Baking for Nightshift- Chocolate and Banana Brownies

I haven't been baking much for night shift as I have been so busy with just living life and being a working mum. When I have baked it has been something I have made before so I haven't blogged about it or else I have taken photos and then waited so long I have forgotten where the recipe was from. I saw these on a blog I follow called Baking Makes Things Better which is  NZ run blog now attached to Food TV. The site is not too bad....mostly I find it's a bit basic, but I sometimes find a recipe I want to give a go and this one I saved a while ago for when I had motivation and some over ripe bananas. I'm not a huge fan of banana cake and I often have lots of ripe bananas due to the fact that in our household three out of the four of us will only eat a banana when it's almost green. As soon as it goes yellow we aren't interested. Thank goodness for the Yonanas!

Anyway this is yummy. It has a rich chocolate taste and a slight banana flavour. Delicious and easy to make and well worth making again. 

Chocolate and Banana Brownies

175g dark chocolate
175g butter
150g brown sugar
2 medium sized bananas
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
100g self raising flour
2 teaspoons cocoa
¼ cup chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)

Preheat your oven to 180°C.  Grease and line a 20cm square tin with baking paper.

In a large saucepan over a medium heat, melt the chocolate, butter and sugar together, stirring until smooth.  Once melted and mixed together, remove from the heat.
In a bowl, mash up the bananas roughly with a fork (I like to have chunks of banana in the brownie).  Add the eggs, bananas and vanilla into the chocolate mixture and stir until well mixed.

Sift in the flour, cocoa and chocolate chips (if using) and mix well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 30 – 35 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the tin before cutting into squares and serving.

Baking for Nightshift- Annmarie's Chocolate Brownie

I know I know I know! I say I'm not going to fall behind in my posts and then life happens and my blog suffers. It's not that I haven't been cooking or baking because I have done plenty of that carry on..... probably more than I should even say. I do have a fair few photos in my albums but now I have the added problem of trying to remember where the heck I got the recipe from! Luckily this recipe is an easy one. In fact this gives a whole lot of bang for your buck! I tried these brownies when we were doing the Easter raffles for our ballet scholarship fundraising when Annmarie brought it over to have with our.....wine.....And a mighty fine mix it was too! They might not look like much and the original recipe doesn't even have chocolate in it however they taste so so so amazing. Like you have used a ton of chocolate...and they have the right amount of gooeyness like a good brownie should (use a decent cocoa though...avoid Cadburys at all costs). I did add some milk chocolate drops and this is the added beauty of this recipe....you can add or leave out extra chocolate and it would still be good. So without further, and much deserved, fanfare here is Annmarie's recipe....

Annmarie's Chocolate Brownie

200 g butter, softened
1 1/2 c caster sugar
3/4 c cocoa (I use Homebrand which is rich and dark and similar to the expensive brands)
1/2 c plain flour
3 eggs
Chocolate drops if you want an even bigger chocolate hit

Preheat the oven to 150C and grease and line a smallish slice tin.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add in the cocoa and flour and chocolate drops if using.

Bake about 30 mins....don't overdo it though.

Baking for Nightshift- Delice au Chocolat Brownies

I can almost hear the groaning of 'not another brownie recipe' and one that looks like a basic chocolate cake too! However do NOT underestimate the total deliciousness of this brownie. I got the recipe when a mum brought a piece for the other mums (that was me too) who were sitting nervously waiting while our babies were in their Grade 2 ballet exam. At first I declined it as I had just had a yummy muffin for my breakfast, but she insisted I give it a try telling me it was pretty good...and OMG it really was. The texture is really like a mousse cake and when you see the recipe you can see why. 

When I woke from my very busy nightshift yesterday I thought that we would deserve a treat if my next night ended up being as frantic as the previous one, so whipped this up before work that night. This would make a wonderful dessert as it really tastes more like a dessert cake than a cakey brownie. Trust me when I say to try this recipe because I know you will not be disappointed and while you might curse me for the calorie load, the flavour and texture will make it all worthwhile.

Delice au Chocolat Brownies

250 g dark chocolate (I used Whittakers dark 62% but the recipe giver uses 72%)

175 g unsalted butter (I used salted)

1 cup icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

4 eggs separated

125 g cream fraiche (I used sour cream)

2 tbsp of flour or ground almonds

Pinch salt (I omitted this as I used salted butter)

Icing sugar to decorate

Preheat oven 150 C. Grease 20cm square baking tin (the recipe said a 23cm tin but I liked the height the smaller tin gave me). 

Melt chocolate and butter in pot. In separate bowl beat sifted icing sugar, egg yolks and vanilla essence till mixture turns white and creamy. Add the melted chocolate and butter and beat. Add cream fraiche then fold in the flour or almonds ground. Beat eggs whites with pinch of salt till stiff. Fold delicately into chocolate mixture. 

Pour into tin and bake 35mins. Cool in tin and put into the fridge for about 4hrs. Cut into squares but rinse the knife with hot water in between slices to keep them neat. Dust with icing sugar and indulge.

Baking for Nightshift- Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Cake

Last night for work I whipped up a couple of things so I could return my lovely Philipina friend's container to her. Ning (or Lady Gaga as we call her), brings me in the most most amazing Philipino food. My favourites are Adobo or Pancit so the other night I got a container of chicken adobo and rice which I had all to myself for the dinner the next night....to say this dish is delicious would be a gross understatement!!! Anyway I thought I would return her container filled with biscuits which was why I made a couple of things.

This recipe was one that I tore out from the Listener. I liked the look of it because anything chocolate and raspberry has got to be good and it also didn't have any chocolate in it. You do have to use good rich cocoa and while she recommends Valrhona, I used the fantastic Equagold cocoa which to my mind, is as good as Valrhona. This was delicious. Mine took about an extra 10 mins to cook but that was because my tin was only 20 cm square instead of 22 cm. However I'll be glad to have this on my list of quick, easy and lots of bang-for-your-buck recipes.

Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Cake

200g butter
400g caster sugar
4 eggs, beaten
75g cocoa
100g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
1 c fresh or frozen raspberries
Icing sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 170C and grease and flour a 22 cm square tin (I lined mine with baking paper too.

Cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs a little at a time with the vanilla and beat well.

Sift the dry ingredients together and fold into the butter mix carefully.

Put half the mixture into the tin, top with half the raspberries then top with the remaining mixture before topping the lot with the rest of the raspberries.

Bake about 45 min until a skewer comes out pretty much clean (mine still had crumbs on it and those pieces we yummy), and coming away from the tin. Dust with icing sugar once it has cooled.

Baking for Nightshift- Peppermint Brownie Slice

The other night for night shift, I made these yummy brownies. I love those Chocolate Mint Biscuits and these are a brownie version of those. They made a lot and the morning staff even got to have some. As well that there is nothing wrong with a bit of minty freshness in the middle of the night when things can get a bit dodgy and chewing gum (or something like it) is called for. These had a lovely flavour with the rich brownie, fresh mint icing and chocolate ganache on top adding to the decadence. What I liked about this recipe was that the brownie didn't have chocolate in it so this is something you can whip up with your pantry staples. If you wan the recipe you can find it here.

Black Forest Brownies

Tonight is my Texan step father's birthday and he and my mum (and my dad) are coming here for dinner. I needed to have something that was easy to make as I have to get the boys from school and Harry has piano afterwards meaning we will be later home than usual. As well as that I wanted something with an American vibe so finally settled on Pulled Pork which has a spiced rub all over it and is cooked in the crockpot. It's meant to be mixed into some BBQ sauce and you have it on rolls but I'll see how it goes once it's cooked. I have also made a potato salad and a coleslaw to have with it as it seems like it's more of a BBQ/summer kind of dish. For dessert I have made Bobby's favourite (well at least I think it is), of Key Lime Pie. I'll post about this later. I also wanted to have a 'back up' sweet thing in case the pie is no good so whipped these decadent babies up last night. 


I first saw this recipe on a Kiwi blog I really like called Baking Makes Things Better. What appealed the most was that it used an entire block of Cadbury's Black forest chocolate. Now I went off Cadbury's chocolate when the whole palm sugar/recipe change fiasco happened and straight onto Whittaker's, but I have to say this Black Forest flavour rather rocks my boat...even now! I think it's those little chewy jelly bits which does it the most for me. So the idea of a dense and rich brownie using these flavours sounded pretty good to me. This recipe did NOT disappoint. The end result is a rich, fudgy and delicious brownie which is very easy to make and I know everyone will like it tonight.


If you want to make it here is the link to the recipe.

Baking for Nightshift- Coconut Ice Slice and Triple Chocolate Brownies

One of the cookbooks I have bought lately is Helen Jackson's new book called 'Helen Jackson Kitchen'. I have, for a long time now, listened to Helen on Radio Live's Saturday morning Kitchen and Garden Show, as well as being a frequent visitor to her Foodlovers website. The forums on this site are a really good little community of people who are always willing to help and contribute. When her book was released I knew I wouldn't be able to resist it for too long...and I was right!


One of the recipes I saw when I first opened the book was this one so I'm quite surprised it has taken me so long to actually make it, (well a couple of months anyway). I made it for the first of my last set of night shifts over Queen's Birthday weekend and I have to say it was very easy to whip up. If you have a very sweet tooth then this is the recipe for you however even for my tastes it was a bit too sweet. I also expected it to have a more solid topping but it was actually quite soft which made it less appealing. I don't think I will make it again as I don't think it was quite what I wanted or expected. I'm sorry but I also can't post the recipe as I would like to support Helen's book. However if you do want the recipe you can let me know and I can email it to you privately.


I am lucky to work with a great set of girls and we often organise a food night where we all bring something to share. The second of my night shifts was one of these. When I woke up I really needed something that was easy and fast to make. These triple chocolate brownies was just the thing. Healthy...no, debauched...yes, decadent...yes. You can find the recipe here in my blog. Make these...they will become your go to when you need something yummy in a hurry.

Triple Chocolate Brownies for Birthday Boy Russell

The other day was Harry and Reuben's other dad, Russell's birthday. I wanted to give him some homemade treats along with his present so managed to make these yesterday as they are coming today to pick Harry up for the weekend as I am working. Russell is a big, (and I mean BIG), cereal eater so Granola was definitely on the cards. I used this recipe which is a real favourite of mine as it uses apple sauce instead of a huge amount of butter and oil. As well as that it is Easter time so something chocolate was a must too. I finally settled on these triple chocolate brownies from the April 2011 Australian Good Food magazine which I have subscribed to since I discovered it on my last trip to Australia. Not only are they ridiculously easy to make but they taste fantastic. They will from now on, be my 'go-to' brownie recipe. I'm not a big fan of nuts in brownies (not that I wouldn't eat a brownie with nuts in though), and these are just pure chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. Of course I have given pretty much all of them to Russ BUT I confess to saving a few for myself...hell be dammed Weight Watchers!!! Anyway as it is Easter and therefore a time to celebrate anything chocolate, all diet bets are off. Hmmm I figure I might regret that next week but for now I'm living wild.... and you can too if you make these decadent delights.


Triple Chocolate Brownies


125g butter
200g dark chocolate, chopped
1/2c caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4c flour
180g white chocolate, chopped (I use chocolate drops)
100g milk chocolate, chopped (again I use chocolate drops


Oven to 180 C. Grease and line the base of a 20cm square cake pan or something similar.


Melt the butter and dark chocolate together in a pot over a low heat. Cool about 10 mins.


Stir in the eggs and flour followed by the 2 chocolates. Spoon into the tin and bake 20-25 mins until firmish to the touch (don't overcook).


Cut when cool and try your hardest not to eat them all.

Granola

Packaged up without the labels on

Nigella's Blondies

Finally for the last thing I made for work the other day. This recipe comes from Nigella Lawson's book 'Kitchen'. One of my favourite things about Nigella is the way she writes before each recipe. Her take on these made me laugh out loud as she explains that some people might say these are not proper blondies because of the dark chocolate chips (well mine were milk chocolate as this was all I had). Her excuse was that we all know that outside of Scandinavia, there is no such thing as a natural blonde over 24 years. Therefore these with the dark chocolate bits are just the "Blondies showing their roots". Sorry to you blondes out there but I think she may have a point....


Blondies


200g oats (not instant)- I didn't use the jumbo ones
100g flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
150g soft butter
100g brown sugar
1 can condensed milk
1 egg
170g dark chocolate chips or bits


Oven to 180C and line a tin with baking paper.


Combine the oats, flour and soda in a bowl.


In another bowl beat the butter with the sugar until it is soft and pale then add the condensed milk followed by the oats, flour and soda. Mix well then add the egg, then fold in the chocolate.


Put into the tin and bake about 30 mins. When it is ready it will be quite a pronounced gold around the edges and coming away from the tin. It will look and feel cooked in the tin but will also be quite squidgy. Mine was a little overcooked but it still tasted good.