Nigella Express: Banana Butterscotch Muffins (But Actually Dark Chocolate): [How To Make]

 

Date: 27/6/13

Background: We had some over ripe banana’s left over and so basically I decided rather than bin them or let my housemate have them with custard (I feel unhappy about this) I thought I would make some delicious variations on Nigella’s Banana Butterscotch Muffin recipe. PLUS I haven’t done a ‘How-To-Make’ blog post in ages!

What: Banana and Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients:

• 3 over ripe bananas
• 150mls vegetable oil
• 250g self raising flour
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 150g dark chocolate chunks (or Nigella suggests butterscotch morsels)
• 2 eggs

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200C
2. Mash the bananas in a bowl
3. Mix together the oil and eggs and combine with the mashed banana
4. Sift the flour, bicarb and baking powder
5. Combine the wet and dry ingredients
6. Break the chocolate into little morsel sized pieces (or used ready made chunks) – I used a broken bar of dark chocolate and this meant a variety of sized chunks within the muffins
7. Add the chocolate to the muffin mix
8. Prepare a muffin tin and line with muffin cases
9. Using a dessert spoon/ice cream scoop, fill the cases with the mix
10. Heat in a preheated oven, 200C for 20mins, or until a cocktail stick/skewer comes out clean

What Was Good: How easy they were to make! I literally made them and baked them in half an hour! So speedy, so easy and If you are careful not much washing up either! And my goodness they tasted delicious! Warm they oozed melted chocolate and the cake was soft, light and fluffy, but if you had enough patience and willpower to let them cool down, and even better, wait over night, they develop their banana flavour even more and are just as tasty! And I bet they are even more versatile! Nigella recommends using butterscotch pieces which I think would be very tasty as well! Another bonus is that you will probably have all the ingredients in the store cupboard anyway! So you can whip them up at a moments notice!

Delicious Muffin Pictures VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

What Was Bad: Not even a criticism, but I plan on making them again (and again and again) but adding some chopped pecans as well for added flavour and texture! Oh and the mixture when you are making it does not look very appetising… But the finished product is divine

Would I Make Them Again: I am already planning to make them again this week

Waffle-O-Meter:

 

Reference: Lawson, N (2009) Nigella Express. Chatto & Windus. I do not stake claims to this recipe I am merely reviewing it

BBC Good Food Show: Summer LIVE

 

ERMAGHERD. For two long months- since I purchased the tickets- I have been excited about this day! I enjoyed the Winter Good Food Show so much my cousin Abbie and I, along with 2 of my friends, decided that  another trip to the NEC for a celebration of everything delicious, and TV chef like was necessary.

BUT GUESS WHAT?!!?!? We got to see my ultimate all time favourite Foody Celeb, The One, The Only, Mary Berry…. Not only did we get to see her and the winner of The Great British Bake Off 2012, John Waite in the Super theatre. Oh no! I got to actually MEET her at a book signing! I tell you, I have not been this excited in a LONG time!I felt like a kid at Christmas driving along the M6 this morning! And come 10am we were in our Super theatre seats waiting for Mary and John to come on stage.

She demonstrated her deliciously fruity sounding recipe of Whole Orange Cake with Orange Mascarpone Icing for the riveted audience, and trust me, from how moorish it looked on the big screen, this will be attempted by myself in the near future, so watch this space! Whereas John demonstrated a more savoury, cheesy, oniony flatbready creation.

Following this, Mary and John had a short interview with Lotte Duncan with questions derived from the audience. And then the excitement…A book signing, with Mary Berry herself! Oh yes! A semi conversation with the Queen of Cake! By conversation I generally mean I said “I think you are wonderful.” Smooth as always. Either way, I ended up with my newly signed M.B. Cookbook, and was full of the joys of Spring! And yes, yes that is John Whaite but for only £3.50 I could be my own M.B . Best £3.50 I have ever spent. Even if it was an incredibly surreal experience for everyone involved. Lol….I honestly did not spend the entire day being some kind of crazy stalker. For the most part, my chums and I investigated, explored and enjoyed all of the gastronomical delights that the show had to offer!

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The Brownie Bar VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The Brownie Bar is a small company run by two Entrepraneurs Rachael and Sarah and is based in Northern England. They “bake a delicious selection of gorgeously gooey rich chocolate brownies and white chocolate blondies in a variety of flavours” which is taken from their <website>. And I tell you, those brownies are simply to DIE for! My choices from the vast selection this time consisted of, Raspberry and White Chocolate Blondie and a Nutella, a Malteser, and a Salted Caramel Brownie.

So when I got home, my parents and I cut each delectable into thirds, and we tasted and devoured each morsel. Some of the flavours were more detectable than others, and I admit that I was not a fan of the Salted Caramel Brownie, as it as too salty (stupid statement), but I genuinely do not think that I have eaten a nicer Brownie dessert in a long time. If they were closer to me I would DEFINATELY persist to eat my body weight in brownies on a regular basis! Cost: reasonable! £7.50 for 4! They also sell a very intriguing caramel sauce accompaniment, as well as a very clever “Make your own Brownie” in a Kilner Jar! Check out their website for yourself!!

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Fudge Kitchen VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The Fudge Kitchen was born in 1983 and they now have 7 stores all across the UK. These dashing and charming gents worked their hardest to entertain and entice the punters to their fudge stall, and 2 members of my group both succumbed to their charm and bought some of their delicious fudge. I can honestly say, out of all the fudge stalls there, and trust me, there were a fair few! I found this stalls fudge the nicest texture, and the samples I tried all had delicious flavours. Just a snippet of the flavours on offer are; Eton Mess, Maple Walnut, Mississipppi Mud Pie, Lemon Meringue and Dairy Free to name but a few! Clickity click on this linkity link to find out more about this quirky and traditional company.

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Some more tasty treats… VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Here is our loot and bounty for the day. And what a wonderful day we had! For a full list of stalls and trades who have sold their wears this weekend, see the Good Food Show Website. I would recommend this show to any dedicated foody, or even those that just like to go for the free nibbles, alcohol and atmosphere!

All images are Copyright of Amy Fellowes 14/06/13 unless stated otherwise.

Fallen Angel Bakery. Angels… In Cupcake Form…

 

My friend Sarah-Jayne and I had a date day in Solihull. A sunshiny day, free as a bird post night shift and enjoying the Saturday feeling, we came across “Fallen Angel Bakery”. Now up until today I thought that their only bakery was in Harborne (Birmingham) so I was very excited to learn otherwise!!

For those of you who have not had the joy and pleasure of visiting one of these wonderful establishments, the “Fallen Angel Bakery” serves a delicious variety of cupcakes, cakes and other sweet lovelies, in quaint quirky surroundings. And with so many different flavours of cupcakes to choose from, we were well and truly spoilt for choice!

Being spoilt for choice I asked the lovely Fallen Angel Purveyor to pick a cupcake for me to try, and she chose the special of the day, Dark Chocolate and Raspberry and Sarah-Jayne opted for the deliciously decadent Red Velvet Cake. I swear, there is something very angelic about these sweet, flavourful, cakey delights. I suppose that is why they call it the “Fallen Angel Bakery” *shocked face*.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I mean just look at these beautiful confectionary marvels! Who wouldn’t want a delicious Oreo cupcake? Or what about Vanilla, Rolo or Red Velvet! And this isn’t even the whole selection and variety available!

And to top it off, the staff there were so polite and friendly! It would seem in today’s day and age, particularly when you live in a big city, good customer service can be hard to come by. But Fallen Angel really surprised me.

So all in all, if you can spare some time to make a trip to the “Fallen Angel Bakery” it would be well worth your while!

Possibly the Nicest Ice cream in the World

 

Date: 11/5/13

Background: When food shopping on Thursday (at good Ol’ Morrisons) I spotted this little beauty on an amazing offer! It had to be done!

What: Ben and Jerry’s® Core Blondie Brownie-

A soft salted caramel core surrounded by chocolate and vanilla ice creams with chocolate and blondie brownie pieces

How much?: £2.34 instead of £4.99!

What was Good: OH.MY.GOODNESS. This ice cream was simply divine! Double chocolate brownie ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s® is my favourite ice cream usually. So when I saw this but with the added variety of vanilla ice cream, blondie pieces and the sticky salted caramel core, I HAD to buy it. The chewy, rich, chocolaty brownie pieces were like little hidden treasures, and the thick semi solid ice cold ice cream was so creamy and decadent that it made every spoonful a treat in itself, a pivotal quality that Ben and Jerry® desserts have. The core of salted caramel sauce was the real speciality within this dessert. It set it apart from other “normal” Ben and Jerry’s ice creams, and it is the reason that I will look forward to the next time I buy a tub of this confection!

What was Bad: The blondie pieces were not as scrummy as the chocolate ones, but regardless they were still very tasty. I cannot think of another bad thing about this pudding. Other than the sheer calorificness of this tub of joy made me reluctant to eat the whole thing!

Would I buy it again? I cannot wait until I can buy it again! As long as it is still Better than Half Price!

Waffle-O-Meter:

Pudding is what it is all about

 

I know I have been more than useless in posting blogs as of late. It has been a little tricky! But BOY I have enjoyed some delicious treats recently! I still find I turn to pudding in times of stress! Because that feeling of a warm, comforting ball of happiness in your tummy is a very life affirming experience! Over exaggerating? Never!

THIS is a Cherry, Chocolate and Red Velvet cupcake. It was bittersweet, and soft, yet substantial, with a beautiful cherry flavour!

My friend Nikki made these, and quite frankly, I would happily eat them again!!!

Red velvet has really hit the pudding scene (if such a thing exists) lately, and I would be quite excited to try out the recipe myself!

ERMAGHERD! This was possibly the most deliciously decadent and stupendous Sticky Toffee Pudding known to man on this good earth.

We bought it from Lidl. YES! Lidl! So not only was it incredibly cheap and cheerful. It was outstandingly delicious.

As me and my mother and father were sat eating this there was a hush of content silence within the room. An unspoken rule that this pudding requires out full, undivided attention. The treacle was thick and sticky, and the cake soft and moist. When served hot with vanilla ice cream, what more could you possibly need in life?

Picture this. King’s Heath’s very first Yum Yum Market. Set up in the centre of King’s Heath, Birmingham. An array of food stalls selling their goods, with queues across the square despite the weather. I saw a stall, this stall stood out to me immediately and grabbed my attention. Fresh Belgian Waffle!!!! OH WOW! So yes, I did queue for around 20 mins. And yes they did give me a waiting time for my waffle of a further 20mins (this extended to nearer 40…) BUT I was so so excited for my ‘Half n Half’ Chocolate Cinnamon and Chocolate Brownie Belgian Waffle. If you remember my last German Market Belgian Waffle experience was simply divine, so needless to say my expectation was high.

Sadly I was disappointed. It was a bit stodgy, and as my friend Nikki said, I probably didn't give it long enough to “settle” lol. But if the queue were shorter, waiting time was less, then I would probably still return! The clawing seduction of pudding will always attract my attention!!!

DUN DUN DUN!!!! The return of the 5 Waffle pudding! And yes, another waffle. AND YES, It is the Frankie and Bennie’s Waffle for the very beginning.

I want to say it was as good as I remember. It was not. In fact it looked and tasted like a different pudding all together! Still a good 4 waffles obtained for this desserty goodness!

Certainly less disappointing than my King’s Heath Waffle Drama!

 

 

I DIDN’T EVEN BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS SHOP! BUT IT SOLD PUDDING! AND IT IS A SHOP CALLED “FANNY’S”!!!!!!!!!!

Considering how much I enjoyed writing my pudding blog before, and how successful it was, I really hope that this will be the start of my second wind of pudding blogs! After all, I am still in love with all things Pudding. And I would like to express this to my lovely and very loyal readers!!

Cousins Who Coffee

 

When: 5/3/13

Background: As I am sure my blog followers are aware I have not blogged in a long time due to weightwatchers! I have successfully so far lost +/- 9lb, but I must admit my points tracking has severely fallen by the way side as of late! So with it being my birthday yesterday me and my cousin (Abbie aka the Catering Student Extraordinaire) went for coffee in Rugby.

What: Chocolate and Praline Tart

Where: Costa Coffee Shop, Rugby

What was Good: It looked really pretty! With its pale golden pastry case, filled with decadent and delicious looking chocolate praline filling, and golden nuggets adorning it. Plus it is one of the few goodies from Costa that I have not tried! So I thought “Why Not!” and had a piece along with a foamy hot flat white coffee. 

What was Bad: Its texture was really really strange!! The pastry was too crispy for my liking. It made my mouth feel funny! And flavour wise it was really quite boring! Chocolate Praline for me is like "Ferrero Roche” Nutty and sweet with a really chocolatey taste. But this tart was not like that. It was sticky and plain… Waste of pudding!

Would I Have It Again: No.. No I wouldn’t…

Waffle-O-Meter:

Christmas Time. Pudding and Wine.

FIRSTLY, sorry about my severe lack of pudding posts as of late. It is been a busy time of the year, as it has for everybody, and I have been awful at documenting my desserty experiences.
But as you can probably imagine, Christmas time for me is by far one of the most pudding rich times and so many food babies were had that I cannot even begin to describe my constant excitement!















Christmas Cake! Made by my Amazing  Grandma, decorated with lovely homemade icing characters by my very talented cousin Abbie. I got a wonderful delivery of this fruity alcohol fuelled cake with my parents when they came to visit for dinner and Chocolate Chip Brioche Bread and Butter Pudding. I could not wait to taste this Christmastime staple! And when I did it did not fail to impress! Packed with fruit it was moist, soft, chewy, and layered with tangy nutty marzipan, and sweet sticky icing! It has gone down very with my housemate Amy, and I this holiday season, trust me.

“Merry Christmas”- The Birmingham Bullring Bull

Christmas Dinner. What a magical experience that was. My lovely friend Sarah-Jayne kindly asked me and Amy to join her and her boyfriend for Christmas Dinner, because I could not go home until Boxing day due to work commitments.
After a scrummy starter of pate and warm bread rolls we tucked in to an outstanding Christmas Dinner. So many delicious things on one plate. Turkey and all the trimmings. Two kinds of stuffing. Roast potatoes. Different varieties of broccoli and cauliflower cheese. El dente steamed vegetables. Gravy. Yorkshire puddings. It could not have been beaten!
What Xmas dinner would be complete without a steaming hot Crimbo Pudding!? Yes we had to wait about 2 hours for dinner to digest. And yes I did actually require a sleep in this time, but when it was served, with lashings of Salted Caramel and Chantilly Cream. DELICIOUS!! Soft, sticky, gooey and tangily fruity! I could eat a hundred of them! If it didn’t clog up my stomach like a cakey puddingy lead weight that is…
And if that was not enough, when I go to work, our entire coffee room had been invaded by a buffet!! I have never seeeeeeeeeeeeen so much food!!! Spread over the whole countertop were a whole array of delicious things! I only wish I had not already eaten my bodyweight in Christmas deliciousness, I was unable to really enjoy the festive-food-ness!

[A rather rubbish panoramic photo of the Aladdin’s cave of delights!]

Oh if only I could have eaten and blogged about all of the delicious puddings, cakes, pies and gateaux’s I had the utter delight of being in a room with on Boxing Day! Post night shift sleep after work, I had a lovely family Christmas at my Auntie’s house for food, fun and frolicks. And the works of art above are just a few samplings of what puds were on offer! Lime and Chocolate Cheesecake, Viennese Mince Pies, Chocolate gateaux, Trifle, Raspberry Pavlova you name it, we probably had it! Never has a more beautiful sight besought me!
The baking component of my Crimbo consisted of these beauties, Lemon Butterfly Cakes, and Chocolate Fairy Cakes! I made these to take to my works Christmas Day night shift, and also to take home for Christmas for my family. This is by far the easiest recipe ever!

For the Lemon Butterfly Cakes:	For the Chocolate Fairy Cake
3 eggs- weigh them (Whatever the weight is, weigh the same of)- Caster Sugar, Self Raising Flour & Butter Zest of 3 lemons Juice of 1 lemon 1 tsp Baking Powder And to decorate: 200g icing sugar Juice of half a lemon 100g butter Edible glitter	3 eggs- weigh them (Whatever the weight is, weigh the same of)- Caster Sugar, Self Raising Flour & Butter 100g Cocoa Powder 30mls water 1 tsp Baking Powder And to decorate: 200g bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk Silver balls
Method:	Method:
Pre heat oven to 180C Beat together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy Beat in an egg and a third of the sifted flour at a time until all three eggs are combined Zest 3 lemons and add the zest to mix and combine Juice a lemon and mix with the baking powder, combine into the mix Distribute even the mix into prepared cake cases and tins, or silicone cake cases Bake in pre heated oven for 20-30mins or until the cakes are cooked (springy to touch and golden brown- not burnt!)	Pre heat oven to 180C Beat together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy Beat in an egg and a third of the sifted flour and baking powder at a time until all three eggs are combined Mix together the water and cocoa powder to a paste Mix the paste into the cake mixture until totally combined Distribute even the mix into prepared cake cases and tins, or silicone cake cases Bake in pre heated oven for 20-30mins or until the cakes are cooked (springy to touch and golden brown- not burnt!)
To decorate: Wait for cakes to cool Once cooled beat together the butter, icing sugar and lemon juice to form a butter cream Using a sharp knife, cut a circular shape out of the top of the cake to form a “short cone shape” when removed In the hole you have created, fill with the lemon buttercream Cut the cone shape of cake in half and place on top of the cake at an angle in a “butterfly” shape Spoon a small amount of lemon curd on the butterfly and top with edible glitter ENJOY!	To decorate: Wait for cakes to cool Once cooled, melt the chocolate over a Ban Marie until fully melted Using a teaspoon, spoon a little of the melted chocolate in a blob on top of the cake Top the chocolate with a silver ball ENJOY!

Finally…

New Years Day. Me and Stacey were happy to be invited to my Auntie Andrea and Uncle Darren’s house for another lovely family gathering. Buffet time was once again upon us! So after many a homemade sausage roll, pork pie and cheese and crackers, it was delicious pud time!!
I had the treat of two helpings of profiteroles and cream…. Om Nom Nom! [Unfortunately I ate this before a picture could be taken]
But my Auntie being the wonderful human being she is, sent me home with THIS. 2 slices of Homemade Baileys and Profiterole Cheesecake!!!! Yes! Baileys AND Profiterole! OMG it was amazing! very rich and decadent, with a very tangy boozy note. Just what the New Year needs to kick of off!
So…. that was my Christmas and New Year! A big thank you to everyone for reading my blog and getting me to nearly 3900views! In 52 blog posts I am very proud! So happy reading my lovely readers! AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!