Navvies Slice

 

Navvies Slice

This was one of the favourite traybakes that I made when working as a volunteer cook on the canal camps run by the Waterway Recovery Group. It, and some of my other recipes from my time with WRG, can be found in my book "Fancy a Dirty Weekend?" available on Amazon in Kindle format. 

Ingredients:

300g cooking chocolate  - either plain, milk, orange or white as preferred

125g soft margarine

250g granulated sugar

250g porridge oats 

2 eggs

125g glacé cherries, halved (or chopped mixed glacé fruits or chopped dried apricots if preferred)

Method: 

Melt chocolate in a bowl over a pan of boiling water or in a microwave oven, and pour onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Leave to set until quite hard. Meanwhile, cream margarine and sugar together, then add eggs, oats (or coconut), and cherries (or glace fruits / apricots). Mix together well then spread over the set chocolate base.

Baking: 

Bake in oven on gas 4/350°f/180°c for about ½ hour until golden. Remove from oven. Leave in tin until absolutely cold so the chocolate sets hard again, then cut into pieces.

Makes 18-20 pieces

Chocolate Topped Flapjack

You'll know this family loves flapjack by our previous posts, and the boy keeps trying out new ideas... this time it was, "Do you think chocolate covered flapjack would work?" I said, "Try it and see!", so he did, and this is how it came out...

It tasted good too, slightly softer than our usual flapjack, so if you'd like to try it for yourself, here is how he did it...

Ingredients:
550g oats
250g block margarine
140g sugar
1 tablespoon of Meridian organic molasses*
4 tablespoons of golden syrup
300g dark cooking chocolate
2 teaspoons of vanilla essence (use an alcohol based type not a syrup based one of the chocolate will seize when melted.)

Method:
Put the oats into a large mixing bowl. Prepare an oven proof dish or deep baking tray by greasing and lining it with baking parchment.

Put all the other ingredients into a heavy saucepan and heat until all is melted and starting to bubble. Pour the mixture carefully into the oats (it will be very hot so take care!) and mix thoroughly.
Pour the mixture into the baking dish and put it into the centre of the oven at Gas Mark 4 for 30 - 40 minutes.  When cooked remove from oven and allow to cool.

For the chocolate topping melt the dark chocolate into a bowl or jug, add the vanilla essence, and pour over the cooled flapjack in the baking dish. Leave to set before removing the flapjack from the baking dish. Cut into squares with a warm knife (it will cut easier if it's warm!)

Enjoy!

*Meridian organic molasses can be found in ASDA, Holland & Barrett, and in other healthfood shops. Other supermarkets may have them too but we buy ours from the fabulous Waterside Cafe in Kendal.

Vegan & Non-Vegan Chocolate Orange Brownies (V)

It's been a while since we added a new recipe, but that doesn't mean we've been idle. Oh no, we have been busy testing out new ideas, and have finally succeeded with a chocolate orange brownie recipe that we really like.

The bonus with this recipe is that there are two versions: one for those who are fine with dairy & eggs, and one which is fine for vegans and people with dairy and egg intolerances and allergies.

The secret to the fab taste is a new-to-us product called Sweet Freedom ® Choc Shot with Orange Spice which we found in our local Tesco. It comes in three flavours: Chocolate, Chocolate with Orange Spice, and Chocolate with Coconut. We went with the Orange Spice version! Some of the great things about Sweet Freedom ® Choc Shot with Orange Spice are that it has no chemical processing, no additives, no preservatives, no GMO’s, no gluten, no dairy, no soya, no eggs, no nuts and no refined sugar. It is also Vegan (Registered with the Vegan Society) and is made in the UK.

For both versions we used a half and half mixture of plain flour and rye flour, which gives a different texture to the brownies than just using all plain flour.

Alex's Chocolate Orange Brownies

Traditional Recipe

4oz soft brown sugar

225g butter or hard margarine

60g cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp orange extract in oil

4 eggs

112g plain flour

113g rye flour

½  tsp baking powder

½  tsp salt

2 tbsp Sweet Freedom ® Choc Shot with Orange Spice

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl in the order in the recipe. Once thoroughly mixed tip the mixture into a lined baking tin approx 20cm x 30cm (8" x 12"). Bake in oven at Gas Mark 4 / 180C for 20-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. 

Eat warm with custard, or cold with whipped cream or ice cream for a delicious pudding, or enjoy it just on its own!

Alex's Chocolate Orange Brownies

Vegan Version

4oz soft brown sugar

225g soya spread

60g cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp orange extract in oil

270g apple sauce (we use ALDI own brand)

112g plain flour

113g rye flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp Sweet Freedom ® Choc Shot with Orange

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl in the order in the recipe. The apple sauce replaces the eggs in the traditional recipe at the rate of 1/4 cup apple sauce = 1 medium egg.  Once thoroughly mixed tip the mixture into a lined baking tin approx 20cm x 30cm (8" x 12"). Bake in oven at Gas Mark 4 / 180C for 20-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.