Sunday 23 March 2014

Chocolate lava cake


Wow- a company - worthy - ooey, gooey chocolate dessert is a snap to make!!

Ingredients:
  • 113g semi sweet baking chocolate
  • 113g butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 75g sugar
  • 40g plain flour, sifted
  • butter for greasing ramekins
Method:

Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C.

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate. Once the chocolate is melted, remove  from the heat and add in the butter. Mix until the butter is melted fully

In a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the chocolate/butter mixture into the eggs and the plain flour and mix until well incorporate.

Butter the bottom and sides of the ramekins and pour the mixture about 3/4 way full.

Place the ramekins on a baking tray and bake for about 10-15 minutes. Shorter for a gooey inside, longer for a slightly stiff inside.

Serve hot with vanilla ice cream or with a dusting of powdered sugar.

Banana cake with walnut crumble crunch


A wedge of this alongside a cup of coffee or tea makes for a perfect Sunday

Ingredients:
  • 250g light brown sugar
  • 250g self raising flour, sifted
  • 140g walnuts, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 2 eggs plus 2 egg white
  • 4 ripe bananas or 3 large, mashed
  • 150ml sunflower oil
  • 100ml milk
  • 1tsp cinnamon
  • 1tsp baking powder
Method:

Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C. Line the base and sides of a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin with baking parchment.

For crumble topping: stir together 2 tbsp each of the sugar, flour and chopped walnuts, then add the butter, cut into a few pieces, and rub together until you have sticky crumbs. Set aside.

Break up the whole eggs with fork, then mix with the mashed bananas, oil and milk until all the wet ingredients are well combined.

In a separate large bowl sift in the self raising flour, cinnamon and baking powder. Then stir in the sugar and the chopped walnuts.

Whisk the egg whites until just stiff in another clean oil free bowl.

To combine add the oily banana mixture into the bowl of the dry ingredients and stir well together until you have a smooth, lump free mixture. Finally using a large metal spoon or spatula gently fold in the egg whites. Then carefully pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Scatter over the crumble topping and bake for 1 hour, until the skewer inserted in centre comes out clean. Check the cake within 15 minutes to go, if the surface is browning too quickly cover with another piece of baking parchment.

Once the cake is ready leave it in the tin for 5 minutes, then finish cooling in a wire rack.