There’s no doubting that brownies are among the easiest treats to bake. Equally, there’s always room for improvement when it comes to effort and time spent cooking. That’s why these No Bake Chilli Brownies are such a triumph. They take the simple and the loved and improve on at least 50% of that.
Everyone purports to have, in their possession, the recipe for the perfect chocolate cake. This is, of course, nonsense. There is always something better, if only because variety is something we crave. Having said all that, I’ll now dismount my high horse to admit that my recipe for Chocolate Prune Cake is among the most enjoyable and moist chocolate cakes you’re likely to find.
Ginger is one of my very favourite flavours to use when baking. But it’s important to remember that it’s an ingredient that comes in many varieties. These Dark Chocolate Ginger Biscuits for instance have a subtle, sweet ginger flavour. On the flip side, my recipe for ginger nuts is far more powerful and full of spice. The difference is in the ginger used – stem ginger is mellow; root or ginger powder is more robust.
A rich chocolate cake, but with the Sachertorte’s legendary layer of apricot jam, this recipe for Apricot Chocolate Fudge Cake is a perfect blend of simplicity and flavour. Not only does the jam add a fruity element to an otherwise decadent cake, it contributes complexity in the form of sweetness, ensuring that every mouthful is as interesting as the last.
Chilli is one of the best dishes with which to experiment – if an ingredient is dark, rich and flavourful, it can probably be put to good use in this classic American dish. Indeed, Stout Chilli was on our menu not so long ago and the intense, rich notes of the Bristol Beer Factory’s ‘Milk Stout’ resonated wonderfully with the meat. Vegetables, however, seem to work better with something lighter than stout, so it seemed only natural to develop a recipe for Golden Ale Vegetarian Chilli.