Chocolate Orange Brownie Trifle: A Christmas Day Showstopper!

We spent Christmas day at my in laws this year, and I was tasked with the Christmas day dessert.  I spent months planning what I was going to make, and changed my mind a million times in between! In my mind a Christmas dessert should always involve peppermint, but since it gives my husband insane heartburn that was off the table! So then we came up with the idea of chocolate orange...I'm not really a fan of orange flavoured desserts - you won't have seen anything on my blog featuring orange before for this reason! so it's slightly ironic that this dessert turned into the craziest orange overload ever!!  In my mind it's also not Christmas without a trifle, but I don't like custard and knew I didn't want to make a boring old traditional trifle so a brownie trifle with mousse layers seemed like a great alternative! and before I knew it, this 9 layer beast had been dreamt up in my head!

I knew it needed to look impressive sitting on the table (that's how I imagined I'd serve it...as it turned out I served it straight from the fridge and dished it up into bowls whilst everyone was in a different room so no one saw it anyway!!) but it made me happy at least that it looked pretty in the bowl! I had planned to do Christmas tree shaped brownies around the inside of the bowl, but my Christmas tree cutter was larger than I had remembered it being! so I settled on stars...which are still slightly festive! Luckily they were so moist they just stuck to the side of the bowl all by themselves! and then the subsequent layers that I filled the bowl with held them in place! 

Layers of brownie chunks started off the fun...followed by a nice thick layer of milk chocolate orange mousse, and then a layer of chopped up Terry's chocolate orange pieces...

Followed by another generous layer of brownie chunks, these were level with the brownie stars around the bowl too.  This was topped with a generous layer of white chocolate orange mousse...

followed by, you've guessed it, more Terry's chocolate orange pieces!

 Some piped on whipped double cream brought everything together, and I used mini Terry's chocolate orange pieces to decorated, and crumblings of flake too...because it's not a trifle unless it's been crumbled with flake - fact!

There were a lot of components but all were pretty straightforward and it came together quicker than expected.  I used the amazing Ghirardelli brownie box mix from Costco because when it's 8pm on Christmas Eve and you haven't started on dessert yet, you need to cut some corners! but if you had more time than me you could obviously make your own brownies! I also used shortcut mousse recipes, that didn't require egg, because I didn't have time for things to go wrong so a cream cheese no fail mousse was the way forward! 

Although you'd think it would be too much orange in one dessert, it was perfectly balanced by the creaminess of the mousse layers, and the richness of the chocolate brownie and the tang from the cream on top helped to break through the sweetness - I wanted another helping immediately after eating my first! which for an orange hater shows just how yummy this dessert really was! 

 

Chocolate Orange Brownie Trifle:

Serves 15-20

From Cupcake Crazy Gem

2 pans of chocolate fudge brownies (8x8 size and 9x13) 

I used Ghirardelli Brownie mix - you could make your own from scratch

Milk Chocolate Orange Mousse:

125g milk chocolate

100g dark chocolate

225g cream cheese 

110g cup caster sugar

1 tbsp orange juice

1 orange (zest)

250ml double cream, whipped

White Chocolate Orange Mousse:

225g white chocolate

225g cream cheese 

110g cup caster sugar

1 tbsp orange juice

1 orange (zest)

250ml double cream, whipped

2 Terry's chocolate oranges

350ml double cream

2 bags of Terry's chocolate orange mini pieces

1 cadbury's flake

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.

Prepare a double mix of brownies.  Line your brownie pans with greaseproof paper.

I spread the brownie mix thinly in the larger 9x13" pan and left it thicker in the 8x8" pan.  Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, the thinner brownies will require less baking time.  

Let cool. 

Lift out the greaseproof paper from the 9x13" pan and using a star cutter cut out 12 stars.

Lift out the greaseproof paper from the 8x8 pan and cut brownies into cubes.

Press your brownie stars around the inside of the trifle bowl.  Fill bottom layer of trifle bowl with packed together brownie cubes, set the rest aside for later.

Whisk 500ml double cream using a stand mixer. Once soft peaks start to form it is done.  Transfer it to a bowl, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until needed.

Meanwhile chop the milk and dark chocolate into small pieces and melt in a heatproof bowl, set above a pan of boiling water.  Set aside to cool.

Beat the cream cheese, caster sugar, orange juice and orange zest together until light and fluffy.  Fold in the cooled chocolate, and fold in half of the whipped cream from the bowl in the fridge.  Your milk chocolate mousse is finished.

Spread over the layer of brownie chunks in the trifle bowl.

Chop Terry's chocolate orange pieces using a knife, and spread a layer of them over the chocolate mousse.  Add another layer of brownie chunks.  

Now it's time to prepare the white chocolate mousse using the same method as before.  Chop the white chocolate into small pieces and melt in a heatproof bowl set above a pan of boiling water.  Set aside to cool.

Beat the cream cheese, caster sugar, orange juice and orange zest together until light and fluffy.  Fold in the cooled chocolate, and fold in the rest of the whipped cream from the bowl in the fridge.

Spread your white chocolate orange mousse over the brownie chunk layer in the trifle bowl.

Sprinkle over more Terry's chocolate orange pieces.  

Whisk 350ml double cream in a stand mixer until stiff peaks form.  Transfer into a piping bag and using a star tip pipe small little stars all over the top of the trifle.  Crush a cadbury's flake and sprinkle the pieces over the cream.  

Arrange the mini Terry's chocolate orange pieces so that they overlap slightly over one another in a circular pattern around the edge of the cream, and do a smaller circle in the middle of the bowl too.

Refrigerate the trifle until it is ready to be served.

Eat and enjoy! 

FYI: The ingredients listed are enough to make two bowls of trifle.  I made a slightly smaller bowl alongside the main trifle bowl (without the star brownie shapes around the edge) and so if you only want one trifle you could halve the mousse quantities but would still need two pans of brownie if you plan on doing the star shapes.  

Chocolate Peanut Butter S'mores Fudge

I made this in mid December for some friends who were in need of cheering up! I added these photos to my blog and planned to write it up at some point to tell you all what a great little sweet treat Christmas prezzie this fudge would make...but here we are on January 3rd and Christmas has been and gone, whoops! It would still make a great gift...just not a Christmas one obviously or you can bookmark it for next December! 

My favourite part of making this fudge, aside from eating it, was when my husband asked me what I was making when he came home to find the ingredients on the table one day.  I replied fudge, and he turned to me with a totally shocked look on his face and said 'are we fudge people?' it was hilarious! I cracked up laughing!! but he was right to question my judgement - we are not fudge people! I can probably count the number of times we've eaten fudge on one hand.  It is not something I am ever too bothered about.  So I told him it wasn't for us...but also that it was chocolate and peanut butter s'mores fudge and not just any old fudge!! 

We both agreed that the addition of the graham cracker crust made this better than any other fudge we have had.  Often fudge is just way too sickly and you don't want to eat more than one piece but the crust definitely broke up the sweetness and added another good texture.  The peanut butter gave a subtle undertone to the creamy chocolate and the marshmallow swirl with added marshmallows on top gave it some extra chew! 

I was also surprised at how easy it was to make! The only other time I've attempted fudge was this candy cane fudge last Christmas but since it was only made with condensed milk it was the cheats kind of fudge...making real fudge has always scared me but by using the microwave in this recipe it is a no fail recipe! 

Give it a try! Your tastebuds will thank you...even if you're not fudge people!

Chocolate Peanut Butter S'mores Fudge:

Makes 24

From Like Mother Like Daughter

for the crust:

8 Graham Crackers (digestives or hobnobs would work fine too)

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup caster sugar

for the fudge:

1 7oz jar Marshmallow Fluff

1 1/2 cups caster sugar

1 5oz can evaporated milk

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup dark chocolate chunks

1/2 cup milk chocolate chunks

1 cup peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

for the marshmallow swirl:

1/2 cup mini marshmallows

to decorate:

1/4 cup micro mini marshmallows

1 Graham Cracker, broken up

4 milk chocolate chunks, broken up

Preheat your oven to 190 degrees C.

Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with tin foil - leave extra so it hangs over the edge.

Crush your graham crackers into a fine powder and mix them with the butter and sugar to form the crust.

Press the crust into the bottom of your prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes until the edges and golden brown.  Set aside.

In a large saucepan, over medium heat, combine the Marshmallow Fluff with the sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt.  Bring to a boil stirring occasionally.  

Meanwhile, chop your chocolate into chunks and have your peanut butter and vanilla measured out and ready.  Measure out your mini marshmallows and have them ready too.  It is important to have everything already prepared because once you remove your pan of ingredients, everything needs to be stirred in immediately. 

Once your pan is boiling, set a timer for 5 minutes and stir constantly.  

Remove from heat and separate 1/2 cup of mixture and mix it with the mini marshmallows til smooth - do this immediately otherwise the mini marshmallows won't melt.  

Add your chocolate chunks, peanut butter and vanilla in with the rest of the cooked mixture and stir until mixture is smooth.

Pour fudge over your graham cracker crust.  

Spoon marshmallow mixture over and swirl in with a knife.

Top with broken Graham Crackers and chocolate chunks and teeny tiny marshmallows.

Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Eat and enjoy!

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Yule Log

So for Christmas this year, I didn't really end up doing much baking! That's what is great about being at my parents house surrounded by keen bakers! One sister whipped up our tropical pineapple Trifle for Christmas day dessert, another one made up some mango and ginger syllabubs, along with some homemade mince pies too!  and since I'm now 8 months pregnant I was quite happy to sit back and let it all happen, although I couldn't resist whipping up some mint magic bars with ghiradelli mint choc chips my sis had received from America and also a batch of lime curd! 

However, that was pretty restrained for me! So by the time I got to my in laws I knew I wanted to make a fancy Christmas dessert...and there had been plenty of hints dropped about how they were expecting some baked goods from me so I didn't want to disappoint! Being the huge peanut butter lovers they are, I decided to experiment with a peanut butter and chocolate yule log after the success of my coconut and chocolate yule log last Christmas.

I made a whipped peanut butter cream filling which worked perfectly with the rich chocolate-y frosting on the outside of the log, and the icing on the cake was a whole bundle of mini Reese's peanut butter cups that my sister attached to my prezzie this year! It was a great alternative to the traditional yule log...whilst still remaining festively fun! 

Since my trusty Kitchenaid has been at my sister's flat in London ever since we were in Canada, I have been pretty lost without it! I jumped at the chance of testing out this Tefal mixer to see if it was up to the job of baking such a complex dessert! 

The first thing that struck me was just how light it was! I'm used to my beast of a Kitchenaid which is so heavy to lug around! (hence why it was still in London because there was no way my sister could have carried it on the tube to bring it back to me!) but to cart this around with us over the Christmas period was super easy! It's lightness made me question whether it was going to be sturdy enough to cope with the bake I had planned...but it managed every step with ease.

It creamed the butter and sugar like a dream, with just a few scrapings down the side to incorporate it altogether, and it was so efficient in whipping the cream that I turned my back for a second and the cream was done!

 Despite having reduced power from what I'm used to with my Kitchenaid it did exactly what I needed it to do, and coped with every stage of my baking brilliantly! When I had it on the fourth speed setting, it did sound a bit like it was going to take off! but aside from that it worked like a dream and considering it's only £99 I'd say you get your money's worth for sure.

The mixing bowl isn't huge, so if you're planning to do large batches of baking like double batches of cupcakes or triple layer cakes then it might not be the mixer for you but for everyday baking it's certainly a cheaper alternative to the higher spec models out there and works just as well!

 Argos have large ranges of Tefal appliances available to buy here.

So if you're a peanut butter lover, then save this recipe away for next Christmas - it's a crowd pleaser for sure!

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Yule Log:

Serves 10-12

From Cupcake Crazy Gem

For the cake:

6 eggs

170g caster sugar

140g plain flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

For the filling:

284ml double cream

6 tbsp smooth peanut butter
3 tbsp condensed milk (optional)

40g caster sugar

For the frosting:

1 cup unsalted butter

3 1/2 cups icing/powdered sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 tbsp milk

14 mini Reese's peanut butter cups

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.

Grease and line a swiss roll tin with baking parchment.  

Beat the eggs and sieved sugar together with an electric whisk for about 8 minutes until thick and creamy.  

Mix the flour, cocoa and baking powder together, then sift into the egg mixture.  Fold in very carefully, the pour into the tin.  Now tip the tin from side to side to spread the mixture into the corners.  Bake for 16-18 minutes.  

Lay a sheet of baking parchment on the work surface.  When the cake is ready, tip it onto the parchment, peel off the lining paper, then roll the cake up from the longest edge with the paper inside.  Leave to cool.  

Whip the double cream until peaks form.  Add in the peanut butter and the sugar until stiff peaks form.  At this point I underestimated the strength of the mixer and over whipped the cream slightly, so I added the condensed milk to give a creamier texture.  If you keep an eye on your cream you shouldn't need to do this.

Once completely cool, unravel the cake and spread the peanut butter cream over the top. 

Then, roll the log back up again and refrigerate whilst making the chocolate frosting. 

Cream butter for a few minutes in a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed.  Sieve sugar and cocoa powder into the mixing bowl 1 cup at a time.  On low speed, mix the ingredients until they come together.  Increase mixer to medium, and add the vanilla extract and milk and mix until incorporated.  Increase mixer to high speed and beat for 3 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.  

Take the log out of the fridge, and spread the frosting on thickly using a palette knife.  Use a fork to mark the frosting to give the effect of tree bark.  Go around in a circle to make knots.  Sprinkle with chopped Reese's peanut butter cups to finish off your peanut butter creation!

Eat and enjoy!

--> Please note Argos kindly donated the mixer for review, but all opinions expressed are my own. 

Candy Cane Swirled Festive Fudge...and the Christmas baking begins!

 So how is it the 15th December and we're only just getting around to talking about Christmas?! Craziness! I am all about festive overloads! but this year has just been crazy busy and sadly Christmas baking has taken a backseat.  If you find yourself in the same situation, this is a great little no bake recipe to have up your sleeve because it is sooo easy to throw together and is a total crowd pleaser!

 It is also a good cheats version of fudge...using only melted chocolate mixed in with condensed milk - how can you go wrong with that! So a milk chocolate layer of fudge goes down first, with a white chocolate layer spread on top (with liberal amounts of crushed candy canes mixed in) because in my opinion it's not a Christmas bake unless peppermint is involved! You swirl the two together, and sprinkle with whole chunks of candy cane! 

What you get is a smooth creamy chocolatey fudge with hints of peppermint and crunch coming through from the candy canes! A delight for the eyes...and the tastebuds! 

and if you want to give it out as gifts as I did, it goes beautifully in these super cute festive bags...complete with pegs and tags! My mom sent me these in a package and I couldn't get over how awesome they were! 

Candy Cane Swirled Festive Fudge:

Makes 28 chunks

From Your Cup of Cake

300g milk chocolate

100g dark chocolate

1 (397g) can condensed milk

400g white chocolate

1 (397g) can condensed milk

3/4 cup crushed candy canes (about 10 candy canes unwrapped and zapped in a blender)

 extra chopped up candy canes for sprinkling on top

Line your 11x7" pan with parchment paper, and lightly grease it with butter.

 Break up your milk and dark chocolate into pieces, and place it in a heatproof bowl above a pan of boiling water.  Stir until melted.  Once completely melted, stir in the can of condensed milk.

Spread the chocolate fudge over the bottom of your pan.

Break up your white chocolate into pieces, and place in a heatproof bowl above a pan of boiling water,  Whilst it is melting, unwrap your 10 candy canes and blitz them in a food processor/blender until they are completely crushed.  Once chocolate is melted, stir in the can of condensed milk.

Remove from the heat and stir in the crushed candy canes.

Spread over the milk chocolate fudge layer.  Using a knife swirl the two fudges together to create a marbled effect, by dragging the knife in 'S' patterns through the fudge.

Finish, by chopping up candy cane chunks and sprinkling them on top.

Refrigerate for around an hour or longer.

Eat and enjoy! 

Chocolate & Coconut Yule Log

Last post of my Christmas baking I promise! I'll have to save all the rest for next year for now! We tried to have a proper 'English' Christmas meal as best as we could on Christmas day, and we had some Canadian friends over to share it with us so we wanted to make it authentically British!  It wasn't the easiest thing to achieve since many of the ingredients I searched for they just don't have here in Canada! So the chocolate log for dessert, along with a trifle my husband made, seemed like it would be the easiest of the bunch to make! 

Wrong! I have plenty of frustrations about the groceries here in Canada, like the bread that is always sweet.  I have yet to find a savoury loaf of bread! and eating a turkey sandwich on sweet bread is no fun at all! or the fact that you don't get squash here, I think I know why North America has an epidemic of too many people drinking soda - because they don't have any Robinson's! They also don't sell instant gravy granules and let's not get started on their chocolate! but out of all the problems I've encountered the one that frustrates me the most is their 'whipping' cream.  Canadian whipping cream, ironically, does not whip! Seriously I spent over 25 minutes with this bowl of cream on Christmas Eve and yes it turns thicker than it's once liquid state but it doesn't form stiff peaks or become thick enough to hold it's shape! I was pretty mad! So I had to refrigerate it for a while and then just spread it on anyway and hope for the best.  

Luckily the chocolate frosting was so super creamy and the cake so light and fluffy that the cream disaster seemed to go unnoticed by my guests and after being refrigerated over night it wasn't all that runny the next day...but Canadians - what is going on? How do you cope with cream that doesn't whip? Please help me out on this one! 

Chocolate & Coconut Cream Yule Log:

Serves 12

Adapted from BBC Good Food

For the cake:

6 eggs

170g caster sugar

140g plain flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

For the filling:

284ml double cream

60ml coconut milk

40g caster sugar

For the frosting:

1 cup unsalted butter

3 1/2 cups icing/powdered sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 tbsp milk

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.

Grease and line a swiss roll tin with baking parchment.  

Beat the eggs and sieved sugar together with an electric whisk for about 8 minutes until thick and creamy.  

Mix the flour, cocoa and baking powder together, then sift into the egg mixture.  Fold in very carefully, the pour into the tin.  Now tip the tin from side to side to spread the mixture into the corners.  Bake for 16-18 minutes.  

Lay a sheet of baking parchment on the work surface.  When the cake is ready, tip it onto the parchment, peel off the lining paper, then roll the cake up from the longest edge with the paper inside.  Leave to cool.  

Whip the double cream until peaks form.  Add in the coconut milk and the sugar until stiff peaks form.

Unravel the cake, spread the coconut cream over the top.  Sprinkle liberally with desiccated coconut, depending on how much of a coconut lover you are (I went all out, obviously!)

Then, roll the log back up again and refrigerate whilst making the chocolate frosting. 

Cream butter for a few minutes in a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed.  Sieve sugar and cocoa powder into the mixing bowl 1 cup at a time.  On low speed, mix the ingredients until they come together.  Increase mixer to medium, and add the vanilla extract and milk and mix until incorporated.  Increase mixer to high speed and beat for 3 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.  

Take the log out of the fridge, and spread the frosting on thickly using a palette knife.  Use a fork to mark the frosting to give the effect of tree bark.  Go around in a circle to make knots.  Sprinkle with a dusting of icing sugar to finish off.

Eat and enjoy! 

White Chocolate Peppermint M&M Cookies

I used to see awesome looking recipes on American blogs that involved speciality candies that we just didn't get in England, I would wish longingly that I could have access to those tasty treats! Sometimes I would get so desperate that I would pay crazy high prices to order them off American grocery websites...but I no longer have to do that!

When I spotted this recipe and realised it included White Chocolate Peppermint M&M's, I already had a bag of these babies sitting in my cupboard...just waiting to be baked up into something awesome! and so paired with some white chocolate chips and crushed candy canes, and these cookies were born! 

I have never had crushed candy canes in cookies before, they gave a great texture and didn't give an overbearing peppermint flavour either.  The white chocolate chips balanced out the mintiness perfectly! and these cookies tasted great cold...and even better warm too!

They were the perfect seasonal treat!

White Chocolate Peppermint M&M Cookies:

Makes 30

From Two Peas & Their Pod

3 cups plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup caster sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup crushed candy canes

1 cup White Chocolate Peppermint M&M's

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a large baking sheet with a silpat baking mat (I have one of those now too!) or parchment paper and set aside.

Combine flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda in a medium bowl.  Set aside.

Cream butter and sugars together in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until combined.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Slowly mix in the dry ingredients.  Stir in the white chocolate chips, candy canes and M&M's.

Drop heaped tablespoons of dough on prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the centre.  Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes.  Transfer cookies to wire rack and cool completely.

Eat and enjoy!

Peppermint Bark Cheesecake Truffles

So I am aware that Christmas has been over for a full 27 days now! and that's 27 that I should have spent blogging all my Christmas goodies I'd baked...but I started a second job just before Christmas and it's been crazy hectic! So I'm sorry for the long blogging delay, but the good news is we just bought another macbook so we finally have one each! and I'm thinking as a result there's going to be alot more blogging going on around here! So my aim is to bust out all my Christmas recipes before January is over...bear with me!

The baking all started with a mammoth baking day back in early December! My friend Cassie came over armed with about 3 kg of Callebaut chocolate and 6 hours later this is what we had baked up! It was so much fun! 

For now let's just focus on the Peppermint Bark Cheesecake Truffles, what a mouthful! (the other recipes will come later this week hopefully!)

You know how as a baking blogger you star about 200 recipes a month on your google reader? and then you make about 5 of them! Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this! Well this recipe isn't one of those that gets lost in the Pinterest abyss of drool worthy goods that never make it to your oven...this was one of those recipes I spotted and knew I had to bake a.s.a.p! so I made it happen!

and wow, was I glad I did - these were so delicious!

It requires a little bit of work and planning...but it's worth it.

I made the peppermint bark the night before, and then made the cheesecake mix the next afternoon (which had to be chilled for a few hours) and then rolled and dipped the balls in the evening.  So all in all it didn't take more than 24 hours, but it's not something you could whip up before you're heading out the door so it does need some planning!

However, when there's peppermint and white chocolate flavoured cheesecake studded with graham cracker crumbs and pieces of peppermint bark involved...and then all dipped in delicious high quality chocolate and finished off with a candy cane crunch - I'm sure you'll find a way!

Peppermint Bark Cheesecake Truffles:

Makes 30

From Macaroni and Cheesecake

1/2 recipe peppermint bark

8 oz softened cream cheese

1 cup plus 2 tbsp graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup powdered/icing sugar

1/4 tsp peppermint extract

4 oz white chocolate, melted

for the coating:

16 oz milk chocolate, we used Callebaut, melted

crushed candy canes

The day prior to making the truffles, make your peppermint bark and refrigerate it.

Once ready to make the truffles, break the peppermint bark into large pieces so it is easier to work with.  Then place on a cutting board and chop into very small pieces.  Set the peppermint bark aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the softened cream cheese, graham cracker crumbs, icing sugar and peppermint extract.  Mix on medium high speed until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides if necessary.  

Meanwhile, melt white chocolate in a glass bowl set above a pan of simmering water.  Stir until smooth.  Once cooled, add the chocolate to the cream cheese mixture and mix until fully incorporated.

Add all the peppermint bark to the mixture (if you didn't wait for the white chocolate to cool the bark will start to melt here so that's why you need to wait!) and mix until evenly distributed.  

Place in refrigerator for one hour until it's at a consistency where it's firm enough to roll together.

Once chilled, place wax paper on a baking tray that will fit into your refrigerator.  Roll cream cheese mixture into balls about the size of a tablespoon, don't be tempted to make them any bigger as it's a pretty sweet mixture so you want them bite size for sure.  Place on the wax paper and repeat with all remaining batter.  Place balls in refrigerator to chill for another hour, or if you're running out of time like we were the freezer will also do!

When ready to dip, melt your milk chocolate (or dark if you prefer) in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water.  Stir until smooth.

Using a fork, dip each ball into the chocolate, coating completely and scrape off any excess as you remove the ball from the bowl.  Place back on the wax paper.  Sprinkle some crushed candy canes on top whilst the chocolate is still melted.  Repeat for remaining truffles.  Let truffles set on the wax paper until the chocolate has hardened and then eat and enjoy, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator if you're crazy enough to not want to eat them right away!

Peppermint Bark Frosted Brownies

I have been baking like crazy this month! Not that you'd know it with the lack of blogging that's been going on around here! I have so many festive recipes still to blog...and I know Christmas is over but I can eat peppermint and chocolate any day of the week and you can always pin these for next year! 

I made some homemade peppermint bark for the first time ever! We don't get bark in England (aside from in Costco, which doesn't really count since it's American anyways!) so I've always been a fan of it! It's delicious to eat by itself or to use in recipes! Watch out for some peppermint bark cheesecake truffles that I'll be blogging soon too!

There was a Christmas dinner at my work and I signed up to bring desserts.  I made these super moist and fudgy brownies (the base brownie recipe is my new fave), slathered on some creamy chocolate frosting..

and finished with a sprinkling of chopped up homemade bark, and I also melted some candy cane peppermint kisses down to drizzle across the top tying the whole peppermint theme together! 

The principal at my school said they were the best brownies she had ever eaten, so I took that as a pretty good compliment!

Peppermint Bark Frosted Brownies:

Makes 16

From Cupcake Crazy Gem

4oz (110g) dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)

1 stick (110g) unsalted butter

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups (250g) caster sugar

1/2 cup (65g) plain flour

For the frosting:

2 cups (500g) icing sugar

1 stick (110g) unsalted butter

1/2 cup dark/semi sweet chocolate chips, melted

2 tbsp semi skimmed milk

1 1/2 cups chopped up peppermint bark

1/3 cup candy cane peppermint kisses

In a heatproof bowl above a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter together.  Once completely melted, stir in the vanilla and salt.  Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and grease a brownie tin, I used a 9x9"dish.

Whisk the sugar into the cooled chocolate mixture, and add the eggs one at a time - beating well after each addition.  Stir in the flour using a metal spoon.

Pour into your pre prepared pan and bake for 20-22 minutes.  I always check mine around the 18 minute mark because you really don't want to over bake these.  Once out of the oven, immediately put the brownie pan into the freezer (make sure you put a tea towel underneath it first) and leave them to get nice and fudgy in there while you make the frosting.

Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy.  I usually add the sugar one cup at a time to avoid icing completely covering my kitchen.  Melt the chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave in 30 second intervals.  Once cool, beat it into the frosting.  Add the milk and beat for 2 minutes until fluffy.

Once the frosting is finished, remove the brownies from the freezer and from the pan.  Using a palette knife, slather the brownie slab with the frosting.  Chop it into squares whilst still semi frozen as this gives you the neatest slices.  Add the chopped up peppermint bark and drizzle with candy cane kisses.

Serve and enjoy! 

Festive Triple Peppermint Rocky Road

I know, I know, another Rocky Road recipe! but I just can't help myself! plus I made this for our games night the other week, alongside 4 other desserts and so it's always handy to have a no bake treat on hand when there's a lot of baking to be done! 

Of course I went overboard on the peppermint! How could I not when I had all these amazing goodies from the States I wanted to use up! I even had a bag of chocolate peppermint marshmallows too but I drew the line and decided the marshmallows should just be regular to balance out all the minty-ness! 

So I chopped up the white chocolate peppermint m&m's, the mint truffle Hershey's kisses and the candy cane Hershey's kisses, stirred in some rice krispies and mini marshmallows, drowned them all in some rich milk chocolate and refrigerate for an hour to form one tasty festive treat!

Festive Triple Peppermint Rocky Road:

Makes 16

From Cupcake Crazy Gem

450g milk chocolate (for eating, not baking)

1 tsp vegetable oil

1/2 cup candy cane kisses

1/2 cup mint truffle kisses

1/2 cup white chocolate peppermint m&m's

1 cup rice krispies

150g mini marshmallows

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof glass bowl, set above a pan of boiling water.  

Stir in the vegetable oil.

Chop the candy cane kisses, truffle kisses and m&m's in half.

Once the chocolate has cooled, add those into the bowl along with the rice krispies and mini marshmallows.  (I reserved back a handful of each ingredient to press into the surface of the Rocky Road to make it look pretty). 

Pour the mixture into your prepared tin.  If you want, press extra ingredients into the surface of the chocolate.

Put in the fridge for an hour until firm.  

Eat and enjoy!

United Bakes of America Round 7 and Christmas Chocolate Crinkle Kiss Cookies!

Now that was a mouthful! I have been wanting to make crinkle cookies for so long, they seem so simple yet look so effective! and when I saw that Bakergirl had made some and put festive Hershey's Kisses on top I knew I had to make them a.s.a.p because I had a cupboard stuffed full of festive Kisses so it was the perfect match! 

You can really decorate them with any chocolate you like, for the caramel lovers Rolo's would be fun, for the peanut butter lovers mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups would be super delish, but for mine I used 3 varieties of Hershey's Kisses: peppermint candy cane, mint truffle and cookies and cream.

They all turned out to be so yummy that I had a hard time to not devour them all in one evening! but my favourite of the bunch had to be the mint truffle kiss cookie! The cookies themselves are so rich and fudgy, and the addition of a flavoured kiss on top just sends them over the edge!

These would be the perfect cookie to make for your christmas cookie exchange, or to hand out as christmas gifts or to just have around the house for all those visitors you will be getting in the next few weeks!

Bake these up and your Christmas visitors will love you for it!

Christmas Chocolate Crinkle Kiss Cookies:

Makes 30

From Bakergirl

2 cups plain flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking salt

2 cups caster sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup icing sugar

Assorted Hershey's Kisses (I used peppermint, mint truffle and cookies and cream)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla extract.  Stir flour mixture into sugar mixture, until just combined.  Place plastic wrap over the bowl and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours.  

Meanwhile, unwrap Hershey's Kisses, place in a small bowl and freeze until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil; set aside.  Place icing sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

Scoop dough into 1/2 tablespoon balls (make sure you stick firmly to the 1/2 tablespoon...I thought that seemed like hardly any dough at all so I was more generous with my first batch and they turned out huge!), roll in the icing sugar, and place on baking sheet.  Bake for 11-13 minutes, until cookies crackle and no longer look raw (they'll start to look cakey).

Remove from oven.  Immediately press a frozen kiss into each cookie, then place cookie sheet into the freezer just until chocolate is set and is no longer shiny.  Remove from freezer and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

...and there you have it! I dare you not to eat more than 5 in one go! 

Now, onto what other US inspired treats others have been baking! Ros from The More Than Occasional Baker made these absolutely adorable little Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Baked Buttermilk Mini Donuts! Not only do they have Reese's Peanut Butter Cups on top, but they also have vanilla pudding inside the donuts which is an ingredient you can only get in the States! Luckily, Ros thought to pick some up last time she was there 'just in case' and lucky she did! The recipe she used is also from a California blogger, Picky Palate, who happens to be one of my fave bloggers - in fact I forgot that I myself had recommended this recipe to Ros a few months back knowing the peanut butter loving fan she is! Glad she got a chance to try them...now I'm planning to try them myself too after these drool worthy pics! What's not to love about a light and fluffy buttermilk doughnut, dipped in ganache and covered in mighty chunks of peanut butter cup! 

My coconut loving blogging friend, Kit, from I-Lost in Austen made this beautiful Praline Bundt Cake after her husband brought her back a Bundt pan from his business trip to San Diego (lucky thing!). Apparently Bundt pans are hard to come by in France and so she was pretty pleased with her gift, I bet her husband was too after she baked this yummy sounding recipe! The bundt has chopped pecans and praline baked inside as well as cream cheese resulting in a super moist cake which I think is evident from the picture and as if that isn't delicious enough, it was then drizzled with praline icing! 

Finally, my sister Tamara baked up these Snickers Blondies using the Outsider Tart cookbook.  I am super jealous because I know exactly what these taste like, I tried one for myself back here and so I know just what I was missing out on by not living nearby enough to pop on over for a piece! They are baked like a brownie but packed with caramel, chocolate and peanut goodness and then drizzled with caramel and peanuts on top! If you live in London, you can try the real deal by picking one up from Outsider Tart themselves! You won't be sorry!

So I'm super excited to see what everyone bakes up this month, especially because it's December and as bakers we will all be in overload and I'm hoping lots of fun festive stuff will pop up! Be sure to enter UBA if it's an American inspired dish or uses American ingredients, because I love to see what you come up with!

Happy baking!