The only Blondie recipe you'll ever need!

Considering I was practically brought up on brownies (the gooey chocolate slice, not the group for girls with brown and yellow uniform and Tawny Owls!), I am a new convert to Blondies.

For years I stuck true to Brownies. Dark, deep chocolate. Sometimes plain, sometimes with chopped walnuts running through them but that's as far as I've ever deviated. Growing up, they were the cut-and-come-again cake of choice in our kitchen and they were my Dad's (and our dear late dog's!) favourite and well, why fix what isn't broken? But a few months ago, and I really don't know why, I decided to try making some Blondies...perhaps just to see what the point was, as how could a good old brownie possibly ever be beaten?...and all I can say is that is was a revelation and I'm hooked.

Go on, try them and you'll see (or rather taste) why. Just as squidgy and chewy as a good Brownie should be, but somehow the lack of chocolate only highlights whatever you throw into them. The gorgeous butterscotch flavour base is the perfect foil for nuts, chocolate chunks or chips (my personal favourite is simply very good dark chocolate chopped into chunks), but peanut butter swirls or even a slug or two of bourbon or run would be divine too. And to make them even more enticing a prospect, you can whip up these babies from store cupboard ingredients with just one pan and a spoon in the time it takes to melt some butter. So you're only 25 minutes away from the most amazing baking wafts filling your home and a treat to calm the most frazzled of souls.

Best Ever Blondies

*Preheat oven to 170 degrees (fan) and roughly line an 8x8cm metal pan with silicone liner or baking parchment.

1/2 cup butter
1 cup soft brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
1tsp baking powder
50-100g (I use 50g, but tweak to your own taste) of chopped plain, milk or white chocolate, nuts etc.

Melt butter in a medium pan over low heat. When melted, add the sugar, stirring all the time until sugar has dissolved. Take off the heat and add the vanilla and the egg, beat well (work quickly now) and add the flour and baking powder. Stir well and quickly to prevent the egg from scrambling. Then stir in whatever flavourings you wish. Pour into your prepared tin and bake for about 25 minutes at 170 degrees.

Just as with brownies, these will firm up as they cool down but you're after a cake that has a nice shiny surface (maybe cracked) and seems a little crusty around the edges (the best bits, in my opinion); however the inserted skewer, toothpick or dry spaghetti test does not work for brownies or blondies as you want some gooeyness - as that's what will make for a deliciously chewy cooled cake.

Also sometimes I let the mix sit a few minutes before stirring in my chocolate of choice (to stop it melting before cooking or you may get ribbons of chocolatey Blondie along with your chocolate chunks or chips), but really, do what you like as it's no deal breaker either way.

They'll keep for a couple of days (who am I kidding?) in an airtight tin, though I'd wrap or line it with greaseproof paper and these are best cooled in the tin before cutting if you intend to eat cold just to make serving easier. Serve either warm or cold and obviously vanilla ice cream will be the perfect partner if you feel you need one. I prefer my Blondies naked (no adornment needed), with a mug of tea but understand you may want to dress these up to show off smugly, and why not. Make a batch of these to take into work and wait for the Ooohs and Aaahs that will follow...

Gap and Banana Republic now sell online to the UK

I'm so excited. Never has new online shop got me in such a tizzy. As anyone who knows me will confirm I loathe clothes shopping at the best of times - but finally, FINALLY, Banana Republic and Gap are finally selling their ranges online to us here in the UK. Hooray! If you haven't heard of Banana Republic (where have you been by the way?), then think of them as a slightly more sophisticated or grown-up Gap, although both do collections that cover workwear to denim and have items this season anyone would covet regardless of your style.

What's more, if you register your email address for updates now, you get a 15% off voucher to use in store or online until mid-October (and yes, you can register for both sites even though they're the same parent company).

Who knows, this may even see me enjoying jeans shopping. Now, if only J.Crew decided to follow suit, then my own personal clothing utopia would be complete!

Choco-Cherry Cake

If, like me, you love a good old chocolate cake, then give this baby a whirl. It's dead easy to whip up and tastes heavenly (try not to think calories, but then that surely applies to most cake recipes?). Not too good for the waistline, but very good for the soul with a cup or tea, coffee or glass of milk if you're trying to be wholesome.

This is a treasured Better Homes & Gardens recipe from a 1960 book of desserts my mum had hanging about while I was growing up, so where necessary I've shown the UK substitutes along with the original American ingredients list. And the cherries, well I'd steer away from using glace (really not the right texture here) and miss them out altogether if you can't find, or can't stomach to use the fleuro pink coloured maraschino, although most supermarkets have them - oddly enough near the jarred olives and little onions (being the kitch cocktail stalwarts rather than commonly used baking variety). They're like little glowing gems in such a dark moist cake.

Choco-Cherry Cake

1/2 cup of butter, marg or vegetable shortening (UK: I've not tried with Trex, but both margarine and butter work beautifully and give the same results)
1 cup sugar (caster or granulated, it doesn't seem to make any difference!)
1 egg
2oz unsweetened chocolate, melted (UK: substitute with 6tbsp cocoa and 2 tbsp veg oil)
*
1 1/2 cups cake flour (UK: substitute with 1.5 cups minus 3 tbsp of plain flour)
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup maraschino cherries, chopped
2 tbsp maraschino cherry syrup
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Stir marg, butter or shortening to soften. Gradually add the sugar, creaming till light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well, then stir in the melted chocolate (or cocoa and veggie oil).
Sift together the dry ingredients; then add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with the flour mix; beating well after each addition. Add the cherries, syrup and nuts if using.
Grease bottom of a 8" x 8" x 2" baking dish or metal pan, and pour in batter. Bake in oven till a skewer, toothpick or piece of spaghetti inserted comes out clean. If using a glass/other baking dish, then you'll need to bake for 50-55 mins at 325, but for metal pans, bake for about 40 mins at 350(180).

Top with your favourite chocolate icing, leave plain (perfect with vanilla ice cream) or, my favourite, sprinkle the hot-from-oven cake with semi-sweet chocolate chips until they melt and smooth with a spatula for an 'instant' frosting (which is even yummier when it hardens on the cooled cake...). The cake here is dark, but light and very moist - very much like you'd expect from one of those American 'packet' Devils Food Cake mixes actually - but is just right cut into dainty squares for afternoon tea, or even serving in cupcake cases at a picnic. Enjoy!

Whoopie Pies

If you've not heard of Whoopie Pies yet, you really don't know what you've been missing, but let me fill you in. Whoopie Pies apparently stem from the early Amish who used to make these for their menfolk and children to take in their packed lunches (who exclaimed "Whoopie!" when they opened their lunch boxes). True or not, it's a charming story all the same and it perfectly sums up the homespun charm of these gorgeous cake-y beauties.

Whoopies have also reputedly taken up the mantle from the cupcake for #1 sweet treat of choice, both this side and the other side of the Atlantic. Not only a quick cake fix, they also make the ideal (easy to bake) alternative to the more formal cupcake for weddings and other celebrations. A stack of these on each guest table, or perhaps several flavours piled up on a stand instead of a traditional cake with pretty napkins on hand (obv) would make a divine and more personal finish to any wedding breakfast.

Like a cross between a macaroon (for looks) and a cupcake (in ingredients), the classic Whoopie Pie is like a soft and squidgy "Oreo" in taste. Two soft and deeply dark not-too-sweet chocolate cake discs are sandwiched together with a fluffy white marshmallow cream filling. Heaven in a bite, or a few bites if you make them more generous or 'Man Size'! As you can imagine, resistance is futile. Flavours are easy to change and you can find them on sale in fashionable London bakeries and even Harrods and good old M&S adorning all kinds of decoration from glitter to suger flowers, but I think they look best plain and simple - cake and filling only. Leave the fondant icing and sprinkles to their dressier sisters who don't leave the house without their make-up and heels (the cupcake), as these lovelies look so much prettier with their scrubbed faces and slightly scuffed ballet pumps.

If like me you know that these will be your downfall (a batch of these taunting you from the kitchen will, I assume, counteract any leeway made to lose the last of my post-baby tum by my new running fitness regime...), then make a batch and simply freeze what you don't need before icing.

For more inspiration, pre-order either of the 2 amazingly cute looking new books on the subject of all things Whoopie Pie and try not to be too smug when sharing the results with loved-ones!
And to make this even easier, you can find them listed in my Amazon carousel to the right of this page! How nice am I?

Play kitchens and accessories for your budding Jamie or Nigella

This weekend, the yummy daddy and I we spent several hours on the M25 heading to our nearest IKEA for a few items for our little budding Jamie Oliver (or should that be Nigel Slater?) - his very first, and I should hope only play kitchen.

Now this isn't a mammoth occasion for most, but for someone who didn't understand why our son needed a tea set a few months ago (a favourite toy these days and used everyday to make mummy, Buzz Lightyear and Elmo high tea), my husband was actually pretty enthusiastic about the purchase and I have to say that the DUKTIG play kitchen from IKEA is really gorgeous in the flesh - albeit in a practical, neutral way as you can see here. Its very sturdy and well designed (if you like the modern look) and feels reassuringly built to last. It even has clever 'feet' that the units sit on that can be swapped around to raise the units up, so the kitchen can grow with your toddler. The plastic 'ceramic hob' lights up just like mummy's does when switched on (although I expect it will eat those 6 x AA batteries required at an alarming rate), and the plastic 'sink' removes so you can happily indulge their play washing-up parties and empty the contents easily without having to scoop out water unsuccessfully with a cup!

In fact it's almost good enough to put behind any disappointment I might of had (who am I kidding?) at not being able to get him one of those beautiful dinky pretty Honeybake ovens (which would have been more for me, I'm well aware of this!), the lush red retro diner style kitchens complete with American style fridge freezer, or the pretty stenciled country-kitchens out there - all touches that would have been lost on our boisterous little lad. Besides, this one looks like Mummy and Daddy's (inherited) kitchen, so it's ideal, and at £63 for the base unit (another £20-something for the add on microwave section), it's positively a bargain!

Other adorable bits to kit out your progeny's play kitchen have to be anything at all from Melissa & Doug (if you've not come across this brand, they're gorgeously well made, high quality wooden items in fabulous colours). I have my eye on the Pizza Party set a wooden pizza with toppings that Velcro on top that you 'slice' (complete with sound effect, apparently) and the lush Cookie Dough set (seen here) which I've coveted since a mummy friend bought one for her little girl - a knife and spatula complete with 'tube' of cookie dough that you 'cut' before Velcro-ing into place on its own tray and top with icing.

Cappuccino Cupcakes

Okay, so these aren't exactly a health food, but they're not bad for you either (in moderation of course) as they are made up of a third grated sweet potato, third ground almonds and a third rice flour. This gives a really moist springy cake that tastes every bit as naughty as it looks, but will all those extra vitamins from the hidden veggie content. YUM.

This recipe comes from my favourite book of the moment Harry Eastwood's Red Velvet & Chocolate Heartache and I promise you, if you love a good coffee-flavoured cake then these are little bites of heaven! I should add that they look far more like a traditional coffee and walnut sponge (only without the walnuts!) rather than the blond crumbed cake with a pale coffee hint I'd imagined just reading the title; but as I love Coffee and Walnut cake, I wasn't disappointed with the result. Anyway, they're a doddle to make and sadly very easy to eat too so here they are...

Cappuccino Cupcakes - Harry Eastwood (Red Velvet & Chocolate Heartache)

Makes 12

2 medium free-range eggs

160g caster sugar

200g peeled and finely grated sweet potato

100g rice flour

100g ground almonds

2tsp baking powder

1/4tsp salt

3 tbsp coffee essence (such as Camp)

Icing:

50g unsalted butter, cold and in cubes

200g icing sugar, sieved

50g marscapone

2 tsp coffee essence (such as Camp)

• Preheat the oven to 180.C/350.F/gas mark 4. Line a 12-cup muffin tray with paper cases.

• Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl for 5 minutes, until pale and quadrupled in volume. Add the grated sweet potato and whisk again. Whisk in the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt, as well as the coffee essence, until they are well introduced.

• Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, aiming for it to come four fifths of the way up each case. Place in the oven for 20 minutes until the cakes are risen and cooked. Don't be alarmed that they are flat on top rather than dome shaped.

• Whilst the cupcakes are cooking, make the icing. Whisk the butter with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Next, add 100g icing sugar and whisk together to create a paste. Beat for an extra 10 seconds at this stage to stabilize and appease the butter.

• Add the marscapone and coffee essence, along with the rest of the icing sugar, and mix by hand with a wooden spoon until all are combined in a happy and unified mixture. Refrigerate until the cupcakes are ready.

• Once cooked, remove the cakes from the oven and cool them in the tin for 15 minutes. I (the author, that is) usually put them into the fridge to finish cooling right down so that they are cold by the time you want to ice them. Ice the cakes, using about 1 tablespoon of icing for each one. Decorate with chocolate coffee beans before serving.

*MY MAKE AHEAD TIP: I found that putting these cakes in a tin overnight before icing the following day (popping the icing in the fridge overnight too) made for a sticky top that made the job of icing almost impossible! On my second batch though, leaving the cakes out overnight (icing still in the fridge) left them dry enough to ice the next day whilst not drying the cake out at all.

If you love baking, do check out Harry's book. It's a divinely beautiful looking book if (like me) you love to devour recipe books like novels, but it also contains some stunning cakes, scones and so on, all containing vegetables like courgette, potato or sweet potato (there's even a parsnip fudge) instead of the usual butter. All in all, gorgeous little sweet nothings for any occasion (or everyday) when you hanker for a slice of something sweet to soothe the soul.

Jamie's Family Christmas saves the day...

I'm not sure if you managed to catch Jamie Oliver's Family Christmas on Channel 4 a couple of weeks ago, but thank goodness I caught it as this year we were having a small family Christmas (just the two of us, plus the adorable but fussy-eating toddler!) and decided early on to forgo the whole turkey option and try a crown instead...but what to do about gravy?!

This is where Jamie came to the rescue with his Get-Ahead Gravy. Quite radical in the method - you basically roast off chicken wings, herbs, spices and veggies before making a reduced stock of them.

When the show was aired, it appears everyone raced to find the gravy recipe online but it wasn't posted due to restrictions in how many they could post per episode; however you can find it explained in full in his December issue of "Jamie" magazine - available from WHSmiths still if you hunt about - and I'm sure it'll appear in a future cookbook if he goes the way of Nigella, Delia et al! And because I'm always happy to share a good thing, you can find the details below...

Get-Ahead Gravy (Jamie Oliver)

Makes about 1 litre

2 celery sticks, trimmed and roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 onions, quartered
5 bay leaves
5 sage leaves
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 star anise
2 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
8 chicken wings
30ml olive oil
4 tbsp plain flour
60ml sherry or port (optional)
2 dessertspoons cranberry sauce

*Preheat oven to 200.C/gas6. Put the veg, herbs and star anise into a heavy bottomed roasting pan (as it'll need to go on the hob later on). Scatter the bacon over the top. Break the chicken wings open and add to pan. Drizzle the lot with the olive oil, season and roast in the oven for about 1 hour (until meat is falling off the bone).
* Take the pan out of the oven and pop onto the hob. Over a low heat, mash it all up with a potato masher, scraping the bottom of the pan and mix in the flour. The longer you take to do this, the darker the end gravy will be. Once the flour is comboned well, add 2 litres of of hot water and boil for 10 minutes until thickened then turn down to simmer for about 25mins. If adding sherry or port, do so now.
* Once it's at the right consistancy for you, check seasoning and strain/sieve into a bowl. Discard what is left behind and cool down to chill or freeze.
*On the day itself: take your gravy out to thaw (if frozen). Once the turkey is cooked, tip it up to pour the juices into the pan. Remove all but 1 1/2tbsp fat and pour in your pre-made gravy. bring this to boil, scraping the bottom of the pan for crusty bits and add your cranberry sauce to taste before serving.

Now we found the star anise very strong, even though I only used 1 (pre-empting the 'chinese crispy duck' flavour!) discarding it before the water-adding stage, and so next year I'll be missing this out entirely. I also found that to get to the right consistancy (i.e. not water!), I had to simmer it for nearly 40 mins leaving us with nearer 500ml rather than a litre of finished gravy, but I guess that everyone's oven and hob differs! And as there were just 3 of us, I wasn't overly concerned that we'd run out. Like many others, I also couldn't get hold of chicken wings for love nor money so I replaced the wings with 2 chicken quarters instead, though I'm sure thighs or similar would also work just fine.