Tuesday, June 16, 2009

DOUBLE CHOC PECAN BROWNIES



Yum! These brownies are rich and fudgy. Perfect as a gift or for an afternoon treat for the office.

INGREDIENTS

200g dark chocolate
250g butter
1 1/2C brown sugar
4 eggs
1/3C cocoa
1 1/4C gluten free plain flour (I use White Wings)
1/2tsp gluten free baking powder
200g white chocolate, roughly chopped
120g pecans, roughly chopped

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 160ºC. Grease and line your tin.
2. Melt butter and dark chocolate in bowl over a saucepan on simmering water.
3. Once melted, remove from heat and add sugar and eggs and mix in well. Then mix in flour, baking powder and cocoa. The mixture should be quite thick now.
4. Fold in the pecans and white chocolate, then press the mixture evenly into the tin.
5. Pop in the oven for about 50 minutes. Once completely cool, turn out onto a chopping board, dust with icing sugar and cut into squares.

Makes about 20 squares - depending how big you like them!


DARK CHOCOLATE SOUFFLES






I'd always heard that souffles were tricky to make, so thought it would take a few goes to get them right, but these were very easy! I think the key is to have a well greased ramekin, and make sure that you pour the mixture into the ramekin evenly, not spilling any drops onto the rim or down the sides. I served mine with a chocolate cream, simply made by whipping cream with a little sugar and grated chocolate. If you don't like dark chocolate I would imagine this recipe would also work well with milk chocolate.


INGREDIENTS
Soft butter, to grease ramekins
Caster sugar, to dust ramekins
100g dark chocolate
4 eggs, separated

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 200ºC. Generously grease ramekins, including rims. Pop in the fridge for about 5 minutes and grease again. Pour a little caster sugar into each ramekin and tip and rotate so that the base and sides are lightly covered. Tip out any left over loose sugar. Place ramekins on a baking tray.

2. Melt chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Once smooth remove from heat and stir in the egg yolks.
3. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add about 1/3 of the egg whites to the chocolate and mix in well. Then add the rest of the egg whites and fold in gently.
4. Pour or spoon the mixture evenly among the ramekins, being careful not to spill any drops down the sides or on the rims (as this will stop them rising evenly).
5. Pop in the oven for 8-10 minutes. They are ready when they have puffed up nicely. Dust with some icing sugar and serve immediately!

Makes 4 x 150ml ramekins

Monday, June 1, 2009

MY PICK: GLUTEN FREE PASTA







Over the years I have tried many brands of gluten free pasta - some awful, some okay, but the best that I have found is (surprisingly) San Remo gluten free pastas. My favourites are the Spaghetti, Penne and Spirals. Just make sure you cook them in plenty of water!