Yeasted Almond and Sea Salt Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie

Inside our flat there is a seven-foot tree held in position by the ceiling. This year we chose a sparing selection of fancy shmancy £4-a-pop John Lewis decorations instead of 100 glittery baubles from the Pound Land.  The tree is leaning slightly to the left, but I suppose that’s what happens when you invest in something real. 

Baking cookies in a cake tin won’t add a touch of all spice to a Christmas baking repertoire, but it does add a barely cooked doughy middle to the modest sized batch this recipe yields. I think that adding some ground cloves or cinnamon, or a warming combination of both elevated with some fresh nutmeg, could work beautifully, especially if you’re finally in the festive spirit (festive spirit = continuous spice trip in the month of December). Let’s not forget that cookies are a bribe the kids might use on Santa so he doesn’t disappoint them with a lump of coal.  Not to be ageist, but the heaps of sea salt, whole nuts and bitter chocolate in this cookie tray bake are all adultly ingredients too.

My favourite recipe for chocolate chip cookies is the New York Times adaptation of Jacques Torres’ recipe, which is made with bread flour. Since discovering it, all of my cookies have had bread flour in them because it gives a chew, and a slight sturdiness on the outside that is difficult to forget. 

To amplify the bread-like flavour I used yeast as the raising agent and chilled the tray overnight, maturing the fermentation like this created a surprisingly subtle yeastiness. Bicarbonate of soda is fine to use as a replacement, but I’m sick of accidentally adding too much bicarbonate and ending up with a batch of soapy baked goods. Using fast acting yeast eliminates all possibilities of that, and it creates a crispy and crackly top layer caused from the swollen air pockets that rise to the top of the cookie overnight. Yeast and bicarbonate of soda both produce carbon dioxide that helps the cookie rise in the oven, but I much prefer the characteristics of bread in my cookies instead of, say, Imperial Leather.

Yeasted Almond and Sea Salt Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie

Makes 8 large pieces or 16 slithers.

Ingredients

• 125g unsalted butter
• 125g light brown sugar
• 2 pinches sea salt
• 1 tsp coffee extract or brewed coffee
• 1 egg
• 200g strong bread flour
• ½ tsp fast action yeast
• 100g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• 50g almonds, roughly chopped

Method

1. In a small saucepan brown the butter on medium heat. Let the butter sizzle in the pan for a few minutes, keep an eye on it as it burns really quickly, you’ll know it’s browned when it starts to smell nutty. Pour the butter in a large bowl and leave to cool slightly. Add the sugar, salt and coffee extract to the butter and stir to combine then crack in the egg and briefly whisk.
2. In a separate bowl stir together the flour and yeast and add to the butter mixture. The mixture will be a little wet. Fold through the chocolate and almonds. Dump the dough into an 8-inch round cake tin and use the back of a spoon to gently press into the tin. Tightly wrap the tin in cling film and leave in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight. Once you're ready to serve the cookie, preheat the oven to 200˚C/fan 180˚C/gas 6 and bake for 18 minutes, or 14 minutes for a gooey middle. Cookie lasts for 3 days if covered.

Waitrose might have nailed gingerbread this Christmas, but they also have a lovely collection of chocolate cake recipes on their website. I made their ganache covered red-velvet-like layer cake and filled it with tangy freeze-dried strawberries, which was dense and hit all the right choco-spots. You can find the recipe here, along with lots more chocolatey goodness.

Love Em xx

Graham Cracker Sandwiches with Dulce De Leche Truffle Filling

Caramel Fudge Brownies With Sea Salt Chocolate

This week marks the return of actually having to do stuff. Tomorrow I have to catch the over ground to London Bridge (30 mins), and then I have to walk to the Northern line, have a minor panic attack whilst walking down steep escalators (2 mins), courteously join the human traffic taking place in a very tight, moving space and then attempt to get out at Kings Cross St Pancreas (20 mins).   Walk (escalate) to the thankfully deserted and somewhat eery Piccadilly line, sit on that for another 15 minutes and arrive at Holloway Road. I am expected to repeat this process into university for the next year. Danny Dorling wrote in 'So You Think You Know Britain?' that Londoners endure the longest commutes.

Salted Caramel Millionaire Shortbread

Getting a bit chilly isn’t it? Is there a herd of food bloggers out there who totally love the arrival of cool air? The sooner the cringe worthy gowns and Primarni pyjamas come out the better. I can already smell the tea mug on bed linen Instagrams.

What square of confectionary, weighing in at around 400 calories (don’t be afraid) would best accompany such Instagrams? Salted caramel Millionaires Shortbread. Noticeably.

My first go at this sinful combination was part disaster part success. I used shortbread blitzed in the food processor mixed in with melted butter for the base. On top of that lay burnt caramel, if you’re going to embark on what is essentially a recipe for shortbread on crack, use a heavy bottomed saucepan unless you fancy passing piping hot caramel through a stubborn sieve. Of course, I was extra precarious with the second batch of caramel and OF COURSE, all that gorgeously burnt and salted caramel flavour was nowhere to be seen. Lesson learnt: never compromise taste over appearance.

The melted butter tried desperately to give the first batch a stable structure, but all that surfaced was a crumbly mess. Its better to bite the bullet and go homemade for the base, unless you manage to find a slab of shortbread that somehow sits perfectly into your tray, then we’re all laughing.

Lastly, lets talk salt. If you wanna look in with the kids these days, all you have to do is throw the word ‘salted’ in front of your recipe (not ashamed to say I’m guilty of it, kinda, sorta, am…). But we all know that salted caramel is the only pairing that actually works, so all we’ve done here is squash it between chocolate and shortbread. 

Could you imagine if I generously salted those too, how cool would that look/not taste?

Salted Caramel Millionaire Shortbread

Adapted from 3 separate recipes in Leiths Baking Bible


Ingredients

Shortbread Base

• 230g butter, softened
• 110g caster sugar
• 285g plain flour
• 55g cornflour

Filling

• 115g butter
• 120g light brown sugar
• 4 tbsp golden (or corn) syrup
• 2 x 397g condensed milk
• 1 tsp + 1 tsp sea salt

Topping

• 300g milk chocolate, 35% minimum
• 50g white chocolate chips

Recipe

1. Heat oven to 170 C and line 17cm rectangular baking tray with baking parchment. Beat butter and sugar until light and creamy then sift over flour and cornflour. Beat mixture to form smooth paste. Dump on tray and use the back of a spoon to evenly spread it out.  Chill for 20 minutes then bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool, cover and set aside.
2. Add everything plus 1 teaspoon of the salt into a heavy bottomed\large saucepan. Cook on low until the butter and sugar has dissolved. Turn the heat up to medium and stir constantly until the caramel browns, then let the mixture boil rapidly for 5 minutes whilst stirring. If the mixture catches and burns, pass through a sieve to remove dark bits. Pour directly over the cooled shortbread, use a cranked spatula to evenly spread. Sprinkle generously with the rest of the sea salt. Leave to set in the fridge for 1 hour.
3. Melt milk chocolate over banmerie. While that's melting, melt white chocolate in the microwave in 15 second bursts. Fit piping bag with tiny round nozzle and spoon white chocolate inside. Pour milk chocolate over caramel and smooth the top. Pipe diagonal lines half a centimetre apart over the milk chocolate. Score the lines in a horizontal direction with a toothpick to create feathered pattern. Leave to set in the fridge for 30 minutes then serve. The shortbreads last for 5 days!

This weekend Fair Cake exhibited the Cake & Bake Show, so this whole week has been such a gnarly experience albeit slightly exhausting. Who knew so much went into exhibiting?  Did you visit the Cake + Bake? Did you visit our stand? How awful was that 'cake catwalk' ? 

Love Em xx