Oreo Brownies

My friend made these recently to take into work. Luckily there were some leftovers and so I got to sample some. Absolutely delicious! 


The recipe is originally a Lorraine Pascale one.

Brownie heaven!

You will need:

• 165g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
• 200g dark chocolate, grated or finely chopped
• 3 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 2tsp vanilla extract
• 165g soft light brown sugar
• 2tbsp plain flour
• 1tbsp cocoa powder
• A pinch of salt
• 154g pack of Oreos, broken into quarters
• Icing sugar (for dusting)

To make:

Preheat the oven to 180°c (Gas Mark 4) and grease a 20cm (8inch) square tin with some butter and line with baking parchment

Put the butter into a pan and melt on the hob on a medium heat. Once fully melted, remove from the heat and add the chocolate, leaving it to cool for a little while, allowing the chocolate to melt also. Stir the mixture together

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla essence until the eggs begin to get light and fluffy. Add the sugar in two goes, whisking after each. **Pour it around the edges of the egg mixture so as not to displace all the air you've whisked in**

Keep whisking the mixture until it becomes stiffer

Once the egg mixture finished with, pour the chocolate into it, again round the sides so not to ruin your hard work whisking in air!

Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt and a third of the Oreos. Stir until fully combined and pour the mixture into the prepared tin

Scatter the last of the biscuits over the top, pressing them into place

Bake on the middle shelf for 25-30 minutes. The middle should remain slightly gooey

Leave them to cool in the tin. The top will sink and crack slightly

Cut into squares and dust with icing sugar!

Something Festive: Candy Cane Cupcakes

Apologies for the break from posting. Have managed to get myself a Christmas job and so sadly the baking has gone back to part-time!


Have spent hours today churning out 46 cupcakes (a triple batch) so that the Other Half has something to festive to take into the office tomorrow. So I went through my recipe books and found a recipe for candy cane cupcakes!


Now as you can see from the photo I veered away from the traditional colour combination of red and white. This is because I've been trialling a new red food colouring. Natural colouring so no E Numbers, no alcohol and completely vegetarian. However when I tried to use it to make red sponge, I didn't get the colour I wanted, so went with a more quirky purple!


The recipe uses a basic vanilla cupcake recipe for its base, and the icing is a standard frosting with the addition of peppermint essence. So they're really easy to turn out and add a little festive feel to your baking. For the best results, sprinkle with edible glitter! Mine being dark red wouldn't have worked but I encourage you to try it.

What do you think? Festive?

You will need:

For the cupcakes

• 80g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 280g caster sugar
• 240g plain flour
• 1tbsp baking powder
• 1/4tsp salt
• 240ml whole milk
• 1tsp vanilla essence
• 2 large eggs

For the icing

• 500g icing sugar
• 160g unsalted butter, softened
• 4tsp peppermint essence
• 50ml whole milk
• 2-3tsp liquid red food colouring
• Transparent edible sugar (or whatever colour you like!)

To make

Preheat the oven to 190°c (Gas Mark 5) and line a muffin tin with muffin cases

Mix together the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt until you get a consistency a bit like breadcrumbs

In a jug, put together the milk and vanilla essence. Add the eggs and hand whisk the mixture. Pour three quarters of it into the dry ingredients and mix on a low speed. Increase the speed to medium and continue to mix until smooth and thick. Scrape all the mixture from the sides of the bowl, add the remaining milk mixture and keep on at a medium speed until you once again have a smooth batter

Spoon the batter into the muffin cases. Don't fill any case more than about 2/3. This amount should produce 12-16 cupcakes. 

Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes, until they are well risen. Leave to cool in the tray for a few minutes before putting on a wire rack to cool completely. Make sure they are done cooling before icing.

Using your mixer or electric whisk, beat together the icing sugar, butter and peppermint essence on a low speed. Mix until you reach a sandy consistency

Gradually add the milk and slowly mix until everything is incorporated. Then turn up to high speed and beat until light and fluffy. 

Divide the icing into two and add the food colouring to one batch

Fill a piping bag (or whatever icing tools you have available) with half red and half white icing. Try to arrange it so that the two colours sit side by side and do not blend. Pipe a swirl and the colours should line up like a candy cane!

Sprinkle on glitter! (optional)

More posts soon!

Have just started a new job and so have been getting used to a new routine and not been baking as usual. 


However will be posting soon. Am currently working on my own version of a rainbow layer cake!


Posts soon.


Emma x

Classic Bakes: Banana Loaf

I have good intentions towards fruit. I do. We always buy it when we do our food shopping. I plan having it on cereal, and making fruit salads. This doesn't always happen. And for the times when you're left with over-ripe bananas, there's a saving grace in banana loaf!


It's something I've enjoyed many a time but for some reason haven't ever made myself. I've given it a go tonight. It's cooling at the moment and smells DELICIOUS!

Fresh out of the oven and smelling good!

You will need:

• 115g butter
• 170g caster sugar
• 225g self-raising flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 large/3 medium bananas
• **OPTIONAL EXTRAS** 115g of walnuts or 100g of chocolate chunks

To make:

Pre-heat the oven to 180°c and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin

Mash the bananas in their own bowl and keep to one side

In your mixing bowl, cream together your butter and sugar. Once it is nice and fluffy add the eggs and mix

Mix in the bananas (and walnuts or chocolate if you're using either) and then stir in the flour

Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and put in the oven

Bake for 40 minutes then turn the oven down to 150°c and bake for an additional 30 minutes

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A bit of luxury for £1!

Grocery shopping on Sunday and spotted this 2 pack of creme brulee for £1. Just given one a whirl and it was good! You get two glass pots, two sachets of sugar and you pop them under the grill to form the hard sugar layer.

Worth a try! Little bit of a treat for a quid!

Classic Bakes: Victoria Sponge

One of my favourites is a classic Victoria Sandwich. I always associate this with National Trust Tea Rooms and British class.


Nice and easy to make and a great one for tea parties, and taking to friends' houses!

A British classic!

You will need:

• 200g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
• 200g self-raising flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 250g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2tbsp milk
• 150ml pot double cream
• 1/2tsp vanilla extract
• 100g strawberry jam
• Icing sugar, for dusting

To make:

Pre-heat the oven to 180°c and grease two 20cm non-stick, round sandwich tins with some butter

Line the tins with baking parchment and lightly grease the parchment

Sift the flour and baking powder together into a large mixing bowl. Then tip in the butter, 200g of the sugar, the eggs and the milk

Use an electric mixer/whisk to beat everything together until smooth

Divide the mixture between the two sandwich tins and bake for 20-25mins until the sponge is golden. Don't give in to the temptation to open the oven door and check the sponges before the 20mins is up as this may cause them to sink

Lightly press the top of both cakes, when they're done they will spring back immediately

Once the sponges are cool enough to handle, turn them out of their tins and leave them to cool completely on a wire rack

To make the filling, whip the cream, the remaining 50g of the sugar and the vanilla extract together until the mixture holds its shape

Put the cake together by spreading one sponge with cream and the other with jam. Join the sponges together by their fillings and dust the top with icing sugar to serve

Crunchy Lemon Syrup Loaves

This Mary Berry recipe is a classic from my upbringing. We as kids enjoyed the "Series of Unfortunate Events" and so this cake will forever be "Lemony Snicket Cake" to us.


It's a very simple recipe which makes a beautifully soft lemon sponge which is topped with a lemon syrup to give a delightful crunch! This recipe will fill 2 x 1lb loaf tins or 1 larger tin.

Just as the syrup is put on the warm loaf

You will need:

For the cake

• 100g soft margarine or butter
• 175g self-raising flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 175g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4tbsps milk
• Finely grated rind of one lemon

For the syrup topping

• Juice of 1 lemon
• 100g of granulated sugar

To make:

Pre-heat the oven to 180°c/Gas 4

Lightly grease and line the bottom of your loaf tin(s)

Put all the cake ingredients into a bowl and mix well for 2 mins

Pour your cake mixture into your tin(s) and smooth the top

Bake for 30mins

While you're baking your loaf/loaves, make the syrup by combining the lemon juice and sugar and stir them together

Pour the syrup over the loaf/loaves whilst they're still hot from the oven

Leave in the tin(s) to cool completely before turning out

Easy Dinners: Baked Potato with Houmous and Feta

Simple but tasty dinner! 

So tasty! And barely and preparation required

You will need:

• 2 baking potatoes
• Sea salt
• 2tbsps olive oil
• 1/2tsp smoked paprika
• Pinch of ground cumin
• 1/2 pot of houmous
• 50g feta

To make:

Wash and dry the potatoes and prick all over with a fork. Rub with salt

Bake at 200°c for about an hour or until soft when squeezed

Meanwhile, mix together the oil, smoked paprika and cumin with a pinch of sea salt

Split open the potatoes as soon as they're cooked

Top each with houmous and some crumbled feta

Drizzle with the paprika, oil and serve with a big mixed salad

Boozey Toffee Apple Upside-Down Cake

I've just tried this recipe and it makes a perfect autumnal accompaniment to a hot drink. Or great on it's own! Any excuse really.
Not only tasty, it's beautiful too. Sticky, sweet, with a dense sponge and a kick of brandy. A perfect treat for this time of year.

The apples and toffe which eventually become the topping

The finished product. Toffee a little crispy around the edges!

You will need:

For the cake

• 150g unsalted butter
• 200g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 300g plain flour
• 50ml brandy
• 1tbsp golden syrup
• 1tsp cinnamon

For the apple topping

• 2 eating apples, sliced finely
• 50g unsalted butter cut into small pieces
• 50g caster sugar

To make:

Pre-heat the oven to 180°c

Line a 20cm tin. **Do not use a loose bottomed tin as this will cause the toffee to leak out whilst baking!**

Cream the butter and sugar together

Beat in the eggs, one at a time

Add the flour, cinnamon, brandy and golden syrup

Once the cake mixture has been thoroughly mixed, put it in the fridge to settle whilst you make the apple mixture

Put the sugar and butter into a frying pan and put on a low heat. Stir regularly until it forms a dark brown caramel. Don't let it turn black. **Be very careful!** Do not get any mixture on you, and definitely do not lick the spoon. This mixture gets exceedingly hot and will burn.

Take the pan off the heat. Add in the apple slices. Be careful as the mixture might spit. Stir them around until they are coated.

Arrange the apple slices in the bottom of the cake tin however you want and pour the caramel over them.

Top with the cake mixture, smooth until it covers all of the apple slices.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the cake has risen, is golden and is cooked through. Ensure the cake is ready before removing from oven.

Leave it to cool in the tin before turning upside down onto a plate. The apples will now be the cake's topping. 

It's particularly nice when warm!