chocolate

Very dark chocolate cookies with spiced chestnut buttercream

| adamcockle

chestnutcookieblog

Imagine you’re curled on a sheepskin rug in  front of a roaring fire.  Imagine you’re snuggled in the arms of your significant other, both clad in chunky woollen jumpers.  Imagine a pot of spiced coffee bubbling away over the fire, the air rich with the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg.  Now imagine all of that in cookie form.  You’re welcome.

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

  • 125g dark chocolate
  • 150g plain flour
  • 30g cocoa
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 125g/4oz unsalted butter
  • 75g light brown sugar
  • 50g golden caster sugar
  • 1tsp finely ground coffee
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 free-range egg

For the chestnut buttercream:

  • 100g pre-cooked chestnuts
  • 100mls double cream
  • 50g unsalted butter
  • 150g icing sugar
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 2 – 3 grinds of black pepper (trust me)

Method:

For the cookies:

Preheat your oven to 170C

Melt the chocolate in a pan set over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally.

Place the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa and coffee in a large bowl and mix together.

Cream the butter and sugars together in a separate bowl using an electric mixer on a high setting until pale and fluffy, then mix in the melted chocolate.

Stir in the vanilla extract and the egg, then stir in the dry ingredients until combined.

Divide into 12 equal portions (I used a small icecream scoop) and place on two lined baking trays.

Bake in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes until beautiful and cracked on the top but still slightly gooey.  Allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

For the chestnut buttercream:

Place the chestnuts and cream in a small pan and heat on a medium heat until the chestnuts are soft and easy to mash with the back of a wooden spoon (about 10 minutes)

Pop the chestnuts and cream in an electric mixer and mix on high with the paddle attachment until smooth-ish (it will retain a ‘nutty’ texture).  Add in the butter and blend until incorporated before adding in the icing sugar (add the sugar in in two or three goes to prevent a sugar blizzard!).  Leave to blitz away for a few minutes until light and fluffy and finally add in the spices towards the end.

To finish:

Sandwich two cookies together with a generous dollop of chestnut cream.  Serve with a mug of strong coffee and eat whilst wearing a big woolly jumper.

This recipe was developed from lovely Nigella Lawson’s Intense Chocolate Cookies recipe.

chestnutcookieblog2

Crumble pancakes

| adamcockle

pancakeblog2

Ingredients:

For the pancakes:

  • 3 eggs
  • approx. 180g self-raising flour (see below)
  • 3tbsp caster sugar
  • 1/2tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 1tbsp melted butter or oil
  • 3 – 4tbsp milk
  • 25g crumble mix (see recipe)
  • Butter for frying

Method:

Start by weighing your eggs (in their shells) and measure out the same weight of self-raising flour.  Break the eggs into a large jug and then add the flour , sugar, salt, baking powder and melted butter.  Add the milk a splash at a time and stir the mixture together until you have a thick but pourable consistency.

Melt a knob of butter in a large frying pan and, once it starts to froth up, pour or spoon in your pancake mix (as much as you like, depending on what size you like your pancakes – I made about 10 small ones with these quantities).  Immediately sprinkle some of your crumble mix on top of each pancake and tap down gently with a spatula.  Once bubbles start to form on the surface of the pancake, flip over and cook until golden on the other side.  Transfer your pancakes to a plate in a low oven until the rest are ready.

Serve with a knob of salted butter and an indulgent drizzle of maple syrup.

pancakeblog3

Chocolate, pecan crumble muffins

| adamcockle
mufflr2
Chocolate, pecan crumble muffin

Ingredients:

For the muffins:

  • 3 medium eggs (separated)
  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
  • 1/2 cup of yogurt
  • 1/2 cup of sunflower oil (or melted butter for a richer taste)
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 100g dark chocolate chips
  • 100g pecans (toasted in a hot dry pan, chopped and left to cool)

For the crumble topping:

  • 1/2 cup plain flour
  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 2tbsp butter (cold from the fridge)
  • 20g dark chocolate chips
  • 20g pecans (toasted in a hot dry pan, chopped and left to cool)

Method:

For the crumble topping:

Place the sugar, flour and butter in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.  Stir in the chocolate chips and chopped pecans.  Keep in the fridge until needed.

For the muffins:

Preheat your oven to 180c and put cases into a 12 hole muffin tin.

Beat the egg whites in an electric mixer with the whisk attachment until firm and dry.  In a separate bowl mix together the egg yolks, sugar, yogurt and oil.  Add the flour to the egg yolk mixture along with the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and then fold in the egg whites with a metal spoon until the mixture is uniform in colour. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips and chopped pecans.

Divide the cake mixture amongst the 12 cases in the muffin tin and sprinkle the top of each one with a generous amount of the crumble topping*.  Place in the centre of the oven for approx. 20mins until a skewer inserted into the centre of each muffin comes out clean.  Remove the muffins from the tin and leave on a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy these muffins with a big mug of sweet, milky tea.

*if you have any left over crumble topping, sprinkle it in an even layer on a lined baking tray and place in the oven once the muffins are done.  After about 5 mins break up the crumble with a fork and return to the oven for a further 5 mins until it is all crispy and golden.  Allow to cool on the tray and then transfer to an airtight container.  This crumble makes a great topping for cakes or pancakes and a perfect filling for cookies.  You could even try sprinkling some over some fruit and yoghurt for breakfast!

mufflr3
Chocolate, pecan crumble muffin