Equipment

Small-Batch Scones

The OG and still the best! Just four scones. These are definitely the most popular recipe here on the old blog - almost every week someone on Instagram will make these and tag me. They're basically Belinda Jeffrey's fluffy buttermilk scones from Mix and Bake, just made in teensy tiny quantities (and without dried fruit), and instead of rolling out the dough and cutting it into circles, I just pat the dough out and cut it into quarters. They're so easy, so quick, and so good. Once you start making these you won't stop. (I certainly haven't stopped!)

2. Small Batch Cheddar and Chive Scones3. Petite Passionfruit Loaf Cake with Sour Cream Glaze4. Little Lemon and Ricotta Blueberry Cake5. Baby Banana Bundt Cake with Sour Cream Glaze6. Baby-Batch Buckwheat Brownies7. Small Cheesecake8. Small Squacquerone Cheesecake9. Petite Pistachio Cheesecake

Baby Batch Buckwheat Brownies

Continuing my adventures in small batch baking... I present to you my baby-batch buckwheat brownies! Unfortunately Corona numbers have going back up in Victoria, so it looks like small-batch baking will continue to be useful for the next little while. Yesterday I learned that some badly-affected suburbs have to go back to Stage 3 restrictions until the end of the month. I'm extremely lucky that I don't live in one of the lockdown suburbs, but still, it behoves us all to take things seriously and stay home as much as possible, without visitors, to protect the vulnerable in the community and help us all get back on top of this.

Given that we have a young baby and elderly parents, the lifting of Victoria's Stage 3 restrictions back in May didn't really change much for us - I was (and am) still working from home, doing most of our shopping online, and only going out for food shopping, medical appointments, takeaway coffees or walks around the neighbourhood. The main change we made was to start allowing occasional short catch-ups with my parents and some friends, always outdoors, and with no physical contact. (So usually it's a walk in the park with friends, or sitting on my parents' deck with a table between us). It is SO hard not letting my parents cuddle the baby, but we gotta do what we gotta do, and complaining about it isn't going to improve anything.

I keep seeing posts on social media of people socialising in close proximity to friends and family - holding each other's kids, huddling together for photos, sharing food around a table, meeting up with different groups over different days - and oh my goodness, just thinking about it sends my anxiety levels through the roof. I am one hundred percent not emotionally ready for "normal" social interactions again! I'm lucky that our close friends are all similarly-minded (I mean, I guess that's why we're close friends), and we aren't pressuring each other to start hanging out IRL again.

Buckwheat Brownie Ingredients

Anyway, let's get back to these buckwheat brownies! I had a serious chocolate craving over the past week, and just really wanted a lovely dark rich intense chocolatey treat. I'd made Nigella's chocolate buckwheat cookies a short while back, and was craving that same vibe of "dark chocolate with an intriguing smoky hint from the buckwheat flour", but in brownie format - less cakey/crumbly, more gooey innards and crackly top. A quick Google search revealed these delicious-looking buckwheat brownies on Kelly Neil that fit the bill perfectly. I halved the recipe to bake it in a mini-loaf pan (20x10cm) and added milk chocolate buttons to break up the dark gooeyness and add a mild, not distracting, textural component. (I used fancy French 35% cocoa milk buttons from Sisko because why the heck not). I also changed up the method a bit to suit my own style, reduced the cooking time, and of course have converted the recipe measures to metric.

Buckwheat Brownie Batter

The brownies are very easy to put together - it's just a melt and mix affair - and they're very quick to make. (Even quicker if you don't measure out all the ingredients individually for pretty blog photos, hah). They're also gluten free if this is something that interests you! (Just double check that your buckwheat flour is certified gluten free, and that the chocolates are also gluten free - some chocolate brands have barley malt as an ingredient, which is super delicious but obviously contains gluten).

Baby-Batch Buckwheat Brownies

Oh my goodness, these brownies were so good! Perfectly rich and so intensely chocolatey. The crackly top and crunchy edges against the gooey chocolate centre are just wonderful. Make sure you use a good quality chocolate - for both the dark chocolate in the batter and the milk chocolate chips - as you can really taste it in the finished product. If you use cheap shitty chocolate, you will get cheap shitty brownies. (By this I don't mean that the chocolate has to be the most expensive one you can find, but just that it should be one you actually enjoy eating. I think supermarket brands are more than fine, but would personally avoid compound chocolate).

Baby-Batch Buckwheat Brownies

When we're back to having friends over again, I can definitely see tiny squares or triangles of these brownies served as part of an afternoon tea platter, or with strong coffee at the end of a long shared meal, as a petit four. One day!

Baby-Batch Buckwheat Brownies
A recipe by Sarah Cooks, adapted from Kelly Neil

Ingredients
85 grams (3 ounces) dark chocolate
60 grams (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
40 grams (1/4 cup) brown sugar
30 grams (2 tablespoons) caster sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
60 grams (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) buckwheat flour
7 grams (1 tablespoon) cocoa powder
2 grams (1/4 teaspoon) fine salt
50 grams (~1/4 cup) milk chocolate chips or buttons, roughly chopped if large

Method
Preheat the oven to 175C (350F). Spray a 20x10cm (8x4 inches) mini loaf pan with vegetable oil spray and line the base and sides with baking paper. (Alternatively, use a foil takeaway container in the same size and spray it but don't line it).
Chop the dark chocolate and melt in 1-minute bursts in the microwave on medium, stirring between each round. When the chocolate is half-melted, add the butter and continue melting in 1-minute bursts until the butter and chocolate are melted. Stir until smooth. (Alternatively, melt both butter and chocolate together in a double boiler).
Add the sugars to the melted chocolate/butter and whisk in.
Add the egg and vanilla and whisk in.
Sieve in the buckwheat flour, cocoa powder and salt. Fold in with a rubber spatula.
Add the chocolate chips and fold in.
Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the surface.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until dry on top and just set.
Allow to cool completely in the tin on a wire rack.
Once cold, chop into small pieces to serve.
Makes one 20x10cm slab of brownie

Have you made this recipe? Leave a comment below! Tag me on Instagram @sarahcooksblog and hashtag #sarahcooksblog

Simply Nigella

There's no specific theme to the recipes, and is basically just what Nigella enjoys eating at the moment. I was surprised to see a few trend-driven recipes in there - Momofuku-style pork buns, kimchi tacos, 2-ingredient Nutella brownies, avocado toast, and chia pudding, anybody? - but having followed Nigella for ages, I know that nothing would make it into her book if she didn't absolutely love it and think it was worth making. Also, the food writing world has changed significantly since I first got into Nigella, a good twelve years ago, and these days I'm much more likely to find out about a new food trend or ingredient online, before reading about it in a cookbook.

Simply Nigella

There are a few recipes that have absolutely no appeal to me - the rice bowl with huge strips of raw ginger, the Thai noodles with cinnamon and prawns with big chokey shards of cinnamon sticks, or the ridic hearty-looking breakfast bars 2.0 - but overall I'm loving the book.

Simply Nigella

There are a lot of easy weeknight meals in there, a good mix of lighter and more decadent dishes, and I've been cooking from it heaps! (Check out the #sarahcookssimplynigella tag on Insta). And I've been having lots of fun snapping pictures and sharing them with my friend Clarice, fellow foodie and Nigella devotee. Reminds me of the time Feast came out and all the crazy Nigella fans were sharing their impressions on the now-defunct Nigella.com forum. It was a really fun and tight-knit community!

Here's what I've cooked so far, organised by chapter. Let's take a look!

Quick and Calm

Brocamole; Cucumber, chilli and avocado salad

Brocamole is like guacamole, with the addition of cooked broccoli. It is so delicious! I loved it on crunchy toast, and I did try Nigella's suggestion of using it as a dressing for cold noodles, which was lovely as well. You'll also see in this photo I had the brocamole on toast with the cucumber, chilli and avocado salad (from the Sides chapter), which is wonderfully spiky and refreshing.

Feta, avocado and pomegranate salad

The feta, avocado and pomegranate salad was a nice change to my usual avocado-on-toast breakfast. Pretty and tasty.

Cashew and cauliflower curry

The cashew and cauliflower curry was a nourishing yet light dinner, which we served with rice.

Salmon, avocado, watercress and pumpkin seed salad

The salmon, avocado, watercress and pumpkin seed salad was actually the first recipe I made from the book, and I loved it! If you follow Nigella on Instagram you'll see that she makes this salad (or variations thereof) very often. I love the combo of rich avocado and salmon against the peppery watercress and crunchy pumpkin seeds.

Mackerel with ginger, soy and lime

This mackerel with ginger, soy and lime was one of my favourites! The mackerel fillets are baked at a high heat in a kinda teriyaki-style glaze. If you do make this, you should definitely try the fabulous stir-fried brussels sprouts that Nigella suggests. As a whole meal, it's nutritious, filling, and light.

Crunchy chicken cutlets

I think Nigella does a mean schnitzel, and these crunchy chicken cutlets are no exception. They're dipped in a mustardy-eggy mixture and cornflake crumbs before being fried, making them tender, tasty and super crunchy. A real winner! (PS the crunchy pork chop from Feast is also divine).

Bowlfood

Sweet-potato macaroni cheese

I've made the sweet potato macaroni cheese a few times now - it tastes awesome and is super comforting.

Warm spiced cauliflower and chickpea salad with pomegranate seeds

The warm spiced cauliflower and chickpea salad with pomegranate seeds is exotic enough to be different and interesting, but is still nice and comforting with the starchy chickpeas, spicy harissa and sweet pomegranate seeds. Leftovers made an excellent packed lunch over the next few days!


Dine

Brazilian cheese bread

The only thing I've made so far from the Dine chapter is the Brazilian cheese bread, or Pão de queijo. These are crunchy-chewy-cheesy Brazilian balls of deliciousness! The tapioca starch gives the dough a weird texture, kinda like glue or paste, but I think that's normal. And they bake up beautifully! The only thing is that Nigella's recipe uses all Parmesan cheese (I don't think the traditional Minas cheese is widely available outside of Brazil), but a Brazilian chef friend of mine who lives in Australia recommends a mixture of tasty cheddar and haloumi to replicate minas, and I follow his lead.


Breathe

Massaman beef curry

Nothing much to say about the Massaman beef curry - it's a nice beef and potato curry, and as long as you can find a decent Massaman curry paste, you should be able to make this profitably.

Spiced lamb stew with a goat's cheese and thyme cobbler topping; braised peas with mustard and vermouth

I was most excited about trying the spiced lamb stew with a goat's cheese and thyme cobbler topping - I'd seen Nigella post a picture on Instagram of the scone-stopped stew a few months before the book was released, and knew I just had to make it! The stew itself wasn't great - the volume of slow-roasted garlic cloves in the recipe made the stew overpoweringly garlicky. (So garlicky that I needed to keep the bedroom windows open all night after eating it!) However, I absolutely loved the cobbler topping, so I'd happily make them again, either on a different stew, or on the same stew just made with much less garlic.

PS, I served the stew with the braised peas with mustard and vermouth from the Sides chapter - very nice. I'd happily make those peas again!

Goat's cheese and thyme cobbler biscuits

Black-treacle ham

I made the slow-cooked black treacle ham for a Christmas dinner (as well as the sweet potato macaroni cheese). Of course, as we don't get raw ham here, I couldn't follow Nigella's slow-cooking method, but I did use her black treacle glaze on a regular ham, and it was soooo tasty! It looks quite dark in the photo, but it wasn't burnt at all, just sticky and sweet and delicious.

Leek pasta bake

Like the sweet potato mac and cheese, the leek pasta bake was incredible! (Nigella's pasta bakes are fantastic - I also highly recommend the baked veal and ham pasta from How to Eat).

Slow-cooker Korean beef and rice pot

The slow-cooker Korean beef and rice pot was one of the few recipes I didn't like. It's a shame, because the method is so easy - just put brown rice, flavourings and minced beef in a slow cooker, and let it cook until everything is tenderly cooked through. Perhaps it's the brand of gojuchang sauce that I used, but the flavours weren't great. I'll keep experimenting.

From the Sides chapter, I've already mentioned the braised peas with mustard and vermouth, and the cucumber, chilli and avocado salad, but I think my favourite recipe so far would have to be the criss-cross potatoes. They're like a cross (hah!) between baked and roast potatoes, and they're quick to prepare and go with everything.

Criss-cross (will make you jump, jump) potatoes

And now we move onto the Sweet chapter! By this stage I was so keen to get through the recipes that we hosted a little afternoon tea so that I could make a few of the recipes at once. Woo!

Cider and 5-spice bundt cake

The cider and 5-spice bundt cake is essentially a gingerbread, just baked in a bundt tin, with the addition of dry cider and 5-spice powder. It's moist and spicy and just dee-licious. You don't need to make the smoky salted caramel sauce with it, but it is a heavenly combination. Eaten warm, with the caramel sauce and some double cream, it kinda has a sticky-date pudding vibe going on, although the cake is just as good eaten cold over the next few days.

Smoky salted caramel sauce ingredients

Flourless peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

The flourless peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are essentially a version of the 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies that are all over the internet (peanut butter, sugar and egg, plus the chocolate chips, a little salt and leavening). Nigella's version is no better or worse than any of the variations I've made over the past couple of years (i.e. they're freakin' delicious). The lack of flour in these cookies makes them very soft and fragile - so make sure to handle them very gently!

Nutella brownies

The nutella brownies are basically the same as those 2-ingredient Nutella brownies that stormed the internet a few years back - just nutella and eggs. I can't say that these were great - they were kinda gluey and not richly chocolatey enough for my liking, but I'm glad I tried them, and I wanted another gluten-free option for the tea party as we had a coeliac attending. This reminds me, I don't have a go-to brownie recipe. What is your favourite brownie recipe?


Beginnings

The final chapter in the book is all about breakfasts! I must admit I haven't made too much out of here yet, as I think my breakfast game is quite strong, and I don't really need a recipe for matcha lattes, avocado toast, chia puddings or overnight oats. I was much more interested in the more involved breakfast recipes...

Breakfast banana bread with cardamom and cocoa nibs

Breakfast banana bread with cardamom and cocoa nibs! The cardamom and cocoa nibs in this banana bread add extra bitterness and depth. I liked how it wasn't too sweet; very nice for breakfast spread with a little butter. It was nice, but I think Nigella's original banana bread, from How to be a Domestic Goddess, is even better. (And of course, my ultimate banana bread recipe is Bill Granger's choc chip banana bread!)

Oat pancakes with raspberries and honey

I absolutely loved the oat pancakes with raspberries and honey, although they were far too hearty and "healthy"-tasting for Sandra. I thought they were gorgeous with the honeyed raspberries, which added both sweetness and moisture. A treat of a breakfast.

And that's what I've made from Simply Nigella so far! There's quite a few more on my list, but if I'd waited until I'd cooked everything I wanted, this post would never have happened! The ones I want to make next are... the chocolate chip cookie dough pots (uunnnnnngh want), the buckwheat triple chocolate cookies, and the buckwheat, banana and carrot muffins.

Fellow Nigella-fans - what do you think of Simply Nigella (the book and the program)? Any favourite recipes that I haven't tried yet? Did you see Nigella on her big promotional tour? I saw her speak at the Melbourne Town Hall with Jill Dupleix, and thought she was amazing!

Chocolate brownie cookies with salted peanut butter frosting

Hey hey! So, I'm pretty obsessed with those fab Butterbing chocolate and peanut butter cookie sandwiches that have been popping up in fancy cafes around town. (I've bought them from Little Rogue and Bonnie Coffee Brewers before, but you can see current stockists at Butterbing's website). They do make other flavours, but I'm all about the peanut-butter-filled! Well, the other day I saw a recipe for very similar looking cookie sandwiches on Donna Hay's Instagram and I just had to try it!

These biscuits are very rich and chocolatey - the recipe makes 12 cookie sandwiches, and uses a whopping 350 grams of dark chocolate. Yes please!

Melty chocolate goodness

Most cookie recipes I've made before (i.e. standard chocolate chip cookies), are based on a creamed butter-sugar mixture, with eggs, flour, leavenings and chocolate chips mixed through. However, this recipe has you start by whisking eggs and sugar vigorously until super pale and tripled in volume, before adding in melted chocolate and butter, a tiny amount of flour and baking powder to hold it together, and more chocolate pieces. I believe it's the aerated egg-sugar mixture that gives the crackly appearance, with the air making the cookies rise and fall as they bake. Obviously, it's the shedload of melted chocolate gives the cookies their rich gooeyness. Yum.

Crackly chocolate goodness

The frosting is super easy to make - just beat together icing sugar, peanut butter, softened butter, vanilla extract and a little cream. It is so ridiculously delicious! I found I only needed about two thirds of the icing to fill all the cookies, so there was heaps leftover for snacking purposes. I may have eaten most of it, silently, in the kitchen, whilst "doing the dishes". Whoops.

Peanut butter frosting

The frosting was quite sweet, so I sprinkled a little fleur de sel on the icing before sandwiching the cookies together, to balance out the flavours. It was a good move. I think the frosting would be good on other biscuits, cookies, brownies or cakes too. Any ideas, people?

I was actually making these cookie sandwiches as a belated birthday gift for my friend Jenni, so I packed eight of them away in plastic containers...

All packed up!

... and kept three little ones for myself. (Well, one for myself, one for Sandra, and one for Jenni's boyfriend, Jimbo, who was in charge of delivering the cookie sandwiches safely, and intact, to Jenni!)

I totally loved them! Probably a good idea that I gave most of them away, otherwise I would have seriously eaten them all. So much rich chocolatey peanut buttery goodness! As you can imagine, these go really well with a nice strong coffee.

A sneaky one for me!

Obviously mine weren't as perfect looking as the Butterbing ones, but they were still super tasty! They're really rich, so next time I might actually make them smaller. (The recipe below makes the big ones you see in my photos!) Either way, it was a fun and rewarding little baking project. Hooray!

Chocolate Brownie Cookies with Salted Peanut Butter Frosting
Recipe from Donna Hay, with some slight adaptations from me

Ingredients
For the Cookies
350 grams dark chocolate, chopped
40 grams unsalted butter
2 eggs
2/3 cup (150 grams) caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup (35 grams) plain flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
For the Frosting
1 cup (160 grams) icing sugar
1 cup (280 grams) smooth peanut butter
80 grams unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup (80 millilitres) single cream
A few pinches fleur de sel, or other flaky salt

Method
To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 180C.
Place 200 grams of the chocolate and the butter in a heavy-based saucepan, and melt over a low heat until smooth, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Place the eggs, caster sugar and vanilla extract in the bowl of a free-standing mixer, and whisk on high for 10-15 minutes, or until pale and creamy, and tripled in volume.
Sift over the flour and baking powder. Fold in gently using a large metal spoon.
Add the melted chocolate and butter mixture, and the remaining chopped chocolate, and fold in gently until combined. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes.
Drop tablespoons of the mixture onto lined baking trays, allowing room for spreading. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until puffed and cracked. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets.
To make the frosting, place the icing sugar, peanut butter, butter and vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer, and beat for 5-6 minutes or until well combined and fluffy. Pour in the cream and beat for a further 2 minutes.
Spread half the cookies with the peanut butter frosting, sprinkle each with a little fleur de sel, and sandwich with the remaining cookies. (You may have some leftover icing - don't fret, just eat, gratefully).
Makes 10-12 sandwich cookies, depending on the size of your cookies.

Dense Chocolate Avocado Brownies

Ingredients

... and these brownies were super easy to put together!

Gah, avocados are sooooo delicious.

Hass avocados

I whizzed them up in a mini food processor to get a really smooth texture.

Beautiful green avocado flesh

Pureed avocado

It looks so cool when you pour the melted chocolate and coconut oil into the avocado!

Green and choc swirls

The mixture turned a bit grainy when I added the sugar, but became smooth again when I whisked the eggs in. (Does this mean eggs are an emulsifier?)

Silky smooth batter

Ready for the oven

Dense Chocolate Avocado Brownies

These are seriously rich brownies. Apart from the two whole avocados and three tablespoons of coconut oil, there is a whole cup of rich brown sugar and a whopping two hundred and twenty grams of dark chocolate in these babies, with only a small amount of almond meal to provide stability and heft. Come to think of it, these brownies happen to be gluten-free - a good option for coeliacs then! (And I should note here that even though the original version of this recipe was on a health-focused blog, and even though these contain nutrient-rich avocado, these dense fudgy brownies certainly aren't "health" food, but a very indulgent, delicious treat!)

Dense Chocolate Avocado Brownies

Avocado certainly isn't the dominant taste here - these brownies are all about the chocolate. It's quite a dark taste (in addition to the dark chocolate, these contain unsweetened cocoa, for an even more pronounced, intense, chocolate hit) - definitely for grown ups. Due to the high chocolate content, these are quite squidgy when they're fresh out of the oven, so I'd suggest waiting for them to cool completely and firm up before you slice them. (If you can wait that long!!!)

Dense Chocolate Avocado Brownie

Go on.

Dense Chocolate Avocado Brownies
Recipe adapted from The Iron You

Ingredients
220 grams dark chocolate (I used a mix of 70% and 85% cocoa)
3 tablespoons coconut oil
2 very ripe avocados
1 cup light muscovado sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup almond meal
1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel, or other fine sea salt
1/2 cups chopped walnuts, plus 12 whole ones for decorating

Method
Preheat oven to 175C.
Line a 20 centimetre squared baking tin with baking paper.
Melt the dark chocolate and coconut oil, either in the microwave on medium, or in a double boiler, stirring occasionally until completely melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
Mash the avocado flesh until completely smooth.
Add the chocolate and coconut oil mixture to the avocado.
Whisk in the sugar, followed by the eggs and vanilla extract.
Sift in the cocoa powder and baking powder.
Add the almond meal and salt, stirring gently to combine.
Finally, fold in the walnuts.
Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin, smoothing the top. Press the whole walnuts evenly into the batter.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the brownie is set. A cake tester will still come out with damp crumbs clinging to it.
Allow to cool completely before cutting into 12 squares.
Makes 12 large brownies