Recipes

Chocolate & Hazelnut Brownie

Here’s how to make it…

Ingredients:

Method:

Begin by preheating the oven to 200 degrees (gas mark 6)
Line a 20 x 20cm tin with baking paper and set to one side
Add all of the dry ingredients, apart from the dark chocolate and hazelnuts, to a bowl
Add the dark chocolate to a bain-marie. Simmer on a medium heat until the chocolate has melted
Add all of the wet ingredients to a measuring jug
Pour the wet ingredients in to the dry ingredients and stir to combine
Add the hazelnuts to a food processor and process until a coarse crumb is formed
Gently pour the batter in to the tin
Decoratively arrange the hazelnut crumb on top of the mixture
Put the tin in the pre-heated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until firm
Once baked, remove from the oven and set to one side. Allow to cool before slicing and serving

This recipe serves 8.

Recipes

Chocolate & Pistachio Shortbread

Here’s how to make it…

Ingredients:

Method:

Begin by preheating the oven to 177 degrees (gas mark 4)
Line a large tray with baking paper and set to one side
Remove the shells from the pistachios. Add the nuts to a food processor and process until a fine, flour-like crumb is formed
Add the dairy free butter and golden caster sugar to a bowl. Beat until a smooth mixture is formed
Add all of the dry ingredients, apart from the dark chocolate. Using clean hands, bring everything together to create a dough
Put the dough in the fridge and allow to rest. This will take around 30 minutes
Remove the dough from the fridge. Using a rolling pin, roll out on a lightly floured surface around 10mm thick
Using a 40mm circular cutter, cut the dough in to 12 circles
Place the circles of dough on the lined baking tray. Put the tray in the pre-heated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown
Once baked, remove from the oven and set to one side
Once the shortbreads have cooled, add the dark chocolate to a bain-marie. Simmer on a medium heat until the chocolate has melted
Decorate with melted chocolate and pistachios for a final flourish

This recipe serves 12.

Recipes

Here’s how to make it…

Ingredients:

Method:

Begin by preheating the oven to 200 degrees (gas mark 6)
Grease a 25 x 25cm flan tin with a little sunflower oil and set to one side
Using a rolling pin, roll out the shortcrust pastry to create a square slightly larger than the flan tin
Line the flan tin with the pastry
Using a fork, prick the base of the pastry in several places. Remove any excess pastry
Lay a sheet of baking paper on top of the pastry and weigh it down with ceramic baking beans or rice
Put the flan tin in the pre-heated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until crispy
Remove the flan tin from the oven and set to one side. While the pastry cools, prepare the mousse
Add the dark chocolate to a bain-marie. Simmer on a medium heat until the chocolate has melted
Add the melted chocolate to a food processor along with the silken tofu, sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla extract. Process until a smooth mixture is formed
Spread the mousse evenly across the base of the pastry
Put the tart in the fridge and allow to set. This will take around 2 hours
Decorate with cacao nibs for a final flourish

This recipe serves 8.

Recipes

Here’s how to make it…

For the cake mixture:

For the frosting:

Method:

Begin by preheating the oven to 200 degrees (gas mark 6)
Grease two 20 x 20cm cake tins with a little sunflower oil and set to one side
Add all of the dry cake mixture ingredients to a bowl
Add all of the wet cake mixture ingredients to a measuring jug
Pour the wet cake mixture ingredients in to the dry cake mixture ingredients and stir to combine
Using a ladle, evenly divide the batter between the two greased cake tins
Put the cake tins in the pre-heated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer can be inserted in the centre of each and removed cleanly
Once baked, remove from the oven and set to one side
While the cake cools, prepare the frosting. Add all of the frosting ingredients, apart from the dark chocolate, to a bowl and stir to combine. Loosen the mixture with a little soya milk to reach your desired consistency
Once cooled, remove the cake from the tins and sandwich together using half of the frosting. You may need to cut the cakes first to create an even surface
Add the remaining frosting to the top of the cake using a pallet knife or a piping bag
Grate over the dark chocolate for a final flourish

This recipe serves 8.