with milk.

Cut a slit in the top of the pastry then put back into the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

The leeks and chives in this give a brilliant green colour to the pie so it’s not all beige. I liked that the filling wasn’t too wet and stodgy but you could clearly see and feel the potato and leek. Comfort food is always welcome, particularly when it’s mostly carbohydrate based and this was my perfect dinner on a rainy evening this week. Not only exactly what I wanted but also a bargain for four people. You could of course make your own pastry but when I’m as busy as I am now, readymade and rolled is my best friend. read more

Victoria Sponge with Rhubarb and Vanilla Compote

By 20 Comments

It’s always nice to see some bright pink rhubarb poking its head out at the market but as it’s the first of the season it can be quite pricey. So when you have only £1.80, what can you do with two rhubarb sticks? Make a lovely, vibrant rhubarb compote/jam to sandwich in the middle of two fat slices of cake of course. Other things that you can do with two sticks of rhubarb include: jousting, a spot of relay running or making a parasol (if you have the leaves left on) but none of those would be anywhere near as good as this cake. read more

Malted Chocolate Biscuits

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Malted Chocolate Biscuits - All That I'm Eating (2)
This recipe comes from a book which is very special to me; it is called Chocolate and was written by Jacqueline Bellefontaine. In case you didn’t know I never really used to like food. I loved cooking and seeing other people enjoy my efforts (whether out of politeness or genuinely) but I would never try anything different. When it came to baking that was a different matter and I would eat and bake anything. One birthday, I guess I was maybe 12 or 13, my Granny gave me this book and I just didn’t know what to make first. I’ve never had a bad recipe from it, the brownies are to die for and it’s my go to book when I need to bake. These malted chocolate biscuits are just brilliant and so simple to make.

ingredients

This recipe is on page 122 of the book.
You will need (I made 8 slices):

  • 100g butter
  • 2 tbsp golden syrup
  • 2 tbsp malted chocolate drink (I used just malted i.e. Horlicks)
  • 225g malted milk biscuits
  • 75g milk chocolate (you can also use dark)
  • 25g icing sugar
  • 2 tbsp milk

Method

Grease and line a cake tin; mine was an 18cm loose bottomed one.

Put the butter, golden syrup and malted drink into a saucepan and heat gently until the mixture is well combined. I find when the butter melts at first it looks a bit separated but keep stirring and it will come together and be thick and glossy.

Bash up the malted milk biscuits until you have crumbs then mix these into the butter mixture.

Press the mixture down well in the cake tin. read more

Cinnamon Spiced Stained Glass Window Biscuits

By 9 Comments

Cinnamon Spiced Stained Glass Window Biscuits
I vaguely remember making these biscuits before, many years ago, but I can’t remember what they tasted like. It was about time I tried them again because I love the idea of them hanging on the tree catching the light. What I didn’t anticipate was the sheet brute force needed to break the boiled sweets up. I thought it would simply involve a swift whack with a rolling pin but after several increasingly ferocious attempts they just wouldn’t break. So I used my mini blender to reduce the sweets to a fine crumb. It made a hell of a racket but it did a great job.

Ingredients

You will need (for around 24 biscuits):
180g plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
110g butter
50g caster sugar
1-2 tbsp milk
Boiled sweets, different colours and flavours
Greaseproof paper
Ribbon, string or other hanging devices

Method

Preheat an oven to 180C and line two baking trays with grease proof paper.

Rub together the flour, cinnamon and butter until you have a breadcrumb texture. Stir through the sugar and then bring the mixture together with drops of milk until it forms a ball.

Knead the mix lightly then chill for 30 minutes. read more

Granny’s Sage, Chestnut, Apple and Onion Stuffing for Sausage Rolls

By 16 Comments

apple onion and chestnut stuffing sausage rolls
A few years ago a friend of mine bought me one of those blank cookery books that you write up your recipes in over time. I had always cooked with my Granny and this seemed the perfect place for her to store some of her recipes for me to refer to in the future. One of the recipes she included was one for Sage, Chestnut, Apple and Onion stuffing which had a rather festive feel to it. She had also included a recipe for sausage rolls a few pages along so it seemed right to merge these two recipes together and create ‘Granny’s Sage, Chestnut, Apple and Onion Stuffing for Sausage Rolls’.

Ingredients

You will need for 16 sausage rolls:
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small apple, peeled and finely chopped
80g cooked and peeled chestnuts, finely chopped
400g good quality sausages
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
Butter or oil for frying
Salt and pepper
1 pack readymade and rolled puff pastry
Milk or egg for brushing

Method

Melt a large knob of butter in a large frying pan on a medium heat. Add the onion, apple and sage and fry for 5-6 minutes or until softened.

Add the chestnuts, salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes longer. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. read more

Outrageously Orange Mince Pies

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Outrageously Orange Mince Pies
Confession time. I’m not a great fan of mincemeat. It’s just a bit too strong for me. Having said that I am a big fan of the mince pie; so long as there’s more pastry than mince. To mellow the minciness of these mince pies I have mixed the mincemeat half and half with marmalade. There’s also some orange zest in the pastry to give them a real citrus zing. I think if someone had given me this less intense mince pie as a child I would have been more inclined to eat the whole thing rather than just the pastry.

Ingredients

You will need (for 12 mince pies):
225g plain flour
120g butter
Zest of one orange
Cold water

130g mince meat
130g marmalade (all the better if it’s a whisky marmalade)

Milk or egg for brushing

Method

Make the pastry by rubbing the butter into the flour until you have a breadcrumb texture.
Stir through the orange zest.
Bring the mixture together with little drops of cold water until it forms a ball. Knead quickly on a floured surface then wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll the pastry out on a floured surface until just less than the thickness of a £1 coin. Cut out 12 rounds (fluted or plain) with a cutter that will fit your tin and then 12 smaller rounds for the lids. I used an 8.5cm and 6.5cm cutter.
Preheat the oven to 220C.
Use the larger rounds to line bun tins. read more

Baked Blackberry Cheesecake

By 22 Comments

baked blackberry cheesecake
You know when you go out blackberry picking you end up eating pretty much all of them and have nothing to show for it when you get home? As much as it is very hard to resist keeping any of the berries for later I thought it would be well worth the effort for a sort of hidden gem baked blackberry cheesecake. Beneath the pillowy layers of soft cheese you can find little bits of sweet, purple fruit. I didn’t have to save too many either as you only need a handful for this recipe. They do say that picking blackberries in October isn’t a good idea as the devil is meant to have peed on them. If you feel like living on the edge then by all means take the risk; if not, a quick trip to the shops should sort you out.

Ingredients

You will need:

  • 180g digestive biscuits
  • 75g butter
  • 600g cream cheese
  • 220g caster sugar
  • 150g sour cream
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 tbsp. plain flour
  • Large handful blackberries

Method

Line the base of a 20cm spring form cake tin. Spring form is your friend for this.
Preheat an oven to 130C.

Crush the digestive biscuits in a bowl; I like to use the end of my rolling pin as it’s immensely satisfying. Melt the butter and mix this into the biscuits.

When the biscuits and butter are well combined press the mixture into the bottom of the cake tin and then chill in the fridge.

Whisk together the cream cheese and sugar then mix in the sour cream.

Add the eggs one at a time then add the flour. read more

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