French Chocolate Cake

This recipe is dedicated to my friend Carolina from Chile.


Ingredients:
2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup of unsalted butter
½ cup of granulated sugar
5 egg yolks
2 tablespoons of orange liqueur or brandy
1 tablespoon of plain flour
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Preparation Method
1. Preheat oven to moderate (180ºc fan forced).
2. Grease 15cm square cake pan; line base with paper.
3. In a bowl put the chocolate, butter and sugar. Melt them in bain-marie. Leave to cool a bit, and then stir in the liqueur or brandy.
4. Beat lightly the 5 egg yolks and then add the sugar and vanilla extract.
5. Then Combine the chocolate mixture and the egg yolk mixture.
6. Spread mixture into pan; bake for 25-30 minutes in bain-marie*.
7. Stand cake 15 minutes; turn top-side up, onto a flat plate.
8. Serve with vanilla ice-cream, fruits, plain or cover with icing sugar.

* Bain-Marie technique used in the oven
Place cake pan in a deep square dish and set the dish on your oven rack. Fill the dish halfway with boiling water and then cook the whole dish in the oven.

Jane's last minute Christmas cake: Recipes: UKTV Food

Jane's last minute Christmas cake: Recipes: UKTV Food

Honey Butter Cookies

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Baking Time: 15 minutes
Makes: 24

Ingredients
125g butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
80ml honey
110g plain flour
35g cornflour

Preparation Method
1. Preheat oven to moderate (180ºC/160ºC fan-forced). Grease oven trays; line with baking paper.
2. Beat butter, vanilla extract and honey in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy; stir in combined sifted flours. Spoon mixture into piping bag fitted with 1cm fluted tube.
3. Pipe stars about 3cm apart onto trays. Bake about 15 minutes; cool cookieson trays.

Chocolate Cake with Banana

Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients
160ml milk
2 teaspoon lemon juice
150g butter (soft)
220g caster sugar
2 eggs (medium)
300g self-raising flour
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 up mashed banana
100g dark eating chocolate, grated finely

Creamy Chocolate Frosting
200g dark eating chocolate (chopped)
160g icing sugar
120g sour cream *

Preparation Method
1. Preheat oven to moderate (170ºC/150ºC fan-forced). Grease deep 22cm round cake pan; line base with paper.
2. Combine milk and juice in small jug; stand 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, beat butter and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until just combined; transfer mixture to large bowl. Stir in sifted flour and soda, banana, milk mixture and chocolate.
4. Spread mixture into pan; bake about 1 hour 10 minutes. Stand cake 5 minutes; turn top-side up, onto wire rack to cool.
5. Meanwhile, make creamy chocolate frosting; combine all ingredients, and then spread cold cake with frosting.

* Sour cream preparation:
In a cup of fresh cream add 1-2 tablespoons of lemon. Stir for a few seconds.

Coconut Biscuits

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Baking Time: 15 minutes

Makes 30 (approximately)

Ingredients
200g butter (or margarine)
½ vanilla extract
150g icing sugar
1 egg (medium size)
260g plain flour
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
40g shredded coconut

Preparation Method
1. Preheat oven to moderately slow (150º fan forced). Grease oven trays; line with baking paper.
2. Beat butter, extract, sifted icing sugar and egg in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Transfer to medium bowl;
3. Stir coconut into the mixture, then stir in sifted flour and soda, in two batches.
3. Roll level tablespoons of dough into balls; place on trays 3cm apart. Bake about 12-15 minutes; cool biscuits on trays before remove.

Vanilla Biscuits

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Baking Time: 15 minutes
Makes 30 (approximately)

Ingredients
200g butter (or margarine)
½ vanilla extract
150g icing sugar
1 egg (medium size)
260g plain flour
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Preparation Method
1. Preheat oven to moderately slow (150º fan forced). Grease oven trays; line with baking paper.
2. Beat butter, extract, sifted icing sugar and egg in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Transfer to medium bowl; stir in sifted flour and soda, in two batches.
3. Roll level tablespoons of dough into balls; place on trays 3cm apart. Bake about 12-15 minutes; cool biscuits on trays before remove.

Cookies

Ingredients
100g plain flour (sieved)
50g ground rice or semolina or
150g plain flour (sieved)
50g castor sugar
100g butter

Preparation Method
Place all ingredients in an electric mixer bowl and mix on minimum speed increasing to speed 2 as the fat breaks up, until the mixture has bound together.
Press the maximum into a ball and roll into a round about 1cm thick.
Crimp the edges and prick on a design with a fork.
Bake in a slow oven (150ºC/300ºF/Mk.2) until it is firm and light brown in color (approximately 1 hour).
Allow to cool before removing from the tray.