What a wonderful couple of days I have had just relaxing with the family and the get to-gethers are not finished yet. Yesterday, I spent my time with my mother and siblings with a “Secret Santa” theme where we all meet up to eat, drink and be merry with a fantastic catch up for all my family for a few hours.
In preparation for this party I have baked some goodies to take with me so that there would be plenty of food available. I have baked some Malteser Brownies, Lemon Drizzle Flapjack and Cauliflower Cheese Tart (for the vegetarians amongst us, such as myself ). I have taken photos of these treats (to a fashion) but I didn’t manage to take any at the party (sorry). Out of the three bakes, I think the Cauliflower Cheese Tart is a healthy option and I will be looking into the nutrition and changes that you can make to this recipe later in the week.
For the Malteser Brownies, I made a recipe up which was very different from my standard brownie recipe and they just ended up as Malteser Brownies as it was the first bag of chocolate which came to hand (even though there is loads of chocolate under the Christmas tree – Hehehe!!). I have tried recipes similar to this recipe before which I have seen in various recipe books but I have never been truly happy with the results but this recipe produced brownies which were just the right side of gooey, perfectly flavoured and deliciously more-ish. Not one morsel was left.
Malteser Brownies Recipe
Course: Cakes, traybakes and cake decorating, RecipesCuisine: traybakes, browniesDifficulty: Intermediate24
servings10
minutes40
minutes229
kcal50
minutesAny treat can be added to this recipe to make it that little bit special.
Ingredients
8oz soft spread
3 eggs
400g dark chocolate
3oz self raising flour
4oz Maltesers
6oz caster sugar
Directions
- Preheat the oven to Gas 5.
- Melt the soft spread and chocolate together, in a mixing bowl, over the top of a pan of boiling water.
- Remove form the heat, add the sugar, flour and eggs.
- Mix in half of the Maltesers But crush them slightly before hand.
- Transfer to a 9 inch rectangular baking tray.
- Bake for 40 minutes till the top is crisp.
- Whilst cooling add the remaining Maltesers to the top of the brownies.
- Allow to cool before slicing up into bitesize pieces.
Notes
- Nutritionally, one slice of brownie contains 229 calories, 14.3g total fat (18% daily total fat), 22.5g total carbohydrate (8% daily total carbohydrate), 0.7g fibre (3% daily fibre) (based on a 2000 calorie diet).
As you can see from this recipe, I have not used cocoa, plain flour or baking powder. A total change in recipe for me and one that was a big hit with all at the party. This brownie would be delicious with some double cream or icecream but as I only managed to eat the remnants from the serving knife I wouldn’t really know but I can imagine. I am going to make these Malteser Brownies again for “New Year’s Eve” and I will get a chance to have some with double cream on the side. 🙂 The tricky bit to making these brownies was judging when they were baked and not over baking them. They have to be gooey still in the middle so be careful!!
Nutritionally, these Malteser Brownies have a lot of calories, fat, carbohydrate and sugars per slice but they are only for a treat.
I am sure these Malteser Brownies could be made gluten free, egg free and lactose free just by changing the ingredients slightly. A bit of juggling around with quantities of ingredients to achieve decent results. Something to look into a bit further in the near future. When the children go back to school and I have a bit more time to mess around in the kitchen. For the rest of today, I am looking at changing the webshop products etc., as I really need to push this side of my business now.
On the book front my new recipe book called “A Year of Baking For Family and Friends” which is now available through Amazon. There will be a week long promotion in January 2018 (from the 19th to the 26th) and the price will vary throughout the week so keep an eye out for a bargain.
Now I have Instagram, I will soon be adding it to my blog along with Youtube. First, I need to work on some more videos which I am busy making.
For the remainder of the week, my “New Year” will be spent at home partying with my family. Before that can happen we need to visit my husband’s family in Scotland. For now, the children can enjoy themselves and make the most of their new toys and gifts in the comfort of a warm cosy house.