Yes, it is another baking post today (and there is another one to come!).
As I have been home alone a lot, I have been trying to stay away from daytime TV, but I came across a baking show that is shown over lunchtimes (called Baking Mad), so I started watching it. They have a website (bakingmad.com) which is jam packed with recipes, competitions (exciting), kids baking tips, offers and even a forum.
They have lovely seasonal sections too, so if you were looking for an Easter cake to make, there are loads to choose from. How about an Easter carrot cake? Sounds yummy.
Anyway, I decided to make some Easter simnel brownies. These are brownies with dried fruit, and topped with marzipan- my favourite!
It was a super easy recipe- a tray bake (which I love anyway) plus like my best brownie recipe, it was made in a pan. You did have to soak the dried fruits first, but that is easy too- you just need to allow a little time. I love it when the chocolate melts. I used some Fair-trade 70% dark chocolate from Aldi.
It is 99p for 100g, which is not too bad for Fair-trade I don’t think, but as the recipe needed 300g it meant the recipe was a bit expensive to make (totally worth it though).
Yum- the chocolate smells amazing!
Then (once the eggs, flour and dried fruits have been added) it gets topped with marzipan. The recipe said grated marzipan, but I just chopped it into chunks. I think I would have had to freeze the marzipan before grating it. Anyway, as I love marzipan so much, big chunks can only be a good thing!
They are then baked, left to cool,and then refridgerated overnight. Yes, this recipe needs patience!
It was hard to resist picking the marzipan off the top!
Ooops, a bit of a blurry photo. Anyway, they sliced very well and were still gooey in the middle- nice and chewy like a brownie should be. I was not sure how the dried fruit would go, but they were lovely- a bit like Christmas cake crossed with a brownie. Marzipan and chocolate are fab together anyway, so it was a great combo. Plus much easier than making an actual simnel cake. I had marzipan and dried fruits left over from making Christmas cakes and stollen and things, so it was good to use some of them up as I don’t think they will last until next year.
I have saved the recipe into the “my recipe book” tab of the site, as they were very popular at Sunday tea and I am sure I will make the recipe again.
Also when you look at a recipe, there are more suggestions at the bottom showing other recipes you might like, so I have spent hours clicking from recipe to recipe 🙂
Do you ever make anything special for Easter? I used to love making those little chocolate nests with shredded wheat and mini eggs at school, and I sometimes make hot cross buns, but it has never been traditional to really do anything for Easter, unlike making a Christmas cake which is a must-do for me.
I definitely made a simnel cake one year. Might have to try making a vegan one this year! I love marzipan! I always remembering making those easter nest cakes with mini eggs on top when I was younger 😛
I bet you could make it vegan- I think you just need to add some dried fruit and spices to a normal cake mix- it is not as heavy as a Christmas cake. And then of course top with marzipan. Glad it is not just me that loves it!
I’ve been looking at that site too, some great recipes I think I’m going to try baking some bread from that site at the weekend!
That site is so good and full of inspiration!
Mmm, that looks delicious! I was just thinking about what to make for Easter… we don’t have a regular menu or dessert we make. My mom always made pb-chocolate eggs but they are SO sweet, I don’t think I could stomach them anymore.
Well the brownies were quite sweet too! Be warned.
Wow that looks insanely good I am addicted to marzipan! I bet they went down very well! x x
Oh you’ve got me drooling at my desk now.
Confession: I never knew what marzipan was until now!!!
It is quite a German thing I think- I think american recipes often just call it almond paste.
Mmmm, those brownies look so good – love the idea of marzipan on the top! 🙂
We don’t really have any Easter traditions baking-wise. Last year I made cupcakes with mini creme eggs baked into them which were cute, but I don’t have any Easter baking plans this year I don’t think. I’ll be making some kind of birthday cake instead as my Mum’s birthday falls on Easter Monday this year.
We do always have an Easter egg hunt for the children though (first for my little sister’s benefit, and now for Izzy and Toby) – just thinking about it now, I remember last year we did it at my Mum’s beach hut…this year we have plans to hide lots of little chocolate eggs in the wooded area near us if the weather is nice, but Izzy will be happy wherever we do it so long as chocolate is involved! 😀
I remember seeing you make those cakes- they looked amazing, although last year I had a creme egg and found it too sweet- whereas before I loved them. Not sure if they changed the recipe maybe.
We always used to have an Easter egg hunt in our garden- so much fun 🙂
We don’t make anything special to eat for easter but traditionally we decorate eggs with onion peels & plants from the garden … heres last years post on them 🙂
http://babywilt-eatlessmovemore.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/easter-in-photographs.html
They look fantastic! 🙂
Mmm – I love marzipan and I bet it tastes delicious on top of chocolate brownies! I don’t usually make anything special for easter, but I do eat my fair share of easter eggs 🙂
I love that site too, it’s laid out really well and there are some great recipes on there… these brownies look good and I agree, chewy and gooey is exactly how they should be! I like the idea of adding marzipan too.
My mum always makes hot cross buns at Easter and they smell fantastic. Last year she made some amazing Easter biscuits too, I might have to recreate them this year 🙂
Marzipan is lovely when you bake it because it goes a bit gooey too 🙂