Baileys Brownies

Now aren't you all lucky bunnies? TWO posts in ONE day! ... yeah, yeah, I know it's to make up for the lack of posting for the last two Tuesdays, BUT, this one's a winner winner chicken dinner. This is one of those fantastic examples of putting two delicious things together to make something absolutely diVINE. Yes, my friends, if you haven't already guessed by the title of this post, this recipe is a gorgeous combination of Baileys and my heavenly brownies. What could be better? well, you'll have to wait and see! Anyways, I originally found this recipe here and then switched their brownie recipe for mine and took the Baileys part from them (thanks!). I will admit, I did fail a little when spreading the top layer on, but I think it adds a touch of character to the whole thing; but if anyone asks, I did that on purpose for decorative effect.

As with all the recipes that I put up here with two parts, I have photographed all the ingredients together, but written them separately for your ease. Aren't I nice?

Bare Necessities

For The Brownies:

75g Self-Raising Flour
15g Cocoa Powder

100g Butter

175g Castor Sugar

100g Plain Chocolate

2 Eggs

For The Baileys Filling:

16oz/2cups/450g Cream Cheese

1 Egg

1/3cup/75g Sugar

3tbsp Baileys

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/gas mark 4.

2. Grease and line an oblong tin.

3. Sift flour and cocoa powder into a bowl.

4. Put the butter and sugar into a pan and add one tablespoon of water.

5. Put on a low heat and stir until it has all melted and mixed.

6. Turn off the heat, break the chocolate into pieces, add to the pan and stir until melted and mixed.

7. Wait until the mixture has cooled enough so that you can comfortably put your hand against the side of the pan. As you've probably gathered by now, I'm impatient, so I sit the pan in a cold water bath (careful not to let any water get into the pan, obviously) and cool the mixture that way.

8. Beat in the eggs.

9. Pour the flour and cocoa powder into the mixture and fold with a wooden spoon until completely mixed.

10. In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar and the cream cheese until smooth.

11. Whisk in the remaining egg and the Baileys until light and fluffy.

12. Pour half of the brownie mixture into the tin.

13. Smooth it down and spread to all the edges.

14. Pour in all of the Baileys mix and gently spread it so that it completely covers the brownie mixture. Try to keep them as separate as possible.

15. Pour the remaining brownie mixture into the tin and gently spread over the Baileys mixture.

16. Pop into the oven for 30-35 minutes or until you can put a knife in it and it comes out clean.

17. Turn out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool, or if you can't wait, cut yourself a cheeky slice and make everyone else wait!

Baileys Ice Cream

First post of 2012! I hope you all had a great Christmas and new year and that you have all fully recovered from your hangovers etc.

Until recently, I hadn't ever tried Baileys, but once I took my first sip, that was it. I was hooked. It's luscious beige cream enveloped my tasted buds in an exquisite experience of luxurious, sweet yumminess. Sadly, it wasn't my drink, it was my friends, so I was limited to a meagre sip and my memories to keep me going until I could get my hands on some of my own. I believe the first thing I said after taking that sip was "mmmm", but the second was "You know, It tastes a bit like ice cream!" and it was that sentence that spurred my imagination on to the idea of making Baileys ice cream; and believe me, it didn't disappoint... except for when it was finished.

I actually found this recipe here on a wonderful website called Yummly. It's a fantastic place to find any kind of recipe you can think of and, though some of them aren't amazingly written, most of them are pretty good and you'll be sure to find what you want.

Super simple, and you can replace the original Baileys with any kind of Baileys you fancy.

Baileys Ice Cream

Bare Necessities

250ml/1cup Water

125g/ 1/2cup Granulated Sugar

250g Mascarpone Cheese

100ml/ 2/5cups Baileys

142ml/(just over) 1/2cup Double Cream

1. Pour the water into a saucepans, stir in the sugar and heat until the sugar has completely dissolved.

2. Bring the water to the boil and leave to simmer for 5 mins.

3. Leave the water to cool.

4. Mix the mascarpone and the baileys until smooth.

5. Stir in the water-sugar mix and the cream and stir until its completely mixed.

6. Pour the mixture into an ice cream machine and follow the manufacturer instructions. (I did mine for about half an hour)

7. Keep in the freezer in a container until you want to eat it.