Recipes

Mary Berry’s Chocolate Brownies

- Alex Prichard 1 Comment

Untitled

A while back I bought a copy of Mary Berry’s 100 Sweet Treats and Puds (I bought it from Clouston and Hall but they no longer have it).

Mary Berry is a UK baking icon and co-hosts the original Great British Bake Off. I hope she’s not offended by me saying she’s a very grandmotherly type. Both my grandmas were pretty good cooks and I certainly didn’t go short of sweet and savoury treats. But if you didn’t have a grandma who baked then one episode of Bake Off and you’d probably be interested in adopting Mary Berry.

I spent quite a bit of time reading through the book deciding what to cook first. A reasonably impromptu Father’s Day lunch saw me volunteer desserts and, realising I was short of time, I decided on the brownies because they looked really easy.

It turned out that time was even more of the essence than I’d realised because, on the morning of lunch, with brownies yet to make and the other dessert to assemble, one of our neighbours popped his head over the fence and the already tight schedule was thrown out of whack!

These brownies taste great with a deep chocolate flavour, are slightly squishy and fudgy and are really easy. If you’re not confident melting chocolate, you want a store cupboard alternative or you want a quick recipe (you still need 40 minutes baking time though!) then this is the recipe for you.

A couple of notes: don’t be freaked out by what feel like unconventional quantities of ingredients. Hold your nerve! Mary Berry’s original recipe uses 375g caster sugar but I had only 300g left and topped up with dark brown sugar. This is always a result in brownies and adds extra richness.

Print
Mary Berry’s Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients

  • 275g unsalted butter (slightly softened if you working by hand or using a stand mixer)
  • 300g caster sugar
  • 75g dark brown sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 75g cocoa powder
  • 100g self raising flour
  • 100g dark chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 160°C fan and line a roasting tin (30cm x 23 cm) with baking paper.
  2. Combine the butter and sugars then add the eggs. Mix in the cocoa powder and self raising flour and finish by stirring in the chocolate chips.
  3. The mixture will be very thick. Spoon it into the baking dish, smooth it out and bake for 40-45 minutes. The cake should be set and a skewer should come out clean but you also don't want to over bake because otherwise the brownies won't be squidgy.
  4. Leave to cool in the tin (if appropriately squidgy it will collapse a little) before cutting into 24 squares and serving.
https://eatingadelaide.com/mary-berrys-chocolate-brownies/

How To: Meringue

- Alex Prichard 2 Comments

Mini Meringues

I’m surprised but it seems as though I’ve never posted a basic meringue recipe. This is very remiss of me, because, if you’re anything like me you’ll often find yourself with a rogue egg white that needs using up. Perhaps after you’ve made pastry for a quiche lorraine, for example!

Before a ‘recipe’ (such as it is) some notes on egg whites and meringue making in general.

Fresh is best. Don’t use an ancient egg, and don’t use an egg white that has been hanging around in the fridge for a week. However, egg whites freeze really well. If you don’t think you’ll be able to use it up quickly, simply put it in a clean container and freeze. Egg whites defrost quickly and they’re as good as new.

If you can use an egg white that’s at room temperature, that’s better still.

Fat is your (meringue’s) enemy. Freezing the egg white? Use a scrupulously clean container. Cracking it into a bowl or ramekin? Scrupulously clean. The bowl you’ll be beating it in? Scrupulously clean.

I cannot emphasise that enough. NO FAT.

The recipe below scales up easily and, with just two ingredients, there’s no excuse for not giving it a try.

The real question is … should a meringue be gooey in the centre or crisp the whole way through?!

Print
Basic Meringue Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 egg white
  • 55g caster sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 100°C (conventional). If you're in a bit of a hurry about 140°C is as hot as you want to go. If you are cranking up the temperature, you'll need to keep a close eye on the meringues to make sure they're not taking on too much colour.
  2. Alternatively, cook something like a cake and turn off the oven. Leave the meringues in as the oven cools - even overnight.
  3. Beat the egg white until quite stiff. The stiffer it is, the glossier and firmer your meringue mix will be and the easier it will be to manipulate.
  4. When the egg whites are stiff, add the caster sugar slowly while you continue to beat. If this is your first time making meringue, add the sugar a tablespoon at a time. Otherwise, use your cooking wisdom to guide you.
  5. Ensure the sugar is really well beaten into the egg white. The mix should be smooth and glossy and not at all grainy.
  6. If you wish to make mini meringues (the best type for cheeky tea time treats!), scope the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a wide, fluted nozzle. Pipe the meringues on to a baking tray lined with baking paper.
  7. Of course, you can make any shape or size you want: using a teaspoon or a tablespoon works just as well, even if the finished product isn't quite as dainty.
  8. Cook in the low oven until dried out and crisp.
https://eatingadelaide.com/meringue/

Quiche Lorraine

- Alex Prichard 2 Comments

Quiche Lorrainecheck out that shrinking pastry … don’t let your toddler drive the food processor!

One of my slightly less hip hobbies is entering competitions. I caught the bug while living in the UK and I’d say that it’s rare a day goes by when I don’t enter at least one. It goes without saying that my favourite competitions to enter (and win) are those involving food or cooking.

One of my most recent wins was Australian Women’s Weekly Country Classics, through a Kambrook competition. The Women’s Weekly cookbooks are famous throughout the world and I think everyone (or everyone’s mum or grandma) has at least one of these at home.

I was keen to try it out as soon as possible and, after having a good read through, I settled on quiche lorraine. Now, people can get a bit het up over quiche lorraine because it is one of those foods that has been well loved and well adapted. If you think this version is not quite right please feel free to tell me (and the Women’s Weekly!) what is wrong!

My toddler helped me make the pastry for this and it ended up somewhat overworked (when I came to roll it out it was elastic rather than silky …) and so we had a bit of shrinkage. I used all the bacon and onion mixture but have about 500mL of cream filling left. I’m planning on making a rather luxe omelette with it, and grating through some courgette so I feel healthy …

The pastry was good: short, crumbly and I enjoyed the hint of lemon. The filling was excellent and this is such a storecupboard kind of dish, with a bit of practice it could easily be a mid-week lifesaver.

Overall, the Country Classics cookbook is filled with solid recipes that will stand a novice cook, in particular, in good stead. Quite of the few salad and sandwich ideas I’m looking forward to appropriating and adapting in future and you never know, one day I might even make use of the “camp fire” section …

Print
Quiche Lorraine

Ingredients

  • Pastry
  • 260g plain flour
  • 150g cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • iced water, as required

  • Filling
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 200g bacon, finely chopped
  • 3 eggs
  • 300mL cream
  • 125mL milk
  • 90g grated cheese (Gruyère is 'traditional' but I used standard tasty cheese)

Instructions

  1. Make the pastry by combining the butter and flour in a food processor. When crumbly, add the egg yolk and the lemon juice, and then slowly add the water until there is just enough for the mix to come together. Knead lightly, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for ~ ½ hour.
  2. To make the filling, fry the onions and bacon until the onion starts to turn golden. Drain on kitchen towel.
  3. In a bowl (or large jug, if you have one) whisk the eggs, and add the milk and cream. Stir through the grated cheese.
  4. Line a 24cm deep, loose bottomed quiche dish, with the pastry. Bake blind, with baking beans, at 180°C fan (200°C conv) for 10 mins. Remove the beans and bake for another 10 or so minutes until golden.
  5. Spread the bacon and onion mix over the base. Pour over the cream filling (if you have made the filling in a bowl it is probably worthwhile pouring it into a jug for this!). Do this slowly to give the mix time to spread around, otherwise you'll end up overfilling.
  6. Bake at 160°C fan (180°C conv) for 30-35 minutes, until golden and set. I personally prefer just set: I think it makes for a creamier end product.
  7. Stand for 5 minutes in the tin, and then remove. Serve hot or warm with either salad or steamed vegetables.
  8. Tip 1: place the quiche dish on a baking tray BEFORE blind baking. This makes it much easier to get it in and out of the oven and if your filling does overflow, you only have a tray, not an oven, to clean.
  9. Tip 2: to remove the quiche from its tin, pop it on a mug as this will allow you to remove the outer ring of the pan easily. Using a fish slice or palette knife, you can then gently manoeuvre it on to a serving plate or cutting board.
https://eatingadelaide.com/quiche-lorraine/