Cranberry, orange and chocolate Kulich

As a rule, I prefer food that is made for sharing. A magnificent, slow-cooked leg of garlicky lamb, or a gooey, steaming vat of creamy dauphinois potatoes: these are the foods that truly make a gathering a celebration. But there is also something rather pleasing about having a dish all to one’s self. My twist on traditional Easter Kulich - sweet, enriched individual bread buns studded with aromatic soaked cranberries and sweet, chocolate eggs - are perfect for those who prefer not to share.

Kulich are traditionally blessed at the end of the Easter service within Christian Orthodox communities, marking the end of Lent and the start of the long-awaited feasting and celebrations of Easter weekend. Thought to have originated in Russia, Kulich are a staple of Easter tables across central and South-Eastern Europe. Not dissimilar - although not to be confused with - Italian Panettone, these individual buns share the flavours and process of the hot cross bun, but offer a lighter texture and a fun alternative to our British Easter tradition.

Easter marks the end of Lent, and as such the end of abstinence and fasting. These enriched buns call for many a luxury - eggs, milk, chocolate and rich fruits - a welcome change for those of us that still honour these ancient traditions. 

As with any enriched bread, Kulich dough is quite wet and can be tricky to work with. I am loving my new Panasonic Bread Maker, which does all the hard (and messy!) work for me. I'd always thought that bread makers were only good for conventional loaves, but this little number has over twenty settings for all different kinds of dough. 

If you don't have a bread maker or a stand mixer with a bread hook fitting, you should use a dough scrapper for the kneading stage. 

THE INGREDIENTS

75g dried cranberries

1 orange

50ml boiling water

1 Earl Grey teabag

180g Mini Eggs 

200ml warm (37°C) milk 

120ml warm (37°C) water

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

450g strong white bread flour

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

7g fine sea salt

40g caster sugar

125g unsalted butter

14g dried yeast

100g icing sugar

Fresh rose petals, to decorate (optional)

THE RECIPE

Roughly chop the cranberries and place in a small bowl. Stir through the zest of the orange (reserving the juice for the icing), then add the teabag and the boiling water. Leave to infuse for an hour, or until the fruit is plump and has soaked up all of the liquid. Discard the teabag.

Reserve 16 of the Mini Eggs for decoration, then place the remaining eggs on a clean tea towel, folding the towel over the top to cover. Use a rolling pin to roughly break up the eggs, being careful not to over crush them. Add the crushed Mini Eggs to the cranberry mixture.

Add the milk, water, eggs and vanilla to the bread pan of your bread maker. Next, add the flour, nutmeg, salt and caster sugar. Cut the butter into small cubes, then add these last so that they sit on top of the flour. Close the inner lid. Carefully pour the yeast into the yeast dispenser, and finally place the cranberry and Mini Egg mixture into the raisin/nut dispenser. When all of the ingredients have been added correctly, set the machine to go. It will take 2 hours 20 for the dough to be ready. 

If you don't have a bread maker, weigh the flour and nutmeg into a large bowl. Place the yeast on one side, and the salt on the other. Add the sugar, milk, water, eggs, vanilla and butter to the middle. Mix quickly to combine into a dough. Turn out onto a greased work surface, and knead using a dough scrapper for ten minutes. Add the cranberry mixture, mix through, then transfer to an oiled bowl. Cover and leave to prove for an hour or until doubled in size.

While the dough is proving, grease 8 heatproof mugs with sunflower oil, and line with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan.

When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a lightly oiled work surface. Gently knead it to knock out the air. Weigh the dough, then divide it into 8 evenly sized pieces. Roll each piece into a small cylinder, and transfer to the lined mugs. Leave the dough to rise for 45 minutes - 1 hour.

When the dough has risen, carefully transfer the mugs to the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the breads are golden brown, feel light for their size and sound hollow when tapped at the base. Cool in the mugs for ten minutes, then remove from the mugs and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the icing, mix the icing sugar with enough orange juice to make a thick icing. Spoon over the breads, and top with mini eggs and rose petals.

This post was written in association with Panasonic and AO.com. 

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Blood orange ice cream

Anyone who knows me or reads this blog regularly will be well aware of my obsession with citrus fruits. The arrival of crate upon crate of these sunny, weighty fruits to our winter markets makes me all kinds of happy. I love them because just a squeeze of juice or a grating of zest can perfectly season a dish. And, no less importantly, I love them for bringing some much-needed tang and vitamin C during these lean winter months.

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Rye, vanilla and dark chocolate cookies

I wanted to start with the most heartfelt thank you to all of you sweet readers who took the time to write to me after my last post. Your messages left me a weepy mess (nothing new there!) This community is just so incredibly special, and I am so incredibly lucky to be a part of it.  I don't say it often enough - thank you so so much. 

Crazy as it may sound, I am prone to forget that anyone other than me is really reading this. Well, apart from you Dad, my own personal proof-reader (and thank goodness you do, my spelling and grammar being as sloppy as they are these days). Blogging can feel a bit of a one-sided conversation sometimes, and it is still amazing to me that you guys are reading and listening.

It seems like a fitting continuation of our last conversation to bring you those very cookies that I kept thinking about but was unable to find the time to test out. Reader, I made them. And now I have a tin full of the softest, most luxurious cookies to dive into whenever life threatens to get a bit much. Am I alone in drawing immeasurable comfort from the knowledge that there are sweet treats readily available? I hope not. 

I am conscious that I owe you all a proper explanation of the cookery course that has been keeping me so busy, and I promise to share more details soon. For now, I'll leave you with this recipe. Please make these, they are so quick and totally delicious too.

What will you be baking this weekend?

THE INGREDIENTS

125g dark chocolate

140ml double cream

230g butter, softened

200g caster sugar

200g soft light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla bean paste

Zest of 2 blood oranges (or other varieties will work equally well)

440g wholemeal rye flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

2 tsp instant coffee

2 tsp boiling water

Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

THE RECIPE

Begin by making your homemade chocolate chips. Line a small baking tray that fits in your freezer with cling film. Beak the chocolate up in a bowl, and set aside. In a small pan, heat the cream until it is just bubbling, then pour over the chocolate. Leave the cream and chocolate to sit for 10 minutes, without stirring. When the time is up, gently stir it to bring the mixture together, until you have a glossy, thick and smooth ganache. Pour into the prepared tin, then set in the freezer and leave to freeze solid for 3 hours. Once the chips are frozen, remove from the freezer and cut into chunks. Store in the freezer until you're ready to use them.

For the cookies, preheat the oven to 190C. Line two/three baking trays with parchment and set aside. Next, cream together the softened butter and both sugars. Add the eggs, and once beaten in add the vanilla and orange zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt, then fold into the wet ingredients. In a small bowl, mix the coffee granules with the boiling water, and add to the dough, mixing well.

Finally, add the chocolate chips and fold by hand to combine and distribute among the dough. Use two teaspoons to spoon the cookies onto the trays. As the cookies will spread while baking, space them out well. You should get 4-5 cookies on each tray. Sprinkle the cookies with a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt.

Bake in the oven for 9-11 minutes, until the cookies have spread, risen and sunk again, and are just golden around the edges. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray for 10 minutes, before removing to a wire rack to firm up fully. Repeat this process until all the dough has been used up (you can reuse the baking parchment). This recipe makes around 30 cookies.

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Clementine, almond and orange blossom cake (gluten and dairy free)

These lean winter months are the time for citrus fruit to shine. The bright, sunny hues of citrus – imported in vast quantities from the warmer climates of Southern Europe - bring welcome colour to the post-Christmas bleakness of January. 

Sweet Clementines are synonymous with advent here in the UK. Every December, my parents’ kitchen table weighs heavy with great bowls of these sweet, orange fruits. Clementines are the perfect snack or even, dare I say, note of sweetness when eaten in place of dessert after yet another heavy Christmas meal. 

After all that indulgence, I am always full of good intention in January. While it’s a great time to resolve to kick a bad habit, New Years resolutions can also focus on new challenges. Resolving to start something new – big or small – is such a positive way to mark the milestone. The lovely team at HelloFresh recently got in touch to tell me about the Daily Yay, a mini resolution to bake a cake for a friend, or to cook dinner for your family every weekend. Cakes and positive thinking – I’m in love. 

While I’m not normally one to scrimp on the good stuff, it is a happy coincidence when a delicious recipe happens to be a little healthier too. My whole clementine, almond and orange blossom cake is just that. It is naturally gluten and dairy free, and uses whole boiled clementines as its base. 

This technique is certainly not a new one. Mary Berry’s whole orange cake is the stuff of baking legend, and it was with this in mind that I was inspired to try a slightly sweeter, more delicate version of the classic. This cake is the perfect way to use up any stray Clementines that you might be left with after all those festivities. 

THE INGREDIENTS

For the cake 

4 clementines 

75ml olive oil 

175g golden caster sugar 

4 eggs 

1 tablespoon orange blossom water 

175g ground almonds 

2 teaspoons baking powder 

½ teaspoon fine sea salt 

For the syrup 

2 clementines, juiced 

25g golden caster sugar 

1 tablespoon orange blossom water 

To serve 

225g mascarpone (optional) 

For the cake, begin with the clementines. Run the fruit under hot water to remove any wax coating, then place in a saucepan. Cover with water so that the clementines are submerged. Boil for 45 minutes – 1 hour, until the fruit are completely soft and a knife sinks through the peel with no resistance. 

Remove the clementines from the water and set aside to cool. Slice them in half, remove any pips, then blitz (peel and all!) in a food processor until pureed. Set aside. 

Heat the oven to 170°C and line the base of a 20cm springform cake tin with baking parchment. Grease the sides of the tin lightly with olive oil. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the oil, sugar, eggs and orange blossom water. Whisk on a high speed for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is pale, frothy and has doubled in volume. Fold in the clementine puree, mixing until the two components are only just combined. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the ground almonds, baking powder and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet, then pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Place this in the centre of the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the surface of the cake is a deep caramel colour, and a toothpick comes out clean. 

While the cake is baking, prepare the syrup. Place the clementine juice and caster sugar in a small pan, and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Once the mixture has thickened very slightly, remove it from the heat. Add the orange blossom water. 

Once the cake is baked but is still warm, prick all over with a toothpick, then brush with the syrup. Leave to cool completely in the tin. 

Serve the cake at room temperature with a dollop of mascarpone (or dairy free alternative).

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BROWN SUGAR MERINGUE WITH CLEMENTINE CURD

Contrary to what the title and subject of this blog might suggest, I was not always the pudding lover that I am today. I'm loath to admit that as a child I found custard, meringue, jelly and cream too sweet, too sickly, too - well - sugary. In the interest of full disclosure, I wasn't very good with savoury food either. My Mum takes great delight in telling people that for a year I ate nothing but weetabix and marmite sandwiches, but that's another story for another time.

My distaste was not helped by Mum's penchant for making pavlova and trifle - two puddings rife with the aforementioned meringue, jelly and custard - at the same time. Her logic, of course, was that the yolks left over from the meringue could be made into custard for the trifle. That, and the fact that pavlova and trifle are so freaking delicious.

The resourceful ethos behind this pairing now fills me with joy, which is why I wanted to develop a recipe for meringue that puts those sunny, glossy yolks to good use too.

Brown sugar is not often found in meringue, perhaps because caster results in the snowy white peaks that we all associate with this pudding. While my brown sugar versions aren't snowy, I rather like the nutty, caramel hue that you find when you bite into the chewy soft centre. Brown sugar has such a distinct, delicious flavour, which brings something more to the sweetness of a classic meringue.

Clementines are glorious at this time of year, but you could use any other citrus or berry curd to fill your meringues.

THE INGREDIENTS

meringue

2 egg whites

50g caster sugar

50g soft light brown sugar

clementine curd

2 clementines, juiced and zested

1 lemon, juiced and zested

2 egg yolks

50g caster sugar

20g butter

For the meringue, preheat the oven to 150C, and line a baking tray with parchment. Before you begin, wipe your mixing bowl with a piece of lemon, to ensure that it is squeaky clean. Add the egg whites, then whisk with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Separately, mix the two sugars together, then add a teaspoon at a time to the egg whites, with the mixer still whisking. The mixture is ready when you can pinch it between your fingers and not feel an graininess. 

Spoon into four peaks on the baking tray, shape into circles, then bake in the preheated oven for 2 hours. The meringues are ready when you can lift them off the baking tray without sticking. 

For the curd, place the zest, juices, egg yolks and sugar together in a large, heavy based pan. Set over a medium heat, and stir constantly as the sugar dissolves. Continue stirring for 10-15 minutes, until the mixture thickens. It is ready when a layer coats the back of the spoon. Remove from the heat and mix in the butter, then strain through a sieve and transfer to a bowl to cool. 

Serve the meringues with a dollop of fresh curd on top, and store any that is left in sterilised jars. 

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CLEMENTINE POLVORONES

I'd like to begin by wishing you all a very merry Christmas! A little belated I'll admit, although given that today is only the third of twelve days of festivities I hope you'll forgive my tardiness.

Advent is always a busy time, especially for those that work in food. This year I just about managed to douse my Christmas cakes with brandy and make some remarkably solid royal icing before I ran for the train back to Rutland on Christmas Eve. I wish I'd managed to spend more time in the kitchen pre-Christmas, but life has a funny habit of getting in the way.

For me, this quiet week between Christmas Day and New Years' Eve offers the perfect solstice from the routine. It's a chance to switch off, sleep in and view the dismal weather as reason enough to stay indoors and indulge in homely comfort.

The luxurious warmth of sweet clementine finds it's way into many a December bake, marrying decadently with the spiced palette of Christmas cooking. These nutty Hispanic cookies, also known as Mexican Wedding Cookies or Mantecaditos, are the perfect platform for the sweet flavour of clementine to shine. The modest ingredients list, most satisfyingly, stays safely within the realms of your store cupboard essentials.

For 18 cookies

THE INGREDIENTS

125g unsalted butter, softened

50g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

100g plain flour

75g ground almonds

zest of 1 clementine

icing sugar

THE RECIPE

Preheat your oven to 160C and line a baking tray with parchment. Beat the softened butter and caster sugar for several minutes, until the mixture is pale and airy. Mix in the vanilla, clementine zest and salt, then sieve in the flour and ground almonds and mix until combined and smooth.

Using your hands, take a small piece of mixture and roll into a ball. Set this on the paper, press gently to flatten the base, then repeat until all the mixture is used. These quantities should make 18-20 cookies.

Rest in the fridge for 30 minutes, then bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until risen and slightly golden. The cookies may crack a little on the surface when they are baked. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

When you are ready to serve the cookies, dredge each one in icing sugar. Finish with a final, snowy dusting of icing sugar.

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HONEYCOMB GINGERBREAD CAKE

Today I read an article dedicated to the pains of commuting in London. It was not short. The tube at rush hour is no picnic, but I'd underestimated how much it bugs this city.

While I take no more pleasure than the next person in being pressed up against strangers before caffeinating, commuting has given me the perfect opportunity to rekindle my bumpy relationship with reading. 

Reading was something I really cherished as a child. Begging for one more chapter at bedtime, long car-journeys narrated by audio-books, regular warnings that i'd damage my eyesight by reading with a torch under my duvet. I could not get enough of the worlds, characters and stories that my books admitted me to. An English degree later however, and I was ready to go on a break. 

My new commute has given me the time to reconnect with a love that got a little lost in the throws of London life. I've grown to feel pretty protective of my little timelapse each morning. 

A love of reading has characterised some of the literary greats of our world. Elizabeth Bennet, Jo March, Lisa Simpson - I could easily go on. But the little girl whos' story I never tired of as a child was that of Matilda Wormwood. 

Reading offered Matilda a salvation from her mindless and loveless family, and reminded her that she was not alone. She also took herself off to the library while her mother played bingo, an initiative which I rather admired even in my early years.

Roald Dahl's remarkable creation may be pushing thirty these days, but the little girl continues to entertain audiences night after night at the Cambridge Theatre in London's Covent Garden. In a celebration of Mathilda's love of cookies and chocolates, Matilda the Musical have launched the Matilda Bake Off, and are inviting you to create a truly extraordinary Matilda-inspired cake to mark the occasion. The winner will be treated to tickets to the show and afternoon tea for two - take a peek at the full details here. You can also enter your bakes via Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #MatildaBakeOff. 

As a child, I always had a bit of a soft spot for Miss Honey. She was kind, clever, and totally pulled off the tortoiseshell specs. My honeycomb cake is a little bit of Miss Honey's sweetness and light, but stodgy and syruppy with ginger too.

THE INGREDIENTS 

cake

100g self raising flour

50g treacle 

50g golden syrup 

100g butter

50g milk

1 egg

2 tsp ground ginger

100g light brown sugar

buttercream

250g icing sugar 

80g butter 

1 orange 

honeycomb

50g caster sugar

1 tbsp golden syrup

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 

THE RECIPE 

Begin by lining x3 4 inch cake tins with baking parchment. Preheat your oven to 180C. 

In a small saucepan, melt the butter, brown sugar, treacle, golden syrup and milk. Once melted and glossy, remove from the heat. Crack in the egg and beat to combine. 

Seperately, whisk together the flour and ginger. Add to the butter mix, and whisk. Pour into your prepared tins, and bake for 20-25 minutes until the cakes are golden and pass the knife test. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool. The cake is quite sticky, so you may wish to cover your wire rack with baking parchment before turning your cakes out.

To make the honeycomb, grease a piece of baking parchment and set this over a wooden board. Mix the sugar and syrup on a pan. Once mixed, place over a medium heat and cook for 5-7 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the caramel is a deep golden. Carefully and quickly, tip in the baking powder, whisk, then transfer the foaming mixture to the prepared paper. Leave to cool and harden, then crack into pieces. 

For the buttercream icing, slowly whisk the icing sugar, orange zest and butter until the mixture is sandy. Add a tablespoon of juice at a time until the mixture comes together, then beat at high speed for ten minutes. Chill for 15 minutes before using. 

Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag, then use to sandwich the cakes and ice. Top with homemade honeycomb. 

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LADY GREY WHITE CHOCOLATE BISCOTTI

The start of a working week is so much better after a sunny weekend, and this weekend London got truly lucky with some of the best weather we've had all year. The streets and parks were full of bleary-eyed, pasty Londoners, emerging from a long and chilly hibernation. As I ran along the river this evening - wrestling my way past pushchairs and overspilling pub gardens - I might just have had a bit of a moment with my home-town.

I remember marvelling as a child that my parents still drank tea in the summertime. A sun-lover I may already have been, but I couldn't see the logic of hot drinks in hot weather. I never particularly bought the idea that tea was cooling, and still don't quite understand the science behind that theory.

I am a big believer however in the refreshing quality of a good brew, and some of the lighter, fruitier blends really do feel suited to the sunshine. I've baked with Earl Grey before (recipe here), so it seemed only fitting to celebrate the warm weekend with a version for ladies. Lady Grey - spiked with lemon and orange oils - has a delicate touch that works perfectly with rich almonds and sweet, silky white chocolate.

Crisp and nutty, biscotti are practically begging to be dunked in strong coffee or, if you'll forgive me, a cup of your favourite summertime brew.

  THE INGREDIENTS

220g caster sugar

2 eggs

2 lady grey teabags

zest of 1 lemon

200g almonds 

300g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

150g white chocolate

THE RECIPE

Preheat your oven to 170C, and line a large baking tray with parchment. Weigh your sugar into a large bowl, add the zest and the eggs, then whisk for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is pale, fluffy and very light. Rip open the tea bags, and whisk the tea into the egg mix. 

Sift in the flour and baking powder, then add the nuts and use your hands to bring the dough together. Transfer onto a floured surface and knead a little.Split the dough into two, then roll each one to form a baguette shape, roughly 5x30cm. 

Place them both on the tray, then bake for 20-25 minutes until the dough has started to crack a little, and springs back slightly when you press it. Remove the tray, then reduce the oven temperature to 140C. Leave the baguettes to cool for half an hour, then use a sharp knife to slice them thinly.

Lay the biscuits out on the tray (you might need reinforcements), then return to the oven for a further 20-25 minutes. Biscotti need to be hard all the way through, so keep an eye on them and remove when baked.

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ORANGE AND CARDAMOM SHORTBREAD

Running along the Thames path early last Saturday, I understood for perhaps the first time why people get up early at weekends. The concept has long been a mystery to me, but watching the sun creep above Hammersmith bridge with just a few brave rowers for company, it felt like a subtle wink from Mother Nature as if to say, "I told you so."

The weekends always seem to run away with me, and I am resolved to spend less time sleeping and more time doing. I've spent far too many Sunday nights wondering what's happened to my little window of freedom.

For those of you who aren't prepared to give up your Sunday lie in, you'll get on like a house on fire with these little shortbread biscuits. Ten minutes to make and fifteen to bake, these are the perfect bake for the short of time. You could also make up the dough ahead of time and freeze it, for those weeks which take you by surprise. We've all been there.

I love the fiery tang of the cardamom, but feel free to reduce to 2 or 3 pods if you're looking for heat but not flavour.

 THE INGREDIENTS

55g caster sugar

125g butter

180g plain flour

zest of an orange

Seeds of 4 cardamom pods, crushed

THE RECIPE
Begin by preheating your oven to 190C, and lining two baking trays with parchment. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Once well combined, sieve in the flour, add the zest and crushed cardamom seeds and mix until well combined and sandy. Use your hands to pull the dough together, then turn it onto a floured surface. Knead it for a minute or so, then roll out until it's just under 1cm thick.

Use a cutter to cut out your biscuits. Place on the tray, then transfer to the freezer for 15 minutes. Next, bake for around 15 minutes, until pale and just firm to the touch. Sprinkle with sugar and serve with jasmine tea.

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COCONUT RUM CAKE

Sometimes when it's cold and rainy, you need a little slice of sunshine to bring some warmth back into your life. It can be hard to be cheery after Christmas - all the lights and decorations have been packed away for another year, and everyone is feeling very poor and desperately trying to keep up ambitious resolutions.

While this isn't one for those of you doing dry-January, a little Caribbean spirit can be just the ticket at this time of year. Malibu reminds me of teenage parties and pineapple juice, and it's absolute heaven when paired with silky coconut cream. This reunion was everything I'd hoped for and more - and I hope you love it too.

A Caribbean beauty queen this cake is not, but she can certainly hold her drink.

 THE INGREDIENTS

100g butter
50g coconut oil

150g caster sugar

100g ground almonds
50g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

3 eggs
3 tbsp malibu
for the icing & filling

200g icing sugar
zest of 1 orange
50g coconut cream
malibu

THE RECIPE

Line a 6 inch cake tin with baking parchment, and preheat your oven to 180C. Next, weigh the softened butter and caster sugar into a lat until creamed and pale. Add the eggs and 1 tbsp of the almonds, and beat until smooth and combined. Add the coconut oil, remaining ground almonds, flour and baking powder, and beat until mixed through. Spoon into the prepared tin, and bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden and springy. 

Once cooked, allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool for a further 10 minutes. Next, carefully slice the cake into four equal disks. Brush each slice with malibu, allowing it to soak into the sponge. 

To make the filling, beat the coconut cream for a few seconds to soften a little. Add the icing sugar, and carefully mix to combine. Add the orange zest, and enough malibu to bring the mix to a buttercream consistency - I do this a teaspoon at a time. Beat for 5 minutes or so until fluffy and pale. 

To assemble, smooth the filling over each layer, add the next, and finish with a final layer of icing. Decorate if you like, or dig in straight away.

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MULLED WINE BROWNIES

Now I know what you're thinking. Stop it. Stop it. Mulled wine, and brownies? It can't be done, you say. My friends, I am here to tell you that it can and it has been - and it's kind of just as great as you'd think it would be too.

For the Gin and Tonic Cake lovers among you...let me introduce my Christmas offering. Gooey chocolate brownies steeped in rich, comforting spiced red wine. They're rich and far from light, so are best served is small pieces with heaps of brandy cream waiting in the wings.

Somewhat shockingly, this is the first conventional brownie recipe that I've shared on Pudding Lane. I'm a little old school when it comes to brownies, and believe that cocoa powder is far superior to dark chocolate as your leading lady here. There's something about the deep, rich cocoa and melted butter combination that delights me. As my colleague Liv told me when these badboys were road-tested - totally worth the calories.

I dislike the distraction of nuts and fruit in my brownies, but for the heath-conscious among you feel free to load the mixture up with walnuts, hazelnuts or dried cranberries. I'm obsessed with my new doily stencils - I got the idea from the lovely Lisa Faulkner's demo at the BBC Bakes and Cakes Show in October, and bought my doilys from Simply Vintage. Such a quick and easy way to make your bakes look beautiful.

As this will be my last post before the big day, I'd like to wish you all a beautiful Christmas - I hope you're surrounded by good food and great company. I'll be back just before the New Year, and am always around to chat on my usual channels.

 THE INGREDIENTS

200ml red wine (don't use anything expensive)

1 cinnamon stick

2 cardamom pods

4 cloves

1 vanilla pod

1 tsp orange essence 

150g butter

250g caster sugar

60g cocoa powder

2 eggs

65g plain flour

1 tsp powdered cinnamon

THE RECIPE

Begin by mulling your wine. Pour the wine into a pan with the cinnamon stick, cardamom, cloves, vanilla and orange essence, and bubble on a gentle heat until the wine has reduced in volume by half. Remove from the heat and set aside. 

Preheat your oven to 160C, and line an 8x8 inch tin with parchment. In a new pan, melt the butter, cocoa and sugar on a gentle heat. Once the butter is all melted and the mixture is smooth, remove from the heat and set aside. Using an electric whisk, beat the eggs for several minutes until thick, pale and volumous. Add the chocolate and wine mixtures, and beat briefly to mix. Add the flour and connamon and repeat. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. They may take a little longer depending on your oven, but they're ready when they have the slightest wobble in the middle. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Slice when cooled for a clean finish.  

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