Bark the Herald Angels Sing

    If anyone else out there has recently had the "Oh no, I forgot to get something for...." as I recently did with my hairdresser, here's a quick and easy last minute token of appreciation perfect for those people you want to give something small. It's a little bit more personal than a bottle of wine, and for me way more budget friendly (we ALL know how much a bottle of Naked Grape costs, you can't fool anyone with that). 

    Cranberry Almond Bark

  1 c semi sweet chocolate chips

 2.5 oz white chocolate

 1/2 c toasted chopped almonds

 1/3 c dried cranberries

-Melt both chocolates separately using either the microwave or stovetop (or combination of both).
-Stir 3/4 of the nuts and most of the cranberries into the semi sweet chocolate.
-Evenly spread the mixture onto a wax (or grease proof) paper covered baking tray.
-Drizzle the white chocolate overtop and use the tip of a knife to swirl it in.
-Sprinkle remaining nuts and cranberries overtop, pressing them into the soft chocolate.
-Place in fridge to cool and harden then break into pieces.

You can really use any nut and/or fruit combination, I just happened to have almonds and cranberries on hand. 

My New Year's resolution this year is going to be to figure out how to take better pictures because this poor blog is looking ghetto. 

-Holly

Bring your hand to the Nanaimo Bar...

  I feel the way about my KitchenAid mixer that most people feel about their pets. Probably because I'm not allowed to have a pet and I form emotional attachments easily but nonetheless, I was incredibly excited to get back in a proper kitchen filled with my gadgets and ingredients I didn't have to pay for myself! It eased the pain of leaving London (even temporarily) enough that I did not embarrass myself in Heathrow. Much.

  My mum had already done a fair amount of baking before I arrived so I couldn't go as crazy as I would've liked, but the annual Christmas Nanaimo Bar had yet to be done and I jumped at the chance to prove my belief that everything tastes better when made with digestive biscuits instead of graham crackers. The recipe is simple and requires no actual baking, just time between layers to let them chill and set. Really the best part is crushing the digestive biscuits. You could put them in a food processor but I prefer the old Ziploc bag and meat mallet technique as it is both efficient and helps to relieve pent up aggression and stress. Also it's quiet and whilst I was doing all this my sister was still in bed and you know what they say about poking a sleeping bear and whatnot.

Nanaimo Bars

Base:

1/2 c. butter

1/4 c sugar

1/3 c cocoa

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 c digestive biscuit crumbs

1 c shredded coconut

1/2 c finely chopped walnuts (I like mine roughly chopped, it's rustic)

Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x9 pan. Cook butter, sugar, cocoa and vanilla over low heat, stirring until smooth. Add the beaten egg and heat just until thickened. Remove from the heat, stire in the crumbs, coconut and walnuts. Mix well. Press into the bottom of the pan, cover and chill for 30 minutes. 

Filling:

1/4 c butter

3 tbsp custard powder

3 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 c icing sugar

Cream butter, custard powder, milk and vanilla until blended. Add icing sugar. Beat until smooth, then whip until light and creamy adding more milk if needed. Spread evenly over first layer, cover and chill for 30 minutes.

Top:

4 oz semi sweet chocolate

11/2 tsp butter

Heat chocolate and butter on low heat, stirring until smooth. Spread evenly over filling. Let sit at room temperature until set. Score with a knife then refrigerate and cut into bars. 

I forgot to score mine before I chilled it, so the chocolate cracked when I cut it, but what can you do?

For those who are unfamiliar with Nanaimo Bar it's basically diabetes on a plate, but it's also the most delicious thing ever. To my Canadians; digestive biscuits can be found at Thrifty's and London Drugs I am told.

Happy Holiday sugar comas!

-Holly

This Bread is Bananas

I have discovered the mother of all banana breads which is very poetical as the plethora of bananas I used to make it came from my mother. At the end of her visit in London she found herself loaded with very ripe bananas destined for the bin. Not one to waste anything and being an avid baker herself she bestowed them upon me to freeze and use for later baking endeavours. As my time in this particular flat in London is coming to an end I needed to use them up stat. I'm having trouble as it is finding storage for the things I'm not willing to lug back and forth without adding a small corner of the freezer for five overly ripe bananas to the list of requests. I searched my beloved Pinterest for banana bread recipes and was, of course, drawn to the one with cinnamon and sugar. Also I was too cheap to go buy chocolate chips. 

It turned out so moist, and delicious that I ended up using the remaining bananas originally allocated to try a different recipe to make a second batch weeks later. It was a huge hit with all who tried it. One friend even exclaimed that it was so good she felt she should've paid £5 for it. I informed her she was welcome to, but sadly it never came to be. 

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread
Original Recipe courtesy of Shari Blogs

3 medium or 2 large overripe bananas, smashed

(if you freeze and thaw them before smashing it makes the bread nice and moist)

1/3 cup melted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg, beaten

2 tsp milk or almond milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

dash of salt

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 cup bread flour

CINNAMON SUGAR

1/4 cup white sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC)
2. Line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with grease proof (parchment) paper
3. Melt the butter and let stand while you mix the bananas, egg, sugar, milk and vanilla. Mix in melted butter.
4. Gently stir in baking soda, salt and flour just until combined. If you over mix it will lose it's fluffiness. 
5. In a separate dish combine cinnamon and sugar.
6. Pour half the banana batter into your loaf pan and sprinkle it with half your cinnamon mix.
7. Add the remaining banana batter topping with the rest of the cinnamon sugar.
8. Bake for 40-50 minutes depending on your oven. It should be just to the point where a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean for optimal texture. 

-Holly