We Love Cooking!:
vanilla extract

All this snow is not good for the diet. The cold weather seems to always make me crave serious comfort food so I do have to apologise for posting another seriously delicious, seriously sweet recipe! Most of yesterday was spent very busily building a snowman in my friends back garden, so there wasn't much time for cooking. Dinner last night was a quick carbonara, thrown together using the bacon I was gifted by the lads at Truly Irish our stand neighbours at the RDS, who gave me a great selection of pork products to try out! A big pasta dish and a great movie made the perfect snowy evening in!

Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookies
I don't think there is any question that the Americans know how to create the most overindulgent desserts, and this one ticks all the boxes.
These were created by an American chain of restaurants and have something of a cult following in the US. Put simply, it's cookie dough piled into individual serving dishes and baked at high heat, so you get a set top and edges but a ridiculously gooey interior.
When they are pulled out of the hot oven, a big dollop of vanilla ice cream is plonked on top to melt and mingle with hot, soft cookie. Makes four individual portions.

Serves 4
200g butter, softened
200g light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
120g good-quality milk chocolate chips
Vanilla ice cream, to serve

Pre-heat the oven to 260°C/Gas Mark 9. In a mixing bowl, using a electric hand mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until it is light and pale. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat through. Add in the flour and baking soda, little by little, until you have a stiff dough. Using a spatula, stir through the chocolate chips until evenly combined.
Divide the cookie dough among four large six-inch ramekins and place in the oven on a baking sheet. Bake for seven to 10 minutes but keep an eye on them, you want them to puff up and become golden brown around the sides and just about set in the middle. Remove them from the oven and serve straight away with a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Unfortunately the last of the Swedish summer hasn't been as kind as I had hoped, with most of my time being spent dodging the rain, it all feels very much like home. However, the bad weather hasn't dampened our spirits and we soldiered on, enjoying one of the more traditional events of any true Swede's summer calendar, the highly regarded Kraftfest! For a foreigner, this can be a fairly strange event to come across, so put simply it's a party where large groups of Swedes don bibs and funny hats to guzzle and suck their way through mountains of Swedish crayfish, interrupted only by traditional kraftfest songs while downing copious amounts of schnapps (which, by the way, tastes like paint stripper!). In fairness to the Swedes they most definitely know how to make the best of the summer.

One of the other very exciting things I've had the chance to try my hand at is wild blueberry picking! Over 60% of Sweden is covered by rich forests which are literally teaming with low lying bushes covered in little blue dots throughout late summer. Like any good Irish fella, I never pass on the chance of free food, so as soon as I heard about these little babies, we were in the car and deep in the woods in record time.

One of the things I learned early on about Sweden is that everything has a system, and blueberry picking is no different, they have these fantastic rectangular boxes with a handle and little prongs to pick the berries, which makes it as simple as running it through the bushes, to pick up generous handfuls bursting with goodness! We are still working our way through the huge amount we picked, making American style blueberry muffins and a delicious blueberry créme brulee, but this was one of the desserts which perfectly complimented the little berries.

Swedish Gooey Chocolate Cake
If you're looking for a gooey chocolate fix, you've come to the right place. This cake is perfect for a quick dessert using ingredients you probably already have in your store cupboard. To be perfectly honest, it tastes so good on its own it can just as easily be served without the cream and the berries! I have witnessed the picking apart of a cake just like this straight out of the oven by a hungry group of young ladies. It was similar to a scene from a David Attenborough documentary - believe me, they didn't need the frills!

Serves 8
100g butter
200g sugar
2 eggs
70g flour
3 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the topping:
500ml of double cream
150g of blueberries and raspberries

Preheat the oven to 175oC. Grease and flour a cake tin 24cm in diameter with a removable base and set aside.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the sugar and the egg and mix well.
Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix until combined. Pour into the greased cake tin and place in the oven for 20 minutes. The cake won't rise dramatically but you should be left with a set top and gooey middle! Allow to cool while you whip the cream until it become stiff.
When you're ready to serve, spoon generous dollops of whipped cream on top and then decorate with blueberries and raspberries.

I very excited to tell you I am in London!!! For the next two weeks we are shooting the photos of the recipes for my new book which is going to out in March 2011. To say I am excited is probably a total understatement because for me this is the most interesting part of producing a cook book. The first time around for Good Mood Food I was a totally unorganised mess, when it came to planning the photography, I was coaxed along the way by my lovely Aunt Erica who did the majority of food styling, but this time around it's all rolled nicely into two weeks. It also helps that this time I have a far better idea of what I'm doing! My kit has been upgraded and I have a set work pattern which hopefully by this time two weeks will have held up long enough to have provided me with all the photos required! I'll try and stick up a few posts about the whole process if I can- for now enjoy these very cute whoopie pies which look very pretty indeed! :)

Go Nuts Nutella Whoopie Pies!
By dropping the cocoa powder from the original whoopie recipe and substituting flour you get left with really beautiful plain whoopie discs. As a filling I use a combination of nutella and smooth peanut butter but you could also use the chocolate frosting from the cupcake recipe.

Makes 16 whoopie pies
120g/4oz butter
190g/6 ½ oz caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
345g/12oz of plain flour
5g/1 tsp of baking powder
5ml/1 tsp of vanilla extract
250ml/8 ½ fl oz of buttermilk

For the filling:
80g of smooth peanut butter
80g of nutella

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350oF/Gas Mark 4 and line two baking sheets.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
In another bowl, using an electric whisk, cream the sugar and the butter until pale and fluffy. Add in the eggs gradually, mixing well to combine.
Add the vanilla extract to the buttermilk and, alternating with the dry ingredients, add to the bowl, mixing until everything is combined and you are left with a thick batter.
Spoon rounded teaspoons of the batter onto lined baking sheets, allowing space for them to spread while cooking. Place in the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until the tops have puffed up and spring back when lightly pressed.
When they are cooked, remove the mini pie halves from the baking sheets with a metal spatula and place on wire rack to cool.
Once cooled, spread a teaspoon of the nutella on the flat side of 16 of the pie halves. Spread a teaspoon of peanut butter on the remaining 16 pie halves and sandwich together with the nutella pies.
These little pies are heavy going so make sure to serve with a glass of cold milk.

I think Sweden is slightly behind on the garden growing front, we visited Sofie's dad's little garden patch last night and his strawberries are still a little bit away from bursting into colour. Though bearing in mind the last time I was here the ground was covered completely in a thick layer of snow, could have a lot to do with it! When I left on Monday our strawberries plants were heaving with big ruby red fruit and suprisingly enough the birds weren't hatching their usual plan to steal them all. I guess seeing me shouting at them in my underwear with a stick during last years seige did the trick!

One of the cool things Sweden has on the strawberry front are these fantastic wild plants which produce the tiniest little sweet strawberries you can imagine. They grow in garden hedgerows and are found throughout Sweden. Hopefully there will be a few ripe ones ready to pick before I leave so I can photograph them and show you. Today's recipe is one I shot a few weeks back with some beautiful Irish strawberries which are bang smack in season right now, so if your tempted pick up some and make this delicious cake!

Mega Strawberry Summer Cake
Strawberries really should be celebrated with over the top desserts and if you want to look beyond the simplicity and utter deliciousness of strawberries and cream then this is the cake for you!
When you are assembling the layers of cake make sure you give it an extra little squeeze to ensure those mouth watering dribbles of jam down the sides.

Serves 8
3 large eggs
225g of caster sugar
50g of butter, melted
100ml of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
210g plain flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder

For the filling and topping:
80g of strawberry jam
300g of strawberries, hulled
250ml of cream

Preheat the oven to 175oC/Gas 4 and grease and line two x 8 inch spring form baking tins.
Using a handheld electric mixer, beat the sugar and eggs in a large mixing bowl until pale and fluffy.
Mix the milk, melted butter and vanilla extract together in a measuring jug and pour into the sugar and egg. Mix through to combine.
Sieve the flour and baking powder into the bowl and then using a spatula, gently fold in to the cake mix until completely smooth and combined.
Divide the mix evenly between the two baking tins and place in the oven for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool slightly before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
When both cake layers are completely cooled, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Sieve the jam into a bowl to ensure it is really smooth.
If the cake layers have a peak in the middle make sure to slice it off so you are left with perfectly flat layers.
Place one layer on a cake stand and dollop with half the cream, spread evenly and then drizzle with the smooth strawberry jam. Carefully place the second cake layer on top and add the remaining whipped cream and strawberries.

I have over one hundred cookbooks in my possession and although I love to flick through them for ideas and inspiration, I have rarely cooked a recipe exactly as it is written. One of my new years resolutions was to cook my way through some of my favourite cookbooks and seek out the best recipes! I made these chocolate caramel squares recently and they went down a storm!

Bill Granger's Chocolate Caramel Slices
(Recipe from Bill Granger's "Holiday")
This fantastic and highly addictive recipe comes from Aussie chef, Bill Granger and it makes possibly the most delicious chocolate caramel slices you will ever taste. The addition of coconut here gives a great extra texture and flavour.

Makes about 20 squares
125g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
90g dessicated coconut
115g caster sugar
125g butter, melted

Filling
100g butter
100g brown sugar
397g tin of condensed milk
2 tablespoons of golden syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping
150g dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180oC/Gas Mark 4 and lightly grease and line an 18 x 28cm baking tin.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, add the coconut, sugar and butter and stir together well. Press firmly into the base of the tin and bake for 12 minutes, or until light golden.
To make the filling, put the butter, brown sugar, condensed milk, golden syrup and vanilla in a saucepan over a low heat. Cook, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes , or until light golden. Pour evenly over the cooked base, then return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
Once the caramel is cool, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, stirring occasionally until the chocolate has melted (or melt the chocolate very carefully in a microwave oven). Spread the chocolate evenly over the caramel and place in a cool place to set, before slicing into squares.

There seems to be quite a lot of debate about banana bread and whether or not the inclusion of nuts is significant. I'm not really sure which side of the fence I stand on over this, so for now I'm going to plonk myself right in the middle, on the fence! It's actually quite comfortable here and I can see both perspectives. On one hand, there are those who love the combination of the crunchy nuts through the soft cake, the flavours of the two mingling together in one mouthful of wonderfulness, completely oblivious as to why you would accept anything less. Then on the other side I see all you lovely people who really can't see why you would tarnish such a pure and delightfully moist, spongy, banana flavoured loaf with the somewhat crude addition of nuts. Well I say stop your cribbin' and either way this recipe is damn good and will accommodate for both your nut or non nut needs!

Auntie Ann's Banana Bread
This recipe comes from my auntie Ann who spent a lot of time in America over the years and has picked up some really great US inspired recipes. This banana bread is deliciously moist and is extremely easy to throw together. I add a little sliced banana on top before it goes into the oven, but if you want you sprinkle some nuts on top or even stir some chopped ones through.

Makes 8 mini loaves or 2 larger loaves
110g butter
190g caster sugar
2 large eggs
240g self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 large bananas

Preheat the oven to 180oC/Gas Mark 4.
Cream the sugar and the butter in a bowl with a hand held mixer until light and pale. Add in one egg and a little flour and mix through, repeat with the other egg and the rest of flour and baking soda, until everything is mixed through and smooth.
Peel the bananas and mash them with the back of a fork. Add them to the bowl with the vanilla extract and mix through.
Pour the mix into a well greased loaf tin and place in an oven for approximately 50 minutes. You can cover it with tinfoil after 25 minutes to stop it browning too much on top if you need too.
Insert a metal skewer into the centre of the loaf and if it comes out clean the banana bread is ready. Remove from the loaf tin and place on a wire rack to cool.
Enjoy with a big cuppa and filthy smile!

This week I was on The Afternoon Show cooking up some diabetic desserts and in preperation I did a lot of research on the topic and spoke to lovely Sinead from Diabeties Federation of Ireland who gave me the low down on some fantastic dessert ideas for people with diabeties. This delicious panna cotta is one of the desserts recommended and it’s an absolutely perfect one for entertaining!

Simple Panna Cotta with summer fruits and dark chocolate!
If you have never made this type of dessert before, don’t be put off, it is super easy and this is a wonderfully light and fruity dessert which is the perfect little pick me up after a heavy meal. The advantage of panna cotta is that you can make them ahead of time and stick them in the freezer allowing you time to prepare the rest of your meal. I particularly like them because they really look impressive when you slip them out of their moulds and serve them with the delicious fruit.

Makes 2 Panna Cotta
4 gelatine leaves
2 tablespoons of artificial sweetener
4 tablespoons milk
500g natural yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

To serve:
200g strawberries, hulled
2 squeezes lemon juice
1 tablespoon artificial sweetener
200g raspberries
100g blueberries
A small handful of dark chocolate shavings

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water in a shallow dish.
Put the artificial sweetener and milk in a small pan and stir over a low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved. Bring up to the boil, then take off the heat. Take the gelatine out of the water and stir into the hot milk. Leave to cool for 10 minutes. Beat in the yogurt and vanilla extract and pour into 2 moulds or you could use ramekins.
Chill in the fridge until set, this usually takes about 3 hours.
To make the sauce, puree the strawberries with the lemon juice and artificial sweetener. Sieve to remove pips. Mix the raspberries and blueberries in a separate large, pretty serving bowl.
To serve, dunk each mould into warm water for about 10 seconds, swiftly dry the base, then turn the panna cotta out on an individual plate.
Spoon a little of the strawberry sauce and berries around each pudding, sprinkle with some dark chocolate shavings and serve.

Now when it comes to cakes and desserts, I am proud to say that cupcakes are my forte, I have been making them way before they became cool, back in the day when they were known merely as fairy cakes or buns and a little drizzle of icing would cut it as decoration. However, in the fast paced foodie world in which I roll, it was really only a matter of time before the cupcake title, as one of the most talked about bakery items, was to be challenged.

Let me introduce you to the whoopie pie; Not exactly a new idea, much like the beloved cupcake, whoopie pies have been around for years. Originally a native dessert of Maine, New England, the pies were baked by the wives of farmers, for a lunchtime treat, where upon finding one in their lunch box, the farmers are said to have cried out "Whoopie!", so hence their name. The pies are like mini chocolate cake sandwiches which ooze a delicious, creamy, frosting filling, and if foodies in the know are to be believed, these babies are going to be the next big thing!

Whoopie Pies
I was sent this recipe by a reader of my blog, who's mother in law, Mrs Linda Daunt has lived all her life in Maine, New England and is a fantastic cook. She bakes these pies for special occasions, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, birthdays, weddings, funerals and occasionally by special request when one of her daughters feels nostalgic for their childhood. Mrs. Daunt's special touch is to add buttermilk instead of regular milk, to give the pies a richer taste.

Makes 16 whoopie pies
120g butter
190g sugar
2 eggs
270g of flour
5 tablespoons of good quality cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
250ml of buttermilk

Filling:
250g icing sugar
170g butter
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 and line two baking sheets.
Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
In another bowl, using an electric whisk, cream the sugar and the butter until pale and fluffy. Add in the egg, mixing again to combine.
Slowly add the buttermilk and vanilla extract and dry ingredients to the bowl, in batches, mixing until everything is combined and you are left with a thick batter.
Spoon rounded teaspoons of the batter onto lined baking sheets, allowing space for them to spread while cooking. Place in the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until the tops have puffed up and spring back when lightly pressed.
While the mini pies halves are baking, prepare the filling by beating together all the ingredients until you are left with a nice smooth mix.
When they are cooked, remove the mini pie halves from the baking sheets with a metal spatula and place on wire rack to cool.
When the mini pies halves have cooled, spread a rounded teaspoon of the creamy filling on the flat side and sandwich together with another.
Et voila, whoopie pies!

Yesterday, I spent the day getting a tour of Lamb farms in Co. Kerry an hours drive from where we were staying the night before in Ballincollig, Co. Cork. Michael Gottstein and Dennis Carrol from Ring Of Kerry Quality Assured Lamb were my guides for the day and we saw lots of great things which I will save alongside some pics for my next post!

After the great reaction to the video of the lovely Sophie from Kooky Dough, I persuaded her to share with me her secret recipe for her favourite homemade cookies. Now there has been A LOT of discussion over the perfect cookies, but for me it's all about making them homemade with a decent recipe and with a little bit of love! Sorry I'm feeling very loving today! :)

Sophie's Chocolate & Hazelnut Chip Cookies
Sophie spend a lot of time creating the perfect cookie recipe for her Kooky Dough, but she has given me this, her secret (not for long!) recipe for Chocolate and Hazelnut Chip cookies. The cookies are delicious and the dough can be frozen if you wanted to make a few ahead of time.

Makes about 12-15 cookies
225g butter
375g muscovado sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
350g plain flour
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
250g good quality chocolate, chopped
100g toasted hazelnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda, and baking powder.
Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and fold in, then add the chocolate and hazelnuts.
Form the dough into a round, wrap in cling film and transfer to the refrigerator for 30 mins.
When ready to bake, simply cut the dough into slices and lay on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for approx 10-12 minutes or until pale golden brown.

Variation: White Chocolate & Cranberry Cookies
Substitute white chocolate and dried cranberries for the chocolate and hazelnuts above.

It may not look like it now but when I was younger up until the age of 5 or 6 I was completely blonde! There was a brief few years in my teens where I tried to recreate this look, but this ended in tears and should most definitely not be revisited. Anyway as a blonde kid people always seemed to make the association between me and the milky bar kid who also had bright blonde hair. I blame these comparisons for my love of white chocolate from an early age. I know white chocolate gets quite a lot of stick because it's not as high quality as good dark chocolate but it is an ingredient that I love using in desserts, giving a great creamy sweet flavour.

White Chocolate Ginger Cheesecake Pots
Desserts that can be made ahead are lifesavers when it comes to entertaining and ones which only take a few minutes to put together are even better! These individual cheesecake pots are perfect to pull out of the fridge at the end of a meal and with an extra kick from the ginger your guests will be singing your praises!

Serves 6
200g of gingernut biscuits
100g of butter, melted
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
450g of cream cheese
200g of white chocolate
100ml of cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of icing sugar

Blitz the biscuits in a food processor until you have fine breadcrumbs. Pour in the melted butter and ginger and process until everything is mixed through.
Gently push the biscuit base into individual serving pots and set aside. Don't press down too hard as you want nice loose spoonfuls of biscuit with the cheesecake mix.
Slowly melt the white chocolate in a bowl over a small pot of simmering water.
Put the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and add the white chocolate, cream, vanilla extract, and sugar.
Beat all the ingredients together until you get a nice light mixture.
Spoon the cream cheese mix into the serving pots, smooth the top and garnish with a sprinkling of thinly sliced white chocolate.
Place in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

I promise no more pumpkin recipes up on the blog for while after today's recipe! But I did save the best till last! These pumpkin brownies are so delicious, you just have to try them. I didn't manage to get my hands on pumpkin puree so I made my own. I slowly roasted the pumpkin until it was soft, scraped out the flesh, then I puréed the mixture and passed it through a sieve. Unfortunately my homemade purée didn't have that authentic neon orange colour that you see in American food photo's so you will have to allow me a little artistic creativity, as I did play around a little with the colours in the photos.

Chocolate, pumpkin and pecan brownies

Recipe from The Daily Mail

Makes about 20 squares
For the pumpkin mixture:
25g butter
75g cream cheese
100g caster sugar
1 egg
100ml pumpkin purée
1tsp vanilla extract
1/2tsp ground ginger
75g plain flour

For the chocolate mixture:
200g unsalted butter
200g dark chocolate, chopped
3 large eggs
300g granulated sugar
2tsp vanilla extract
125g plain flour
Pinch of salt
100g pecans, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
Grease and line a rectangular baking tin, approximately 20cm x 30cm (8-12in) and 3-4cm (1 1/4-1 1/2in) deep, with greaseproof or parchment paper.
To make the pumpkin mixture, beat all the ingredients together until smooth. Keep to one side.
For the chocolate mixture, melt the butter and chocolate together, either in a bowl over a pan of simmering water or gently in the microwave.
In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract with an electric hand whisk until thick and creamy.
Mix in the melted chocolate and butter. Finally, stir in the flour, salt and pecans.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the lined baking tin and level off the surface.
Using a tablespoon, drop dollops of the pumpkin mixture all over the top, and then, using the back of a table knife, loosely swirl it into the chocolate mixture.
Place in the oven and cook for about 25 minutes, until the top is cracking and the centre is just set.
Leave to cool in the tin for 40-45 minutes before cutting into bite-sized squares.

Cupcakes cupcakes cupcakes! They just never fail to impress, no matter how many different types I make. These blackberry vanilla cupcakes were no different and only lasted a couple of hours in the house.

I had my little cousin Maisy (AKA the cupcake queen!) helping out, she totally enjoyed it and didn't complain once, despite me dragging her around the cliffs blackberry picking for 3 hours beforehand! I actually made the frosting a little too runny in an attempt to use up the coulis, but I kind of like the dramatic effect it gave the pics. Yup that was my sad attempt to cover up a mistake! But you'll let me away with it right?

Blackberry Vanilla Cupcakes

(Recipe adapted from Coconut & Lime)
This recipe makes delicious, light and moist cupcakes with a fruity taste.

Makes 12 cupcakes
For the cupcakes:
1 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup blackberry coulis

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons blackberry coulis
Blackberries for decoration

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 180c. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions.

In another bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the milk and blackberry coulis. Add half of the dry ingredients to the bowl of the mixer and mix on low speed until just combined. Mix in the blackberry coulis/milk mixture. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients on low speed just until incorporated. Do not over-mix.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared paper liners. Bake 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar and blackberry coulis in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until smooth and well blended. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired and garnish with fresh blackberries.

The weekend we went blackberry picking I sacrificed making blackberry jam so that we could make this coulis. Unfortunately there just wasn't enough to make both and the thing about coulis is that it can be used in more than one recipe, it's essential for the blackberry cupcakes I'll be posting tomorrow and perfect for the delicious blackberry mess which I submitted as my recipe for the November edition of Irish Tatler. After a long walk over Howth hill the other day, it seems like there is still a huge amount of berries still ripe for the picking. I may just have to go and get some to make some jam during the week.

Blackberry Coulis

(Recipe from BBC Good Food)
Blackberry coulis is a wonderfully versatile fruity sauce which is perfect for a wide variety of desserts. The coulis also freezes extremely well and should last for up to 3 months in the freezer.

Makes about 150ml/¼ pint
250g blackberries
50g golden caster sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract

Put the blackberries and sugar into a small pan with 100ml/31⁄2fl oz water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 mins until the fruit is soft. Stir in the vanilla, remove and cool a little.
Tip the contents of the pan into a blender or food processor, and whizz to a purée, then strain through a sieve, rubbing it through with the back of a ladle or spoon. Serve warm or chilled. Keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

This recipe is probably the closest one to the way I like my Chocolate Chip Cookies to be, I adpated it from this recipe from the King Arthur Flour website and it seems to be pretty foolproof. The cookies are crunchy and chewy all at the same time, which, in my books is a winner!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
The best way to get nice even cookies is to use an medium sized ice cream scoop. Using one means, not only will you get proffesional looking cookies, but it totally simplifies the spooning out process! Also if you can't get your hands on chocolate chips, just break up some good quality chocolate bars and they will do the trick.

Makes 8-10 cookies
140g/5oz brown sugar
140g/5oz granulated sugar
225g/8oz butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 large egg
240g/8½oz plain flour
340g/12oz chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 4. Grease two large baking trays or line with baking parchment.
In a large mixing bowl, with a wooden spoon, beat the sugars, salt, vanilla extract, and butter until they are smooth and combined.
Add the egg and beat again, until thoroughly mixed through.
Mix in the flour and when the dough begins to form, add the chocolate chips and mix again lightly, until everything is combined.
Using an medium sized ice cream scoop or a large dessertspoon, spoon the dough onto the prepared baking trays, leaving about 2 inches between them as the cookies will spread out as they cook.
Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are a nice golden brown with the middle remaining slightly pale.
Enjoy the cookies old school style, a little warm with a nice cool glass of milk!
JUMANJI!

I’ve always been a bit of an arts and crafts fan, especially when I was growing up. I guess that’s why making these fortune cookies appealed to me in the first place! Fortune cookies are really fun to make and customise. They add a cool little touch to home cooked Asian dishes.
The origin of the fortune cookie seems to be highly disputed, and in their current form appear to be more of an American take on an early Japanese idea. The cookies served at many restaurants are supposedly filled with a Chinese proverb but many cynics have pointed out that people are actually hired to write these! Either way I think the idea is quite nice!

I have made these years ago from a recipe in an Asian cookery book, but I couldn’t manage to find it when I went routing the other day. Instead I have used this recipe which seems to be fairly similar, but only makes 10. I have doubled the recipe here, but be warned making this many is quite time consuming, as you can only make a few at a time.

Fortune Cookies

The trick to making the cookies is timing, so prepare everything you need before you stick them in the oven. You have to mould the hot little discs as soon as they come out of the oven, so I would suggest you use a pair of gloves or some kitchen paper. I don't have asbestos hands so when I first made these I was hopping around the place from the heat of moulding them with my bare hands. NOT FUN! The technique of moulding is fairly simple, you fold the disc in half, and then fold it in half again over the rim of a glass. Sound easy? It is!

4 large egg whites.
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
6 tablespoons of sunflower oil.
175g of all purpose white flour.
375g of granulated sugar.
1 ½ teaspoon of cornflour
½ teaspoon of salt.
6 teaspoons of water.

Preheat the oven to 150˚C/Gas 2/300˚F and grease a wide baking sheet.
Write and cut out your own customised fortunes on little strips of paper about 10cm by 1cm and set aside.
Using a whisk, beat the egg whites in a large bowl with the oil, and vanilla extract. Beat them until they become thick, but not stiff. Sieve in the flour and cornflour. Add the sugar, salt and water and mix through the egg whites. Combine thoroughly until you have no lumps and bumps!

Place 4 level tablespoon of the mix evenly spaced on the baking sheet. I find working with four discs at a time to be the easiest. Distribute the mix evenly by tilting the tray until you get a nice wide disc around 10cm in diameter.
Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the cookies go a light golden brown colour around the edges. Working quickly- remove one disc from the baking sheet, place the fortune in the center and gently fold in half. Bend the two ends of the disc over the rim of a glass and hold in position for 20 seconds until it cools.
Repeat the process until you get through all the cookie mix.