Chocolate Brownies

As I sit writing this I’m listening to the food programme on Radio 4.  The subject is comfort food and the increase in our love for it during times of personal strife, and, nationally, times of austerity.  Comfort food is accessible food; food that no one needs to teach us to love.  Sure, we grow to enjoy the salty tang of capers and anchovies and we can develop a passion for curly kale and smoked salmon, but true comfort food comes naturally to our palates, it makes us feel safe and reminds us of a time when all was well with the world.  Some of the best meals to share with friends and family are comfort based: a glorious Sunday roast with all the trimmings, a slow cooked casserole, a hearty soup with crusty bread, a celebratory cake, light and fluffy and rich with icing, even a ladleful of baked beans over crisp toast, they each bring pleasure and comfort equally.   With Valentine’s Day just around the corner thoughts of loved ones are hard to ignore.  I for one am not interested in the frills and fancies of Valentines, I’d rather show my love consistently instead of through the fuss and schmooze of plastic hearts and flowers.  That being said, I love to give gifts, to find or make the perfect card for someone and most of all, I love to cook for people. 

This Valentine’s I plan to cook for my loved one: Blood Orange Champagne Cocktails, a Chorizo and Prawn Tomato Stew with Homemade Olive Foccacia and, if we have room for it, a slice of sweet, indulgent and delicious Chocolate Brownie with a little shot of espresso to finish.  It’s a simple but indulgent menu and preparing and cooking it may well be my favourite part!  I say, take your pleasures where you can, and so this Valentine’s make something you love for the people you love and let bringing them pleasure be the ultimate treat.

I like to serve these brownies squares as they are with a cup of strong black coffee but you could easily up the pleasure levels and offer it with a creamy chocolate sauce.   Quite simply, melt 100g dark, dairy-free chocolate in a bain marie and, once smooth and melted, stir in 200ml of oat cream and mix gently until combined and warmed through.  Pour the sauce over the warm brownies and serve.

CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

Makes 12 brownies

You will need an 8 inch square baking tin for this recipe

170g Doves Farm gluten free self raising flour

3 tbsp cocoa powder

170g soft light brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

4 tbsp ground flaxseed

230ml rice milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil

A very small pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180c and grease and line the baking tin.  Sift the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder into a large mixing bowl.  Stir in the brown sugar and flaxseed until evenly mixed.  Pour over the oil, vanilla extract and rice milk and stir together until smooth and glossy.  Pour the mixture into the tin and bake in the oven for 25 minutes until just firm on top.  Remove from the oven and leave in the tin to cool for 10 minutes before serving or transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

You can also find this recipe at Cybele Pascal's Allergy - friendly Friday.

Blood Orange and Ginger Drizzle Cake

It’s a food fact that if you want to find what’s best in season, head towards the markets.  Whether it’s an organic, bio-dynamic, re-mortgage your house to afford it style farmer’s market or just the local greengrocer and his striped awning.  If you shop from the markets, you will see the seasons as they change and develop, the colours of your purchases satisfyingly ebbing and flowing with the weather.  Right now, blood oranges are having their time again.  Or, as I was recently informed, blush oranges.  The connotation of blood clearly being too much for some shoppers!  Rich ruby red with swirls of amber, these tarter, more intense versions of an orange are utterly delicious and as pleasing to look at as they are to eat.  I’m currently favouring a simple salad made from cooked beetroot, poached chicken and slices of blood orange, lightly dressed in oil and scattered with fresh coriander.  It’s a great combination and one I hope to show you later in the month.  In the meantime, I made this cake from a whim.  I do so love a lemon drizzle and thought that the tartness of the blood oranges would suit the overall feel.  The ginger is a warming addition and a nod to the drop in temperature in recent days.  You’re left with a light and zesty cake, soaked in sweet/sharp nectar and topped with a fine gauze of scented sugar crust.  It’s a winner and a rather lovely treat on a cold afternoon.

To my mind, blood oranges are best.  But I’m sure that if you use regular oranges for this recipe, it will work just as well.  In fact, I’m positive it would be lovely.

BLOOD ORANGE AND GINGER DRIZZLE CAKE

You will need a 2lb loaf tin for this recipe

For the cake

225g/8oz butter replacement - Pure Sunflower Spread

225g/8oz golden caster sugar

4 eggs – 4 tsp Orgran Egg Replacer whisked together with 8 tbsp water

225g/8oz Doves Farm Gluten Free Self Raising Flour

1 heaped tsp ground ginger

1tbsp rice milk

1tsp xanthan gum

The zest of 2 blood oranges

For the drizzle

The juice of 1 blood orange

85g/3oz golden caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 180c (160c Fan) and grease and line your loaf tin.  Cream together the butter replacement and sugar until pale and fluffy, then add the egg replacement mixture, a bit at a time, slowly stirring them through until fully incorporated. 

Sift in the flour, ginger and xanthan gum then add the grated orange zest and rice milk, mix well until fully combined and then spoon in to the lined loaf tin, levelling the top of the cake with the back of your spoon.

Bake in the oven for 45 – 50 minutes until cooked through and a thin skewer or cocktail stick inserted in to the centre of the cake comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cool a little in its tin while you mix together the remaining caster sugar and orange juice.  Pierce the warm cake all over using the skewer or a fork and then pour over the drizzle – the juice will be absorbed into the cake and will dry to form a sugary crust on the cake’s surface.  Leave the cake in its tin until completely cool and then cut into slices and serve.

You can also find this recipe at Cybele Pascal's Allergy Free Cuisine