Three layer ganache topped cheesecake brownies

Christmas is fast approaching so I might as well get the indulgent stuff underway and what better way than having three of probably the most arguably delicious deserts stacked on top of each other? I mean lets be honest, no one is watching their weight in December so it's probably best to kick off the month the right way. A little early Christmas gift from me to you. I'm talking dark chocolate brownies topped with new york cheesecake and finished off with a decadent chocolate orange ganache. Heart stopping stuff, in the sense that anyone at your Christmas dinner parties will probably have to be rushed to hospital over the sheer excitement, maybe...

TIME: 2 Hours SERVES: 8

INGREDIENTS:

For the brownie:

150g unsalted butter

230g of dark chocolate, chopped

100g of Dutch processed cocoa powder

2 teaspoons of espresso powder

250g of golden granulated sugar

100g of muscovado sugar

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

1 tablespoon of salt

6 eggs

130g of plain flour

1 teaspoon of sea salt

For the cheesecake:

600g of cream cheese

50g of unsalted butter, melted

150 of white caster sugar

150ml of soured cream

2 tablespoons of plain flour

3 eggs

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

For the ganache:

300g of dark chocolate, melted

300ml of double cream

2 teaspoons of orange extract (oil based)

50g of unsalted butter

100g of pistachio kernels, chopped

Sea salt (for sprinkling on top)

MAKE IT:

1.) Pre-heat the oven to 170°C

2.) In a saucepan, melt the butter and then pour over the chopped dark chocolate in mixing bowl and stir until all of the chocolate has melted.

3.) In another mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and sugars together vigorously for two minutes.

4.) Gradually add the melted chocolate and butter to the mix and whisk together.

5.) Add the cocoa powder and espresso powder along with the vanilla extract, sea salt and whisk together well.

6.) Sieve in the flour and fold it in lightly, set aside

7.) In a bowl, add the eggs and sugar together and whisk well for two minutes.

8.) Add the cream cheese, melted butter, soured cream, vanilla extract and plain flour and whisk together well.

9.) Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and grease with butter.

10.) Empty the brownie mixture into the baking tray and spread out evenly, slam the baking tray on the kitchen counter a couple of times to even out the mixture.

11.) Add the cheesecake mixture on top evenly, try to be as careful as you can when pouring the mixture as if you add too much in certain areas you won't get as vivid layers.

12.) Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 170°C, after 20 minutes, remove from the oven and slam the tray twice on the counter. I always find this helps even out the bake. Return back to the oven for a further 30 minutes.

13.) While the cheesecake brownie is in the oven, you can begin making your ganache. In a bowl, add the melted chocolate, double cream, orange extract and melted butter. Mix together well and set aside.

14.) Once the cheesecake brownie has been cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, pour the ganache evenly over the top. Scatter some sea salt and chopped pistachios over the top, cover and refrigerate for about 6 hours or overnight.

15.) Slice into squares, chunks, slices, however you like and serve with ice cream!

#brownies #threelayerbrownies #chocolate #ganache #cheesecake #cheesecakebrownies #darkchocolate #triplelayercheesecakebrownies

Probably the best vegan scones you'll ever have

Happy Tuesday folks, I have a history lesson for you, *clears throat – Apparently, no one actually knows where scones originated, it does seem like the Brits have tried to claim them because the royal family have always loved a scone, however, the first known mention of a scone that was printed is from the translation of The Aenaid (1513) written by a Scottish poet named Gavin Douglas, which makes a lot of sense considering the first part of the word scone sounds awfully similar to Scotland. Anyway, talking of originality, I'm probably the first person to ever make these sick vegan scones using MYLKPLUS, so there you go, stick that on Wikipedia. Also, our current queen has her scone with jam on first, so that resolves that issue. No fighting over which way is better, the queen has decided for you.

TIME: 25 minutes MAKES: 8

INGREDIENTS:

400g of self-raising flour

100g of vegan butter (I used Vitalite)

50g of white caster sugar

150ml of MYLKPLUS strawberry cheesecake flavour

80g of dried strawberries

1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

MAKE IT:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200° C.

2. Combine the flour with the vegan butter and with your hands, massage the butter into the flour to form fine crumbs.

3. Add the sugar, sea salt, dried strawberries and quickly mix together. Form a well in the middle and pour the MYLKPLUS in.

4. Using a wooden spoon, combine the mixture until you make a rough dough, you don't want to over-mix it.

5. Flour a surface and add the dough, knead gently for about 30 seconds and then flatten out to about 4cm in thickness.

6. Using a cutter, cut out the scones and place on a greased baking tray and brush the tops with a little extra MYLKPLUS. Bake in the oven for about 12-14 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

7. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes.

8. Serve with vegan whipped cream, jam, strawberries and enjoy!

Spicy, cheesy and smoky re-stuffed sweet potatoes

Yep you heard that right, spicy, cheesy and smoky re-stuffed sweet potatoes. I did you all a favour and took a sweet potato, scooped it out of it's sweet, sexy skin and then mashed it up with a shitload of delicious flavours and then stuck it right back in there. I fucking love a sweet potato and so should you. Fill your boots friends!

TIME: 2 hours MAKES: 2

INGREDIENTS:

2 large sweet potatoes

25g of salted butter

4 spring onions, finely sliced

100g of mature cheddar cheese, grated

50g of gruyere cheese, grated

50g of brie, cubed

1/2 teaspoon of smoked sea salt

1 teaspoon of smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon of hot cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon of maple syrup

1 fresh red chilli, finely choped

1 fresh red chilli, sliced (garnish)

1 bunch of fresh chives, finely chopped

MAKE IT:

1. If you are after that delicious smoky flavour then fire up your BBQ, get the coals nice and hot and throw a small chunk of oak on the coals, a chunk the size of a rubix cube, prick the potatoes and add them to the bbq and then cover the bbq with a lid and let them smoke for 1.5 hours at around 130°C.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C – Once the potatoes have been cooked, slice them in half and scoop out the insides and place into a mixing bowl leaving the skin in-tact. Place the skins on a baking tray and bake in the oven at 180°C for 10 minutes to crisp up.

3. Mash together the sweet potato flesh with all of the ingredients until you reach a creamy consistency.

4. Remove the skins from the oven and fill each skin with the sweet potato mixture.

5. Serve and enjoy!

#sweetpotato  #loadedsweetpotato #smoky #smokedpotato #smokedsweetpotato #bbq #cheese #cheddarcheese #brie #gruyere #spicy