Happy Baking- Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Well winter is here, and with it comes the excitement of Christmas, market stalls, cinnamon lattes, Christmas baking and sitting in front of the fire on those particularly chilly nights.

This cinnamon roll recipe is a lovely bake, filling your kitchen with the scent of freshly baked bread and cinnamon, but unlike your cinnamon latte from Costa you can have these all year round.

These little rolls are based around a recipe we did at uni last year and are a sweet dough with a wonderful cinnamon filling. Because I've adapted the recipe and used dried fast action yeast there is no need for any knocking back or a second prove which means these can easily be put together on a rainy afternoon. (Or when ever you might fancy- I won't tell if you won't) 

Makes 10-12 rolls

Ingredients-

Dough-

350g White bread flour
50g Caster sugar
50g Unsalted butter
7g Fast action yeast ( or 1 sachet) 
5g Salt
1 Egg- beaten 
200ml Water- lukewarm 

Filling-

60g Unsalted butter
30g Caster sugar
30g Dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons Cinnamon

Method-

1) Add the flour, sugar, butter, salt and yeast into a bowl and mix the ingredients together, rubbing in the butter at the same time.

2) Add the egg and mix through, then add ONLY 150ml of the water and slowly mix it in. The mixture should start coming together at this stage to form the dough. If your mixture is still too dry, and you have unincorporated flour left at the bottom of your bowl add some of the left over water and continue mixing. (Your dough should be soft and squidgy to the touch, without being too sticky)

3) Kneed the dough for 10 minutes and then put it back into your mixing bowl and cover it with clingfilm so it can rest.- Leave it to rest for 10-15 minutes.

4) Meanwhile you can mix the cinnamon filling- put all of the filling ingredients into another bowl and mix together until it's soft and spreadable.

5) Get your dough from the bowl and roll out into a rectangle approximately 16inches long and between 1/2 and 3/4 of a centimeter thick. It doesn't matter how wide the dough is, the wider the better really because you will be able to get a better spiral pattern, then spread on the cinnamon filling, making sure you  cover all the dough!

6) Roll the dough up length ways, so you are left with a sausage about 16 inches long, then cut off the ends and cut into even slices just over an inch in thickness- you should get between 10 and 12 slices out of it.

7) Grease a tin approximately 8x8 inches, or equivalent with butter and place the rolls into it with the spiral facing upwards. - I like to put mine fairly close together so when they prove and bake them touch each other and make a lovely tear and share style loaf.

8) Cover with cling film and leave on a warm place for 60-90 minutes or until  doubled in size.

9) Preheat your oven to 200C and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes check the rolls and if they need longer- if you tap the bottom of a roll it should should hollow, if it doesn't cover the top with foil and bake for longer.

10) Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool enough to eat! 

Happy Baking- Trick or Treat Brownies

I think the title of this bake might be slightly misleading- I can assure you there are only treats in these brownies!

This is a brownie like tray bake laced with chocolate chunks and marshmallows...Amazing! (Ignore my last piece about healthy eating, it's all gone wrong with this bake!) It's really gooey and super chocolatey- Everything I love in a brownie.

This is a lovely bake to do for parties as they can be cut to your desired size and piled high on the plate! I also think they're perfect for the coming Halloween, cut them up, dish them out, and watch the smiles...You won't regret it!

Makes 9 + Brownies- Depending on the size of your slice! :)

Ingredients-
150g Dark Chocolate
50g Milk Chocolate
200g Unsalted Butter
175g Caster Sugar
75g Dark Brown Sugar
3 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
80g Plain Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
100g White Chocolate- Chopped
100g Marshmallows- Chopped into thirds

Method-
1) Preheat your oven to 180C and line a tin approximately 8inches x 12inches with baking parchment.
2) Place the dark chocolate, milk chocolate and the butter into a pan and heat gently until melted.
3) Poor the melted chocolate and butter over both sugars and mix until the sugars have dissolved.
4) Sieve the flour and baking powder into the chocolate mixture and fold it through
5) Add the eggs and vanilla extract into the above mixture and mix through.
6) Lastly add the chopped white chocolate and marshmallows and mix until everything is incorporated.
7) Tip into the baking tin and smooth the top of the mixture down, then bake in an oven for 40-50 minutes. Or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with a few crumbs (You want it to stay slightly gooey! :) ) **Because of the marshmallows in this recipe the top will brown quickly, so after 20 minutes loosly cover the top with foil.
8) Let it cool in the tin, then cut and eat!!

Confession

Confession time...My first week of operation lose tire has been terrible! It's been filled with AMAZING brownies (Recipe to come soon!) sea salted caramel chocolates we made at uni (Would any one be interested in this recipe?) and no exercise BUT I have a plan!...

I've decided to start insanity again, it's 9 weeks in total so if I start on the 28th October (I cant start next week because I'm going to be in Cornwall for a few days) then I will finish the week of Christmas...Sounds like a good plan huh!? 

It worked quite well last time, and I didn't really change anything in my diet, but then I stopped, did no exercise, ate all the chocolate in sight and now I've got to do it all over again. So I'm determined to give it a better go this time- A better diet, and not just stopping everything when the 9 weeks is over :) 

Is anyone else planning on giving this a go from Christmas? 

CHANGING BLOG ADDRESS!

I feel like a bit of a change so I'm changing the address of this blog to- www.abbisbakingdays.blogspot.com

Spread the word lovely people :)

Operation lose tire!

You might have read my posts about doing insanity over the summer. I managed to lose a bit of weight, and tone up a little in the process, but since I stopped I’m been a couch potato…Cake, chocolate and crisps have taken over from apples, nuts and yoghurt so I’m entering the winter with a rather large tyre that I want to get rid of. Sure it’s going to be useful when the weather gets even colder, but I would rather stick on an extra jumper if I need to.

Yesterday was the first day of a healthier me (I’ll believe it when I see it- Until they open a cake rehab I’m not sure I stand much chance!). I’m trying not to use the word diet as I tend to never stick to them. Instead I’m going for a healthy approach (With the occasional treat so I don't go mad!)- Definitely easier said than done! Especially as this week is both chocolate and baking week!...But I’ll make it! I’ve stocked up on some healthy food to get me through this first week, and plan on making lunch to take to uni with me so I won’t be tempted by a cheese loaded Panini at the café. I’m also signing up for some exercise classes at the Uni gym because the membership is so cheap- under £50.00 for a 3 month membership! I’m going to start with 2 classes a week, total body conditioning and zumba, and I’m hoping to take my bike out at least once a week to start with as well! The poor little thing has been in the garage since I got it…So much for “I need to buy a bike right now, I’ll use it all the time. It’ll be a really good investment.” What I should of said was “I’ll look at it every time I go into the garage and use the washing machine and feel insanely guilty about not riding it yet!” Oops! …I WILL use it now though!

Just because I’m trying to be a bit healthier doesn’t mean I’ll stop with the recipes. I’ll still upload my favourite full fat versions, but I’m also going to try and do some “Skinny” versions so like me you can have a treat, and not feel like you need to spend a solid week on the treadmill- Let’s face it, we’ve all got better things to do!

So I’ll keep you updated on my progress, and feel free to update me on yours If you’re also on a pre-winter/Christmas health kick! 

Happy Baking- Chocolate Banana Marbled Tray Bake

The later half of last week was filled with tissues, throat sweets, a runny nose, a headache and an afternoon nap...yep I got a cold.

I spent my time feeling very sorry for myself and needing lots of cuddles and sympathy (Sam did an excellent job at this-maybe I should have a cold more often?) 

On Sunday I was feeling a lot better, and after finding some overripe bananas hiding under the apples I thought it was only right I did some baking (All to aid my recovery of course!) so I surfed the Internet for a banana bread recipe...Only problem, I don't have a loaf tin here (And I call myself a baker...terrible) so I made quite a few changes to the recipe and decided to make a yummy marbled Banana tray cake to aid my snotty nose recovery.

This recipe has minimal effort involved, and results in a lovely moist sponge perfect on these colder nights with a cup of tea.

Serves 8-10

Ingredients-
150g Unsalted Butter- Softened
100g Caster Sugar
75g Dark Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
4 Bananas- Very ripe
225g Plain Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
25g Cocoa Powder
Milk

Method- 
1) Preheat your oven to 180C and line a tin approximately 8inches x 12inches with baking parchment,or grease with butter.
2) Cream the butter and both sugars together until they are light and creamy.
3) Add the eggs to the creamed mixture one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
4) Mash up the bananas until they are smooth and they add this to the above mixture and mix through.
5) Add the flour and baking powder to the mixture and carefully mix it in.
6) Put half of this mixture into into a separate bowl and add the cocoa powder to one of these bowls before mixing it through. 
7) Add a small amount of milk into the chocolate banana mixture and mix it through- keep adding small amounts until the mixture is the same consistency as the plain banana mixture. 
8) Spoon the mixture into the tin, alternating between the plain banana mixture and the chocolate bananas mixture and then swirl the two together using the end of a spoon- make sure that the mixture goes right into the corners of the tin and that it is as flat at possible. 
9) Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the mixture comes away from the side of the tin and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
10) Remove from the oven and let it cool in the tin for about 15 minutes before removing and transferring it to a wire rack.

Hello Autumn

It's that time of the year again.

The leaves are tumbling from the trees, catching in a surprise gust of wind and tumbling to the ground in front of you.

Walking comes with a new sound effect, that crunch of the newly fallen leaves beneath your feet. 

Hat's, gloves and scarves are being bought to the front of the wardrobe ready for the really cold weather. 

Turning the heating on has been mentioned more than once but you're trying to hold out for as long as possible.

You walk down the street, enter the shops and get bombarded with displays of christmas food, stocking fillers and wrapping paper. 

Nights in consist of the Xfactor, a cup of tea and if lucky a bowl of popcorn. 

The sun peaks it's head out from behind a cloud and people rush outside, trying to make the most of it. 

A blanket on the sofa is now a permanent resident for when it feels really chilly.

It's 79 day's until Christmas.

Hello Autumn. 

Happy Baking- Apple Tray Bake

The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree...Well I'm glad it doesn't, other wise I wouldn't of had a chance to bake this beauty!

My housemates girlfriend came to stay last weekend, and bought with her some cooking apples from her dads garden because she thought I would be able to bake something with them! :) (She's too cute!)

I've never actually baked anything with apples in before, that was always left to my Mum (Crumbles and pies were a speciality) so I took to the internet to try and find a recipe that took my fancy. I wanted something cakey, because my motto is that you can never have too much cake. During my searching I stumbled upon a recipe on the BBC Goodfood website for a Dorset Apple Tray Bake (The recipe can be found here) so I thought I would give it a whirl!

I'm really happy with the result, and I really like the sharpness of the apples in lemon juice against the sweet sponge. Yum.

If you fancy it too, then here's what you're going to need to do...

Makes 15 Squares

Ingredients-
450g Cooking Apples
Lemon Juice (Roughly half a lemons worth)
225g Unsalted Butter- Softened
180g Caster Sugar
50g Soft Brown Sugar
50g Dark Brown Sugar
4 Eggs
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
350g Plain Flour
5 Teaspoons Baking Powder

Caster Sugar, dark brown sugar, and cinnamon to sprinkle on top- Optional! 

Method-

1) Preheat your oven to 180C and line a baking tray approximately 8 inches x 12 inches with baking parchment.  (I used a deep brownie pan that was this size- The mixture does rise quite a bit when it's baked so try to use a deep tray if you can. If you don't have a deep tray then just leave the baking parchment sticking upwards and it should be fine)

2) Peel and core your apples and then thinly slice them so they are roughly the same thickness. Place them in a bowl and cover with the lemon juice, then put to one side.

3) Put the butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla extract, flour and baking powder into a bowl (You'll need a large one) and mix together until it all comes together and there are no lumps. 

4) Take half the mixture and spread it out evenly onto the bottom of your lined tin.

5) Take half the sliced apples and arrange them flat over the cake mixture so as much of the mixture is covered as possible.

6) Repeat steps 4 and 5 so you have 4 layers- 2 of cake and 2 of apple. 

7) Mix roughly a tablespoon of caster sugar, a tablespoon of dark brown sugar and a teaspoon of cinnamon together in a small bowl and sprinkle it over the top of the cake.

8) Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean and the top of the cake in a lovely golden brown.- Then let it cool in the tray for 10-15 minutes, remove from the tin and enjoy a slice! (Check on your cake after 30-35 minutes- If the top of the cake is quite dark but the inside isn't cooked properly then loosely cover the top with a piece of foil)

The National Bakery School

I started back at Uni this week, and had my first day on Tuesday. It was a bit of a shock to the system after the relaxed summer I've just had and we were thrown straight into recipe calculations and costings for our bread class, as well as being given the schemes of work for the semester.

Our year is split into two semesters, with the first running from September- January and being all practical lessons. 

Tuesday- Bread

Thursday- Confectinary

Friday- Chocolate

The second semester then runs from January-June and is all theory based...We're talking science, healthy and safety, food hygiene, human resources and research methods...It's safe to say I'm more excited about the first semester!

The rest of the week went a little easier, with thankfully no maths involved (I think they're being nice and saving that until the second week) so we had our first confectionery lesson on Tuesday where we got to decorate some biscuits (Check out this little guy...So cute I ALMOST didn't want to eat him!) 

Chocolate on Friday was also a nice introduction to the second year, and we got to make some chocolate lollies...Have I mentioned how much I love my course?

I'm really looking forward to the coming year and we've got some really good products that we're going to be baking! I'll try and post my favourite recipes when I have them, update you with how the course is going, as well as continuing to post some recipes that I've tried at home. 

If I've tempted you at all with all this talk of cake and chocolate and you want to have a look at the course I'm studying then have a look at THIS LINK and it'll give you more information :) 

I'm back...

Sorry for the lack of posts this month, I've been enjoying what was left of the summer! (It definitely feels like winter now...BOO :( ) So it's probably time for a little update

A couple of weeks ago my parents came up to London with friends to do some tourist stuff and see family in Bognor, so we got to spend some time together which is always nice.

Sam and I met them on a Thursday night and we all went to China Town for (surprisingly) a chinese! I've never been before, and I really enjoyed walking up and down the streets, all lined with Chinese restaurants and supermarkets. We picked out a restaurant, ordered too much food, ate too much food and left half a stone heavier, and happy. 

On the following Saturday I went into London early to meet them both for coffee before Dad went back to Bognor and Mum and I embarked on our girly day in London.

First stop was Topshop in Oxford Street where we had booked a two hour slot of personal shopping. I didn't even know they did personal shopping until a few months ago, but it was so much fun. The rail of clothes they picked out were all lovely, and it was good to try on things I normally wouldn't go for. I would definitely recommend booking in, especially as it's freeeeee! (If only the same could be said for the 3 big bags I came out with...Oops!)

After a busy morning of shopping (It should definitely be an olympic sport!) we took a short stroll to the Leonard Hotel where we were booked in for afternoon tea. As you know I have a slight obsession with afternoon tea and it didn't disappoint! There were plenty of sandwiches, scones, miniature cakes and tea...Perfect after a hard morning of shopping. 

The day was filled with gossip, girly talk, and advise that only your parents can give, definitely a day I wouldn't mind doing again. 

Next up was a night at the dog races with our house mates and friends from uni. We planned it a couple of weeks in advance and it just happened that the night we planned to go was the night that winter decided to really kick in- I'm talking non stop rain, wind and general coldness. Not the best conditions to take a walk to the race track and then stand outside watching the races all night. Que soggy shoes and a leaking umbrella! 

Since then I've been doing plenty of relaxing, and not much of anything else...Lucky huh?

I'm back to uni on Tuesday, so back to baking in the kitchen! I'll try and keep you updated on how my course is going, and I'll post any good recipes we get to try :) 

Until next time...

Happy Baking- Strawberry Cake

September has come around all too quickly, and I'm still trying to hold on to the last remains of the summer. To me that means venturing out in a dress even though the weather isn't always calling for it. Trying to prolong what little tan I have and of course continuing the summer baking. That's where this little cake comes in.
Strawberries and cream help sum up the summer for me, and I'm determined that one day I'll make it to Wimbledon to watch the tennis with my strawberries and cream. Until then my strawberries will have to come in cake form...So here it is, my last attempt at preserving the summer with my Strawberry Cake :)

Makes 1 7inch cake. Enough to feed about 6 people

Ingredients-
150g Caster Sugar
100g Unsalted Butter- Softened to room temperature
1 Egg
50g Natural Yoghurt (I use Sainsburys basic low fat natural yoghurt)
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
125g Plain Flour
1.5 Teaspoons Baking Powder
75g Strawberries- Cut into quarters *
OPTIONAL- 25g Strawberries cut into quaters to place on top of the cake before baking

*I don't like a lot of fruit in cakes as I think it can sometimes make them a little bit soggy or stodgy. So in this recipe I have only used 75g of strawberries, however if you wanted to add an extra 25g-50g then this is okay :) You can also put some extra strawberries on top of the cake before baking! 


Method-
1) Preheat your oven to 180C and either line a 7 inch baking tin with baking parchment and a little butter.
2) Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and cream until light and fluffy.
3) Add the egg, natural yoghurt, and vanilla extract to the creamed mixture and mix through well.
4) Sieve the plain flour and baking powder over the mixture and carefully mix through.
5) Add the cut up strawberries and mix them through the cake batter.
6) Transfer the mixture to the tin, and smooth out the top so the mixture is level the whole way across. (You can now add the optional extra strawberries on top if you want to- Just scatter them over the smoothed batter and lightly press into the mixture.)
7) Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes- Or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean of crumbs, and the top is a golden brown.
8) Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in the tin for about 15 minutes, before removing the cake from the tin and transferring to a wire rack.
9) Sprinkle with icing sugar, cut yourself a wedge, and enjoy your handiwork and a last taste of summer!

One year ago today...

I said my goodbyes and see you later's. 

I packed the very last of my things.

At 3:30 I left my house and walked down the road to the Quay with Sam.

I was greated by my friends waiting for me, and said some pretty teary goodbyes. 

I got onto the Scillonian, and watched Scilly getting further and further away.

I felt a little bit sad, I felt scared, I felt nervous, but I also felt excited. (And a little bit sick- Dam that boat!)

One year on and I'm no longer sad, or scared, or nervous. I'm happy, and still excited about the different opportunities I have here. 

I've even managed to learn a few things this year...

1) I don't like rush hour- People are rude and grumpy.

2) A cappuccino is no longer a cappuccino, it's now a decaf, extra shot, extra hot, dry, skinny, no chocolate on top cappuccino. 

3) I love baking even more now than I did last year.

4) There is no such thing as festival chic- The magazines are lying to you! There is absolutely nothing chic about the unwashed greasy hair, tent crumpled clothes and wellies that go hand in hand with a festival! 

5) You'll meet people at uni who think in the exact same way as you do...So much so that it's possible you were twins separated at birth.

6) 1:00am is no longer the time you get to go home after a night in the disco...You won't go out till 11:00, you'll probably get home after 3:00 and you'll be tired...Really tired.

7) There's being skint, and then there's being student skint...The two are on a completely different scale.

8) Having to decide between buying tea bags or food is never a fun choice.

9) September, January and April are my favourite months because my student loan comes in.

10) A picnic in the park is one of my favourite ways to spend a summer afternoon.

11) I still miss the sea- No amount of dirty river water will ever take it's place.

12) I want to go to Cadana.

13) Eventually I want to have my own bakery, and a recipe book.

The Big Feastival

Sam and I have just got back from a bloody good weekend in the Cotswolds at the Big Feastival. The weekend was lovely- Plenty of amazing food, music, drinks and sunshine to keep us happy.

This was festival food at its finest, gone were greasy burgers, soggy chips and overpriced noodles, and in their place were original flavours, good portion sizes, well cooked, well priced grub! Perfect!

There was something for everyone at the festival, and it was set up to be family friendly, with more attention paid to the camping facilities and providing a good atmosphere. 

We wondered around and around the main field trying to deicide what to eat on our first night, only to go right back to the entrance and the first place that took our fancy in the "Street food alley". We had some really lovely food, from vegballs, pulled pork rolls, and burrittos, to pies, spinach and feta croissants and cheese straws.

Towards the back of the field was a host of smaller tents selling their produce from olive oil to popcorn...And cheese...So much cheese! I think we visited every cheese stand at least three times so Sam could stock up on samples...Cheeky!

We heard music from Rizzle Kicks, Basement Jaxx, Kt Tunstall and The Feeling amoungst many others. In fact the only part of the weekend I can fault was the camping, and that was purely down to us! Because we don't have a car we decided to try and take as little with us as possible, so save us lugging everything on the train. A great idea in theory. But rather than cutting down on cereal bars, crisps, and biscuits (Which really weren't needed) we cut down on pillows, and sleeping mats, so what we ended up sleeping with was a sleeping bag...nothing underneath us apart from the tent, and the only pillow like object we had was a towel...Lovely...Or not! It's a good job I'm carrying some extra cupcake weight at the moment otherwise this would of been seriously uncomfortable! As it was we were both dying to get into our bed this morning!

Note to self: When going to a FOOD and music festival, don't take food...Take foam mats, pillows, and even a chair or two!

Even so, sore backs are now forgotten and we've decided we're going to go again next year :) YAAAAY!!

Happy Baking- Malteser Cupcakes

It's been a little while since I've baked any cupcakes and my stomach was telling me it was time to change that! I wasn't completely sure what I wanted to bake so I had a look on the internet for some inspiration and found a lovely little recipe for malteser cupcakes on the bbcgoodfood website. I've changed it around a bit because I thought it needed a few changes and I'm really happy with the result- As was my boyfriend!...These little fellas didn't stay around for long!

**Sorry for the quality and lack of photos!- I took some really nice ones, but the colour on my camera was playing up so they came out really strange :( **

Makes 12-16 Cupcakes, depending on the size of your case.


Ingredients-

For the Cupcakes-
200g Unsalted Butter- Softened
100g Caster Sugar
10g Soft Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1/4 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
200g Plain Flour
3 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
Generous Pinch of Salt
100ml Milk (I use Skimmed but any should be fine :) )
120g Maltesers

For the Icing-
I used my favourite butter icing recipe, which is from the Hummingbird Bakery recipe book!
500g Icing Sugar
160g Unsalted Butter- Softened
3 Tablespoons Milk
1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Maltesers for decoration

Method-

For the Cupcakes-
1) Preheat your oven to 180C and line a cupcake or muffin tin with cases, then put to one side.
2) Add the softened butter and both sugars to a bowl and cream together until they are lighter in colour, and look a little fluffy.
3) Add both eggs and the vanilla extract to the creamed mixture and carefully mix together.
4) Add all of the dry ingredients to the bowl and carefully stir together- Be careful not to over mix at this stage.
5) Add the milk to the mixture and mix it through the mixture to loosen, before adding the maltesers and giving one last stir.
6) Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until roughly 3/4 full- Trying to make sure an even number of maltesers goes in each one if you can.
7) Put them in the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the top is a light golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8) Once baked, remove the cases from the tins and let the cupcakes cool completely on a wire rack while you make the icing!

Butter Icing-
1) Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl and add to it the butter, milk and vanilla extract- Start mixing the mixture using a folk.
2) When the mixture has come together with an electric whisk (Or a lot of arm power) for 3-5 minutes- Or until the icing is a really pale colour and nice and fluffy.

Decorating-
The butter icing can either be piped onto your cooled cupcakes or spooned on and smoothed down- Let your imagination run wild! I think it looks lovely to finish the cupcakes off with either a couple of whole maltesers or some chopped maltesers :)...Yum!

Naughty blogger

I'm such a bad blogger!

Sorry for my lack of posts and recipes this month- it's been pretty busy, but fear not I've got lots planned so when I'm not as busy ill have some new recipes for you to try :)

Happy Baking- Chocolate Nutella Cookies

These are my new favourite cookies, but be-warned these cookies are a chocolate overload but SO good!

They've got a slightly crisp outside, with a soft pillowy inside, and the centre is lovely and gooey from the Nutella.

Cookies = Good
Nutella = Good
Nutella Cookie = AMAZING!

I've been looking at a lot of different cookie recipes online recently, and I saw quite a few of them included cornflour, so I decided to include it in this recipe, and it really does help give a lovely texture to the cookies!

Makes approximately 9 Large Cookies

Ingredients-
100g Unsalted Butter- Softened
100g Caster Sugar
65g Soft Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
100g Plain Flour
40g Cocoa Powder
2 Teaspoons Cornflour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
Nutella


Method-
1) Line a baking tray with baking parchment and put to one side.
2) But the butter and sugar in a bowl and cream together until light and fluffy.
3) Add the egg and vanilla extract to the creamed mixture and thoroughly mix together.
4) Add the flour, cocoa powder, cornflour, baking powder and salt to the bowl and mix together carefully- The mixture will become quite stiff so be careful when you mix it so it doesn't go everywhere!
5) Put the mixture in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes.
6) Line another tray with foil and place 9 or 10 teaspoons of Nutella onto it and then transfer to the freezer for about 30 minutes to harden.
7) While the cookie dough and Nutella are chilling preheat your oven to 180C.
8) Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and the Nutella from the freezer and working quite quickly take a heaped tablespoon of the cookie dough, flatten either on the tray or in your hand, place the hardened teaspoon of Nutella into the centre and press the cookie dough around the Nutella so that it is completely covered- If you're doing this in your hands roll the dough around in your palms afterwards so it's a nice round ball. Then place this on the baking tray, spacing them out well as they will spread during baking.- Repeat this until you have used all of your cookie dough and Nutella balls.
9) Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until the edges just start to turn a darker brown.
10) Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray for about 30 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.
11) Enjoy with a cup of tea or a cool glass of milk...Perfect!

Nutella ready for chilling in the freezer

Cookie dough ready to shape around the Nutella

All ready for the oven!

Mmmm

Off we go

I'm off to V Festival today with friend from uni, for a weekend of music and camping! :) 

I'm currently sat in my bed, thinking about how much I'll miss it and that I should probably get up!...

See you when I get back :)

A little trip to Brussels

Sorry about the lack of blog posts- On Thursday Sam and I went to Brussels for a long weekend :)

We booked the trip through a travel agents, and decided to get the Euro Star because I've never been on it, and I don't really like flying. It was SO much easier! We just got the train to St Pancras station, picked up our tickets and hopped on the train. Security was much quicker than at an airport and we only had to be there half an hour before which left plenty of time to fill up on sushi before hand!

We booked a late train in case we couldn't get the day off work so we didn't get to Brussels until about 8 so we checked in to the hotel and went to find somewhere to get some dinner. Our hotel was right next to Luxembourg Square which on Thursday evenings is a place to meet for a drink outside and the square was really busy when we got there, with a really nice atmosphere :) The European Parliament is also right behind the square!

Luxembourg Square

Our first full day was Friday, which was spent wondering around the town and exploring some of Brussels, we managed to get where we wanted to without using a map (Pretty impressed with that to be honest). There wasn't anything that we really wanted to see so we just strolled around, bought some chocolate (Compulsory!) and played lots of uno (Our holiday game- The pack is pretty well travelled!)

On Saturday we took a walk into the Centre of Brussels which is filled with beautiful buildings, cobbled streets, restaurants, chocolate shops and amazing smelling waffle stands. We spent most of the day here, just wondering around and exploring. It's a really beautiful part of the city and definitely worth a visit! To get there from our hotel we walked through a really nice park which felt really peaceful compared to the busy centre. Saturday was also the day of the waffle! I've only ever has rubbish supermarket waffles before and after trying a proper one I did fall in love a little bit, in fact as soon as we got home yesterday I rejected unpacking for waffle maker research!...I definitely need one in my life! 

AMAZING waffle!

On Sunday we strolled over to Leopold Park near our hotel and sat playing uno in the sun for a few hours before going to check out the market and restaurants near by for a late lunch. When it came it walking back to the hotel I managed to get us completely lost with my "Short cut" even after looking at a map I decided I probably knew better...Note to self- I don't know better...Always trust a map! Sam on the other hand must have a world map etched into his head as where ever we go he's able to direct us without looking at a map or directions, it's pretty weird, I'm sure he's got some special powers he's not sharing with me!

Monday morning came around far to quickly, and it was time to make our way back to the station, onto the euro star and home again!...Now it's time to plan our next trip :)

Happy Baking- Strawberry and Chocolate Oaty Tray Bake

Some left over strawberries, and a craving for flapjack bought about these little slices :)

They're a really nice crumbley slice that are so easy to make and take hardly any time to bake...You can have these on the table in half an hour.

These are also really lovely served warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Makes 8 slices

Ingredients-
200g Porridge Oats
100g Unsalted Butter
75g Algave Syrup
50 Plain Flour
50g Ground Almonds
150g Strawberries
30g Chocolate Chips

Method-
1) Preheat your oven to 200C and line an 8inch x 8inch baking tin with baking parchment.
2) Add the oats, butter, algave syrup, flour and ground almonds to a bowl and using your hands "rub" all of the ingredients together, until all of the butter is incorporated.
3) Mash up the strawberries in a separate bowl- Making sure there are no large chunks of of strawberry.
4) Put 3/4 of the oat mixture into the baking tin, spread it out evenly and push it down into the tin.
5) Add the mashed strawberries to the tin and spread them evenly over the top of the oats.
6) Sprinkle the rest of the oat mixture over the top.
7) Sprinkle over the chocolate chips.
8) Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Then remove from the oven and loosely cover with foil, and put it bake in the oven for another 5 minutes.- They should be starting to go golden on top, and the chocolate chips melting slightly.
9) Remove from the oven and let them cool in the tin.