Nutella Brioche and Butter Pudding

I first made this dessert by mistake, at the humble age of 11 or so. Back in the first few years of senior school I was lucky enough to have Food Technology lessons; we shared kitchens in pairs and got to eat everything we made. Obviously I didn’t realise how great they were at the time, but in hind sight, and in the knowledge of how difficult it is to find evening cookery courses (that aren’t either too academic, extortionately priced, or about cupcakes) I really wish I had made the most of them. Each week we were given an ingredients list for the following lessons recipe, and each week I would lose it in the bottom of my satchel until around about 5 pm the night before said lesson. On one such occasion the only kind of bread available in the grocery shop down the road was brioche… and so the Brioche and Butter Pudding was born. 

I remember Mrs Grist, the scary FT teacher, being infinitely impressed with my (read my mums) cleverness at substituting brioche for bread, and this happy accident became a firm favourite in my household.

The sweetness that the brioche brings to the pudding is complimented by a generous amount of Nutella, which melts all over the bread. Delicious. So quick and simple to make, I serve mine with double cream, custard or ice cream.

Serves 4 to 6

Loaf of Brioche, sliced and cut into triangles

Lots of Nutella

1 egg

half a pint of milk

1 tbsp caster sugar

handful of raisins

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Spread the Nutella on each slice of brioche and arrange in a greased tin or pyrex dish, sprinkling over raisins on each layer. 
2. Mix the milk and sugar, then add the egg and beat until all mixed together. Pour mixture over the brioche, ensuring that the bread is soaked with the liquid. Cook in the oven for half an hour, until the pudding is nicely browned on top.

Milk Chocolate Truffles

Happy New Year everyone!! So I really ought to be posting something healthy, probably a salad, to welcome in the New Year, and ‘start as I mean to go on’, as they say. Instead, I’m sharing with you a recipe consisting of chocolate, cream and alcohol – its not like we’ve indulged enough over the festive period. OK, enough excuses, these little balls of chocolatey joy mark my first tryst with homemade confectionary, and I’m pleased to report that it was a great success. I actually made these truffles as a Christmas gift, presented in little Lakeland truffle cases in a box with ribbons and baubles, they were hugely simple to make and really delivered on flavour. The initial bitter darkness of the cocoa powder exterior is soon replaced by an almost caramel, smooth, milky interior – I think they’re simply delicious, and suggest you break your New Years resolutions immediately and try making them too, you won’t be disappointed.

Adapted from The Good Housekeeping Cookery Book

Makes around 24 truffles

225g good quality milk chocolate (I used Green and Blacks)

90ml double cream

3 tbsp brandy

Good quality cocoa powder (I used Green and Blacks)

1. Grate the chocolate into a small heatproof bowl that will fit over a pan. Add the cream and stand over a pan of simmering water until the chocolate begins to melt. Stir well until smooth and remove from the heat. (At this point my chocolate started to look a bit greasy, but don’t worry if this happens to you, it didn’t effect the end product)
2. Leave to cool for around half an hour, then beat in the brandy. Use an electric whisk to beat the mixture until fluffy and paler in colour, about 5 minutes. It should be firm enough to stand in peaks.
3. Spoon into a shallow tin, flatten out, cover and refrigerate for two hours until quite firm.
4. Sprinkle a plate with cocoa powder and, using a teaspoon, spoon even-sized amounts and place on the plate. Dust your hands with cocoa powder and quickly roll the spoonfuls of chocolate into balls, making sure they each get a good cocoa covering. Place on waxed paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
5. Keep the truffles packed in cases and boxes in the fridge, and eat within 3 days.

See these truffles and more delicious treats over at the Sweet as Sugar Cookies Party.

Really Easy White Chocolate Sauce

Another post made up ahead. Yes, I’m still on holiday. Fingers crossed I’m beautifully bronzed by now, and haven’t got too fat on all the lovely Turkish bread and beer that I will have no doubt feasted on.

My Mum took Ben and I to the new Cote Restaurant that has just opened in Bath before we went on holiday, a delicious meal was had by all and I can thoroughly recommend the duck. Mum opted for the Iced Summer Berries with a Warm White Chocolate Sauce for pudding, and we all agreed that it was the perfect simple, relatively good for you summer dessert. I decided to recreate the pud at home by using slightly defrosted raspberries and making the sauce from scratch, which is just so easy, and takes under five minutes. Perfect with fruit, I’m entirely sure the sauce would go nicely with cakes, crumbles and ice creams too.

Serves 4

100g white chocolate (I used Green and Blacks)

1 tsp vanilla extract

250ml double cream

1. Put all of the ingredients into a small saucepan and melt over a low heat.
2. Whisk together until the mixture has thickened and gone glossy.
3. Serve immediately.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £2

Kitchen Requirements: SMALL SAUCEPAN, WHISK.

Find more delicious desserts over at Sweet As Sugar Cookies, where this recipe is linked along with heaps of others!

The Ultimate Chocolate Cake

Yesterday was Ben’s Birthday and I decided to mark the occasion with the most calorific cake I have ever known. This is definitely the cake that Bruce Bogtrotter was forced to eat by the evil Miss Trunchbull in ‘Matilda’, crammed full of sugar and dark chocolate, and smothered with yet more melted chocolate, it certainly won’t appeal to anyone watching their waistline. I’ve only managed a sliver so far, but I can assure you that it is very good, rich yes, but the texture is surprisingly light, considering what’s been packed in to it. Most importantly the Birthday Boy was impressed, as were his friends.

I followed this BBC Good Food recipe, pretty much to the letter, except I substituted half the dark chocolate that was going into the ganache with milk chocolate (I’m not all that keen on the bitterness of dark chocolate) and halved the cake mixture into two cake tins to make a sandwich, rather then risk cutting it into three. I also checked on the cakes after they had been in the oven for 1 hour, and they were already cooked (although this may just be my oven). Happy 25^th Birthday Baby!!

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £10

Kitchen Requirements: TWO CAKE TINS, COOLING RACK, LARGE MIXING BOWL, SMALL MIXING BOWL, SAUCEPAN.

Oreo Brownies

I have a good friend who makes the best brownies in the world. She used to sell them at school to raise money for charity, that was until she was banned by the dinner ladies for taking all their break time trade. I don’t think any recipe will live up to hers, and these don’t quite, but they are very good, and actually improved with age. I was a little bit worried about the amount of dark chocolate and cocoa, preferring milk, but these weren’t as dark in the end as I’d expected. The Oreo’s added a nice twist to the traditional recipe, but they’re certainly not essential. The finished product came out oozy in the centre but was a little more like cake then brownie, but the consistency improved once it had been put in the fridge over night. I certainly haven’t found the best brownies in the world yet, but while I’m searching for them I’m more then happy to munch on these.

I followed the Lorraine Pascale recipe, from her ‘Baking Made Easy’ series.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £3

Kitchen Requirements: SAUCEPAN, MIXING BOWL, PYREX DISH, BAKING PARCHMENT, ELECTRIC WHISK (OR REGULAR WHISK AND LOTS OF ENERGY).

Valentines Day.

Although not strictly student cooking, and not strictly cooked by me, I thought I must show you the lovely meal that Ben cooked for Valentines Day, and the recipes he followed. It was lovely to have a night off from cooking, and especially lovely to have such a wonderful feast cooked for me. We started with griddled langoustine (BBC Good Food), which were served with a hazelnut and parsley dipping sauce. The sweetness of the sauce went well with the shellfish, which were a great choice as a light starter.

This was followed by roast quail served on a bed of pureed parsnips and potatoes with buttered spinach and a delicious plum sauce. The plum sauce recipe is from the BBC Good Food website and was initially meant to accompany duck breast, but it went very well with the quails, which were a real treat, simply cooked in the oven at 190C for 20 to 25 minutes.

Pudding was a no cook Chocolate Tart, with a sweet biscuity base that offset the bitterness of the chocolate nicely, served with a dollop of crème fraiche and a scatter of raspberries. This rich dessert provided the perfect ending to an indulgent meal, as is fitting for a Valentine’s Day. The best thing about the menu, other then it tasting delicious of course, was that it was planned in a way that meant Ben didn’t have to spend too much time in the kitchen during the meal. Thank you baby.

Chocolate Pots

Those of you with a sweet tooth will love these, those without, steer well clear. Packed with chocolate and sugar, they make a really rich and indulgent pud, which probably shouldn’t become an everyday fixture, but is nice as a treat every now and again (Valentines day being the perfect opportunity). You will, I’m afraid, need a food processor to make them though.

From Leon: Naturally Fast Food

Makes 4 to 6 pots (mixture filled four old GU ramekins)

240ml double cream

70g caster sugar

200g chocolate

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 egg yolks

1. Heat the cream and sugar in a pan and bring to the boil. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved.
2. Chop the chocolate into small chunks and put into a food processor with the vanilla essence and egg yolks.
3. When the cream is simmering, start the processor and pour it in (do this VERY carefully, and on a low speed, or you will end up with a chocolate explosion like I did). When smooth, pour the mixture into ramekins and refrigerate for over 2 hours.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £5

Kitchen Requirements: FOOD PROCESSOR, RAMEKINS, SMALL PAN, SMALL MIXING BOWL.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today has been a busy day, cooking wise. Bread, cookies and casserole, needless to say I'm feeling pretty cooked out now. Luckily I have these lovely chocolate chip cookies to get me through, and the batch is big enough to be snacking on for a good few days to come.

Really simple to make and devilishly indulgent, the only changes I made to the original recipe was using an extra 100g of milk chocolate and 100g less of the dark (I couldn't find 50% cocoa solids so had to settle for 70%, but didn't want to make them too bitter). The recipe can be found on the BBC Good Food website.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER
Budget: UNDER £5
Kitchen Requirements: LARGE MIXING BOWL, HEAT PROOF BOWL, SMALL PAN, BAKING SHEET.