Flapjack

Have started baking for Trinity Cafe, once a month. Oh, the responsibility. I follow the recipe they gave me quite slavishly... so far, so good...

Crunchy, traditional flapjacks. Do not overbake.

Ingredients
10 oz butter
9 oz demerara sugar/= or mixed white and brown
4oz golden syrup
18 oz porridge oats

12 x 9 inch Swiss roll traybake or roasting tin. Line with well-greased silicone or baking parchment.

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees C/Fan 140 degrees C/Gas 3.

Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a large pan.
Stir in oats.
Mix well.
Turn into well-greased  tin and firmly press flat with a palette knife or the back of a spoon.

Bake in pre-heated oven for 30 - 35 minutes or until pale golden brown.
Remove from oven, leave to cool for 10 minutes.
Mark into squares, leave to finish cooling in the tin. (Cut off edges if slightly over-baked.)

Best Brownies?

Have just started baking, once a month, for the church cafe. Here is the brownies recipe I am presently using:

10 oz soft butter
11oz sugar (should be 13oz, I reduced it)
4 eggs, large if possible
1 teaspoon baking powder, plus a large pinch.
3oz cocoa powder
5oz plain flour
4oz chopped chocolate
A couple of tablespoons milk or cream if needed, to loosen slightly. Mixture will be fairly stiff.

Cream butter and sugar first, if butter is not very soft. Add other ingredients, mix well, Spoon into a 12 x 9 inch flat traybake tin, lined with well-greased tinfoil.

Bake (at least 25 - 30 minutes, original recipe states 35 - 40) at 160 degrees fan oven (Gas Mark 4) until slightly firm in the middle and shrinking slightly away from the edges.

Cool in tin, remove foil and cut when cold.

Then there are Adele's brownies, too: the hot butter gives a crackly top.

1. Combine 114 g (4oz) 1/2 cup hot butter with 1 tbsp oi amd 225g (8 oz) 1 1/8 cup sugar
2. Whisk 2 eggs with 2 tsp vanilla
3. Fold in 60 g (2oz) 1/2 cup flour and 60 g (2oz) 1/2 cup cornflour
4/ Bake 20 - 25 minutes.

Gluten free brownies....

Melt together:
225g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), finely chopped
125g butter, diced

Stir in:
175g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g ground almonds
Yolks of 6 large eggs

Fold in:

6 whipped egg whites

Bake at 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 in a 22 x 30 cm diameter baking tin with baking parchment until firm with a slight wobble.

Glaze:

Melt:

100g of good quality dark chocolate
30g of butter

Remove from heat, whisk in
50g of icing sugar, sifted
75ml of double cream

Allow to cool until the mixture becomes thick enough to leave a figure of eight on the surface.Pour over the brownies and allow to set slightly before removing from the tin and slicing to serve.

Adapted from http://www.donalskehan.com/recipes/gluten-free-chocolate-brownies/

Microwave flapjack

Melt together 75g butter, 1 large tablespoon golden syrup and 50g sugar (mixed brown and white)

Stir in approx 200g oats, or a little more up to 250g.
Add handful sunflower seeds, sultanas, etc.

Bake in square silicone tin in microwave for 5 minutes, perhaps 5 1/2, leave to cool  a little, mark into squares and cool completely.

Vegetable Curry

Soften 1 chopped onion for a couple of minutes. Add 2 tspns curry powder, 2 tspns mixed spices, 1 teaspoon each cumin and cardamom, a few cardamom pods, split open and 2 tspns turmeric with 4 chopped potatoes, 1 large chopped carrot, 2 cups butternut squash, a large handful of cooked beans. Add ground chillies to taste - perhaps 1/4 of a teaspoon.

Stir together, soften for a couple of minutes and then add enough vegetable stock to cover comfortably and cook until veges are soft and sauce has thickened.