Rachel Allen’s Divine Rich Chocolate Cake recipe #Ballymaloe  😋 😍  🇮🇪


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Happy Sunday!
This Divine Rich Chocolate Cake recipe is from my 2nd cookbook, Rachel’s Favourite Food For Friends (published in 2005), that I come back to time & time again. This is a super quick to make and completely delicious cake that’s a bit brownie-like, a bit moussey-like, and can be made using ground almonds or flour, so super versatile. And, it keeps for ages, if you can keep it!
I made 2 this morning, one for home and one for a friend’s (belated) birthday!
Here’s the recipe below!
Serves 6-8
A little soft butter, for greasing the tin
150g dark chocolate, chopped
125g butter
150g caster sugar
3 eggs, whisked to break up
50g ground almonds or plain flour

For the Chocolate Glaze:
110g dark chocolate , chopped
2 tbsp milk or cream
50g butter

Preheat the oven to 160’C/Fan 145.
Butter the sides of a 20cm round cake tin (or spring form tin ) and line the bottom with grease proof or parchment paper.
Place the chocolate, butter and sugar in a bowl sitting over a saucepan of simmering water, and melt. Stir until smooth then beat in the eggs and fold in the ground almonds or sifted flour. Feel free to add orange zest, vanilla, sea salt, cardamom, ginger etc!
Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 35-45 minutes until the centre feels just set in the centre, but it will still be gorgeously moist. Allow to cool in the tin .
To make the chocolate glaze , melt all the ingredients together and stir until smooth, allow to cool a little until it has thickened slightly ( about 10 minutes) but do not place in the fridge as it will lose it’s glossy sheen .
Take the cooled cake out of the tin and place on a plate or cake stand , and pour the glaze over the top , letting it drizzle down the sides.
#baking #rachelallencooks #chocolatecake #glutenfree1d

Kick start your Tuesday morning the right way – with a warming breakfast of creamy Irish oats!

flahavans
Kick start your Tuesday morning the right way – with a warming breakfast of creamy Irish oats! One of our absolute favourites is porridge topped with some raspberries, nuts, and finished with a sprinkling of cacao nibs. Let us know in the comments below how you’re enjoying your oats this morning and don’t forget to tag us in your post for your chance to feature on our Instagram page! #FlahavansOats #IrelandsOatExperts

Serves 1 Takes 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

40g Flahavan’s Progress Oatlets
125ml milk
50ml water
Handful of raspberries
3 tbsp cacao nibs
Handful of roughly chopped tiger nuts (or nuts of choice)

METHOD:

Combine the milk, water and Flahavan’s Oats in a saucepan
Bring to the boil, stirring continuously.
When boiling, reduce heat to medium, then add raspberries, cocoa nibs and chopped tiger nuts, leaving a little aside for garnish.
Simmer for 5 minutes, continuing to stir.
Serve and sprinkle with the left-over toppings.

Eggs Benedict with Fresh Salmon @BordBia

Eggs-Benedict-with-Fresh-Salmon

A nice twist on eggs benedict – perfect for brunch, lunch or dinner.

Serves 4

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 x 100g salmon darns
  • A little olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 tableps. white wine vinegar
  • 4 thick slice of sourdough bread, toasted

Hollandaise Sauce

  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1½ tablesp. lemon juice
  • 100g unsalted butter
  • Salt and pepper

To Serve:

    Fresh dill and black pepper to serve Mixed salad

To Cook

To cook the salmon:

    Heat the oven to Gas Mark 4, 180°C (350°F). Brush each piece of salmon with a little oil and season with salt and black pepper. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place the pieces of salmon on it. Place in the oven and cook for 10 minutes.

To poach the eggs:

    While the salmon is cooking poach the eggs. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer and add the white wine vinegar and a little salt. Break two of the eggs into the water and simmer for 3-4 minutes until just cooked but still soft on the inside. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well on kitchen paper. Repeat with the other two eggs.

To make the Hollandaise Sauce:

    Put the egg yolks and lemon juice in a food processor and whizz until the mixture is creamy. Melt the butter in a saucepan until it is sizzling hot. Keep the processor running and slowly pour in the melted butter. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Serving Suggestions

Place the toast on plates, top with the salmon darn and poached eggs. Spoon over the hollandaise sauce and sprinkle with dill and black pepper. Serve with a mixed salad.

Nutritional Analysis per Serving

Protein: 34g 

Carbohydrates: 24g 

Fat: 52g 

Iron: 2.8mg 

Energy: 677kcal 

Darina Allen’s Carrot and Mint Soup

Carrot-Mint-Soup-(Carrot-Lovage-Soup)-(Carrot,-Chive

Carrot and Mint Soup

Most people will have carrots, onions and potatoes in their pantry – I’m using the first little shoots of fresh mint to flavour my batch of carrot soup today.

 

This soup may be served either hot or cold, don’t hesitate to put in a good pinch of sugar, it brings up the flavour.

560g(1 1/4lb/3 cups) carrots, preferably organic, chopped

45g(1 1/2oz/scant 1/2 stick) butter

110g(4oz) onion, chopped

150g(5oz) potatoes, chopped

salt,freshly ground pepper and sugar

sprig of spearmint

1.2litres (2 pints/5 cups) homemade light chicken or vegetable stock

62ml(2 1/2fl oz/generous 1/4 cup) creamy milk, (optional)

3 teaspoons freshly chopped spearmint

Garnish

a little lightly whipped cream or crème fraiche

sprigs of spearmint

Melt the butter and when it foams add the chopped vegetables, season with salt and freshly ground pepper and sugar. Add a sprig of mint, cover with a butter paper (to retain the steam) and a tight fitting lid.Leave to sweat gently on a low heat for about 10 minutes approx.Remove the lid, add the boiling stock and cook until the vegetables are soft. Pour into the liquidiser, add 3 teaspoons of freshly chopped mint and puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning. Adda little creamy milk if necessary.

Garnish with a swirl of lightly whipped cream or crème frâiche and a sprig of fresh mint.‍

Variation

Carrot and Lovage Soup‍

Substitute lovage for mint in the above recipe.‍

Carrot,Garlic Chive Flowers and Seeds‍

Add finely chopped garlic chives instead of mint in the master recipe. Garnish with a swirl of lightly whipped cream or crème fraiche,garlic chive flowers and seeds.  Society garlic flowers are also great.

Neven Maguire’s Brown Scones are full of roughage and great for breakfast

Brown scones are full of roughage and great for breakfast. And here is a good tip: you can make this mixture, shape the scones and freeze them. You can then cook the scones straight from the freezer to the oven – just give them an extra 5 minutes and make sure the scones are golden brown and well-risen.

Ingredients

  • Rapeseed or sunflower oil, for greasing
  • 225g (8oz) self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 225g (8oz) coarse wholemeal flour
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 50g (2oz) wheat bran
  • 25g (1oz) butter, diced and at room temperature
  • 1 tsp light muscovado sugar
  • 300ml (½ pint) buttermilk, plus a little extra if necessary

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F/gas mark 7). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and grease the paper with a little oil.
  2. Sift the flours, baking soda and salt into a bowl. Tip in the bran left in the sieve and stir it in with the wheat bran. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it is evenly dispersed. Stir in the sugar.
  3. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the buttermilk and golden syrup. Using a large spoon, mix gently and quickly until you have achieved a smooth, not-too-sticky dough. Add a little more buttermilk if necessary, until the dough binds together without being sloppy.
  4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 2.5cm (1in) thickness and cut into rounds with a 6cm (2½in) plain cutter. Arrange on the lined baking sheets and bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown and well-risen.
  5. Serve with butter or lightly whipped cream and strawberry jam.


By Neven Maguire

Celebrity Chef

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Neven Maguire: Home Chef