Rich Chocolate Mousse.

 

These Chocolate Mousse's were beyond delicious! So rich, decadent and chocolatey. I honestly can't believe something so yummy can be made so, quickly, simply and from so few ingredients. They were incredibly luxurious and Gu like; just like a Gu ganache pot which, anyone who has had one will know is one of the most incredible, tasty things in the world. I decided to make this Chocolate Mousse last week as a little desert to have after the Puy Lentil, Cherry Tomato and Haloumi salad I made as I was a bit worried we'd all still be hungry after eating it and boy was it a good decision, purely because the mousse is so gorgeous! You must try this recipe! It is any chocolate lovers dream and I can't wait to make it again. Whip it up in about ten minutes, pop in the fridge for a couple of hours to chill and then you are good to go with an absolutely amazing desert which, is perfect to serve up if you have a lot of people round for dinner for example, at Christmas as it is so easy and quick to make and unbelievably tasty. It will blow anyone away!

Recipe

 

Serves 4

 

175g (6oz) plain dark chocolate, broken into pieces

100ml (3 fl oz.) double cream

3 eggs, separated

cocoa powder, for dusting

 

Method

 

Put the chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water) and stir until the chocolate has melted. Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then beat in the egg yolks one at a time.

 

Whisk the egg whites in a separate clean bowl until stiff, then lightly fold into the chocolate mixture until combined. Spoon the mousse into 4 desert glasses/ cups/ ramekins and chill for at least 2 hours (I left for about 4 or 5 hours and it set perfectly, even having some rich fudgey areas which, were amazing.)

Dust with cocoa powder before serving!

 

 

For chocolate & orange mousse- follow the recipe above but, add the grated rind of 1 large orange and 2 tbsps. Grand Marnier to the melted chocolate and cream. Then, continue the recipe as above. (I haven't tried this yet but, it sounds delicious so, I may try it next time. I think this would be perfect for a special occasion, particularly Christmas as I think it's nice, special and festive.)

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Thankyou for reading!

Love Courts x

Roast Dinner- Toad In The Hole, Roast Vegetables, Golden Syrup Carrots and Dauphinoise Potatoes.

 

Yesterday, I thought as it was Sunday why not try and make a nice yummy Sunday Dinner. Whenever I cook I always try and make something a bit unique and different and end up needing to buy a million different ingredients so, I thought it would be nice to do something a bit more traditional for once and just jazz it up a bit. Obviously I had to buy a few extra ingredients to make the meal as it wasn't the roast dinner we usually have but, it was mostly just vegetables so nothing too expensive.

 

I really really loved this roast dinner actually as I always love a good gravy meal anyway and all of the components of this one made it a bit more exciting. The toad in the hole was lovely as Yorkshire pudding always is, it rose nicely and tasted delicious with a lovely crisp edge and my favourite soft, squidgy, gravy soaked middle. Thanks Mary Berry. The Dauphinoise potatoes; oh god one of the best things I have ever tasted. I had never made them before and had always wanted to try them so I thought why not give them a go. I made up the recipe myself and they tasted so rich and creamy with a lovely light cheesy, garlicy flavour and the potatoes were lovely and soft. They weren't the most healthy thing on the plate with a whole 600ml double cream pot added but, it's nice to have a treat every now and then isn't it ;)? The golden syrup carrots had a lovely sweetness and light orangey flavour and the roast veg was gorgeous and vibrant as it always is. Do you ever do anything a bit different with your roast dinner? If you give this lovely dinner a go I really hope you enjoy it and definitely give the dauphinoise potatoes a go if nothing else!

 

Recipe

 

Toad In The Hole- Serves 6

 

16 sausages (or veggie sausages)

125g (4 oz) plain flour

3 beaten eggs

200ml (7 fl oz) milk

A pinch of salt

 

Dauphinoise Potatoes - Serves 6

 

1kg Potatoes (Maris Piper or King Edward)

600ml Double Cream

100ml Evaporated milk (optional)

2 Garlic Cloves, crushed

120g grated cheddar cheese

3 spring onions, chopped finely

Salt and pepper

 

Roast Vegetables - Serves 6

 

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 Red Pepper, cut into medium chunks

1 Yellow Pepper, cut into medium chunks

3 Large Red onions, each cut into 8 wedges

2 Parsnips, chopped into medium chunks

1 Medium Sweet Potato, chopped into medium chunks

 

Golden Syrup Carrots - Serves 6

 

2kg Carrots, peeled, trimmed and chopped into quarters lengthways

30g butter

2 clementines, zest and juice

1 tbsp. golden syrup

 

Method

 

To make the Toad In The Hole -

 

1. Place the sausages in a large roasting tray and pre-heat the oven to 200C. Lightly brown the sausages in a little bit of olive oil for 15-20 minutes (only 10 minutes for veggie sausages).
2. While the sausages are cooking prepare the Yorkshire pudding batter. Sift 125g plain flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Make a well and add 3 beaten eggs and a little milk taken from 200ml. Whisk the milk and egg together in the well with a little of the flour from the sides, then whisk in the remaining milk, gradually drawing in all of the flour to make a smooth batter.
3. Remove the sausages from the oven and pour the Yorkshire pudding batter around the sausages into the hot oil.
4. Bake in the oven for around 15-20 minutes until the Yorkshire pudding is well risen, golden and crisp. Cut into 6 and serve immediately.

 

 

 

To make the Dauphinoise Potatoes -

 

Pre-heat the oven to 160C.

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices about 3-4mm thick.
2. Place half of the potato slices into a baking dish and pour over half of the cream and milk. Scatter with 60g of grated cheese, 1 clove of crushed garlic and 1 chopped spring onion.
3. Place the rest of the potato slices on top and pour over the remaining cream and milk. Scatter with the other clove of crushed garlic and 2 chopped spring onions. Season with salt and pepper and cover with the remaining grated cheese. 
4. Bake in the oven for 1hr 30 min until the potatoes are soft and the cheese is browned.

 

 

For the Roast Vegetables -

 

1. Remove the seed from the peppers and chop into medium chunks. Peel the sweet potato and parsnips and chop into chunks. Peel the red onions and chop each into 8 wedges. Place all of the vegetables into a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil.
2. Bake in an oven at 200C for around 45 minutes or until the vegetables are softened and lightly bronzed/ golden.

 

 

For the Golden Syrup Carrots -

 

1. Cut the carrots into quarters lengthways and place in a small pan over a low heat.

2. Add the butter, clementine juice and zest and golden syrup. Season, then cover the carrots with water, put the lid on and simmer for 20 minutes until the liquid has reduced to form a syrupy glaze.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Thankyou for reading!

Love Courts x

 

 

Pistachio Cream Cupcakes.

 

 

These cupcakes are so cute and delicious. They are actually pretty simple and quick to make too and don't really have too many ingredients to them either which, is always a bonus. Again I found this lovely recipe in my 200 cupcakes cookbook which, is brilliant and has some really lovely, unique recipes in it. If you are a fan of making cupcakes or just baking in general I would deffinately reccommend getting it. Only £3.74 on Amazon, you can't really go wrong. It's a bargain.

 

 

I decided to make these little cupcakes yesterday as I have always been a fan of pistachios and I really liked the sound of the whole recipe. They taste really lovely but, my favourite thing about them is actually how sweet they look. I love the pistachio dusting around the base of the cakes, it's a really sweet idea and I love the colour pairing of the snow white icing and the pastel green chunks of pistachio, it makes the cupcakes look quite elegant and girly.

 

As I said though, more importantly, the taste is really lovely too. In the book the recipe calls for the use of Almond liqueur however, to save money and because I already had some in the house, I just used some almond essence which, worked really well. Obviously though, if you do have the pennies to spare or maybe already have some almond liqueur in the house I would deffinately use it as I bet it tastes delicious! Still, almond essence works well though for the baker on a budget!

Sometimes I feel a bit like an 18 year old going on 80 with my baking addiction and love of making cupcakes, then there are days like today when I wake up with a huge smile on my face and hurry downtairs purely to watch the first episode of the new series of Glee which, makes me feel like I'm a 12 year old again. One of these days I will work out how to act my age.

 

Recipe

 

Makes 12.

 

150g (5 oz) Pistachio nuts

125g (4 oz) lightly salted butter, softened

125g (4 oz) caster sugar

2 eggs

150g (5 oz) self-raising flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

 

To decorate:

300ml (1/2 pint) double cream

2 tablespoons icing sugar

2 tablespoons almond or orange flavoured liqueur or 2 teaspoons of almond essence.

 

 

Line a 12-section bun tray with paper cake cases. Process the pistachio nuts in a food processor until finely chopped (remove the shells and skins to the best of your ability first if necessary).

 

Beat the butter, caster sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and 50g (2 oz) of the ground pistachio nuts with a hand-held electric whisk in a bowl for about a minute until light and creamy. Divide the mixture between the paper cases.

 

Bake in a preheated oven, 180C, Gas Mark 4, for 20 minutes or until risen and just firm to touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

 

Peel away the paper cake cases. Whip the cream with the icing sugar and liqueur in the bowl until only just holding its shape. Transfer half to a separate bowl and reserve. Spread the remainder around the cakes and roll in the remaining ground pistachio nuts to coat the sides. Spoon the reserved flavoured cream on top and decorate with a few pieces of pistachio.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Thankyou for reading!

 

Love Courts x

Black Forest Gateau Cupcakes.

 

 

 

Good evening! I thought I would post my first cupcake recipe tonight as these Black Forest Gateau cupcakes are absoloutely delicious but, then again with a combination of chocolate, cherries and cream I think it would be impossible not to be delicious.

 

I love baking and cooking and I have done since I was a little girl. I don't really know where my love of baking came from though as I don't have memories of spending hours in the kitchen with my Nan or my Mum learning how to cook when I was little like some people do, even though they are both brilliant cooks. The main memory I have of me and my Nan in the kitchen is of us making flapjack together. She walked back into the kitchen to find cornflakes all over the floor and scattered accross every worksurface and just burst out laughing and shouted 'What the bloody 'el are you doin!?'. Maybe that's why she never let me cook with her again. Then, although my brother does like cooking he's also more than happy to let someone else cook for him and as for my sister... she burns literally everything, even food I didn't know it was possible to burn. I remember her telling me that the reason my little nephew Charlie once didn't eat my Mum's dinner was because he's used to his Mummy burning everything and he now thinks that all food should taste burnt. Still, I have always loved baking and I try to bake as much as possible, that is when my Dad actually lets me go to the supermarket with him to buy ingredients as I always end up making the shopping bill about £20 more expensive.

I got this chocolate cake recipe from watching Hayley Tamaddon's appearance on Celebrity Britain's Best Dish about 4 years ago now and I love it. She made a Chocolate Fudge Cake which, I made a few years ago too and it is really yummy but, I always use her chocolate sponge recipe to make my cupcakes. They work out so light, soft and moist and have a lovely delicate chocolatey flavour considering they don't really have that much cocoa powder in them, and this subtle chocolate flavour goes perfectly with the refreshing cherry sauce and rich, velvetty cream. I'm going to be making these chocolate cupcakes again tomorrow aswell as I'm going to make some Chocolate and Peanut butter cupcakes. I'm pretty sure that there is really nothing better than chocolate and peanut butter and I am literally in love with Reeses and Peanut Butter Kit Kat Chunkys.


This is one recipe I am deffinately going to add to my future Cupcake Bakery menu. Fingers crossed my dream will one day come true but, for now I will keep baking my Black Forest Gateau Cupcakes for my family and I hope you enjoy them too!

Black Forest Gateau Cupcakes

Recipe

For the Chocolate Cupcakes - Makes 12

110g (4oz) butter at room temperature
220g (8oz) dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
165g (6oz) self raising flour
55g (2oz) cocoa
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp baking powder
140ml (1/4pint) sour cream

For the Cherry Brandy Filling

1/2 Tin of Hartley's Cherry pie filling

1 tbsp. Brandy

For the Topping

600ml Double Cream

Dark Chocolate Curls

The rest of the Hartley's Cherry Pie filling

METHOD:

 

Pre-heat the oven to 180°c.

• Place the cake cases into a 12 hole cupcake tin.

• For the chocolate cupcakes, cream together the butter and sugar using an electric whisk. Gradually beat in the eggs and add the sour cream. Sieve together the flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda and delicately fold into the mixture.

• Divide the mixture into the 12 cake cases (I use muffin cases) and bake for 15 minutes or until the sponge springs back up when you press the surface lightly.

• Allow the cupcakes to cool and prepare the Cherry Brandy filling. Take half a tin of Hartley's cherry pie filling and add 1tbsp. of Brandy and mix. To be honest I didn't really measure how much brandy I put in and just went on taste so just do the same. You might not want any brandy or you might like it a bit boozy, your choice.

 Once the cupcakes are cool, use an apple corer to create a small well/hole/dip in the cupcake and add about 2tsps. of the cherry brandy filling.

 

• Finally, beat the double cream with an electric whisk until light peaks form and then you can either scoop it straight onto the cupcakes or use whatever piping bag and nozzle or other piping equipment you wish. Last of all, top with a cherry from the tin of Hartley's Cherry pie filling and dust around the edge of the cream with some dark chocolate curls. Yum.

 

Thankyou for reading!

Love Courts x