All That I'm Eating

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

Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Rice Krispie Squares with Vanilla Salt

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vanilla salted marshmallow crispy cakes - All That I'm Eating
Sometimes I feel like I need to let my inner child out and indulge in something so wonderful and absorbing that I can think of nothing else. I wanted to make some marshmallow rice krispie squares, as I had made them once before with great success, but this time they needed to be even more sensuous and luxurious. Thus, these chocolate coated marshmallow rice krispie squares with vanilla salt were born. A bit of a mouthful both to articulate and masticate. I’m sure lots of people claim to have been on the salted caramel scene before it became fashionable but I was not one of them. No. I was on the salted chocolate scene when I was a teenager enjoying nothing more than alternating a ready salted crisp and a bite of chocolate. I have to admit that I thought it was weird and no one would really ‘get it’ hence why I never made stuffing my face with crisps and chocolate in quick succession a public matter. Now is the perfect time to publicise my secret salted chocolate love affair as I have recently been made aware of Vanilla Salt from Halen Mon. They kindly sent me a tube to try for myself.

You will need:
50g butter
300g marshmallows
120g rice krispies
100g milk chocolate
Vanilla salt

Start by warming the butter and marshmallows over a low heat until melted. Stir in the rice krispies. Put the rice krispie mixture into a greased dish. Those three steps sound wonderfully simple and they do result in exactly what you’d expect them to, however, it’s the bit in the middle you want to watch out for. Once the rice krispies are in it’s a countdown to see how quickly you can distribute and deposit them before you end up like I did. I have never met anything as sticky as this; it could have stuck greaseproof paper to a non-stick frying pan if it wanted to. During the transition from pan to dish the marshmallow underwent some sort of metamorphosis. It changed from being silky and smooth to stringy and awkward. If you had walked into the kitchen at this moment you would have thought I was preparing far too early for Halloween in making my marshmallow cobweb costume. I had to use my hands to scoop the mixture into the dish and then realised I myself was part of the marshmallow mixture and much time and gentle coaxing was needed to extract myself from the tangled web of mallow. If nothing else make this just to have ten minutes pretending you are Spiderman.

Let the mixture cool before you portion it up. Melt some milk chocolate and either dunk or dribble the chocolate onto each square. Let the chocolate cool for just a minute before sprinkling the vanilla salt crystals over the top. You want the crystals to stick to the chocolate but not to dissolve into it. Leave to cool.

I knew what to expect from the rice krispie square before I wrapped my teeth around it but I was really surprised at how the other flavours and textures turned this into an incredibly generous treat. Imagine: firstly your teeth crunch slightly on the chocolate and salt and then sink down into a pink pillow of fluffy marshmallow interrupted by the crisp cereal. Then you get the mouth coating that only chocolate can provide interspersed with sweet and chewy marshmallow and the crunch of the rice krispies. Finally there is the unctuous vanilla salt rounding the whole thing off. This is a treat for all the senses. read more

Redcurrant and White Chocolate Muffins (or Cupcakes)

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Redcurrant and White Chocolate Muffins - on plate
I was terribly excited about making muffins. If you had asked me how much I was looking forward to making muffins I would have responded so enthusiastically that you might have thought you’d asked me the wrong question. The reason for my eagerness was twofold; firstly I had never made muffins before and secondly I had some succulent redcurrants at my disposal.

It was all going so well until I realised I had no muffin cases. Not to worry though as I had cupcake cases coming out of my ears. I was under the impression that the two weren’t too dissimilar but the sides of the cupcake cases would not come up high enough in the muffin tin. I could have gone out to get some muffin cases but frankly I couldn’t be bothered and I wanted to sink my teeth into freshly baked cake as soon as possible. Fortunately I had some silicone cases I could use.

You will need:
1 punnet redcurrants
50g white chocolate
2 eggs, beaten
75g caster sugar
225ml milk
100g butter, melted
275g self raising flour
(muffin cases) read more

Elderflower and White Chocolate Shortbread

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When you’ve gone to the effort of making elderflower sugar it is paramount that you make the most of it in ever varying and interesting ways. I thought I’d run out of sugar much sooner than I have; indeed I still have around 500g left. The sugar itself has an incredible aroma and every time you open the lid it smells of hedgerows. The little elderflower cakes I made were lovely but I wanted something a little more biscuit orientated. Not only does shortbread fill this requirement it’s also much easier to take to work; no icing to melt/squash before lunchtime. read more

Leftover Sloe Chocolate Truffles

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Leftover Sloes
Considering how long these sloes have been hanging around it’s remarkable they’re still able to be made into something delicious. They were picked early Autumn last year and have so far been made into glorious gin and pleasing port. There comes a time in sloe port making where the sloes have to be removed. It’s an emotional time; what can you do now that many sloe avenues have been exhausted?  Sloe chocolate truffles. The sloes were to be even further used and improved with deep, dark, luxurious chocolate. As the sloes had been steeping for several months in various alcohols I was under the impression they would be soft, plump and easy to extract the stones out of. After much ricocheting around the kitchen I managed to tame the sloes with a pestle and mortar. The stones were put back under the sloe tree, I’m not sure what effect alcohol has on sloe germination.

You will need:
A large handful port soaked sloes, de-stoned (recipe for making sloe port here)
150g dark chocolate
150ml double cream
25g butter
Cocoa Powder

Heat the cream up gently until almost boiling, stirring often so it doesn’t catch.

While the cream heats up, grate the chocolate into a bowl, cut the butter up and put this in the bowl too. To be honest I did this before I heated the cream otherwise I knew the cream wouldn’t get the attention it deserved and I’d still be cleaning the kitchen now. read more

Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Tart with Rhubarb and Blood Orange Compote

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Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Tart Mix
You can’t have Valentine’s Day without a little chocolate. This tart is great because you can make it in advance and leave it in the fridge so there is no last minute pudding fretting! It’s beautifully rich and very easy to make; made even easier if you use a food blender for the pastry. If pastry is your nemesis, it used to be mine, I have a previous post that will make you feel much more relaxed about constructing this tart.

Start by making the pastry. Blend 50g cold butter with 100g plain flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add 15g caster sugar and 25g chopped, toasted hazelnuts and then bring the pastry together with one small egg. Persevere it will get there in the end but you can add a little cold water if you think it needs it. Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill in the fridge for half an hour. I would recommend making the pastry when you’re as sure as you can be that the phone won’t ring and the doorbell won’t go because otherwise there’ll be pastry all over the place. read more

Granny’s Millionaires Shortbread

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Melting chocolate for shortbread
When I was younger and there was a school holiday I would be with my Granny in her kitchen. We made everything together and it was almost always successful. We still make things together now and my Grandad still sits in the lounge wondering what on earth we will come out of the kitchen with next. He seems happy to be taste tester! We had decided to make millionaires shortbread because I loved it so much and still do. The shortbread went in the oven and the waiting game began as the house filled with delicious smells. We were all licking our lips. The caramel was made all golden and creamy and got spread on top of the shortbread like a blanket. We waited some more. The chocolate was melted and spooned generously out over the top. Some more waiting took place.

With the chocolate set, the kettle was on. The tea was in the pot and the milk in the cups. My Granny had had the foresight to cut the shortbread into pieces before the caramel and chocolate had set and three glorious pieces were put on a plate. 

It is a good thing that neither of my grandparents have false teeth. The hardness of that caramel would have ensured we were finding bits of false enamel in the lounge for months to come. I was at the age where loose teeth were commonplace and I’m surprised I didn’t lose them all with the first bite. We all looked at each other, somewhat relieved at the lack of shattering teeth noises and decided we would give our best efforts to the birds. Who knows how many beaks got broken.  As far as I’m concerned, if my Granny had had a caramel failure then there was no way I could be successful. She has culinary bravery that I know not. However, despite all my concerns I tried it again. 

Ingredients

You will need (for 8 pieces of Millionaire’s Shortbread):
  • 125g margarine or butter
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 50g cornflour
  • 150g plain flour

For the caramel

  • 100g margarine or butter
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp golden syrup
  • 1/4 small can evaporated milk

For the topping

  • 150g dark chocolate

Method 

If you want to play toffee roulette, then here’s how.  You’ll need to beat together the margarine with the caster sugar. When fluffy, sieve in the cornflour and plain flour. Bring it together how you want your shortbread to be. I like mine crumbly so I leave it like big breadcrumbs. Press into a greased tin and bake at 150C for 30-40 minutes. For the dreaded caramel, put the margarine, sugar, golden syrup and evaporated milk into a pan and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the mixture to the boil, (it smells like everything good is happening in the pan) boil it for 10 minutes and do not abandon it. Stir it continuously. It doesn’t matter if the doorbell rings or the dog wants to go out because you’ll feel far worse regret from abandoning your caramel. Be careful as the mixture tends to gain volume with alarming ferociousness. After 7-8 minutes it will darken in colour and you really need to make sure it doesn’t catch at the bottom. 

Perhaps I’m taking the caramel part a little seriously but I wasn’t risking losing my precious gnashers. Spoon the caramel out onto the shortbread base and spread out with the back of the spoon.

Melt yourself some chocolate in a small bowl over some gently simmering water; I went for dark but whatever is your favourite, and pour this on top of the caramel.  read more

Chocolate Concrete

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Chocolate Concrete - an old school recipe
I was on my daily ramble (more like scramble) through the countryside this morning. It was exceptionally blustery. If I had tried to open my umbrella to shield myself from the onslaught of rain I feel quite certain there would have been a Mary Poppins moment. There was only one thing I could think about whilst battling the elements…Chocolate Concrete. Chocolate concrete is an old school recipe that I got from my Granny. There’s nothing quite like this recipe, it’s so versatile, quick and easy to make. I probably make it once a fortnight and it gets consumed like there’s no tomorrow. 

Ingredients

For enough to last less greedy families than mine you’ll need:

  • 12oz/300g Margarine
  • 120z/300g Sugar
  • 2oz/50g Cocoa
  • 16oz/400g Plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Method

All you need do is to melt the margarine and add the vanilla extract to it. Sieve all the other ingredients into a bowl and mix them up. Mix the melted margarine into this.

When you do this you’ll be convinced that it’ll never mix and there’s far too much flour and cocoa and that I’m a fool. Just keep on going and soon it’ll look like the above.

Put this into a tin, brush the top with water and then sprinkle with sugar – this gives it a nice crust on top. Bake at about 150C for 15-20 minutes or until firm when pressed. read more

Chocolate and Brioche Bread and Butter Pudding

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I have had a request for this recipe but unfortunately I haven’t made it since I started blogging so I have no pictures to go with it! My apologies. 

Ingredients

What you will need:

220g Brioche
Butter for spreading
50g dark chocolate chips
1 egg
2 egg yolks
3 tbsp caster sugar
410g can light evaporated milk

Method

Firstly, cut the brioche into thin slices and butter each slice on one side. Place a layer of brioche (butter side down) into an ovenproof dish. Throw a few chocolate chips on the top. Carry on layering the brioche and chocolate chips and then finish with a layer of brioche.

Put the evaporated milk in a saucepan on a low heat until it just starts to simmer. While this is heating, whisk together the egg, egg yolks and sugar. Slowly add the warm milk to the egg mixture whisking all the time.

Pour the egg/milk mixture over the bread and leave it to soak in for five minutes. Press the brioche down into the milk.

Make a bain-marie for the pudding. (Get a roasting tray and put the pudding dish in. Then fill the tray with boiling water until it is halfway up the side of the dish). Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180⁰C/350⁰F/Gas 4 for about 30 minutes or until the custard has set.

This is such a nice variation on the standard Bread and Butter pudding. It’s so satisfying to make and eat.

Enjoy!

All That I’m Eating

This recipe came from a book my Granny got me ages ago called Chocolate, it’s a great book which I use all the time! read more

Anzac Biscuits and Chocolate Nut Biscuits

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What a week! I felt like I’d earned a good baking session. The following two recipes are really easy and truly yummy.

Anzac Biscuits

Yes perhaps I am a bit premature for Anzac day but nonetheless, they are a deliciously oaty crunchy cookie.

Ingredients – makes 12-15 biscuits

What you will need: 100g rolled oats 140g plain flour 100g unrefined light brown sugar 45g flaked coconut 110g unsalted butter 2tbsp golden syrup ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda 1tbsp hot water

Method

Preheat your oven to 175⁰C/350⁰F/Gas mark 4. Line two baking sheets with some parchment. Firstly, mix the dry ingredients together – not the bicarb.

Melt the butter and golden syrup together on a low heat. Dissolve the bicarb in the hot water and then stir this into the butter and golden syrup mixture. Mix the hot butter mix into the rest of the dry ingredients.

Put dollops of the dough onto the parchment – make sure there is room between them because these fellows expand like the foam used for house insulation. Flatten them slightly on top. read more

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