Birthday Banoffee Brownies

It was my other half’s birthday yesterday and there was already a cake in place – which only saw the light on day for 24 hours – and I fancied baking something to celebrate. Now, I must admit I am not the best of bakers hence why this was such a momentous occasion for me, and the reasons are a. because I don’t have the time the dedicate too it (thank goodness because I think I would become the size of a house) and b. everyone else is better at it in my family so I usually leave it to the pros. But as it was his birthday and thought I put my house wifey cap on and take inspiration from his favourite desert, banoffee pie, and incorporate it into a brownie. Here’s the recipe:

100g White chocolate

100g Caramel from a tin

100g Butter

250g Caster sugar

200g Self Raising Flower

Two eggs

Two sliced ripe bananas

Step one: Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Step two: Melt the caramel, sugar and white chocolate until smooth

Step three: Cool for a short time and then add the eggs and fold in the flour and bananas

Step four: Pour into a tin and pop in the oven for around 45 minutes or until golden

Simples! As the token amateur baker I forgot to greece the tin so the brownie was a bit tricky to get out of the pan, so make sure that’s on your to do list before popping in the oven. Quite a nice and easy recipe that’s good for the time conscious baker as you can leave it to bake and wait for the magic to happen.

Top tip: With the leftover caramel, make your fruit more flavoursome by dipping apples and making some classic toffee apples by sticking them in the fridge to cool. And to take it one step further, mash up the toffee apples and put a layer of crumble mix on top to make that good old British favourite, apple crumble with a twist.

The Fabulous Baker Brothers

A nice bank holiday treat for you and one that I have been meaning to post ever since I stepped foot in the Hobbs House Bakery. When I first started the show I wanted something to kick it off with a bang and what a better duo to feature than the most celebrated brothers in the Cotswolds who can certainly cook up a storm, The Fabulous Baker Brothers. Invited to the Hobbs House Bakery in Chipping Sodbury on Good Friday I was welcomed by the smell of cinnamon and hot cross buns, my eyes bursting with excitement from all the freshly made bread and cakes. I was in my element. Upon meeting Tom Herbert he gave me a tour around the bakery and had a sneaky peak at their newly launched cookery schools. A great insight into the brothers beyond the TV show, I even had the pleasure of seeing their jungle in the bathtub and was treated with a loaf of sour dough and hot cross buns on my travels. Such a lovely and talented bunch the Herberts and they have certainly got an exciting summer ahead with the announcement that they are taking the Cotswolds to America!

Listen to my interview with Tom Herbert from The Fabulous Baker Brothers here

An interview with: The Fabulous Baker Brothers by Jessbracey on Mixcloud

An insight into my visit

 

Meet Carole Our Resident Cake Maker

Ok…I must confess, she’s my nan. But she’s a blooming good cake baker at that and from now on will be our resident cake maker giving us lots of tips and advice on what cakes are great for the time of year and what she recommends.

As spring has finally sprung we asked Carole what cake is great for the warmer months and what tipple goes great with it.

“Well I make a nice almond slice which is quite cheap to make, although it’s got almonds in it it’s actually almond essence and then you just sprinkle the almonds on top. Very similar to a bakewell tart but you don’t put the icing on top, and that will keep for weeks and weeks in an air tight tin, it’s very light, and you can take it on picnics and it’s lovely for afternoon tea.”

What ingredients do you put into it?

“YOu put a base of shortcrust pastry onto he bottom and cover that with your favourite jam, strawberry or raspberry or whatever jam you like. And then you make a sponge mixture up and you can put fruit and raisins in it if you wish, and then almond essence to give it the almondy taste, spread that over the top of the pastry and the jam and then flaked almonds on top of that and then pop it in the oven and bake until cooked.”

Why do you recommend almond cake for this time of you?

“Because it keeps, and it’s not a creamy cake so it won’t go running and sickly. And all my family love it.”

What other cakes do you suggest for this time of year?

“My chocolate crunch. You used to have it when you were at school with pink custard, but I just make a crunchy brownie mixture and I put chocolate on top on mine which keeps lovely n the fridge. My son was in the army, and my nephew was in the army and whatever country they were in, the chocolate crunch got posted to, they always insisted that I send chocolate crunch. So it’s been all over the world from Cyprus to Ireland, Afghanistan, Germany, Cyprus and Hong Kong.”

What do you think of the current trend of afternoon tea?

“I think it’s wonderful, I think it’s here to stay. It’s a lovely civilised thing to do especially with cream and jam scones.”

And what beverage would you have with it?

“Pimms probably, or Amorreto, or blackcurrent in a nice cool cold glass. In terms or tea I stick with traditional breakfast tea, I’m not one for all those ponsey teas.”

Afternoon Tea at Cowley Manor

As a belated Mother’s Day present I treated my dear mum to afternoon tea at Cowley Manor. It’s something she’s wanted to do for a while and as a newbie myself until earlier this year I’ve come to appreciate the tradition of afternoon tea. It’s something us British do very well, especially in the Cotswolds, and after toying between two different locations I came to decide on this one. Featured in Vogue magazine for its best boutique outside of London, award-winning spa and its five star rave reviews as one of the hot-spot hotels in the are, the contemporary interior with a classic exterior invited me in with its bright colours and modern decor.

Pulling up the driveway of the manor house it soon came to my attention that this surprise location was no surprise to my mum, for she had visited the manor house in her childhood days as a brownie, but of course since its multi-million pound renovations some years ago, Cowley Manor is quite the ticket. Allured by its cow print seats, how very fitting, and paper mache faux animal figurines it had a certain charm to it that I’d never seen before.

Choosing a pretty petite table in the bar-cum-dinning area we didn’t foresee the size and scale of the afternoon tea to come. Unlike my previous visit to Ellenborough Park where you could hand select what tea you wanted, at Cowley Manor you were stuck with traditional Earl Grey, but champagne was on the menu of course if you wanted (shame I was driving, otherwise it would have made for quite an experience). Served up on a three tier cake stand, just how it should be, we indulged in four types of finger sandwiches; egg, ham and mustard, cucumber and my favourite cream cheese and salmon, this afternoon tea had a twist in the form of an espresso cup-sized mushroom soup which was delicious. Next it was onto the traditional cream and jam scones, fresh from the oven and still warm they crumbled in your mouth with lashings of toppings, complemented very well by the copious amounts of tea. And for the pier de resistance the selection of cakes and fancies, this was by far the best part. Food envy by all the onlookers with there skinny salads, the luminous pink battenburgs and mini chocolate eclairs were presented with a unique take on a classic, with the millionaires shortbread and bakewell tart forming a delicious quartet of sweets that mum couldn’t quite finish off. That’s the thing with afternoon tea, the portions look minuscule upon first glance but after finishing each later one by one you soon before rather full, but with a sweet satisfaction in the most stunning of locations.

Going for a post afternoon tea stroll we glanced at the manor house shop that stocked local produce and had a peek at the spa and outdoor pool that looked simply inviting. I can only imagine what kind of relaxation treatments you would walk away with from the famous spa. Then heading back to the car my eyes were fixated on the dozens of Hunter Wellingtons waiting to be borrowed for country walk, these are definitely on my wish list so my form of borrowing would last a little longer than a weekend break (I jest of course). Despite the down pour of rain afternoon tea at Cowley Manor was a delight for the eyes and the tummy, and definitely sits on my must visit list of the Cotswolds – especially if your from the bustling city in need of a country retreat.