Marbled Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Marbled chocolate chunk cookies – two different doughs swirled together for maximum chocolate impact

What is it that makes grown adults go all gooey over chocolate chip cookies? Plain, humble and based on the most basic of ingredients, they are nonetheless held on something of a pedestal by people all over the world. Pop those three simple words into Google and you’ll return no fewer than 32 million pages, while professional chefs, journalists and home bakers alike appear to be on a constant quest to find the perfect recipe.

Perhaps it’s sheer simplicity that gives the cookie its clout. Anyone can make at batch in their comfort of their kitchen, and even if your technique and timing is little out, it’s hard to go completely wrong with what is essentially a slab of chocolate, butter and sugar combined. The nostalgia element is also key – mere mention of a chocolate chip cookie conjures up images of wholesome fun, of sunny afternoon snacks, comforting kitchens and reaching into a giant all-American fridge-freezer for that vital glass of cold, cold milk. Continue reading →

3Jan2012

Ferrero Rocher Ice Cream Cones

Simple & delicious – homemade filled ice cream cones

Ice cream and Italy go hand in hand. It’s almost impossible to imagine an Italian holiday without a visit to the local gelateria, long minutes spent staring at the dazzling array of colours and flavours on display and agonizing decisions to be made before being handed a crisp cone, rich with anticipation and dripping with deliciousness.

I’ve been lucky enough to taste more than my fair share of Italian ice cream over the last twenty seven years. My parents have a house in Italy, and every summer we’d spend weeks there as a family, swimming, sunbathing and sightseeing to fill the gaps when we weren’t eating and drinking. Pasta and meat dishes reigned supreme, and when it came to sweets, any trip to the nearby towns invariably involved an ice cream pit stop (more often than not to bribe a grumbling little loaf to participate in tours of the latest art exhibition or the fifteenth frescoed church of the day). Continue reading →

24Dec2011

Toasted Panettone & Nutella Sandwich with Cantuccini Cream

Toasted panettone, melting Nutella & crunchy, boozy cream

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse . . .’

Unless you happen to have left a little plate of treats out for Father Christmas, in which case said mouse is probably having a mince pie-fuelled field day as you sleep.

When I was little, we’d always leave a tray of treats out on Christmas Eve – homemade mince pies for Father Christmas, carrots for the reindeer and a snifter of brandy to help our festive friend on his way (or my Dad to sleep, the more cynical amongst you might suggest). The next morning my big brother and I would excitedly examine the crumb-specked plate, empty glass and convincingly nibbled carrots, taking them as evidence that Santa and his helpers had enjoyed our hospitality. Continue reading →

11Dec2011

Honey Chocolate Cake

Honey chocolate cake decorated with little chocolate bees

The only reason for being a bee that I know of is to make honey . . . And the only reason for making honey is so as I can eat it’ Winnie the Pooh

When I was a little girl, my parents were fairly sensible when it came to the consumption of anything sweet. My Mum’s a wonderful cook, and we were allowed to eat the odd pudding on special occasions, but day-to-day meals were more likely to end in a handful of grapes or a little pot of yoghurt than anything more exotic and sugar-laden. I’m not saying we were deprived – we ate the most incredible home-cooked meals – but let’s just say mine was the only mother I’ve ever known to put packets of Sunmaid raisins in the goody bags of trick-or-treaters come Halloween. Continue reading →

6Dec2011

Chocolate Cacao Nib Cake with Vin Santo Ice Cream

Flourless chocolate cake sprinkled with crunchy cacao nibs

Anyone with even a passing interest in food knows the importance of texture. We might use the term ‘taste’ as a general description, but we’re not just talking about the flavour of a dish; food is measured in structure, in substance, in ‘mouthfeel’. And as their skills improve, home cooks and chefs alike begin to strive for perfection in texture; I’m not talking the foams and jellies of molecular gastronomy here, but recgonisable goals – the crispiest bacon, the fluffiest scones, the lightest of soufflés.

Continue reading →

2Dec2011

Chocolate Chestnut Truffle Cake

Rich slabs of chocolate & chestnut truffle cake

‘Tis the part of a wise man to keep himself today for tomorrow, and not venture all his eggs in one basket’ – Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes

I’m almost ashamed to admit how many eggs our household goes through on a weekly basis. When I say ‘household’, I’m referring to my boyfriend and I – there’s just the two of us in our little flat – and when I say ‘we’, what I really mean is ‘him’. Yes, my love of all things sweet means I go through my own fair share of eggs – baked into brownies, whipped into macarons and stirred through yolk-rich custards for ice cream – but Carniverous Boyfriend takes egg-eating to the next level. You’ve heard of the government’s ‘five-a-day’ vegetable rule, right? My boyfriend applies this to eggs. Continue reading →

24Nov2011

Gingerbread & White Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches

Golden spiced gingerbread & rich, smooth ice cream

As resident little loaf in this household, I’m understandably pretty partial to anything with the word ‘sandwich’ in the title. Any excuse to enjoy bread is always welcome, and there’s such certain comfort in something delicious sandwiched between two slices of thick-cut homemade bread.

After getting an ice cream maker for my birthday this summer, I began experimenting with numerous flavour and texture combinations, accompanied by my trusty ice cream bible, The Perfect Scoop. Following in quick succession came a trip to Sicily with a group of girlfriends at the end of August, where I strolled the streets looking for the best gelato available, feeling like a kid in a candy store when presented with such choice and quality. Continue reading →

17Nov2011

Chocolate Fondant Puddings with Molten Middles

Chocolate fondant pudding with caramel praline ice cream

Chocolate fondant. The dessert worth waiting for, and practically the only menu option that warrants its very own time slot. As far more complicated and time consuming dishes sail forth from a restaurant kitchen, this simple little pudding sits smugly alongside instructions to ‘please allow 15 minutes’, tempting us with its decadence yet teasing us with the time delay. Proof, it would seem, that good things come to those who wait.

In actual fact this simple little dessert can be made very easily by the home cook. Timing, as suggested above, is key, but once you’ve mastered that it couldn’t be easier to whip up a batch of these delicate, decadent desserts, their centre soft and sunken, encased in a wall of mousse-like cake and oozing thick hot puddles of chocolate lava. With much of the theatre of a soufflé, but without the associated performance anxiety of rising to the occasion, the fondant has become a firm favourite with dinner party hosts and Valentine’s Day diners around the world, hoping to impress their guests with a tried and tested formula of seductive chocolate success. Continue reading →

9Nov2011

Salted Caramel Ice Cream Rolo Cups

Chewy caramel & creamy chocolate – a treat to fall in love with

Do you love anyone enough to give them your last Rolo?

There are last Rolos, and there are last salted caramel ice cream Rolos…

So much food is sold on sentiment. Browse through any given sample of blogs, cookbooks and recipe columns and you’ll find stories steeped in nostalgia; the memories created by cooking, the promise of unforgettable experiences, the joy individual ingredients can bring. Continue reading →

3Nov2011

Chocolate Marquise with Mint Crème Anglaise

Chocolate marquise with a delicate mint crème anglaise

I can hardly begin to imagine a life without flour. Yes, it forms the basis of a lot of the food that I put in my mouth, but for me flour is so much more than that. It’s the foundation of baking, a hobby and passion I find therapeutic, relaxing, rewarding and escapist. I love the process of rolling up my sleeves, dusting down the work surfaces, sifting and weighing, kneading and shaping, folding and finishing.

Flour is a staple ingredient in bread, of course, but so much more besides; think biscuits and brownies, pastry and cakes, pizza, pancakes and puddings, even quietly playing its part as a subtle addition to something as simple as a white sauce. It’s the ultimate easy ingredient; long-lasting, cheap and filling. Continue reading →