Caribbean Brownies

I am one lucky girl. I'm heading off to New Zealand and Australia for 6 weeks tomorrow. All through college my friend and I promised each other if we got some money together we'd head off and now it is finally happening. It's all a bit surreal!! I've been obsessively stalking the internet looking up activities, accommodation, food, reviews etc. I love organising and planning and it makes me think what did we do before the internet? I'm officially an information junkie.

I'm counting down the days and these brownies were an exercise in whittling away the days. These are my favourite brownie recipe, so moist and gooey. Enjoy!!

Ingredients

250g butter
250g chocolate
5 eggs
350g dark muscovado sugar
2 tbsp rum
150g plain flour
125g pecan nuts or walnuts, chopped
4 pieces stem ginger from a jar or crystallised ginger

Method
1. Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl over simmering water until glossy. Allow to cool
2. Beat the eggs and sugar in a bowl under paler. Approx 6 minutes.
3. Stream in the butter/chocolate while beating to incorporate. Add the rum and mix.
4. Fold in the nuts and ginger.
5. Fold in the sifted flour.
6. Bake at 180oC for 20 minutes until a skewer comes out slightly sticky.

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Chocolate Beetroot Cake

I feel like this post is going to an uphill battle... Some people have already seen the title and thought I've lost the plot, that I'll be changing my name to "Sun and Rain", handing out flyers outside Tescos about how vegetables have feelings and striking the downward dog pose in public places. I know Beetroot in a cake is weird. In fact it sounds completely disgusting but let me propose that this is the best chocolate cake I have ever eaten. Because it is. No lie. I was as hesitant as you are now. Only for my complete trust in the pure wisdom of http://iheartkatiecakes.blogspot.ie/ and http://www.donalskehan.com/ I would never have even tried it. But it is good, it is so so good.

Quite literally the proof is in the pudding. You don't taste the beetroot at all, but it makes the cake so moist and fudgy, dense and chocolately. Plus beetroot has low calories so it really is the healthiest chocolate cake you can make with no compromise on taste. 

Probably best not to mention to anyone that there is beetroot in it. Not until they tell you how amazing it is anyway. Because they will. Guaranteed. 

This is from Joy the Baker with slight amendments by myself 

2 medium beetroots washed 

6 oz unsalted butter 

1 cup of soft brown sugar

3/4 cup of caster sugar 

2 large eggs 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

2 cups of plain flour sifted

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted 

1 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 

50g good dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids preferrably)

1 cup of buttermilk, at room temperature 

Method: 

1. Put the beetroot unpeeled in a pan of boiling salted water and boil for 45 minutes until a knife runs through them. Leave to cool then peel and chop roughly. Put in a food processor or with a hand held blender pulse them until there are no lumps. Then measure 3/4 cup for this recipe. 

2. Beat the sugar and butter together for about 5 minutes until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time beating briefly until all incorporated. Add a heaped tablespoon of the flour with each egg to stop the mixture curdling. Fold in the beetroot. 

3. Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix lightly. 

4. Melt the chocolate in the microwave for 20 seconds or until fully melted. 

4. Put your buttermilk (at room temperature or else it will cause the chocolate to re-set), chocolate and vanilla essence in a jug. 

5. Add half the dry ingredients and half the milk and fold in gently but thoroughly. Continue with the rest of the dry and wet ingredients. 

6. Spoon into non-stick baking tins that have been lined with greaseproof/baking paper (this is worth your while!). It will make a three 6-7 inch pans or two 8-9 inch pans.  Your mix should look like this.

The fabulous hue of the beetroot doesn't come through in the cooked sponge so much. Which is actually a shame because it would be such an amazing coloured sponge!!
7. Bake for 27-30 minutes at 180oC. Use a skewer to tell if the cakes are done. The skewer should come out clean.
8. Leave to rest in the tins for 10 minutes then invert and sandwich with cream cheese frosting recipe to follow!

Hummingbird Cupcakes

Topped with dried banana and pink sugar

Oh my I am in LOVE! With hummingbird cupcakes. A sexy banana cake. More stylish, more sweet, with all the flavours of paradise in cupcake- pecan, coconut, pineapple, banana, cinnamon. Yes we've gone from sunshine paradise in Ireland to bone-chilling rain but it won't get me down with these cupcakes bringing me to a Caribbean beach I've never been too. Better make a cup of tea to warm me up all the same...

Adapted From Martha Stewart Recipe
Makes 24 large muffin sized (pictured on individual stand), 30+ 'standard' cupcakes (pictured below)

3 cups of plain flour sifted
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 salt
8oz unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups caster sugar
3 large eggs
2 large overripe bananas mashed
1 cup and half of chopped pecans
10oz tin of pineapple, drained and finely chopped
3/4 cup dessicated coconut

1. Put melted butter, sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat on high for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Beat for a further 3 minutes.
3. Fold in the coconut, pineapple, mashed banana and the pecans
3. Sift the baking soda and flour into a bowl and add the cinnamon and salt.
4. Fold in the flours until just combined.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes in a 190oC fan oven. The tops might not be too brown but that is OK. If you overcook they will be dry rather than moist. Inserting a skewer is the easiest way to check if they are cooked.

Decorated with Dr Oetker wafer daisies

On my Newbridge silverware cupcake stand, a much loved present
from Baby in a Corner!

The BEST Chocolate Malt Frosting

To accompany chocolate malt cupcakes below!

150g butter softened,
250g icing sugar
1 tbsp cocoa powder
40g ovaltine
4 tbsp caramelised condensed milk (you can buy this in tins from Nestle)
1 tbsp milk

1. Sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder.
2. Beat together all the ingredients except the milk for 3-4 minutes with an electric beater until smooth.
3. Add the milk a little at a time if the frosting is too thick.
4. Try to actually spoon/pipe onto the cupcakes and not to eat straight with a spoon!

Chocolate Malt Cupcakes and Individual Cupcake Stands

I know people extol the virtues of Ikea. How stylish they are, how cheap, how cheerful. I have one word for these people- FLATPACK. It is no fun, especially if you are about as DIY-friendly as a one eye-ed, one-armed almost-blind pensioner. Which I am. I have no skill in that area. One Christmas I got a Barbie Jeep from Santa and I was so excited (you could open the roof of the Jeep and it became this sort of caravan thing in fairness). Flash forward four hours later and Dad is trying to screw the jeep door to the windscreen and cursing under his breath because the instructions don't make sense and there is a mysterious piece, the purpose of which is one of seven mysterious of the world. I'm bawling and crying impatiently... But when I saw these individual cupcake stands I thought I could cope with sliding the three pieces together. And they are very easy to assemble, as well as a lot more sturdy than they look. At €2.95 from Kitchencraft they also don't break the bank. Adorable I think you will agree.

These cupcakes are an Eddie Rockets malt in a cupcake. By special request from the BF. I basically fiddled around with a few different recipes and am really really happy with these. Moist malty chocolate sponge with an airy, melt in your mouth malt frosting. Delicious! 

For the cupcake 
115g chocolate, preferably 70% cocoa solids
85g unsalted butter softened
175g light brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten in a cup
185g plain flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
60g ovaltine
75ml milk

Method:
1. Melt the chocolate in a microwave for 20 seconds at a time, giving a good stir in between.
2. Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy.
3. Pour in the eggs, quarter at a time with a heaped tablespoon of flour. Continue adding egg and flour until all the egg is gone. Give a good beating.
4. Fold in the dry ingredients.
5. Add the milk and fold in.
6. Bake for 20 minutes @ 180oC.

Icing recipe to follow!

Iced Chai Latte

We are getting a great spell of weather here, the kind that would make Edward Cullen go sparkly (first and last Twilight reference I promise). I love sitting outside basking in the sun with a good book and a cold drink in my hand. I first had a chai latte hot in one of those chain coffee shops. They are delicious but pricey! Making your own is a so easy, its embarrassing that we pay for them at all. The chai concentrate is so fragrant that it fills the kitchen with dreams of the Indian ocean.

The concentrate will last in the fridge easily for a couple of days.

Adapted from http://www.biggirlssmallkitchen.com/2011/06/working-with-what-you-have-iced-chai-tea-latte.html

Enough for 3 chai lattes

3 tbsp sugar
8 cardamon pods, seeds removed
1 and a half cinnamon sticks, snapped in long pieces
one thick slice ginger, peeled
5 whole cloves
4 whole black peppercorns
2 black teabags
3 star anise
1 tbsp honey
3 cups of milk

1. Place all the ingredients except the honey in a large pot with 2 american-sized cups of water. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Squeez out the teabags and remove. Allow the spices to infuse for 5 minutes.
3. Strain taking away all the spices.
4. Add the honey and stir to dissolve.
5. Allow to cool completely.
6. Use 7 tbsp of this concentrate for every cup of milk. Depending on your taste for chai you might like to add another tbsp.
7. Add ice and serve immediately.