Author: Emma

Chocolate Peanut Butter fudge

Chocolate Peanut Butter fudge

Chocoholics, the time has come to try these gorgeous beasts. Honestly this chocolate peanut butter fudge is an easy peasy recipe I come back to way too much because it tastes just sooooo good. So simple, no sugar thermometers in sight and just a handful 

Iced party biscuits

Iced party biscuits

I am just in love with these iced party biscuits. If you’re anything like me, a burst of colour always puts me in a good mood, and these fellas are bright, bold and unapologetically beautiful. Everything you need to pop a smile on your face 

Chocolate Banana bread muffins

Chocolate Banana bread muffins

I don’t know about you but bowl and spoon bakes are honestly the most liberating and delicious things you can make.  No fancy gadgets required. Let’s face it, with everything else going on in life, if we can cancel out a bit of stress, let’s do it. Think of these chocolate banana bread muffins, not simply as the yummy treats that they are, and trust me, they really are, but also as a touch of kitchen therapy. A little gentle mixing and you’re on your way to some satisfying comfort eating.

I know we all went, literally, bananas, for banana bread in lockdown and during the pandemic, but kinda for good reason, it is honestly one of the most satisfying, comforting and happy bakes there is. Everything about it is cosy. The flavours, the texture, the ritual…I mean no matter the time of year you know that some serious R&R is about to go down when banana bread is on the table. Throw in chocolate and you’ve got one seriously relaxing party on your hands. 

For me, these chocolate banana bread muffins are perfect and with the hint of cinnamon make them a truly comforting teatime classic. Give them a go!

I was inspired to make these, when a while back I made Nigel Slater’s brown banana cake which was delicious. I tweaked a few things and made these even easier by turning them into muffins, something you can whip up super fast, when you need a friendly little pick me up.

Chocolate Banana bread muffins

Recipe 

100g dark chocolate chunks

2 large brown bananas 

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp salt

250g self rising flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarb

50g caster sugar

50g light brown sugar

75g melted butter

2 large eggs

125 ml butter milk (or add 1 tbsp of lemon juice to milk and wait 15 mins)

Method

To make the chocolate banana bread muffins, start by chopping the dark chocolate into chunks and coat with a tbsp of flour so that they don’t all fall to the bottom of the muffins when they bake. Leave to one side to add in later.

Measure out the flour, baking powder, bicarb, cinnamon and salt and sift into a mixing bowl. 

Melt the butter and let it cool for a bit before you add in all the wet ingredients. (If the eggs are too hot they will scramble the eggs, which isn’t the look we’re going for)

In another mixing bowl, mash the brown bananas with the fork. Add in the buttermilk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and melted butter and stir to combine. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold gently to combine. Don’t worry if there are a few lumps in the batter, that’s totally fine, in fact, you don’t want to overmix the batter so it’s better to have a few lumps rather than mix for too long. 

Leave a handful of chocolate chunks to one side to add on top of the muffins and then pour in the chocolate and stir to combine. 

Pop in the fridge for an hour for the batter to relax. (If you don’t have time you can bake straight away but I find it helps the muffins to rise better if you let the mix chill). You could even make this before you go to bed and let it chill overnight in the fridge and bake them in the morning, that would be fab. 

Preheat the oven to 190 celsius for a good 10 mins. 

Line a muffin tin with 10 cases and fill the batter right to the top. Add some chocolate chunks to the top of each muffin.

Bake for 20-25 mins until golden brown and cooked all the way through. I use a cake tester to see if the muffins are cooked. If no batter sticks to the tester and the muffin tops spring back when you touch them, they are all cooked and ready to eat. 

Transfer the muffins to a cooling rack for a bit before diving in.

Fancy some more chilled out bakes? Try my Double Chocolate Baked Doughnuts or Jammie Dodger cupcakes, both absolute winners!

Chocolate truffle no churn ice cream

Chocolate truffle no churn ice cream

I don’t know about you, but despite how many flavours I try and love, chocolate ice cream is always my favourite. Rich, creamy and an intense cocoa hit is what I’m after and this chocolate truffle no churn ice cream delivers this and so much 

African Artisan Homeware at Motherland Fans

African Artisan Homeware at Motherland Fans

Motherland Fans is a British based business offering a range of African artisan accessories, jewellery and homeware; either African inspired or made with West African cloth and materials. Learn more about this brilliant shop, why you should shop small and why plants can make the 

Easter Egg millionaires shortbread

Easter Egg millionaires shortbread

Easter Egg millionaires shortbread

Growing up, millionaires shortbread was my FAVOURITE party food and my Mum would make it for special occasions. What is not to like about this; crumbly and rich shortbread, unctuously thick dulce de leche and chocolate. AMAZING. I was mooching around the kitchen a while ago and had just ordered some novelty Easter egg cutters (you really can buy anything now) and I thought these Easter Egg millionaires shortbread would make a really fun twist on this classic for the celebrations. These cookies make a beautiful showstopper and let’s be frank, any excuse to use mini eggs around Easter and I’m all in. 

Let me know what you think. 

Ingredients

150g plain flour 

100g unsalted butter

50g caster sugar

pinch of salt

397g tin of dulce de leche 

100g dark or milk chocolate

50g white chocolate

1 regular sized bag of mini eggs for decoration

Makes approx 6-8 sandwich cookies (you can easily double the recipe if you are cooking for a crowd)

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C or GM3.

Using a food mixer, combine the butter and sugar together until the mixture is light, pale and fluffy. 

Then gradually add in the sifted flour and pinch of salt to the mixture. With the mixer on low, gently mix in the flour until it just begins to clump together. You do not want to overmix the dough here, this will make the shortbread more like a biscuit and you want it to be short and crumbly when it cooks and just melt in the mouth. 

Gently flour a worktop and rolling pin and roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thick and cut out rounds of dough using an egg shape cutter. Make sure to cut out an even number as they will be sandwiched together at the end. 

Transfer all of the cut pieces of dough to a baking tray and place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to chill down before cooking. 

Cook in the middle of the oven for about 15 minutes until pale and lightly golden brown around the edges. 

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Take half of the shortbread and smooth out approx 1 tsp of dulce de leche to the middle of the cookie. Don’t spread it to the edge of the cookie, the weight of the top cookie will nudge the filling out and you don’t want it to drip over too much. 

Put the filled cookies into the fridge for about 15 minutes while you prepare the toppings. 

Melt the dark or milk chocolate. The best way to easily temper chocolate is to use the microwave. Finely chop all the chocolate. Add half to a bowl and gently melt in the microwave in short 20-30 second bursts. Check the chocolate each time and when just melted remove and stir in the remaining chocolate. The residual heat from the melted chocolate will melt the remaining and then you will be ready to gently spread the chocolate across the top of each cookie. 

Once you have covered all of the cookies, place them back in the fridge while you prepare the white chocolate and mini egg decoration. 

Melt the white chocolate in the same way that you did with the dark/milk and when ready pour into a small piping bag to drizzle on your decoration. You can decorate the Easter egg cookies how you like and if you don’t have a piping bag, simply use a spoon to drizzle on patterns and add crushed mini eggs as you like.

These will keep in an airtight tin in the fridge for a few days but are best eaten on the day that they are made. 

Looking for other Easter treats to make? Try our Easter Nest Doughnuts or perhaps for something different Mini egg ice-cream

On the hunt for fun Easter gifts? Check out our Fun Easter gifts for kids – Easter gift guide or for those that don’t fancy chocolate – Unique Easter gifts – for people that have had enough of chocolate (whatt??)

Unique Easter gifts – for people that have had enough of chocolate (whatt??)

Unique Easter gifts – for people that have had enough of chocolate (whatt??)

‘I don’t like chocolate’ might just be one of the most controversial things you can say, something at the very least that will stop a conversation cold 🙂 Easter is such a fun time of year, we’ve waved goodbye to winter and pastels, daffodils and 

Fun Easter gifts for kids – Easter gift guide

Fun Easter gifts for kids – Easter gift guide

Easter is THE time for indulgence and celebration and for kids that means chocolate and good times during the school holidays.  If you’re on the hunt for fun Easter gifts for kids, to keep little hands busy, engaged and excited we’ve got the recommendations for 

Gifts to help relax and unwind – Mother’s Day inspiration

Gifts to help relax and unwind – Mother’s Day inspiration

Mother’s Day is a special time of year when you can treat your Mum, or any special woman in your life and show how much they mean to you. You want to buy something they’ll love and that is meaningful and will encourage them to take a little time for themselves but don’t always have the time to search for the best thing for them. If this sounds familiar, we’ve got lots of inspiration for unique gifts to help relax and unwind; perfect springtime gifts to make them feel appreciated and taken care of.

OLEEcosmetics natural bath bombs 

Vegan friendly, natural lavender and rose heart bath bombs; gifts to help relax and unwind

EmmaBakesElevateThis – Personalised Mother’s Day chocolates 

Give them a gift of a little me time this Mother’s Day with artisan citrus truffles coated in freeze dried raspberries and edible flowers. Decorated with lavender sprigs, plantable seed paper and a cute scratch off personalised message.

Nodeandstem – pamper spa dried flower letter box gift 

This dried flower letterbox gift has everything they need to feel pampered. Switch off, unwind and enjoy.

Retroverse Vintage – Pastel beeswax and soy candles 

These beautiful pastel candles will make a gorgeous gift this Mother’s Day, something to brighten her day (and the room)

Birch and Yarn – Floral, hand painted stainless steel mug 

There is nothing like being able to relax and unwind with your favourite brew, so why not treat them to a beautifully hand painted mug that they can use again and again.

Buttonsy jewellery – Real flower ring, rainbow confetti 

If you’re looking for unique ways to treat that special woman in your life, this botanical ring is a brilliant way to show you care. Beautiful. 

Erikas Whimsical art – Wildflower seed bombs gift 

Flowers are always appreciated, but it’s all the more meaningful, particularly to gardening lovers, to give them a gorgeous bag of wildflower seed bombs. A small bit of garden pottering for flowers that they can watch bloom over time. 

Adam Apple Ltd – Dried flower arrangement 

This stunning dried flower arrangement is a lovely environmental twist on a classic; gifts to help relax and unwind at home this Mother’s Day.

The Clayquisit – lavender polymer clay earrings 

A gift to treat them to something unique and beautiful.

Wraptious – Stunning the River Bed print 

This vibrant and colourful print is a perfect gift to make them feel special and something they can keep for years to come

EmmaBakesElevateThis – Lemon Crunch Bonbons 

Lemon crunch bonbons, cake bites bursting with citrus flavour, that’ll be perfect with a nice cup of tea of glass of bubbly to enjoy this Mother’s Day; gifts to help relax and unwind.

Interested in gift ideas and shopping suggestions to cover all your gifting needs? Join our mailing lists for tons of recommendations:

Want some simple baking ideas to make Mum feel special. Check out our Lemon and blueberry cupcakes or Double Chocolate Baked Doughnuts

Looking for other gift ideas? Take a look at our Unique gift ideas to wish them a Happy Birthday

Baby Arc – unique baby clothes ideas

Baby Arc – unique baby clothes ideas

Baby Arc is a small, family run business that offers baby clothing, matching parent and child clothing and accessories. Find out how they got started, their passions for making unique baby clothes and the best inspirations for gifts for the whole family  Visit Baby Arc