Wagon Wheel Brownies

Were you even a British child in the early 90's if you didn't open your lunchbox to reveal a delicious chocolate Wagon Wheel sitting beside your sweaty cheese sandwiches?  They were the golden child of the school diners, kids would try and swap their whole lunch for a Jammy Wagon Wheel. Who wants a pink wafer when you can have the bad boy of the biscuit world.  Fast forward 23 years and I'm still partial, even though I'm pretty sure they have gotten significantly smaller. That or it's just my hands have gotten bigger, who knows.

 

After the success of my Jammy Dodger Blondies I've been on the lookout for more treats I can splice up into my baked goods.  When I saw the recipe for Wagon Wheel Brownies in Olive Magazine I just had to give it a go and cursed myself for not thinking of it first.  

Brownie batter, swirled with lashings of marshmallow fluff and raspberry jam with the periodic hunk of Wagon Wheel. What could go wrong?!  This is a brownie fit for a queen. Turn up anywhere with a tray of these babies and you'll make friends for life. Just don't blame me when they follow you around demanding more.

Wagon Wheel Brownies
( Based on a recipe from Olive Magazine)

Ingredients:

• 375g unsalted butter
• 375g good quality plain chocolate
• 6 large, free range eggs
• 350g golden caster sugar
• 225g plain flour
• 5tbsp marshmallow fluff
• 5tbsp raspberry jam
• 3 Wagon Wheel biscuits, roughly chopped

Cooking Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 170°C and line a 33x23 brownie tin with baking parchment.
2. In a large heavy bottomed saucepan melt the butter and chocolate together over a low heat. Allow to cool slightly. Mix the eggs and sugar together in a large jug and pour into the melted chocolate, mix till combined. Add in the flour and stir until just combined, take care not to over mix at this point.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out. Spoon blobs of marshmallow fluff and raspberry jam over the brownie batter and marble with a knife. Poke chunks of Wagon Wheel throughout the brownies. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until there is just a slight jiggle in the centre of the pan. Leave to cool completely, preferably overnight in the fridge. Cut into squares and enjoy.

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Jammy Dodger White Chocolate Blondies

On a weekly basis, I reckon I get through around four packs of Jammy Dodgers, at least.  To me, dipped in a hot cup of tea, the Jammy Dodger is king of the biscuits.  All hail the mighty Dodger, bow down to its supreme jammyness!  We'll not discuss those disgraceful pretenders to the throne though.... I'm looking at you, banana and toffee horrors!

During my last tea and biscuit break I was sat, Dodger in hand, staring wistfully into space when my gaze landed upon a pile of white chocolate blondies.  I should mention at this point that I was at work, I don't just have piles of baked goods surrounding me at home.  Honest!  When it struck me, Jammy Dodger blondies!  What's not to love?!  A creamy white chocolate blondie, swirled with sticky strawberry jam and topped with my very favorite biscuit.  Get in!

I seriously can't even begin to get over how cute they turned out.  I must have shown the steaming tray to everyone who came into the shop that afternoon, eardrums may have been pierced from my high pitched squeal of 'aren't they just so goddamn canny?!'  Imagine them on a mad hatters style tea party, I don't think I could bare the cuteness.

Jammy Dodger White Chocolate Blondies
Makes 15

Ingredients:
175g unsalted butter
250g white chocolate, chopped
250g caster sugar
3 large eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
300g plain flour
3tbsp strawberry jam
11 Jammy Dodger biscuits

Method:
Preheat the oven to 175C.  Grease and line a 9x13" baking tray or use a disposable one.

Melt the butter and white chocolate in a large, heavy bottomed saucepan over a low heat.  Stir constantly until smooth and melted.  In the bowl of an electric mixer add the sugar and eggs and mix until combined and light, pour in the melted chocolate and mix thoroughly.  Add the flour and stir in by hand until just combined.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Drop teaspoons of jam over the blondie batter and use a sharp knife to swirl through.  Place the Jammy Dodgers on top in a neat pattern and bake for 25 minutes until just set.  Allow to cool completely.

Cut into 15 squares and enjoy.  

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National Breakfast Week: Homemade Pop Tarts

When I was young Pop Tarts were the fanciest breakfast treat you could imagine.  Fresh from the land of the brave, us northerners were smitten by those little parcels of goodness.  Flash forward to 2015 and you can get flavours you could only have dreamed about as a ten year old girl. Despite this, I never actually buy Pop Tarts any more.  I don't actually own a toaster and the thought of eating them cold is just a step too far in my eyes.  I decided to make my own.

Homemade Pop Tarts can be as difficult as you like.  If you're looking for a project you can make the pie dough and filling from scratch; or if you're looking for a quick fix, ready rolled pastry and a jar of Bonne Maman will do the trick.  Obviously I chose the latter but I am looking forward to experimenting with the fully homemade versions soon.  Just watch this space.

Homemade Pop Tarts

Ingredients:

1 sheet of ready rolled shortcrust pastry

1 egg, beaten with a tsp of milk

Bonne Maman raspberry jam (I'm a jam snob)

250g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla 

2 tbs whole milk 

cute sprinkles

Method:

Preheat the oven to  175°C and line a baking sheet with parchment.

Unroll your pastry and using a sharp knife cut 8 rectangles, you'll need two for each tart.  Place four of the pastry rectangles on your prepared baking sheet and pop a heaped teaspoon of jam in the middle of each tart.  Sandwich with the tops and using a fork press your edges together to form a seal.

Pain each tart with a thin layer of the egg wash and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.  Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Once cool make your frosting.  Combine the icing sugar with the milk and vanilla and mix to form a thick, spreadable paste.  If it's too thin or thick at this point, add a little more sugar or milk.  Spread each tart with the frosting and scatter with sprinkles.  Enjoy!

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National Breakfast Week: Rhubarb & Strawberry Overnight Oats

This jar of goodness is the perfect breakfast for those of you who love to sleep till the very last second before hauling ass to work.  More often than not, this is me.  I'm a lazy morning person when I have a deadline. Maybe it's my inner childishness rebelling against me actually being on time for work, it's a bloody good job I work with my best friend.  Overnight oats is the solution to leaving home on an empty stomach because all of the heavy lifting is done the night before, in fact this recipe should be enough to keep you going for a few days.  Even better, right?!

If you can't be bothered to make the compote from scratch you could always use a good quality jam, or even Nutella if you're that way inclined.

Rhubarb and Strawberry Overnight Oats

For the Oats:

125ml Hazelnut Milk (or any milk you want, I just like hazelnut)

100g Rolled Oats

1tbsp Flax-seed

2tbsp dessicated coconut

1tsp Cinnamon

1/2tsp Ground Ginger

100ml Greek Yogurt

For the sauce:

250g fresh or frozen rhubarb

150g fresh or frozen strawberries

Splash of water

1/2tsp vanilla extract

2-4tbsp sugar - to taste

For the Oats:

Simply put everything into a large bowl and stir together.  Pop in the fridge over night or decant into jars (mixture is easily doubled or tripled) with the sauce for grab and go ease.

For the sauce:

Put everything in a sauce pan and bring to the boil.  Turn the heat down and simmer until you have a delicious thick, jammy sauce.  Around 30 minutes.  Leave to cool and use in you oats, spread it on toast or slap into some rice pudding. Yum!

(First posted to the Pet Lamb Girls blog)

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Passion Fruit Curd

Passion fruit is one of my very favorite flavours and I'm always looking for new ways to include this delicious fruit in my baking.  I recently came across a recipe for passion fruit curd in one of my monthly foodie reads and instantly folded the corner of the page for future reference.  And by future reference I mean the time it takes me to get to the market, buy ten passion fruits and arrive back home clutching my bounty with an excited grin on my face.

So far I have slathered this beautiful curd upon home made scones, hunks of sourdough toast, fresh crumpets and have even gone as far as to simply spoon it right into my open mouth.  It really is that delicious!  I would recommend cooking the mixture for longer than the recipe states as this is quite a soft set spread and I'd prefer it a little stiffer.  

Passion Fruit Curd

Ingredients:

8 ripe passion fruits

3 large eggs

150g caster sugar

2tbsp cornflour

  

Method:

Put the passion fruit pulp in a food processor and whizz to separate the seeds from all the juicy bits. Scrape into a sieve set over a medium saucepan, pushing through as much pulp as you can. Reserve 2 tbsp of the seeds, then discard the rest. 

Add the remaining ingredients to the pan and set over a low heat. Whisk until all the butter has melted then, using a wooden spoon, stir constantly until the passion fruit curd has thickened to a similar consistency as lemon curd. Don't be tempted to turn the heat up to speed up the process as the eggs will curdle; make sure you stir right around the edge, too, as this is where it might catch first. 

Sieve the curd into a clean bowl to get rid of any eggy bits that may have curdled. Stir in the reserved seeds and cool, before spooning into jars and chilling. Curd will keep in the fridge for a week. Eat smothered on hot buttered toast, crumpets or scones (see related recipes).

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Glitter Jam Cookies

 Those of you who follow me on twitter will probably remember my excited tweets about this awesome product I discovered while in London.  I was browsing the Harrods food hall, oohing and ahhing at every little mouthwatering morsel I came across when something stopped me in my tracks.  Harrods limited edition glittery jam!  What can I say, this jam is pure and indulgent genius!  I never would have thought to create something so decedent in a million years, I just had to have some.  I would have bought the whole selection of flavours if it hadn't have been priced at £9.95 per jar.  After a while I decided that £20 was quite enough to be spending on glamorous preserves and left with two jars flavoured with Strawberry and Rose.

I've been waiting for the perfect time to use these beautiful jams.  Time after time I've had to beat Kris' hands away from the jar at breakfast time. Something this lovely simply can not be used for something so mediocre as spreading on your toast!  So, what better time to break them open than valentines?

Jammy Dodger Cookies

(Rachel Allen - Bake)

Ingredients:

425 g plain flour
75 g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest, from 1 large lemon
4 egg yolks
325 g butter, softened
raspberry or strawberry jam 
icing sugar, for dusting 

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
 

Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest, egg yolks and butter. Mix with an electric food mixer or a wooden spoon until it comes together as a dough. Remove from the bowl and flatten with a rolling pin or the palm of your hand to about 2cm (3/4in) thick. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
 

Remove the dough from the fridge and place on a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough out to about 1/4in thick.
 

Using a 6cm plain biscuit cutter, cut the dough into discs. Or, if you're feeling saucy you could use any old cookie cutter you have to hand, hearts, stars, flowers or even teacups!  Whatever your heart desires :)
 

Take half the discs, and using either a cutter smaller than the one you just used, cut holes from the centre. Bring the scraps together and roll out to make more shapes, and cut holes in the centre of these. You should end up with about 35 whole cookies and 35 cookies with the centres cut out.
 

Place the discs on baking trays (you will need a few baking trays) and bake for 8-10 minutes until pale golden. Allow to stand for a few minutes, then remove from the trays and transfer to wire racks to cool.
 

When the cookies are cool, spread 1tsp of jam on the bottom half and sandwich together with the top section.

Dust with icing sugar and serve with a pot of your favorite tea. 

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Sweet and Simple Bakes

It's been a while since I participated in the wonderful Sweet and Simple Bakes monthly challenge. I always start off with good intentions but then before I know it, it's the first of the month and I've gone and forgotten all about it. This month I was determined to make the deadline, I was going to join in, I had to! And how better to adhere to a looming deadline? Make it well in advance of course! I only wish I lived by these rules while at uni.


When I saw what was on the menu for this month, well I couldn't help but bake them super early! So early in fact, I had them baked and eaten on the 2nd of August, check my bad self out. Jammy doughnut muffins, how could you resist such a thing? I had the majority eaten before they even had time to cool. I made these muffins with my homemade Strawberry and Gooseberry jam for even more of a home made feel.

Jammy Doughnut Muffins

Makes 12

Ingredients

275g (10 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour

3 tsp baking powder

Pinch salt

100g (4 oz) caster (superfine) sugar

2 eggs

200ml (7 fl oz) milk

75g (3 oz) unsalted (sweet) butter, melted and cooled

1 tsp vanilla extract

12 tsp strawberry or raspberry jam

For The Toping

100g (4 oz) unsalted (sweet) butter

150g (5 oz) granulated sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

You will need 12 hole muffin tin lined with paper cases.

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas mark 5.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl, and stir through the sugar. In large jug, lightly beat the eggs then add the milk, cooled butter and vanilla extract and beat together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients stir gently until just combined. (Do not over mix, its fine to have a few lumps in the mixture.) Spoon half the muffin mixture into the base of each paper case. Top each muffin with a teaspoon of jam. Now equally between each paper case, top with the remaining muffin mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 – 20 minutes until well risen, golden and firm to the touch.

For The Topping: melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Spread the granulated sugar in a wide, shallow bowl with the cinnamon if using. When the muffins are baked, leave in the tin for 5 minutes. Dip the tops of the muffins in the melted butter and then roll in the sugar. You can serve these muffins warm or cold; however, I do prefer to eat them whilst warm.

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Sweet Melissa Sunday, Jam again

I still haven't eaten my way through the last batch of jam I made and here I am, making more. Not that I'm complaining, I love jam. It has so many delicious uses. Bake it into cupcakes, slather it on toast, dollop it in a huge bowl of steaming rice pudding or use it to fill cookies. Since I have a cupboard full of jam, I chose the latter as a way of using some of it up. I've never made linzer cookies before but darn it, it sure won't be the last time!


The jam was super easy to make, the apple provided a natural source of pectin so there was no need for preserving sugar, which I believe to be a little too sweet. The citrus provided such a lovely tang to balance the sweetness of the strawberries. Delicious! Thank you to Margot of Effort to Deliciousness for selecting this beautiful recipe and as always, check out the other SMS ladies for more jammy goodness.


Linzer Cookies:

225g unsalted butter , softened
150g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 egg yolks , beaten
250g plain flour
110g ground almonds
raspberry jam, for spreading
icing sugar , to dust

Beat the butter and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg yolks and mix thoroughly. Gradually add the flour and ground almonds. Lightly knead the mixture until it comes together in a ball. Wrap and chill for 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 170C/fan 150C/gas 5. Roll the dough out to the thickness of a £1 coin on a lightly floured surface and stamp out biscuits using a 6-7cm cutter. Reshape leftover dough into a ball, re-roll and cut out more biscuits. Stamp out a smaller circle from the middles of half the biscuits.

Put the biscuits on lined baking sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden. You may need to do these in batches. Rest for a minute then transfer to a cooling rack. When completely cold, spread the whole biscuits with either jam. Dust the ring-shaped biscuits with icing sugar. Put a sugar-dusted ring on top of a jam-covered biscuit and press lightly together.

Oh, and I almost forgot to add. This is my first Sweet Melissa Sunday post as a graduate. Yup, I'm now Katie Deacon BA (hons). Hurrah, although I found the fact I graduated in gryffindor colours far more exciting than actually graduating! (also, please excuse my hair, it was raining awfully heavy on graduation day!)

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River Cottage Jam

After months of waiting, my local pick your own farm finally reopened its doors offering up a bounty of delicious locally grown berries. After watching the latest episode of River Cottage, the very episode I watched getting filmed, I was inspired to take a trip to my favorite farm shop to pick some Strawberries and Gooseberries for Hugh's wonderful Strawberry and Gooseberry Jam!


So, off I went, trudging through muddy fields in pursuit of the ripe berries ruining my shoes and coat in the process but the finished product sure was worth the effort! Hugh's preserving method was much shorter than those I've seen before, opting to boil the fruit for only 8 - 9 minutes making this a super quick and super easy jam for first timers like me.


The resulting jam was amazing, sweet and juicy strawberries with the sharp tang of the gooseberries, a perfect combination. I'm dying to try his strawberry jam with sweet scented geranium leaves which apparently tastes like a fine wine!


I'd advise anyone who is a bit nervous about jam making to give this recipe a try. Quick, easy and delicious.


Many thanks to my ex graphic designer boyfriend for the label. He even drew the lil fruit himself <3

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