*THOSE* Chocolate Brownies Recipe

So I've made these now for a few events and by golly gosh have they gone down well! The old recipe was glitching due to popularity so I've re written it out here with both variations. (For the record, I love the ginger ones but I know some chocolate gluttons can't enough of the triple stuff so you've got that here too!) Thanks lots for all your lovely comments about these guys and I hope you enjoy recreating them at home!

• 200g best quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids or above)
• 175g unsalted butter 
• 200g golden caster sugar
• 125g light brown soft sugar 
• 130g plain flour
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp maldon sea salt
• 3 eggs
• handful chopped stem ginger
• handful of chopped crystallised ginger (both gingers to taste though- I probably added twice as much!) OR
• 250g chopped mixed chocolate chunks
• 1 - 2 tsp maldon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/ Gas Mark 3/ 325°F.
2. Place the chocolate in pieces and butter into a bowl over a pan of simmering water (be careful not to let the bottom of the bowl touch the water and keep it topped up if necessary). Leave until smooth.
3. Using a tea towel (because of the steam), remove from the heat and stir in the sugar until it’s all melted.
4. Sift in the flour and ginger (if using) and mix thoroughly.
5. Leave for a few minutes to cool and then stir in the eggs and salt (don't sprinkle it too much - you want gorgeous hunks of salt throughout!)
6. Mix in the chopped stem ginger pieces and once poured into the tin, stud the top with the crystallised ginger in as even a pattern as you wish or just fold through your choc pieces - finishing with another flourish of salt flakes.
7. Bake for around 30 mins. If it is still really gooey when tested in the centre and wobbles when shook then leave for a few more minutes. Your own judgement here is important as you can make them as gooey and squidgy as you like but don’t leave them for longer than 45 as they’ll be more cakey than brownie-y…
8. Leave to cool in the tin completely - this is imperative in retaining that fudginess that we all desperately want for a brownie! You can trim the sides after a couple of hours if you just can't wait all afternoon...

Chocolate and Raspberry Fondants Recipe

Fondants are every Masterchef contestant’s worst nightmare. I think I’ve seen only one successful attempt in all the years they’ve been tried! If only they’d all had a look at this recipe… the key here is to make sure that they are chilled completely hard before you put them in the oven.

In this video, I used a dariole mould but these are just as lovely baked in anything- I’ve used teacups and ramekins in the past and just haven’t turned them out. They’re still just as lovely with a dollop of ice cream on top.

When English raspberries are in season, there really is nothing better. However when the season’s over, it might be nice to use something different. Pistachios always work well- whole ones in the centre and chopped ones sprinkled over the top to serve. A crème fraiche would work better to accompany that to give an element of sourness that the raspberries usually give.

This recipe serves 2 but it’s easy to multiply!

Ingredients:

50g dark chocolate

50g butter

50g sugar

1 egg

50g self-raising flour

cocoa

vanilla ice cream – to serve

Recipe:

1.   Stick the chocolate, butter and 50g sugar in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds at a time until melted. Stir throughout.

2.   Leave to stand for 2 minutes and then add the egg. Beat well. Add the flour and mix until smooth.

3.   Butter your dishes and coat the insides with cocoa. Tap out the excess.

4.   Half fill moulds and add a couple of raspberries into the centre. Top up with mix until ¾ full.

5.   Chill in fridge for 30-45 mins until hard. Preheat oven to 200c.

6.   Bake for 14 mins EXACTLY.

7.   Upturn using a plate and serve with ice cream.

Salted Caramel Melty Middle Cookies Recipe

These wicked cookies have a super easy way of getting a gooey middle- Rolos! If you wanted more of a challenge you definitely could make your own caramels and freeze them into blobs before popping in the middle of the dough but for those times when you just want a little twist on a classic, Rolos will always do the job well. This is also just a great choc chip cookie recipe so up the chocolate chunks if you wish and be liberal with the sea salt on top.

Makes 10

Ingredients:

160g salted butter, softened

160g light soft brown sugar

2tsp vanilla paste

1 egg

230g plain flour

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

150g mixed chocolate chunks

1 roll of Rolo’s- frozen

sea salt flakes (for the top)

Recipe:

1.   Line a couple of baking trays and whip up your butter and sugar until really light and fluffy- probably around 5 minutes with an electric mixer.

2.   Beat in the egg and vanilla paste until fully incorporated. Sieve in the flour and bicarb and slowly mix through. Chuck in the choc and do the same adding the 1 tsp salt in too.

3.   Grab tbsp. of the dough and roll into balls. Smush in a rolo into the middle of each one and add a sprinkle of sea salt on the top. Leave the chill in the fridge until hard.

4.   Preheat the oven to 190c and bake for around 10-12 minutes for perfectly crunchy edges and the gooey middles. Leave to harden on the tray before transferring to a cooling rack. After about 10 minutes cooling, they’re at the perfect temperature to eat!

Billionaire's Shortbread Recipe

We all know and love Millionaire’s shortbread but this takes it up to another level. The addition of a peanut butter fudge-like layer gives another texture and of course another flavour to the classic slice. I’ve always loved the blend of sweet and salty and so adding salted peanuts on the top was a no brainer. With nut butters being far more varied and easily available, you could totally swap out peanuts for something else, Pip & Nut’s Coconut Almond Butter is a particular favourite of mine- I just switch to toasted almonds on top and a sprinkle of sea salt! 

Makes 8 large squares

Ingredients:

Base:

220g butter

140g peanuts, chopped

220g plain flour

50g corn flour

85g golden caster sugar

Peanut Layer:

130g butter

225g peanut butter

150g icing sugar

1 tin caramel

350g dark chocolate

Decorations: popping candy, gold leaf, peanuts

1.   Preheat oven to 180c. Grease and line a rectangular tin (20x30cm).

2.   Base: Rub butter and flours together to form a dough. Add sugar and chopped peanuts. Add water if needed to bring together. Press into the tin. Bake for 25 mins then cool.

3.   Peanut layer: put butter and peanut butter in a pan and melt down. Add icing sugar and mix together. Pour over shortbread and chill in fridge for 2 hours.

4.   Pour caramel over the peanut layer and then chill for 1 ½ hours.

5.   Melt dark chocolate and then pour over caramel layer. Chill for 2 hours, and then decorate!