brownies

i have tried lots of brownie recipes and always find that the trickiest part is the cooking time - i like my brownies a bit crunchy on top but gooey or squidgy in the middle

baking in a tray means that very few pieces have the perfect balance - so i have taken to baking individual ones in silicone cases (cheaper in charity shops!) - it meant a few tries as i had to reduce the baking time from the original recipe but i think i finally got it right for my oven

this recipe, based on Ruby Tandoh's Cocoa Brownies in The Guardian, is easy because it does not involve the tricky feat of melting chocolate without disasters! it does involve quite a few bowls for ingredients but it's worth it - these don't have any crunch but do stay squidgy and mature well, given a chance!

ingredients

• 125g butter (if using unsalted add a good pinch of salt to the flour)
• 2 tbsp black treacle     i use less treacle and more syrup
• 1 tbsp golden syrup     but 3 tbsp altogether
• 2 eggs, 1 separated
• vanilla essence (optional)
• 150 g sugar, granulated or soft light brown
• 90g plain flour
• 75g cocoa
• marmalade
• peanut butter, or tahini

method

• preheat oven 108C 350F Gas 4
• melt butter with treacle and golden syrup, set aside to cool - beat this together just before use, it will keep separating fairly quickly
• separate one egg yolk and white, put white aside for whisking
• weigh flour and cocao and sift or whisk together
• have 12 cup cases ready on a tray

• whisk together egg yolk, second egg, vanilla and sugar until light and frothy - until the whisks leave a trail when lifted out
• with clean whisk beat remaining egg white until stiff
• return to the egg and sugar mix - gently stir in alternate batches of butter/syrup mix and flour/cocoa in about 3 - 4 batches
• fold in the beaten egg white until just blended
• put a spoonful of the mixture in each case, to cover the bottom - (optional) spoon in 1/4 tsp each of peanut butter then marmalade - cover with more mixture
• bake 15 mins - a skewer should come out of the middle lightly coated - if you wait til it comes out clean they won't be squidgy

cool - these are better the next day if you can wait!

rock buns, but better

i haven't posted a recipe for ages and here i am with another variation on the theme of scones ...... my excuse is that they are sooooo easy to make

decoration with a cherry is optional

this time they are lightly spiced, fruity numbers with an undeservedly poor reputation - rock buns were often one of the first things children were taught to bake - you know how much children like to play with dough so you can imagine that these would have been mixed good and sticky then carefully patted and rolled into shape .......... the worst thing you can do with a rubbed-in mix like this!

like scones these need minimum liquid and handling, but a slightly cooler oven

i got this recipe from my friend sue, the spicing and butter makes them much nicer than the usual lumpy offering - i've added my own touches: cornflour helps with the light crisp crust and i like a little candied peel - the ones in the picture are extra small, bite size versions with a garnish of glacé cherry


ingredients:

7oz plain flour

1oz cornflour

1level tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 level tsp cream of tartar

pinch of salt,

1/2 level tsp each of mixed spice and ground nutmeg

4oz butter (which is what makes them nice)

3 - 4oz currants

1 scant tbsp chopped candied peel, chopped even smaller

3.5 oz sugar

1 standard egg, lightly beaten

up to 1 tbsp milk.

method:

• set your oven to Gas 6, 200C (adjust for fan assisted ovens)
• tip the flours into a fairly large bowl and add the salt, bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar, mix it a bit
• rub or cut in the fat like you would for a crumble - i grate the butter, dipping it into the flour to stop it melting on my hand
•  add the sugar, spices and fruit or other flavourings
• using a fork, gently work in the beaten egg 
• add milk, 1 tsp at a time until the texture is like moist lumpy soil with crumbly bits, NOT mud,  it's better to have a few crumbs of dry mix than an over-wet mix 

Note: this can be done in a food processor, use blades to rub in the fat then change to a hook for adding the rest of the dry ingredients, the egg and milk (if needed) in controlled pulses

• using a metal spoon (not a thick wooden/plastic one) drop clumps of mixture onto an ungreased baking sheet, lightly prod any loose bits into shape - OR you can do this by hand if you use a light touch - they don't rise much but will spread a bit, more if they are very wet
• this makes 8-10 scone sized buns or up to 24 bite size ones
• bake for 10 - 15 mins, until beginning to colour - check after 9-10 mins 
• cool on a rack

variations:

use 1-2 oz of wholemeal flour instead of white
sprinkle granulated sugar on the buns before baking
use sultanas and or raisins instead of currants

spiced shortbreads

these  home baked shortbreads with caraway and coriander are also known as Goosnargh Cakes - simple to make,  they are traditionally baked for Whitsunday in the Lancashire village of Goosnargh
i heard about them several years ago on a radio programme about lesser known traditional British 'cakes', but no actual recipe was given - i didn't have internet access then so i tried making them using a recipe for shortbread with caraway and coriander added ....... they disappeared in no time and it wasn't even whitsun!

fortunately children often don't like them, which means there are more left for the adults who appreciate their slightly unusual flavour

ingredients

• 2oz sugar
• 4 oz butter
• 6oz flour
• 1tsp caraway seeds
• 1 tsp ground coriander

method
either:

• put everything into your food processor, blitz to breadcrumbish texture

or:

• cut the butter into small pieces and soften it in the microwave
• mix the sugar and butter and whisk till paler coloured and fluffy
• sift in the flour and loosely mix it into the butter & sugar, it will be very lumpy
• using a knife repeatedly cut into mixture until the lumps become more like crumbs - it doesn't take as long as you think!

then:

• using your hands, gather the crumbs and gently press them together, the warmth of your hands will soften the butter and the crumbs will clump together
• work it until it just holds together
• cut into 2 lumps
• on a lightly floured surface roll each lump out into a circle about 0.5cm thick
• transfer these to a baking tray and score them into 6 or 8 slices
• bake at Gas 3-4, 160-180C, 325-350F for about 15 mins or until just beginning to turn golden
• cool on a wire rack

you can roll out all the dough and use a round cookie cutter to make dainty biscuits


i read that in Goosnargh caster sugar is piled onto them before baking and there is a bit of competition around who can get the thickest 'crust' of sugar on them!


if you leave out the spices this makes shortbread - roll the dough to about 1cm thick and don't let them turn golden