Three Chocolate Treats for Easy Entertaining
Who can resist chocolate? Not us! These easy choccie treats make casual entertaining a breeze (and the biscuits keep well ... if you hide them!).
1. Sticky chocolate cake
125g butter; 100g dark chocolate – chips or a bar smashed to small bits; 340g jar of marmalade; 150g caster sugar; 2 eggs; 150g self-raising flour
Preheat oven to 180°C and line a loose-based 20cm cake tin with baking parchment. Put butter and chocolate in a medium saucepan and heat gently, stirring all the time until melted. Put 2 – 3 Tblsps marmalade into a small bowl and set aside. Off the heat, stir the rest of the marmalade and the sugar into the saucepan and mix well, then break in eggs and mix again. Finally, stir in flour in three batches, folding lightly until combined.
Scrape into the tin and smooth the top. Bake for 45 – 55 minutes, rotating tin halfway. Keep an eye on it and if top starts to get a little dark, tent loosely with foil. The cake is cooked when centre is firm to a light touch and skewer comes out with only a few crumbs attached. Cool for 10 minutes then turn out and and leave to cool completely right side up on wire rack. Heat reserved marmalade in microwave until runny then brush all over cake to glaze. Leave to cool before serving. (Recipe from BBC Good Food magazine)
2. Chocolate coffee crinkles
1 cup light brown sugar; 1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted; 4 tsps instant coffee granules; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 2 extra large egg whites, unbeaten; 1/3 cup plain yoghurt; 1 1/2 cups cake flour; white sugar for coating.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Cream butter with sugar, cocoa, coffee granules, bicarb and cinnamon. Add egg whites and yoghurt and stir well. Mix in the flour to make a soft dough. Roll into walnut sized balls and roll in granulated sugar to coat. Place about 2cm apart on greased tray and bake for 8 – 10 minutes.
3. Chocolate coconut biscuits
250g butter; 250ml sugar; 500ml flour; 5ml baking powder; 45ml cocoa; 375ml desiccated coconut; 15ml milk; 5ml vanilla essence; 125g dark chocolate, melted.
Preheat oven to 180° C. Cream butter and sugar. Add remaining ingredients (except the chocolate) and mix to a dough. Roll into small balls, place on greased baking tray and flatten with a fork. Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove and cool on a rack. Drizzle biscuits with melted chocolate.
