Chocolate Brownie Heaven

These are really good, much nicer than chocolate cake, and can be piled up nicely on plates at dinner or birthday parties. Instead of birthday cake, pile these up and spike with birthday candles. There are never any leftovers. Do not bake these if you are on a diet, they are evil!

Ingredients

340g dark chocolate

255g unsalted butter

3 medium eggs

255g dark muscovado sugar

110g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

100g chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 170C and butter and line a 23cm cake tin. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. In a bowl, over a pan of hot water, melt the chocolate and butter together. Whisk the eggs and slowly add the sugar. Beat in the chocolate mixture and gently fold in the flour and chocolate buttons. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 35 minutes until the surface is set but a skewer comes out with a little of the mixture clinging to it. Remove and cool slightly before placing on a wire rack to cool. Cut into pieces and keep in a tin or in the fridge. I find these easier to separate if you slice them up then put them in the fridge for a couple of hours before separating them, as they can be quite delicate.

Boysenberry and Apple Strudel

Tomorrow night we have decided to only have desserts for dinner because we can. As this isn't 'best practise' when it comes to parenting, I was trying to think of a recipe that might contain fruit and protein, that might be 'almost healthy'. Then the word 'strudel' popped into my mind. No, it is not healthy, but it is good, and if you're only going to eat desserts then why not have your favourites. It does contain fruit and ricotta cheese which is healthy, just ignore the sugar and butter parts of the recipe. If you want a truly healthy dessert, try freezing banana and strawberry bite size pieces. Blend these with a little yoghurt/milk until it reaches ice-cream consistency. The end result is sugar free ice cream which can be lactose free if you use soy milk or yoghurt.

Anyway, back to the strudel...

75g butter
90ml light muscovado sugar
3 egg yolks
1 lemon, grated rind only
¼ tsp nutmeg, grated
250g ricotta cheese
8 large sheets filo pastry
200g boysenberries
2 apples, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp sliced almonds
icing sugar, for dusting
To serve créme fraîche


Preheat the oven to 190C. Soften 15g of the butter. Place it in a bowl and beat in the sugar and egg yolks until light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon rind, nutmeg and ricotta. Set aside. Melt the remaining butter in a small pan. Working quickly, place a sheet of filo on a piece of greaseproof and brush generously with the melted butter. Put a second sheet on top and repeat the process. Continue until all the filo has been buttered and layered. Spoon the ricotta mixture over the filo pastry and spread until it covers the pastry - leave a border around the edge. Scatter over the apples and boysenberries. Fold in the filo border and use the greaseproof paper to carefully roll up the strudel. Grease a baking sheet with butter and place the strudel on top. Scatter the almonds over the top. Bake the strudel for 35-40 minutes until golden and crisp. Dust with icing sugar and serve with créme fraîche.

Simply Sushi Salad

This was such an obvious combination to put into a salad, I don't know why I never though of it before especially considering that I eat sushi as often as possible. Tastes like sushi but without all the fuss of rolling it (although that is something I really enjoy but only when I'm in the mood). My 5 year old won't usually eat salads, but has now changed his mind. I will have him eating greek salads by the end of the summer.

Sushi Salad

2 cups basmati rice

3 tablespoons sesame oil

3 cloves garlic finely chopped

2.5cm piece ginger finely chopped

1/2 cup soy sauce (tamari, kikomen)

3-5 chillis finely chopped(optional)

3/4 cup rice wine vinegar

8 nori sheets cut into small strips

150g smoked salmon

1/3 cup toasted sesame seeds

1/2 bag baby spinach leaves

1 avocado (optional)

Cook rice according to packet instructions. Heat sesame oil in pan and fry garlic, ginger and a dash of soy sauce for a couple of minutes. Put rice in bowl, and pour over the aromatics, left over soy sauce and vinegar. Add remaining ingredients and mix together garnishing with chopped avocado. Would also be lovely with garlic prawns, roast peppers or cucumber.