Chocolate fudge brownies

Hey guys, so today is my favourite sweets and with the holidays coming up, it is perfect for this time of year! They are chocolatey and fudgey (Not a real word I know but I like it) and delightful! So lets get into it!

You will need:
150g unsalted butter, chopped
100g dark eating chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups (330g) firmly packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup (110g) plain flour
3/4 cup (140g) dark Choc Bits
1/2 cup (120g) sour cream
3/4 cup (110g) roasted macadamia, chopped coarsely (optional)

Preheat oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan-forced. Grease a 19cm by 29cm rectangular slice pan, line base and sides with baking paper, extending paper 5cm above long sides
Combine butter and chocolate in medium saucepan; stir over low heat until smooth. Cool 10 minutes.
Stir in sugar, eggs and extract, then stir in sifted flour, Choc Bits, sour cream and nuts. Spread mixture into prepared pan; bake 40 minutes. Cover pan with foil; bake a further 20 minutes. Cool in pan before cutting into 16 pieces.
Dust brownies with cocoa or icing sugar if desired. Serve warm or cool with ice cream.

So stay tuned and until next time, keep on cooking

Kat Xx

Gluten free #4: Banana cake

Hey guys, so today I am continuing on with my gluten free series with #4! Today is a banana cake from the Australian Woman's Weekly cooking school and at the same time making it gluten free. I will admit, this cake kind of..... well...... exploded. What I mean by that is it expanded EXTREMELY quickly. The recipe called for not only self raising flour but also bicarb of soda. I am sceptical about this and I wouldn't add in the bicarb of soda next time. So lets begin!

You will need: 125g butter, softened
½ cup (110g) brown sugar
½ cup (110g) caster sugar
2 eggs
3 bananas, mashed (NOTE: The best banana cakes DO NOT use ripe bananas but instead over ripe bananas. The blacker the better :) )
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups (225g) gluten-free self-raising flour
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (Again, I wouldn't use it with the gluten-free flour)
pinch of salt
2-3 tablespoons milk

For the icing:1½ cups (225g) icing sugar mixture
15g butter, melted
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

So, to begin, preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced) and grease and line a 22cm cake tin.
Next, beat the butter and sugars until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time ensuring that the eggs are well beaten in before adding the next. Add the mashed banana and vanilla and mix once more.
Sift together the flour, bicarb and salt and add to the banana mix along with the milk. Carefully mix together until mixture is a dropping consistency.
Pour into the cake tin and smooth the top. Bake in the oven for 40 mins or until a clean skewer comes out clean and the sides have come away from the sides. Remove the cake from the oven and leave for 5 minutes before turning onto the wire rack. While cake is baking, place icing ingredients in a small bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and mix thoroughly until a smooth paste forms and a glaze consistency is formed Pour the glaze over the cake –it should drizzle down the sides.

So unfortunately, there were no photos taken but I can promise you this keeps for about a week, maybe two but it tastes divine! So until next time, keep on cooking
Kat Xx

Gluten free #3: Pastry base + Update

Hey everyone,
So with all of my assessments and tests over and done, and with me not being sick any more, I can finally update to my 3rd Gluten free recipe. But because this is a busy time of the year, I have decided to keep the gluten free series going till I have completed the 10 recipes and that will assist in me being able to get the best gluten free recipes possible.
So lets begin with today's recipe, shortcrust pastry base!
You will need: 37g millet flour, 37g sorghum flour, 37g brown rice flour, 55g of tapioca starch and 55g potato starch, 110g unsalted butter, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 eggs and 1 tbsp cold water. (NOTE: This was our first time making this pastry, but we think that the millet shouldn't be combined with the brown rice flour, this is because it gave a grainy texture and a weird after taste)
So, to start, sift all of the flours twice with the salt. Then rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips (Just like if you are making scones). Once it looks like breadcrumbs, whisk the eggs in a separate bowl and add to the flour and butter. Mix with a knife until it comes together in a dough.
Knead until smooth, wrap up in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 mins (We had to go out after we put it in the fridge and once we came back, it was rock solid! So don't keep it in the fridge for longer that an hour).

 My brand new apron from France, thank you Grace Xx

Now, once it is out of the fridge, roll it out and carefully place into the tart pan chosen. Then follow the steps on my Leek and 3 cheese tart to see how to blind bake and finish cooking a tart case. It's as simple as that!
so I hope you enjoyed and tomorrow I will be uploading my favourite recipe for sweets..... Chocolate fudge brownies!

 So stay tuned and until next time, keep on cooking
Kat Xx