Rocky Road 2 Chocolate Heaven

I pulled out “Nigella Express” cookbook by Nigella Lawson yesterday from my bookshelf. I really haven’t given this book the full credit it deserves if I am being honest. It somehow seemed different from all her previous works she has written, but then on reflection, after baking and cooking recipes from this book I am now warming to it. These Rocky Road Crunch Bars are very indulgent chocolate bars perfect for any chocolate lover amongst you. It’s also a fabulous little treat for the children to make who want to venture into the kitchen for the upcoming festivities of Halloween and Bonfire Night.

Rocky Road Crunch Bars

Ingredients
125g/4½oz soft unsalted butter

300g/10½oz best-quality dark chocolate, broken into pieces

3 tbsp golden syrup

200g/7¼oz rich tea biscuits

100g/3½oz mini marshmallows

2 tsp icing sugar, to dust

Method

Heat the butter, chocolate and golden syrup in a heavy-based saucepan over a gentle heat. Remove from the heat, scoop out about 125ml/4½fl oz of the melted mixture and set aside in a bowl.

Place the biscuits into a plastic freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin until some have turned to crumbs but there are still pieces of biscuit remaining.

Fold the biscuit pieces and crumbs into the melted chocolate mixture in the saucepan, then add the marshmallows.

Tip the mixture into a 24cm/9in square baking tin and smooth the top with a wet spatula.
Pour over the reserved 125ml/4½fl oz of the melted chocolate mixture and smooth the top with a wet spatula.

Refrigerate for about two hours or overnight.

To serve, cut into 24 fingers and dust with icing sugar.

Coming up soon on Rosie Bakes A 'Peace' of Cake - A new Halloween Coffin Cake for Oct '08.

Oct '07 Halloween Cake - Count Dracula Coffin cake

Yorkshire Parkin

“Eh by lads and lasses nowt as good as Parkin on a chilly day!”

After my two last posts of savoury dishes I am back with a wonderful traditional bake. Parkin is a ginger cake and I find this cake particularly enjoyable to eat during autumn and winter months and it’s such a shame just to limit it to Bonfire Night when this cake will be served up in celebration of this event. Parkin is a traditional cake that is especially associated with Yorkshire, Northern England. I have close family roots that originate from Yorkshire and it would be sacrilege of me if I didn’t share this recipe with you.

This is an easy bake with a few ingredients melting in a saucepan then mixing in with the dry ingredients – it’s as simple as that. The ginger shines through this cake in taste and it has a lovely little crunch from the oatmeal. You can eat this cake after cooling and cutting into squares but it is best made in advance and left wrapped and stored in an airtight container to mature in flavour and become moist and sticky.

Yorkshire Parkin

Ingredients
150g (5 oz) butter
100g (4 oz) golden syrup
100g (4 oz) black treacle
100g (4 oz) soft brown sugar
225g (8 oz) plain flour
225g (8 oz) medium oatmeal
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
1 egg, beaten
150ml (¼ pint) milk

Method

Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2. Grease a deep 20cm (8 in) square non-stick cake tin.

Place the butter, golden syrup, treacle and sugar in a pan and place over a very low heat, stirring constantly until all the sugar is dissolved.

Sift the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl. Stir in the oatmeal making a well in the centre. Stir in the melted butter mixture until combined. Lightly beat the egg and milk with a fork and pour into the mixture stirring until you a smooth batter.
Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 50 -60 minutes, or until firm when lightly pressed in the middle.

Allow to cool before cutting into squares but this is best made a day or two in advance to allow the flavours to develop and the parkin to become moist and sticky. It will keep for up to a week in an airtight container. Coming up shortly on my blog Rosie's Christmas Cake which I baked last week and mincemeat which is steeping now in lots of wonderful booze!

Dynamite Smoky Bonfire Bangers (Sausages)

I cannot begin to fully explain just how delicious this combination of “bangers” (sausages), with onions and peppers taste. The smokiness taste comes from the sweet smoked paprika and the explosion of dynamite is in the addition of a little cayenne pepper, (of course you can make the explosive taste more or less to your own taste requirements). Instead of frying onions off to serve in the traditional way with sausages in a roll (hot dogs), onions and peppers are cut into chunks. These are then placed into a large roasting tin with the sausages and as they cook the juices mingle from the sauce and sausages through into the onions and peppers - yum! Served in crusty or soft rolls this is absolute perfection for any Bonfire party. Just up the quantities if you want to serve to a larger crowd!


Dynamite Smoky Bonfire Bangers (Sausages)

Serves 6

Ingredients
450g (1 lb) chipolata sausages – I used Lincolnshire sausages
2 red onions, cut into wedges
2 red peppers, cut into wedges
1 orange pepper, cut into wedges
For The Sauce
8 tbsp tomato ketchup
3 tbsp brown sauce
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
1½ tsp sweet smoked paprika
A good pinch of cayenne pepper
2 tbsp clear runny honey
1 clove of garlic, very finely chopped
Dash of lemon juice
To Serve
6 bread rolls, crusty or soft

Method

You will need a good strong baking tin that doesn’t buckle in the heat.

Pre-heat the oven to 220°C/fan oven 200°C/ 425°F /Gas mark 7

Firstly make the sauce by adding all the sauce ingredients into small bowl. Mix thoroughly and leave to one side.

In a large roasting tin, add all the vegetables and sausages and pour over the sauce. Either with a large spoon or clean hands coat all the vegetables and sausages in the sauce. Place in the oven and cook for about 45 minutes or until the sausages and vegetables are cooked, turning over the ingredients once or twice whilst cooking.

Serve in bread rolls.

Toffee Apples & A Little Bit of Hokey Pokey!!

Here is my next installment of Bonfire Night treats! I’ve been making toffee apples each year for Bonfire Night since time began or so it seems! I started this ritual instead of buying those deep-red-coloured bruised variety that are on sale in the stores. They are SO much fun to make, not to mention a gorgeous coating of lush crackling toffee to get your teeth into!


Toffee Apples

Makes 8

Ingredients
500g(1 lb 2 oz) Demerara sugar

2 tsp vinegar

50g (2 oz) unsalted butter

50g (2 oz) golden syrup
150ml (5 fl oz) water

8 medium apples, washed and dried

You will also need 8 wooden sticks and advisable a sugar thermometer. A baking tray lined with a non-stick mate to place the toffee apples on to set.

Method

In a saucepan add the sugar, vinegar, unsalted butter, golden syrup and water. Place over a low heat on the stove and stir until melted. Bring the mixture to boiling point then boil for about 12 minutes or until a sugar thermometer reaches 140°C and the mixture is golden.

Take the wooden sticks and insert them into the stalk end, now carefully dip each apple into the very hot toffee mixture in a swirling motion making sure each apple is coated well. Place on the non-stick baking mate to set for about 10 minutes.

Wrap in cellophane or like I do in cling film.

Hokey Pokey / Cinder Toffee / Honeycomb

Hokey pokey, something the Domestic Goddess Nigella Lawson herself states, “no one can resist”, the recipe can be found in her new cookbook “Express”. This is fast, fun and very easy to make. I placed my hokey pokey mixture on a Teflon baking mate to set and it broke easily into shards of wonderful golden deliciousness. A great little recipe to make for Bonfire Night or even for a treat when you have that “Crunchie” feeling coming on.

Hokey Pokey

Ingredients
100g caster sugar
4 x 15ml tablespoons of golden syrup
1½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

Method

Put the sugar and syrup into a saucepan and stir together to mix. You mustn’t stir once the pan’s on the heat.

Place the pan on the heat and let the mixture first melt, then turn to goo and then to a bubbling mass of colour of maple syrup – this will take 3 minutes or so.

Off the heat, whisk in the bicarbonate of soda and it will froth up the pan. Turn this out immediately onto a piece of reusable baking parchment or greased foil.

Leave until set and then bash at it, so that it splinters into many pieces.

Makes 125g.

Toffee Apple Cookies & Toffee Apple Delight Bonfire Night Cake

Every year on the 5th November, in the U.K. we celebrate the Gun Powder Plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament, which took place on the 5th November 1605. People build bonfires and make a Guy (an effigy) to burn on the top. The Guy represents Guy Fawkes who was one of the conspirators in the plot. Fireworks light up the night sky and sounds of booms and bangs can be heard from afar. Food is served at these gatherings, such as hot dogs (sausages in rolls with onions), baked potatoes with fillings, mushy peas, mugs of steaming soup, sticky toffee apples etc.

To kick off this event I’ve started already with a few bakes of, Toffee Apple Cookies and my own Toffee Apple Delight Bonfire Cake. The cookies have delicious chewy toffee and dried apple in them that are perfect for this occasion. My Toffee Apple Delight cake is keeping in with the theme too. It has moistness from the grated apple, a toffee flavour from the dark brown sugar with the enhancement of pecans, mixed nuts and Apple Brandy.

Toffee Apple Cookies

The toffee apple cookies are from Good Food and you can find the link here to the recipe

Toffee Apple Delight Bonfire Night Cake

Toffee Apple Delight Bonfire Night Cake

Serves 8

Ingredients
225g (8 oz) self-raising flour
150g (5 oz) soft butter
150g (5 oz) soft dark brown sugar
50g (2 oz) mixed nuts, chopped
1 large Bramley cooking apple, peeled, cored and grated
4 tbsp Apple Brandy, I used Calvados
2 large eggs
4 tbsp milk
½ tsp cinnamon
For The Topping
50g (2 oz) pecan nuts
1 tbsp Demerara sugar

You will need a 20cm (8 in) springform tin, grease the whole tin and line the base with baking paper.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

In a bowl add the butter and sugar and beat until soft and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time beating in until all combined. Next add the milk and apple brandy then beat in well again. Add the nuts and grated apple and fold through the mixture until all are mixed through. Fold in the flour and cinnamon gently, until all traces of flour are combined into the sponge mixture.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth the top with a spatula. Decorate around the edge and middle of the cake with pecan nuts. Lastly sprinkle over the top the Demerara sugar.

Place into the oven middle shelf for 40 – 45 minutes or until firm to touch and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Leave the cake in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out to finishing cooling on a wire rack. When cool peel of the baking paper at the bottom of the cake.

Note. This cake would be delicious served for dessert with a toffee sauce.