| Easy | Chocolate Brownies | 14 January 2014 |

These magnificent brownies will melt in your mouth! We suggest that you double the recipe, because trust me. To ensure that your brownies are not cakey, mix everything by hand. Do not use a mixer because you can over mix your batter and whip too much air into the eggs.

Recipe makes approximately 16 servings.

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( we recommend Valrhona)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F |176.666667 Celsius . Grease and flour an 8 " square pan.

2. In large sauce pan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Hand mix in 1/3 cup cocoa, ½ cup flour, salt, and baking powder.

3. Spread batter into prepared pan.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.

| Classic | Wholewheat bread loaf | 14 January 2014 |

Makes 1 large loaf | Preparation time: 20 minutes | Unattended proving time: 1
hour 15 minutes | Baking time: 40–45 minutes

What you’ll need:

Ingredients
750g wholewheat bread flour, plus a little extra for dusting
15g fast-action dried yeast
1 tsp salt
1–2 Tbsp olive oil
450ml lukewarm water

What to do:
1. Add the flour to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your electric mixer with the dough hook
attachment in place.

2. Add the yeast to the one side of your mixing bowl and the salt to the other. The salt can
damage the yeast if they have too much direct contact.

3. Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Slowly drizzle in about half of the water and mix until the mixture starts
to form a rough dough. Continue adding in more water until all of the flour is incorporated, the
sides of the bowl are clean and you have a workable dough.

4. Knead for 7–10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic and when rolled into a ball it
springs back if you gently press it with your finger.

5. Rub the dough with a little olive oil and place it into a bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel and
leave to rise until approximately double in size, this will take about 45 minutes to an hour.

6. Remove your dough from the bowl, lightly flour your work surface and gently press out the air
using the heel of your hand (this is called ‘knocking back’ the dough). Give your dough a quick
second kneading.

7. Form the dough into a rough loaf shape, folding it into thirds. Place the dough into a lightly
greased large loaf tin, fold side down, and leave to prove again for a further 45 minutes to an
hour, covered with a tea towel. About halfway through this time, preheat your oven to 200ºC.

8. Gently flour the surface of your loaf and add two or three slashes with a very sharp knife
(optional) then place the loaf tin in the oven. Then to the bottom of your oven add a handful of
ice cubes to a shallow oven tray. The ice cubes will release steam and give your dough a good
rise and your loaf a nice crispy crust.

9. Bake for 40–45 minutes, or until the loaf makes a hollow knocking sound when tapped on the
underside with your knuckles.

Notes
The bread can also be made in a free-form loaf, placed on a floured baking tray and baked as per the
instructions above. For a slightly smaller loaf, use 500g flour; 10g yeast; 300ml lukewarm water; 1 tsp
salt and 1 Tbsp olive oil.

© Recipe copyright of Sarah Graham

| Easy | Espresso cake with mocha buttercream | 13 January 2014 |

Serves 8–10 | Preparation time: 15 minutes | Baking time: 20 minutes

What you’ll need:

For the cake:

225g butter
225g castor sugar
4 large eggs
225g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt (if using unsalted butter)
2.5 tsp instant coffee granules, dissolved in 1 Tbsp hot water
For the mocha buttercream icing
150g soft butter
300g icing sugar
1–2 tsp instant coffee granules and 2 tsp cocoa dissolved in 3 Tbsp warm milk
10–12 toasted walnuts or pecan nuts to decorate (optional)


What to do:

1. Preheat your oven to 190ºC. Grease and line 2 x 20cm cake tins.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, this will take
approximately five minutes. As you go along, scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a
spatula as needed.

3. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a clean bowl.

4. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture, alternating with flour mixture in between each
addition. This will ensure that the eggs don’t curdle and that your flour is well incorporated. Add
in the coffee and water mixture and mix a little more until everything has blended together.

5. Divide the batter between your two cake tins and bake for 20 minutes or until golden and a
skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, or the cake springs back when pressed
gently.

6. Leave the cakes to cool in their tins for about a minute, then run a spatula around the inside
edge and turn the cakes out onto a wire cooling rack.

7. To make your icing, cream together the ingredients, adding extra coffee or cocoa to your liking.
Once the cakes have cooled completely, top the first cake with half of the icing, place the
second cake on top and add the remaining icing followed by the toasted nuts if you choose to
use any.

© Recipe copyright of Sarah Graham

| Easy | Chocolate Cake with chocolate buttercream filling | 13 January 2014 |

Serves 8–10 | Preparation time: 15 minutes | Baking time: 20–25 minutes

What you’ll need:

For the cake:

3 eggs
170g castor sugar
125g flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt
125ml milk
2 Tbsp cooking oil
2 Tbsp cocoa

For the chocolate buttercream filling:
 | If you want Vanilla buttercream filling, replace the cocoa with 5ml of vanilla esscnse |

150g soft butter
300g icing sugar
80g cocoa powder
3 Tbsp milk

What to do:

1. Preheat your oven to 180ºC and grease and line two 20cm cake tins.

2. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the eggs until they start to foam, then gradually add
the sugar, mixing continuously until you have a light and fluffy mixture.

3. Sieve your flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl. Fold these ingredients
gently into the egg and sugar mixture.

4. Meanwhile, in a small pot on the stove, heat together your milk, oil and cocoa. Whisk together
until combined and then gently fold this into the cake mixture.

5. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

6. While your cake bakes, make your ganache and buttercream.

7. For the buttercream, use a hand mixer and mix the butter to soften. Then add the icing sugar
and cocoa in two stages, using the mixer on a low speed. Add in the milk and the remaining
icing sugar and cocoa powder mix | OR, 5ml of Vanilla Essence |. Combine it with a spoon then use the hand mixer for three to five minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.

© Recipe copyright of Sarah Graham