Recipe: Skeleton Brownies

 

🎶 Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back 🎶 Sorry I couldn’t resist but that particular lyric is perfect for todays recipe. I’m going to hold my hands up and say that these aren’t perfect, they are nothing like the ones on Pinterest that I took my inspiration from but I’m happy that I actually managed to complete this from start to end and have something edible and somewhat cute at the end. This skeleton brownies are a bit of fun, they’re not a serious bake but would look perfect on a Halloween party spread and as I said I’m just happy they turned out edible. 

Ingredient 

For The Brownies

• 200g Dark Chocolate
• 200g Unsalted Butter
• 275g Caster Sugar
• 90g Plain Flour 
• 35g Cocoa Powder
• 3 Eggs
• 33g Dark Choc Chips, 33g Milk Choc Chips and 33g White Choc Chips

For The Decorations

• White Chocolate Pretzels
• White Normal Sized Marshmallows
• White Mini Marshmallows
• Edible Writing Pen
• Toothpicks

Method 

1. Pre heat oven to 180C. Line a 12inch rectangular tin with greaseproof paper.
2. In a Bain Marie melt your unsalted butter and chocolate together. It’ll take a while but it gives a smoother finish to the mixture which essentially gives a fudgier texture to the overall brownie. 
3. Once your chocolate and butter have melted together place to one side to cool. Into a clean bowl place your eggs and sugar and beat until double in size, pale in colour and mousse like in texture. It takes a while to get there but it’s worth it. 
4. By now you’re chocolate mix should be cool and you can now fold it through your egg mixture. You need to fold it through so you don’t beat out the air you’ve just spent time beating in otherwise it’ll give you more of a bread like brownie once it’s cooked. 
5. Fold in your flour, cocoa powder and chocolate chips. This is where you’ll need to scrape the edges and the sides so that everything is incorporated and you don’t have pockets of unmixed flour baking in your brownies. 
6. Spoon your mixture into your waiting tin and cook for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin. 
7. Now it’s time for some marshmallow art. Grab yourself nine normal sized marshmallows and your edible writing pen. Then all you have to do is have fun and let your creative side show. I’m the worst artist but think my marshmallow skulls came out quite well.
8. By the time you’ve finished your marshmallow art your brownies should be cool and you can start creating your skeletons. To start off with gently score your brownies into nine pieces as a guide to place your toothpicks. 
9. Once you’ve placed your toothpicks in the centre of each brownie chunk, place a pretzel on top of the brownie making sure the toothpick goes through one of the holes. Repeat until you have the base of your skeletons rib cage on each brownie chunk. 
10. Then take a mini marshmallow and gently squish and roll it between your fingers until it’s a bit mishaped but still edible. Slide it down the toothpick until it hits the pretzel and then place another pretzel on top of the marshmallow. 
11. When you have your second rib in place, slide another mini marshmallow down the toothpick to create a neck for the head. Slide the head into place, don’t worry if the marshmallow cracks a little it just adds to the effect. 
12. Repeat until you have nine skeletons erupting from their graves. I advise leaving them to cool completely in the tin and then cutting when it’s sufficiently cooled. 
13. Then all that’s left is to enjoy them. I took mine into work and my colleagues loved them. Imperfect but perfect for spooky season. 

Recipe: Ghoulish Marbled Halloween Cupcakes

 

I love baking for Halloween, it allows me to be a bit more adventurous, so many ghouls and monsters that can easily be incorporated into bakes but sometimes its also nice to strip it back and keep it simple. And that’s what I’m sharing with you today. A simple cupcake recipe with a surprise centre all topped off with a graveyard grey buttercream that has just the hint of glitter in it. 

Ingredients 

For The Cupcakes

- 150g Stork

- 150g Caster Sugar

- 150g Self Raising Flour

- 2 Tsps Vanilla Extract

- 3 Eggs

- Orange Food Colouring

- Green Food Colouring

For The Buttercream

- 200g Butter, softened 

- 320g Icing Sugar

- 2 Tsps Vanilla Extract

- Black Food Colouring

- Jam, flavour of your choice

Method

1. Pre heat oven to 180C. Line a twelve hole cupcake tin with paper cases. 
2. Into a bowl place your caster sugar and stork. Cream together either by hand, electric mixer or stand mixer until it’s pale and fluffy in colour. 
3. Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour. Beat until well combined and then repeat with your remaining eggs. 
4. Fold in your flour and vanilla extract, taking time to slowly fold it through and keep all the air you’ve just beat into the mixture. 
5. Now comes the fun part. Divide your mixture between two bowls. Into one bowl add your orange food colouring and mix until you’ve reached your desired colour. I used quite a lot of orange colouring as I wanted it to be quite bright. 
6. In your second bowl add your green food colouring and again mix until you reach your desired colour. I had to mix two different greens for this recipe as the lighter green on it’s own had too much of a yellow undertone that the darker green turned slime coloured when added. 
7. To marble the two together just alternate spooning the mixture into the waiting paper cases and pop in the oven for 20-22 minutes or until the top springs back when pressed. You could take a toothpick and marble them together before cooking but they automatically and organically do it when they bake so I always like to leave it to the oven to create my pattern. 
8. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 
9. Now its time to make your buttercream. Pop your softened butter into a clean bowl and beat until soft and pale in colour. I highly advise using a hand mixer or a stand mixer for this part as doing this by hand can be a killer. 
10. Sift in half of your icing sugar and beat until fully incorporated. I tend to start off by folding my icing sugar in so it doesn’t fly out of the bowl and you’re don’t get that dreaded icing sugar cloud. 
11. Sift in the remaining half of your icing sugar and vanilla extract and beat again. Take this time to really scrape the edges and the bottom of the bowl so there aren’t pockets of icing sugar left unmixed in your buttercream. 
12. This is where it gets difficult. Adding food colouring to buttercream isn’t difficult but trying to create that perfect midnight black is. I used the Sugarflair Midnight Black food colouring to start with and it’s what’s given it that lovely metallic sheen but you may need to combine two shades of black to get there or even somewhere close. I also used the Dr Oetker Black Gel Food Colouring to achieve this colour which wasn’t what I was going for but still turned out well in the end. 
13. Once you’ve gotten your desired colour, set your now prepared buttercream to one side. It’s time to add your secret centre. Take your now cooled cupcakes and using a knife or a corer cut out the centre. You could keep them to place on top once you’ve filled them or you could eat them as I did. 
14. Take your jam and spoon a small amount into the middle of your cupcake. Using the back of your spoon gently press down so that your filling lies flat against the top of your cupcake. 
15. Fit a piping bag with a nozzle of your choice and then fill it with your buttercream. Pipe your desired design onto your cupcakes. Don’t worry about your buttercream mixing with your jam, it’s all going to smush together when you bite it anyways.
16. Then all that’s left is to enjoy. I love the metallic sheen these have and when you bit into them you get that delicious sweet vanilla alongside the sharp, tart taste of the jam. Trust me whoever you bake these for is going to love them. 

Recipe: S’mores Cupcakes

I made a s’mores inspired recipe back in 2018 and looking back on it, I’m both embarrassed by and proud of myself. The original recipe looks horrendous compared to these little beauties but it makes me proud to see how far I’ve come as a baker in these last two years. 

Where 2018’s recipe was nothing more than a chocolate sponge topped with a marshmallow buttercream and sprinkled with crushed digestive. Today’s recipe however consists of a buttery biscuit base, moist rich chocolate sponge all topped off with a toasted marshmallow buttercream that when bitten into gives you a delicious mixture of sweet and salty, creating that melt in the mouth s’mores texture. 

Ingredients 

For The Buttery Biscuit Base 

- 45g Melted Butter

- 150g Crushed Digestives 

- 1 1/2 Tbsps Golden Syrup 

For The Cupcakes 

- 100g Caster Sugar 

- 100g Stork

- 100g Self Raising Flour 

- 15g Cocoa Powder

- 2 Eggs 

- 2 Tsps Chocolate Extract 

For The Buttercream 

- 200g Unsalted Butter, softened 

- 320g Sugar And Crumbs Toasted Marshmallow Icing Sugar 

Method 

1- Pre heat oven to 180C. Line a twelve hole cupcake tin with paper cases. 

2- To make your buttery biscuit base you’ll want to mix the crushed digestives with the golden syrup and melted butter. Once combined it should look like wet sand. 

3- Spoon a tablespoon of the biscuit mixture into your paper cases. Using the end of a rolling pin press the mixture down until it evenly covers the bottom of your paper cases. Place to one side. 

4- Into a bowl place your sugar and stork. Cream together until pale and fluffy in texture. 

5- Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour. Beat until well combined. 

6- Repeat with your second egg and a second tablespoon of flour. Beat until combined, taking care to scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl. 

7- Fold in your remaining flour, cocoa powder and chocolate extract. Take your time at this point as you don’t want to knock out any air from the mixture. 

8- Spoon on top of the biscuit mix and bake for 22 minutes or until the sponge springs back when pressed. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 

9- Now it’s onto the buttercream. Place the softened unsalted butter into a clean bowl and beat until soft and pale in colour. 

10- Add half your icing sugar and beat until fully incorporated. I advise folding in the icing sugar to start with as it helps stop that horrid icing sugar cloud covering you and all surfaces surronding you. 

11- Beat in the rest of your icing sugar alongside two teaspoons of milk until you have a nice piping consistency. 

12- Spoon your buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle of your choice and decorate your now cooled cupcakes. 

13- Then all that’s left is to enjoy them and trust me when I say one definitely won’t be enough. 

 

Recipe: Dark Chocolate And Orange Shortbread

                                           

I love shortbread, love cooking shortbread and love thinking of new flavour combinations to try out in my shortbread recipes. And earlier in the year I shared a recipe for triple chocolate shortbread that created my addiction for shortbread with chocolate chips in. So with Autumn upon us and Christmas rapidly approaching, I thought I’d try and incorporate one of my favourite Autumn/Winter flavours into shortbread. So today I’m sharing with you my dark chocolate and orange shortbread thar’s rich, sharp and melt in the mouth delicious. The key to this shortbread is dark chocolate chips, their slightly bitter flavour combines perfectly with the sharpness of the orange and creates a delicious combination in each bite.

Ingredients 

- 115g Butter

- 55g Caster Sugar 

- 175g Plain Flour 

- 100g Dark Chocolate Chips

- Pinch Of Salt

- Zest Of One Orange

- Juice Of Half An Orange 

Method

1. Pre heat oven to 180C. Line a tin of your choosing with greaseproof paper.
2. Into a bowl place your caster sugar, plain flour and salt.
3. Add your butter and then using your fingers or a food processor blitz/rub together until it resembles breadcrumbs. 
4. Add your dark chocolate, orange zest and orange juice. Continue rubbing together until it starts to resembles a dough. Normally I’d add a little bit of water to my mix to help bind it all together but because we’ve added the orange juice, we don’t need that extra help to bind everything together. 
5. Once you have your dough, you can either roll it out on a lightly floured surface and cut out with a cutter of your choice or you can press it into a small tin that’s lined with greaseproof paper like I do. 
6. Once your shortbread is ready, pop it into the oven and let it bake for 10-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. 
7. Leave to cool completely in the tin if you’ve cooked it as a whole and then cut and enjoy or if you have shaped shortbread just gently peel it from the greaseproof and enjoy. These work wonderfully with a nice cuppa and one bit won’t be enough. 

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Shortbread

 

I think it’s safe to say that I’m a little obsessed with pumpkin spice, even though I’m yet to have a PSL so far this year. So today I’ll be sharing with you my recipe for Pumpkin Spice Shortbread. Rich and buttery, this crumbly shortbread embodies all the flavours of Autumn whilst still melting in the mouth and being absolutely delicious. 

Ingredients 

- 115g Butter

- 175g Plain Flour 

- 55g Caster Sugar

- Pinch Of Salt

- 2 Tsps Pumpkin Spice Mix 

Method 

1- Pre heat the oven to 180C. Line a tin of your choosing with greaseproof paper. This can be a round sandwich tin like I used or a flat baking tray so you can roll and cut out your desired shape. 

2- Into a bowl place your plain flour, caster sugar and salt/ 

3- Add your butter and rub together until it resembles breadcrumbs. You can also use a food processor to do this but I don’t have one and find it quite satisfying to do with my fingers. 

4- Add your pumpkin spice mix and continue to rub together with your fingers until the mixture starts coming together to resemble a dough. You may require some water to get the dough to come together but you don’t want to add too much as it’ll make the dough too wet and it will just stick to the sides of the bowl. 

5- Now I planned on using some leave shaped cutters and being all Autumnal and that but my amazon order got lost in the post and I had to just pop my dough into my prepared round tin and bake it. You can use any cutter you like and just need to roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface before using your cutters to create your desired shape. Then it’s just a case of popping them onto your prepared tin and popping them into the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. 

6- Once your shortbread is cooked, leave it to cool in the tin completely. Then once it’s cooled all that’s left to do is cut it if you’ve cooked it in a tin like mine or just peel gently off the greaseproof paper and enjoy with a cup of coffee. 

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Loaf

On Thursday I shared with you my first Pumpkin Spice recipe. And today I’m back with another. What can I say, I just love pumpkin spice. But honestly a lot of this recipe is just from the fact that I love a good loaf recipe now that I’ve actually mastered how to cook a good loaf. And this loaf is divine. A delicious brown sugar based loaf packed with pumpkin spice mix and topped with a sweet coffee buttercream that just makes me long for my first PSL of the season. 

Ingredients 

For The Sponge

- 150g Light Brown Sugar

- 150g Stork

- 150g Self Raising Flour 

- 3 Eggs

- 2 Tsps Pumpkin Spice Mix

For The Buttercream 

- 150g Butter, softened

- 270g Icing Sugar

- 2 Tsps Vanilla Extract

- 2 Tsps Coffee Extract 

Method 

1- Pre heat oven to 150C. Line your 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper or a loaf tin liner. 

2- Place your stork and light brown sugar into a bowl. Cream together until pale in colour and fluffy in texture. 

3- Add your eggs one at a time, each followed with a tablespoon of flour. Beat well in between each egg, taking care to scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl. 

4- Fold in the rest of your flour along with your pumpkin spice mix. Take your time folding these in as it’ll help to keep the air you’ve just beaten into the mixture. If you’re wondering how to make pumpkin spice mix then just pop it into google and there will be a ton of recipes. 

5- Spoon your mixture into your loaf tin evenly and bake for 45-60 minutes. I always advise putting your loaf tin on another flat baking tray so that if your mixture decides to overflow when cooking then it goes onto the tray and not straight into your oven. 

6- Once your loaf is cooked (a skewer comes out clean) place to one side and leave to cool. I always advise leaving it to cool in the tin for ten minutes and then transfer it to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 

7- Now it’s time to make your buttercream. You don’t have to top this loaf with a buttercream but I like how it looks and tastes with the buttercream. Place your softened butter into a clean bowl and beat until soft and pale in colour. 

8- Sieve in half your icing sugar and beat until fully combined. Take care to fold the icing sugar in first before going mad with the mixing otherwise everything from yourself to your units and even the family pet will end up covered in a thin coating of icing sugar. 

9- Sieve in the remaining half of your icing sugar and beat again. 

10- Now it’s time to add your flavourings. I use a mixture of coffee and vanilla so it’s less bitter and gives the flavour of a sweetened coffee. Beat the extracts until they’re fully combined, taking care to scrape the edges of the bowl so nothing is left unincorporated. 

11- Usually I’d add some milk to the buttercream to create a nice piping consistency but the combination of the two extracts has loosened the mixture and created the perfect consistency. So all you need to then do is spoon into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle of your choice and decorate your now cooled loaf. 

12- Then once it’s decorated all that’s left to do is to cut yourself a huge slice and enjoy with a massive cup of tea or coffee. 

Recipe: Classic Victoria Sponge

 

 Victoria Sponges are a classic. The most basic and simple sponge to make and yet so easily adaptable and enjoyed by many. A lot of my sandwich cakes have a base of a Victoria Sponge but with other flavours added in. Yet today I’m sharing with just the classic sponge on it’s own, with a simple vanilla buttercream and blackcurrant jam sandwiching the two sponges together. 

Ingredients 

For The Sponges 

- 200g Stork 

- 200g Caster Sugar 

- 200g Self Raising Flour 

- 4 Eggs 

- 2 Tsps Vanilla Extract 

For The Buttercream 

- 100g Butter, softened 

- 160g Icing Sugar 

- 2 Tsps Vanilla Extract 

- A Splash Of Milk 

- Blackcurrant Jam 

Method

1. Pre heat oven to 180C. Line two 8inch sandwich trays with greaseproof paper.

2. In a bowl place your stork and caster sugar. Cream together until pale and fluffy. 

3. Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour. Beat until well combined, taking care to scrape the sides of the bowl so nothing is left sitting on the side. 

4. Repeat with the next three eggs, each one incorporated fully, taking care to scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl. 

5- Fold in the remaining flour alongside your vanilla extract. Take care when folding it through as beating the mixture unneccasarily can cause it to lose it's air and will leave you with a flat, tough, chewy cake. 

6- Spoon your prepared mixture between your two prepared tins and bake for 20-22 minutes or until a skewere comes out clean.You can also do the spring back test by gently pressing the top of the cake with your middle finger. If it springs back immediately then it's cooked, if it doesn't then it needs a few more minutes in the oven. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 

7- Now it's onto the buttercream. Place your softened butter in a clean bowl and beat until smooth, soft and paler in colour. I advise using a stand mixer or a hand mixer as this can take a while and if you attempt to do this by hand you'll likely end up with cramp. 

8- Sieve in half of your icing sugar and beat until completely combined. 

9- Sieve in the rest of your icing sugar and beat until fully incorporated, taking care to scrape the sides of the bowl so there aren't pockets of icing sugar sat in your mixture. 

10- Beat in your vanilla and a splash of milk. These will help to get your buttercream to an easy spreading or piping consistency but won't make it overly runny. Mine looks a lot softer than normal because I made it during a hotter than normal day/

11- By now your cakes will have cooled. Now how you apply your buttercream is entirely up to you. I spread mine over as it was easier than piping but you can easily pipe a cute desgin with a piping nozzle of your choice. 

12- Once you've applied you buttercream, apply a generous amount of jam and sandwich the two cakes together. If when you make this it's warmer than normal, don't push them down when you sandwich the sponges. It'll cause the icing and the jam to ooze out the sides and you'll end up with a sloppy mess that you won't want to share with anyone. 

13- Then all that's left is to cut yourself a generous slice and enjoy with a cuppa or a coffee.

Recipe: Kinder Bueno Cupcakes

When me and my colleagues were deciding on what to do for our Saturday Boy’s 18th, we tossed around the idea of making him a cake or cupcakes. From there we argued what flavour would be best when I remembered that he loved Kinder Bueno’s (I mean who doesn’t?) and me being the Mary Berry of my store, was given the task of creating him something Kinder Bueno related. Of course I happily accepted it, I love any opportunity to bake and share my creations with people. I opted to make cupcakes as they were easier to transport, perfect and meant he had plenty to share with his family. 

Ingredients 

For The Cupcakes

- 150g Caster Sugar

- 150g Stork

- 150g Self Raising Flour

- 2 Eggs 

- 2 Tsps Chocolate Extract 

- 10g Cocoa Powder 

- 150g Nutella, melted 

For The Buttercream 

- 200g Butter, softened 

- 320g Icing Sugar

- 100g Dark Chocolate, melted

- Kinder Bueno Bars To Decorate 

Method 

1- Pre heat your oven to 180C. Line a twelve hole muffin tin with paper cases. 

2- Into a bowl place your caster sugar and stork. Cream together until pale and fluffy in texture. 

3- Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour. Beat until completely incorporated, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl so nothing is left sat untouched. 

4- Repeat with your remaining egg and another tablespoon of flour. Again beat until fully incorporated.

5- Fold in your remaining flour, cocoa powder and chocolate extract. Take care to be gentle at this step, if you beat this into the mixture you’ll lose all the air you’ve just built up and you’ll end up with a flat, heavy cake. 

6- Fold in your melted Nutella. Again don’t beat this wildly into your mixture or you’ll lose all the air and these when folded correctly are the lightest, fluffiest cakes ever. 

7- Spoon your mixture into you prepared cases and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Once baked, leave to cool in the tin for five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 

8- Now it’s time for the buttercream. Into a clean bowl place your softened butter. Beat until it’s pale in colour and soft in texture. This could take a while so I advise using a stand mixer or a hand mixer for this part. 

9- Sieve in half of your icing sugar and beat until completely incorporated. If using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, start off on a slow speed as you don’t want to end up covering your entire kitchen in a icing sugar cloud. 

10- Sieve in the remaining icing sugar and again beat until you have buttercream. Remember to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as you go so nothing is left unmixed and lumpy in your buttercream. 

11- Fold in your melted dark chocolate, leaving no bit of buttercream unmixed. You could easily use milk chocolate or even just cocoa powder for this part but I wanted the icing to be really rich to blend nicely with the Nutella cupcakes. 

12- Spoon your buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle of your choice and pipe onto your now cooled cupcakes. Once you’ve piped your icing onto your cupcakes, place either a chunk or two chunks (your choice) on top of your cakes. Once the entire batch is iced and decorated, leave to set before sharing with whoever you decide to share them with. 

Recipe: Marble Loaf

For the longest time I’ve struggled to perfect a loaf recipe. They always sank in the middle, didn’t cook through or overflowed from the tin. Now after much trial and error I have perfected it, so expect a lot of loaf recipes from now on. But today I’m starting off my new found love of loaf recipe with a simple marble loaf.

Ingredients
- 150g Caster Sugar
- 150g Stork
- 150g Self Raising Flour
- 3 Eggs
- 20g Cocoa Powder
- 2 Tsps Vanilla Extract
- 2 Tsp Chocolate Extract

Method
1- Pre heat oven to 160C. Line a 2lb loaf tin with a tin liner or greaseproof paper.
2- Into a bowl place your caster sugar and stork. Cream together until pale in colour and fluffy in texture. I always advise leaving your stork out at room temperature as it helps create a nicer texture within the cake.
3- Add one egg at a time along with a tablespoon of flour. Beat until well combined, taking care to scrape the edges of the bowl.
4- Repeat until all three eggs have been incorporated and everything is beaten and well combined.
5- Fold in the remainder of the flour. Take your time when folding in your flour as you don’t want to knock all off the air out of your mixture. Boring I know but necessary if you want a deliciously light cake that melts in the mouth.
6- Separate the mixture evenly between two bowls. In one bowl add your cocoa powder and chocolate extract. Gently fold through until fully combined.
7- In the second bowl add your vanilla extract and fold through until combined.
8- Now it’s time to marble the two together. A skewer worked between the two mixture once they’re in the tin works wonders but I chose to do a somewhat chequer board effect in which I created by spooning alternate spoonfuls of both mixtures into the prepared tin. Any left over I spooned over the top, tapping the tin gently against the counter so the mixture sat evenly in the tin.
9- Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The best way to test to see if it’s cooked is to place a skewer in the centre of the cake but you can also tell by doing the press test. If you gently press the sponge and it springs right back then cake is done.
10- Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Then all that’s left to do is slice and enjoy with a nice cuppa.

Recipe: Coffee And Walnut Cupcakes

Whenever I ask family and friends what cakes they’d like me to bake, coffee and walnut cake almost always tops the list. However because I’ve never been a fan of the flavours combined I’ve never made it for them. But as I’m enjoying a week off work and needing to keep myself busy, I thought I’d finally give it a go.

Ingredients
For The Cupcakes
-100g Stork
-100g Caster Sugar
- 100g Self Raising Flour
- 20g Cocoa Powder
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Tsps Chocolate Extract
- 1 Tsps Coffee Extract

For The Buttercream
- 200g Unsalted Butter, softened
- 320g Icing Sugar
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/2 Tsps Coffee Extract
- A Splash Of Milk
- Walnut Halves To Decorate

Method
1- Pre heat oven to 180C. Line a twelve hole muffin tin with paper cases.
2- Into a bowl place the caster sugar and stork. Cream together until pale and fluffy in texture.
3- Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour. Beat until combined and then repeat with your second egg and another tablespoon of flour.
4- Fold in the flour, coffee extract, cocoa powder and chocolate extract. Fold instead of beat so that all the air you’ve just built into the mixture isn’t knocked out and you don’t end up with a tough, chewy cake.
5- Spoon the mixture into your prepared cases and bake for 20-22mins or until the top springs back when pressed. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
6- Now it’s onto your buttercream. Place your softened unsalted butter into a clean bowl and beat until pale and soft.
7- Sieve in half of your icing sugar and beat until fully combined. Scrape repeatedly along the sides of the bowl and down your spatula, beater or wooden spoon so that there isn’t any little pockets of butter or icing sugar sitting unmixed in your buttercream.
8- Sieve in the remaining half of your icing sugar and beat until fully combined. Now is the best time to add your milk if you need to. It’ll help to loosen the buttercream if it’s too stiff to pipe or spread.
9- Beat in your vanilla and coffee extracts. On its own the coffee extract makes the buttercream strong and a little bitter but the vanilla helps to sweeten it and give it a nice little twist.
10- Spoon  your buttercream into your piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle of your choice. I went with the JEM1D nozzle as it gives a nice loose swirl that gives even the wonkiest looking cupcakes a classy finish.
11- Pipe onto your now cooled cupcakes and top with a walnut halve. Then all that’s left to do is let them set and enjoy.

Recipe: Flapjacks

I love a good flapjack. You know that buttery melt in the mouth kind of flapjack where you only plan on eating one but end up eating three instead. That’s my kind of flapjack and when I was looking through my recipe ideas for the year I realised I’ve never made and shared a flapjack recipe with you. So today that’s changing and here is my first of many flapjack recipes.

Ingredients
- 150g Butter
- 250g Porridge/Rolled Oats
- 75g Light Brown Sugar
- 3 Tbsps Golden Syrup

Method
1- Pre hear oven to 180C. Line a 20cm square tin with greaseproof paper.
2- Into a large saucepan place the butter, sugar and golden syrup. Melt together over a medium heat, stirring regularly.
3- Once everything has melted together take the pan off the heat and pour in the porridge oats. Mix together until everything is covered in the butter/syrup mixture. At this point you could any other ingredients you like. I was tempted to add chocolate chips to my flapjacks but decided to leave it as a traditional flapjack instead.
4- Pour your oat mixture into your prepared tin and press down with a knife or the back of a spoon.
5- Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
6- Once it has cooled you can easily drizzle melted chocolate, Nutella or even peanut butter over the top and leave to set. If you want them plain however this is the part of where you cut them up and help yourself to a slice or two.

Recipe: Hazelnut Brownies

Brownies are something I spent a good portion of my time as a baker failing at. Until a couple of years ago I always ended up with a bread/cake hybrid that tasted delicious but were never my intention to make. Yet now I can make some of the most fudgy, delicious brownies I've ever tasted and I'm constantly on the lookout of what I can add to them to make them even more yummy. Today I'm sharing with you my recipe for Hazelnut Brownies which is possibly my favourite brownie recipe to date. They're fudgy, they're rich and they've got a delicious hint of Nutella alongside the crunch of the chopped hazelnuts.

Ingredients

- 200g Dark Chocolate

- 200g Unsalted Butter

- 275g Caster Sugar

- 90g Plain Flour

- 35g Cocoa Powder

- 100g Dark Chocolate Chips

- 150g Nutella

- 50g Chopped Roasted Hazelnuts

- 3 Eggs

Method 
1- Pre heat your oven to 180C. Line a 9 inch brownie tin with greaseproof paper.
2- In a bain marie melt your dark chocolate and unsalted butter. You can melt the two together in the microwave but it does tend to catch and burn more than when it's done over a bain marie. Once everything has melted together, place to one side and leave to cool.
3- Into a bowl place your sugar and eggs. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, whisk until the mixture has doubled in size, has become pale in colour and has a mousse like texture. I really do advise using an electric mixer for this part as I did it by hand and it hurt a lot.
4- Hopefully by the time it's taken to mix your egg and sugar mixture together, your chocolate/butter mixture will have cooled and you can gently fold the two together. Now you have to fold them together otherwise you'll knock out all the air that you've just beat into the egg/sugar mix.

5- Now it's time to fold in your flour, chocolate chips and cocoa powder. Folding it all in together not only helps keep the air in your mix but also stops your chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom.

6- Then fold in your Nutella and chopped hazelnuts, scraping the edges and the bottom of the bowl so nothing is sat unmixed at the bottom. Now I just put the Nutella in at room temperature and let my spatula fold it evenly through the mixture but you could also soften or melt it slightly so that it folds in easier.

7- Pour into your prepared tin, using your spatula or wooden spoon to spread it out evenly in the tin and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Sometimes it may take just a few minutes more for them to bake but that's okay, everyone's ovens and mixtures will cook differently.
8- Once they're cooked, leave to cool and set in the tin before cutting and enjoying. These last for a good three days if kept in an air tight container and are some of the most delicious brownies I've ever tasted (if I say so myself), even more delicious than the Mini Egg Brownies I posted earlier this month.

Recipe: Lemon And White Chocolate Shortbread

Oh shortbread how I've gone from hating making you to wanting to make only you. Today I'm back with yet another shortbread recipe. After making my delicious Triple Choc Chunk Shortbread earlier this month, I wanted to see what else I could add to my standard shortbread recipe. It's always difficult trying to find flavour combinations that work but this combination is divine. Lemon and white chocolate is the combo I chose in the end, the sweetness of the white chocolate blending beautifully with the tartness of the lemon. And the addition of both lemon zest and lemon juice created a beautiful dough that can together easier than any other shortbread dough has ever done.

Ingredients

- 115g Butter

- 175g Plain Flour

- 55g Caster Sugar

- Zest Of One Lemon

- Juice Of Half A Lemon

- Pinch Of Salt

Method 
1- Pre heat oven to 180C. Line a tin of your choosing with greaseproof paper, I chose a round tin again as I found it gave me a better end result as I'm not rolling and rerolling my dough at all.
2- Into a bowl place your plain flour, caster sugar and salt.
3- Add your butter and rub together with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. This is a bit of an arduous job but is practically the only way to make a delicious short, melt in the mouth shortbread.
4- Now it’s time to add your lemon zest and lemon juice. You don't have to add the juice but I find it gives it that little bit of a kick that you don't get from the zest alone.
5- Keep rubbing and kneading the mix together until it starts to form a dough. Usually you need a little bit of water to help bring this together but the lemon juice works as a binding agent and helps to bring the dough together quickly and easily.
6- Now you can easily roll this out and cut into whatever shapes you like but I decided to just press my dough into the tin as it saved me time and I find it bakes a bit better if it’s handled less. If you’re not cutting your dough into shapes just press your dough into your tin of choice and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
7- Once cooked leave to cool in the tin. The middle may still be a little soft when you take it out but cooling it completely in the tin allows for that to firm and cool evenly.
8- Then all that’s left to do is cut into triangles or squares or whatever shape you baked them into and enjoy.

Recipe: Summer Berries Sandwich Cake

Ingredients 
For The Sponges 
- 200g Caster Sugar
- 200g Stork
- 200g Self Raising Flour
- 4 Eggs
- 3 Tsps Vanilla Extract

For The Buttercream 
- 200g Butter, softened
- 320g Icing Sugar
- 3 Tsps Vanilla Extract
- A Selection Of Summer Berries (Raspberries, Blackberries, Red Currants, Black Currants, Strawberries)

Method 
1- Pre heat oven to 180C. Line two 19cm sandwich tins with greaseproof paper.
2- Into a bowl place your caster sugar and stork. Cream together until they become pale and fluffy.
3- Add each egg and a tablespoon of flour next, beating well in between each one.
4- Fold in the rest of your flour and vanilla extract. Take your time folding the flour through as you don’t want to knock out all of the air you’ve just beat into the mixture. I always add my vanilla extract at this point as well so I don’t have to keep unnecessarily folding or beating the mixture.
5- Spoon your mixture evenly between your two prepared tins and bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown and springy to the touch.
6- Leave to cool in the tins for five minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
7- Now it’s onto the buttercream. Place your softened butter into a bowl and beat until soft and pale in colour.
8- Sieve in half your icing sugar and beat until fully combined. I’d recommend using a hand mixer or a stand mixer for this part so you don’t end up with cramp halfway through beating the icing sugar in.
9- Sieve in the remaining half of your icing sugar and beat until fully incorporated.  Make sure you scrape the edges of the bowl as you go so there are no pockets of icing sugar clinging to the sides.
10- Usually I add a splash of milk to get it to that perfect piping consistency but adding the vanilla extract will do exactly the same job, once beaten into the mix, your buttercream should be light, fluffy and ready to pipe onto your now cooled cakes.
11- Spoon your buttercream into a piping bag fit with a nozzle of your choice and decorate the first layer of your cake however you choose. I piped tiny icing kisses all the way around my cake, leaving just a small space in the centre where I spooned some of my fruit.
12- Place your next layer on top and continue to decorate. I again piped tiny icing kisses all the way around and in my cake, leaving only a small ring in the centre to spoon some more fruit on top. You can easily use the currants to create a pattern or slice the berries in half and place them sporadically around the cake.
13- Then all that’s left to is let the buttercream set and then slice and enjoy anyway you please. I know this is going to go down well with a nice cuppa.

Recipe: Lemon And Lime Sandwich Cake

Since I was a kid I’ve always loved the flavours lemon and lime combined. From squash to marmalade I had it all in lemon and lime. And even now as I’ve “grown up” I still love the combination. Last year I shared my recipe for lemon and lime cupcakes which my friend Debs still talks about to this day but I was still on the lookout for adding another lemon and lime recipe to my repertoire. A loaf cake was out straight away as mine have a horrible tendency to sink in the middle and it wouldn’t suit a shortbread or cookie recipe. So I decided to take a classic and give it a slight twist. So today I bring you my Lemon And Lime Sandwich Cake which consists of two light lemon flavoured sponges, sandwiched together and decorated with lime buttercream, with lemon and lime zest sprinkled over top.

Ingredients
For The Sponges
- 200g Caster Sugar
- 200g Self Raising Flour
- 200g Stork
- 4 Eggs
- Zest Of 2 Lemons

For The Buttercream
- 200g Butter, softened
- 320g Icing Sugar
- Zest Of 2 Limes
- A Splash Of Milk
- 1Tsp Lime Juice (optional)
- Extra Zest To Decorate (Lemon & Lime)

Method
1- Pre heat your oven to 180C. Grease and line two 19cm sandwich tins with greaseproof paper.
2- Into your bowl place the stork and caster sugar. Cream together until pale and fluffy in texture.
3- Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour. Beat until fully combined.
4- Repeat with your remaining eggs, adding a tablespoon of flour after each egg. Beat each time until every thing is incorporated, remembering to scrape the sides of the bowl as well.
5- Fold in the rest of your flour and lemon zest. Slow and steady is the best way at this part. You don’t want to beat the hell out of the mixture as it’ll knock out all the air you’ve already created and you’ll end up with a dense cake that is hard to chew and is more likely to sink when cooling.
6- Split the mixture evenly between your two prepared tins and cook for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown and springy to the touch. Leave to cool in the tins for five minutes, then gently remove them from the tins and leave to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
7- Now it’s onto the buttercream. Place your softened butter into a clean bowl and beat until soft and pale in colour. A hand mixer or a stand mixer are the best for this as it takes a while and will give you horrific arm ache if you attempt it by hand.
8- Sieve in half of your icing sugar and beat until fully incorporated.
9- Sieve in the remainder of your icing sugar and beat again until combined. Take your time to scrape the sides of your bowl down so there are no pockets of icing sugar or butter sat on the sides.
10- If your buttercream is a little stiff add your splash of milk and lime zest now. Beat until it’s a pipable consistency, adding a little more milk if necessary.
11- Now this next step is optional but I added a little bit of lime juice to my buttercream to give it more of a kick. You don’t have to add it if you don’t want to but it’s a good way of adding a bit of punch if you like that stronger flavour.
12- Spoon your buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle of your choice and decorate however you choose. I used my trusty 2D Nozzle to create this mini flower-esque pattern both to sandwich them together and to decorate the top. It’s a nice way to give the middle, sandwich section a prettier look, especially from the sides.
13- Once you’ve decorated your cake sprinkle over your remaining lemon and lime zest. Leave to one side to set or cut a nice big slice straight away. It smells heavenly, looks divine and tastes scrumptious so it’s guaranteed to be a hit with family, friends and work colleagues.

Recipe: Strawberry Cupcakes

As the weather has taken a warmer turn, I've been craving strawberries more and more. Then I decided to make my nan a surprise cake but then realised that a two layer Victoria Sponge cake would be too much for her to eat on her own. So I turned them into cupcakes and they surprisingly turned out better than I expected. A light vanilla sponge with freeze dried strawberry pieces folded through topped with vanilla buttercream and a sliced fresh strawberry.

Ingredients 
For The Cupcakes
- 100g Caster Sugar
- 100g Stork
- 100g Self Raising Flour
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 30g Freeze Dried Strawberries

For The Buttercream 
- 200g Butter, softened
- 320g Icing Sugar
- 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- A splash of milk
- A dozen strawberries sliced in half

Method
1- Pre heat oven to 180c. Line a twelve hole cupcake tin with paper cases.
2- Into a bowl place your caster sugar and stork. Using either a wooden spoon, spatula, hand mixer or stand mixer cream together until it's become soft, pale and fluffy in texture.
3- Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour. Beat until fully combined.
4- Repeat with the second egg and another tablespoon of flour. Beat until combined, taking care to scrape the edges of the bowl so that nothing is left sat on the sides.
5- Fold in your vanilla extract alongside the remainder of your flour. Take care when folding everything together as you don't want to knock out any of the air that you've already added to the mixture.
6- Spoon into your prepared cases and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the top bounces back when pressed gently. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
7- Now it's time to start the buttercream. Place your softened butter into a clean bowl and beat until soft and pale in colour. I highly recommend using a hand mixer or a stand mixer for this part as it can take a while for it to reach the right consistency.
8- Sieve in half of your icing sugar and beat until it's fully combined.
9- Sieve in the other half of your icing sugar and beat until combined. Once everything is combined you can add a splash of milk to your buttercream to loosen it slightly so it's at an easier piping consistency.
10- Beat in your vanilla extract and take your time to scrape around the edges and bottom of the bowl so that there are no pockets of butter or icing sugar sitting there.
11- Spoon into a prepared piping bag fitted with a nozzle of your choice and pipe the buttercream onto your now cooled cupcakes. I used my trusty 2D Flower Nozzle that creates the perfect yet effortless swirl but you can use any piping tip you like.
12- When you've applied buttercream to all of your cupcakes, place your sliced strawberry half on top and leave to set. I highly advise putting these into either an airtight container or into the fridge what with having fresh fruit on top and all.
13- Then all that's left is to enjoy them. Mine went down a treat with my nan, family and work colleagues so I can guarantee all your friends and family will love them as well.

Recipe: Malteaser Cupcakes

Malteasers are some of my favourite chocolates and for the longest time I wanted nothing more than to devour a family box to myself. Yet I refrained from doing so and I chose to make easy Malteaser cupcakes that have a delicious malty kick to them. A light malt/chocolate sponge is topped with a malt and chocolate buttercream with Malteasers on top to decorate.

Ingredients 
For The Cupcakes 
- 100g Light Brown Sugar
- 100g Stork
- 100g Self Raising Flour
- 15g Cocoa Powder
- 10g Malt Powder
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Tsp Chocolate Extract

For The Buttercream 
- 200g Butter, softened
- 320g Icing Sugar
- 15g Cocoa Powder
- 10g Malt Powder
- A splash of milk
- 1 Share Box/Bag Of Malteasers

Method 
1- Pre heat your oven to 180c. Line a twelve cupcake tin with paper cases.
2- Into a bowl place your light brown sugar and stork. Cream together until pale in colour and fluffy in texture.
3- Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour. Beat until combined.
4- Repeat with the other egg and another tablespoon of flour. Beat until fully combined, taking care to scrape the edges of the bowl.
5- Fold in your chocolate extract, cocoa powder and malt powder alongside the remainder of your flour. You can use any type of malt powder, I used Ovaltine as that's all I had but you can easily use Horlicks and if you want to add even more chocolate use the chocolate alternative to both of these.  6- Spoon your mixture into your waiting cupcake cases and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the top springs back when pressed gently. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
7- Now it's time to start your buttercream. Place your softened butter into a clean bowl and beat until soft.
8- Sieve in half your icing sugar and beat until combined. If you're using a hand mixer to make your buttercream, start on a slow speed so your icing sugar doesn't fly everywhere because it coats everything and doesn't taste as good as it suggests.
9- Sieve in the remaining half of your icing sugar and beat until fully combined, taking care to scrape the edges and bottom of the bowl so everything is fully incorporated.
10- Beat in your cocoa powder, malt powder and a small splash of milk to help loosen the mixture and take it to the perfect piping consistency.
11- Spoon your prepared buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle of your choice and pipe onto your now cooled cupcakes. I used my 2D Flower nozzle to create these swirls as it always works wonders with my shaky, still somewhat amateur piping hands.
12- Once all of your cupcakes have been decorated, gently place your malteasers in the centre to create a small cluster. I went for two in the centre so that they didn't roll off or make the cupcake look overloaded but you can put as many malteasers on as you like.
13- Leave to set and then enjoy. I can guarantee these will be a hit with family, friends and work colleagues.

Recipe: Terry’s Chocolate Orange Egg Cupcakes

When I saw that Terry's were doing Chocolate Orange Eggs this year I may have done a dance of joy. Terry's Chocolate Orange is one of my favourite chocolates to eat and to have it now in mini egg form was even better than I expected. Yet it took me up until Easter to actually try one and damn they are tasty so I just had to incorporate them into a recipe. A moist chocolate orange sponge is topped with a light chocolate orange buttercream finished off with a small cluster of eggs in the middle.

Ingredients 
For The Cupcakes 
- 100g Caster Sugar
- 100g Stork
- 100g Self Raising Flour
- 25g Cocoa Powder
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Tsp Orange Extract 
- 2 Tsp Chocolate Extract

For The Buttercream 
- 200g Butter, softened
- 320g Icing Sugar
- 2 Tsp Orange Extract
- 10g Cocoa Powder 
- A splash of milk
- 1 Bag Of Terry's Chocolate Orange Eggs

Method 
1- Pre heat your oven to 180c. Line a twelve cupcake tin with paper cases.
2- Into a bowl place your caster sugar and stork. Cream together until pale in colour and fluffy in texture.
3- Add one egg and a tablespoon of flour. Beat until combined.
4- Repeat with the other egg and another tablespoon of flour. Beat until fully combined, taking care to scrape the edges of the bowl.
5- Fold in your chocolate extract, cocoa powder and orange extract alongside the remainder of your flour. I always use two teaspoons of liquid chocolate extract when I make any kind of chocolate sponge. It helps to stop the cocoa powder catching as the cake cooks and gives it a delicious rich flavour whilst helping the cake stay moist even if you do accidentally leave it the oven a couple of minutes longer than you should.
6- Spoon your mixture into your waiting cupcake cases and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the top springs back when pressed gently. Leave to cool in the tin for five minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
7- Now it's time to start your buttercream. Place your softened butter into a clean bowl and beat until soft.
8- Sieve in half your icing sugar and beat until combined. If you're using a hand mixer to make your buttercream, start on a slow speed so your icing sugar doesn't fly everywhere because it coats everything and doesn't taste as good as it suggests.
9- Sieve in the remaining half of your icing sugar and beat until fully combined, taking care to scrape the edges and bottom of the bowl so everything is fully incorporated.
10- Beat in your orange extract, cocoa powder and a small splash of milk to help loosen the mixture and take it to the perfect piping consistency.
11- Spoon your prepared buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle of your choice and pipe onto your now cooled cupcakes. I used my 2D Flower nozzle to create these swirls as it always works wonders with my shaky, still somewhat amateur piping hands.
12- Once all of your cupcakes have been decorated, gently place your Terry's eggs in the centre to create a small cluster. You can use four or even five but I used only three to keep it looking cleaner and simpler but still ridiculously tasty.
13- Leave to set and then enjoy. I can guarantee these will be a hit with family, friends and work colleagues.

Recipe: Jelly Chick Cupcakes

When I said that I had a lot of recipes to post, I wasn't joking. Today I'm back with my third recipe which again I made back during the Easter period. Now these have Jelly Chicks on them but can easily be replaced by standard Jelly Babies. These went down a storm with my work colleagues when I took them in and I'm sure I'm going to be making these a lot more in the future.

Ingredients 
For The Cupcakes 
- 100g Caster Sugar
- 100g Self Raising Flour
- 100g Stork
- 2 Eggs
- 2Tsps Vanilla Extract

For The Buttercream 
- 200g Butter, softened
- 320g Icing Sugar
- 2 Tsps Lemon Extract 
- 1 Pack Of Jelly Chicks/ Jelly Babies
- Dr Oetker Orange Gel Food Colouring 

Method
1- Pre heat your oven to 180C. Line a twelve hold cupcake tin with paper cases.
2- Into a bowl place your caster sugar and stork. Cream together until pale and fluffy using either a spatula or a stand mixer.
3- Add an egg and a tablespoon of flour and beat until combined.
4- Repeat with your second egg and another tablespoon of flour. Beat until combined, taking time to scrape the sides of the bowl so everything is fully incorporated.
5- Fold in the rest of your flour and vanilla extract, taking time to add more air into the mixture instead of knocking it out. The air you add in now will help to create a light, fluffy cupcake that almost melts in the mouth.
6- Spoon into your prepared cupcake cases and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the top springs back when pressed.
7- Once the cupcakes are cooked, leave to cool in the tin for five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
8- Now it's time to start on your buttercream. Place your softened butter into a bowl and beat until pale and creamy. Your best bet is to use a hand mixer or a stand mixer as this can take a while to do and it's a lot easier on the arms.
9- Sieve in half of your icing sugar and beat until fully combined, taking to scrape the edges of the bowl so no clumps of icing sugar are left sat on the side.
10- Sieve the other half of your icing sugar into the mixture and beat again.
11- Now I added a little bit of lemon extract and orange food colouring but you can use any flavouring/colour combination you like. These needed to be beaten into the mixture alongside a splash of milk to take it to that perfect piping consistency.
12- Spoon your buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle of your choice. I went with a 2D Star Nozzle as it gives me a really nice swirl finish.
13- Once all of your cupcakes are iced, place your Jelly Chicks/Babies on top and leave to set so they don't fall off. Then all that's left is to enjoy them by yourself or shared with family or work colleagues.

Recipe: Mini Egg Brownies

I'm back again with another recipe. Now I baked this over Easter and whilst it may be long gone, I'm sure some of you have some emergency Mini Eggs lying around somewhere. These brownies are absolutely delicious, they're fudgy, rich and the mini eggs give it a delicious extra kick of chocolate. Perfect for anyone looking for a indulgent fix or just craving some mini eggs.

Ingredients 
- 275g Caster Sugar
- 90g Plain Flour
- 35g Cocoa Powder
- 200g Unsalted Butter
- 200g Dark Chocolate
- 3 Eggs
- 100g Dark Chocolate Chips
- 200g Chilled Mini Eggs

Method 
1- Pre heat your oven to 180C. Line a 9 inch brownie tin with greaseproof paper.
2- In a bain marie melt your dark chocolate and unsalted butter. You can melt the two together in the microwave but it does tend to catch and burn more than when it's done over a bain marie. Once everything has melted together, place to one side and leave to cool.
3- Into a bowl place your sugar and eggs. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, whisk until the mixture has doubled in size, has become pale in colour and has a mousse like texture.
4- Hopefully by the time it's taken to mix your egg and sugar mixture together, your chocolate/butter mixture will have cooled and you can gently fold the two together. Now you have to fold them together otherwise you'll knock out all the air that you've just beat into the egg/sugar mix.
5- Then it's time to fold in your plain flour, chocolate chips, cocoa powder and the majority of your mini eggs, keeping some to the side to press into the top before baking. Folding it all in together means that your mini eggs and chocolate chips are less likely to sink to the bottom and you don't run the risk of overmixing the mixture.
6- Pour into your prepared tin, using a spatula to spread it out evenly in the tin. Press your remaining mini eggs into the top of the mixture and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. I'd advise chilling your mini eggs before you add them to your mixture/press into the top as it stops the colour from fading as they bake and makes them less prone to cracking as they cook.
7- Once they're cooked, leave to cool and set in the tin before cutting and enjoying. These last for a good three days if kept in an air tight container and are some of the most delicious brownies I've ever tasted (if I say so myself).