A Friday night dessert special - this was a hit with my friends, who had us round for dinner in their studio flat in Golders Green a couple of weeks ago.
Grease your pie dish with 1 calorie spray, or your Benecol spread and pre-heat the oven to 200 C.
Dough/pie shell:
175g all-purpose flour
2 tbsp half-spoon sugar
115g Benecol Olive (low cholesterol) spread
1 egg yolk
2-3 tsp cold water (or until you reach the right consistency for your dough)
Mix the flour and sugar in a bowl, then rub in the Benecol until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Mix together the egg yolk and water and add to the dry ingredients. Knead into a dough and then mould to your pie dish. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and then bake in the oven for 15 minutes with a circle of parchment paper covering the base of the pie. Remove the paper and bake for a further 10 minutes - the pie shell should now be golden and crisp.
Filling:
50g cornstarch (or cornflour)
90g half spoon sugar
160ml low fat single cream
275ml skimmed milk
90g dark chocolate (organic) - broken into pieces
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp Benecol olive spread
Mix the cornstarch (cornflour) and sugar in a non-stick pan. Gradually blend in the cream and then stir in the milk and chocolate. Heat on a low light and stir until the chocolate melts and the mixture thickens and boils (resist the urge to eat the chocolate mixture straight from the pan!). Remove from the heat. Beat the egg yolks in a separate bowl, then stir in a few spoonfuls of the chocolate mixture one at a time, and then pour the combined mixture back into the pan, stirring constantly for a further minute (but do not allow to boil). Remove from the heat and stir in the Benecol. Allow to cool and then pour into the pie shell.
Press a circle of dampened parchment paper onto the surface of the pie filling to prevent a skin from forming and then refrigerate for 2 hours. Remove the parchment paper. You are now ready to serve it up and enjoy!!
Double Chocolate Cookies
Otherwise known as, the funnest way to spend a Wednesday afternoon!!
50g Benecol Olive spread
450g organic dark chocolate, roughly chopped
2 eggs
170g soft light brown sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
85g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 baking trays lined with greaseproof paper
Preheat the oven to 170 C
Melt the Benecol and half the chocolate in a non-stick pan. Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract. Pour in the chocolate mixture, beating on slow speed until well combined. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl and then stir in the chocolate mixture in 3 additions, mixing well each time. Then (having roughly chopped the remaining chocolate, add it to the melted mixture. (Remember to keep all chocolaholic friends away from the mixture - and, speaking from personal experience, do not answer the phone while operating the electric whisk - I literally got chocolate sauce all over my kitchen floor, and I might add, myself!!)
Here comes the fun part!! Arrange spoonfuls of cookie dough to the baking trays - make sure the cookies are spaced apart to allow for spreading while baking. Bake for 10-15 minutes. They are ready when the tops start to crack and look glossy. Leave to cool before devouring!!
My Mummy's favourite brownies...
200g dark chocolate
175g Benecol Olive spread
325g caster sugar (half spoon sugar)
130g plain flour
3 eggs
Line a baking tray with baking paper or grease your tray with Benecol spread and preheat the oven to 170 C...
Melt the chocolate and Benecol in a non-stick pan until smooth. Remove from the heat, then add the sugar and stir well. Finally stir in the eggs and mix until thick and smooth. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes.
Be very careful not to overcook. You want them to be really squidgy on the inside.
My Mum says they are the best brownies she has ever tasted!!
See-in-the-dark Carrot Cake!!
cake:
100g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch salt
200g light brown sugar
15g olive oil
2 medium eggs
200g carrots, grated
150g ground almonds
frosting:
175g extra light cream cheese
55g icing sugar
25g Benecol Olive (low cholesterol) spread
Measure out all the ingredients for the filling - grate the carrots (you'll probably need two decent sized carrots; peel and top n' tail) then add the ground almonds. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in another bowl. Then add the brown sugar, olive oil and eggs and mix well. Stir in the carrot and ground almond mixture.
Pour the filling into the pre-greased cake tin (ideally 20cm) and bake in a pre-heated oven (170 C) for approx 30 minutes.
While the cake is cooling (once removed), whisk the cream cheese, butter and icing sugar in a bowl until smooth. When the cake is cold, spread the frosting on top. Yum!!
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