Chocolate Banana Tahini Brownie

I love a one tin cookbook and the latest that's caught my eye is Rosie Sykes Roasting Pan Suppers which she's written for the National Trust. This is less of a supper dish obviously than an indulgent cake but none the worse for that!

Rosie says "The tahini gives the brownie a distinctive flavour and the banana keeps it wonderfully moist."

Chocolate Banana Tahini Brownie.

SERVES 8–10

300g dark chocolate

75g butter

100g tahini, plus a generous tablespoon to finish

3 eggs

200g soft light brown sugar

2 ripe bananas, mashed

80g rye flour

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Sea salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan), gas mark 4. Line a small roasting pan or baking tin (approx. 30 x 20cm) with a reusable silicone baking sheet.

Melt the chocolate, butter and tahini in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, sugar and a pinch of salt together until light and fluffy. Fold in the mashed bananas, then the melted chocolate mix. You will notice that the mixture starts to thicken a little. When everything is thoroughly mixed, carefully fold in the flour until fully incorporated.

Turn into the prepared tin and drizzle the remaining tablespoon of tahini all over the top. Then sprinkle over the sesame seeds.

Bake for 25–30 minutes until the brownie is just set – it should still feel soft and moist. Leave the tin on a wire rack to cool for an hour or so. Imagine this warm with some cream or ice cream on top!

TIP These brownies could be made gluten-free by substituting the rye flour for a gluten-free flour.

From Roasting Pan Suppers by Rosie Sykes, published by National Trust. Photograph by Dan Jones.

James Martin's chocolate and hazelnut choux buns

I love the idea of a whole book devoted to butter, surely one of the most underrated and maligned ingredients, so congrats to TV chef James Martin for pulling it off. There are so many recipes that appeal to me but this indulgent take on profiteroles has a real wow factor.

James writes: "The idea of choux pastry is simple – four ingredients brought together for either sweet or savoury dishes. It is important to dice the butter into a cold pan with the water first and bring to the boil, then immediately add the flour. Failing to do this will alter the recipe, the quantity of water needed and the finished choux pastry.

It is even more important to always use good-quality flour. It may sound ridiculous to some people, but flour as cheap as 9 pence a kilo is not food, as I have found out on many a TV show when a recipe that I have made all my life fails to work as it should. It is generally the quality of the flour that is the root cause."

CHOCOLATE AND HAZELNUT CHOUX BUNS

SERVES 8

FOR THE CHOUX

200ml water

85g butter

115g plain flour

15g sugar

pinch of salt

3 eggs

FOR THE FILLING

450ml double cream, whipped

150g hazelnut and chocolate spread

FOR THE CARAMEL

200g caster sugar

100g toasted hazelnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan)/400°F/gas 6. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Heat the water and butter in a saucepan until the butter has melted. Bring to the boil, then immediately beat in the flour, sugar and salt until the mixture is smooth. Continue to cook for 2–3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the mixture to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Once cool, spoon eight 12cm pastry buns onto the lined baking tray. Bake for 30 minutes until golden and crispy, then remove from oven and leave to cool.

Whisk together the cream and hazelnut and chocolate spread.

Split each choux bun in half and fill with the chocolate and hazelnut cream.

Put the sugar in a pan over a medium heat; do not stir but carefully swirl in the pan until the sugar is brown and caramelised. This should take about 3–4 minutes. Swirl in the hazelnuts. Dip each bun in carefully in the caramel to serve.

What to drink: Try a young vin santo like this one I recommended the other week or a moscatel

From BUTTER: Comforting, delicious, versatile, over 130 recipes celebrating butter by James Martin (Quadrille) Photography: John Carey

Chocolate, banana and hazelnut galette

If you're a chocolate-lover - or buying a present for one - you're going to want to get your hands on a copy of Sue Quinn's The Little Chocolate Cookbook which is full of really original and delicious recipes including this chocolate, banana and hazelnut galette.

As Sue says "Antony and Cleopatra. Meghan and Harry. Gin and tonic. Chocolate and banana. Some couplings are just meant to be. This is a quick and delicious dessert you can make from pantry ingredients. Perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a cloud of whipped cream on top."

Serves 6

200g/7oz plain [all-purpose] flour

60g/2¼oz caster [superfine] sugar

50g/1¾oz ground hazelnuts

pinch of salt

125g/4½oz cold unsalted butter, chopped

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp runny honey

100g/3½oz dark chocolate (60–70% cocoa solids), roughly chopped

3 medium ripe bananas

1–2 tbsp demerara [light brown] sugar, for sprinkling

1 egg lightly beaten with a splash of milk, for egg wash

First, make your dough. Using a fork or balloon whisk, whisk the flour, caster sugar, ground hazelnuts and salt together in a bowl to combine. Transfer to a food processor, add the butter and pulse to a breadcrumb consistency. Add the egg yolks, a little at a time, pulsing between additions, to make a shaggy dough. Tip out onto a work surface, knead briefly and shape into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4 and place a baking sheet inside to heat. Warm the honey in a small pan and set aside.

Roll out the dough between 2 pieces of baking paper into a circle roughly 35cm/14in in diameter. Carefully peel off the top layer of paper. Using a bowl, plate or pan lid as a guide, mark out (but don’t cut!) a circle roughly 22cm/8½in in diameter in the centre of the dough. Using a sharp knife, cut out a circle 32cm/12½in in diameter around the marked-out circle; there should be a 5-cm/2-in border between the marked-out circle and the edge of the pastry.

Scatter the chopped chocolate within the border of the marked-out circle. Thinly slice the bananas and arrange neatly on top of the chocolate. Brush the bananas with the warmed honey and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the demerara sugar.

Fold the border inwards, pleating and gently pressing to form a neat edge as you go. Brush the dough with the egg wash and sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Quickly slide the galette on its paper onto the hot baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes until golden and crisp underneath. Serve immediately.

What to drink:

A sticky Rutherglen muscat would be perfect with this.

From The Little Chocolate Cookbook by Sue Quinn (Quadrille, £10) Photography ©Yuki Sugiura

See also Rosie Sykes' Chocolate Banana Tahini Brownie

Flourless Dark Chocolate Cake with Turkish Delight, Halva & Dates

If you're looking for a cake to bake for Mother's Day - or any other special occasion - I can't think of a more glamourous recipe than this one which comes from one of my favourite cookbooks of 2020, Claire Thomson's brilliant Home Cookery Year.

"Truly a great cake, fudgy and moist" enthuses Claire. "The egg whites are whipped as for a meringue, then folded through with chunks of Turkish delight, pieces of halva, chopped dates and dark chocolate. Cardamom works its characteristic and ethereal magic with all of these ingredients.

SERVES 8–10

6 egg whites

200g (7oz) caster (superfine) sugar

125g (4½oz) ground almonds

¼ tsp ground green cardamom seeds

pinch of salt

300g (10½oz) halva, crumbled or chopped into small pieces

200g (7oz) Turkish delight, ½ finely chopped, ½ chopped slightly bigger to decorate

150g (5½oz) dried pitted dates, finely chopped

200g (7oz) 70% dark (bittersweet) chocolate, finely chopped

TO DECORATE

100ml (3½fl oz) double (heavy) cream

150g (5½oz) 70% dark (bittersweet) chocolate, finely chopped

30g (1oz) pistachios, roughly chopped

rose petals, optional

Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/325°F/Gas Mark 3.

Grease and line a 24cm (9½in) springform cake tin with baking paper.

Using an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Gradually add the sugar, beating continuously, then continue to beat for 5 minutes, until you have a thick and glossy meringue.

Fold in the ground almonds, cardamom, and pinch of salt, then add the halva and the finely chopped Turkish delight. Next, add the dates and finally the chocolate.

Stir briefly until just combined. Spoon into the prepared cake tin and bake for 1 hour–1 hour 10 minutes, until the cake is set and firm to the touch (it will still be moist in the centre, so a skewer will not come out clean).

Cover with a loose square of foil if the cake catches too much before it’s ready.

To decorate, first make a ganache. Pour the cream into a saucepan and place over a high heat. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Little by little (but still fairly rapidly), whisk in the chocolate, so that the cream doesn’t cool too much and will melt all the chocolate.

Once all the chocolate has melted, allow the ganache to cool for 10 or so minutes in the pan, by which time it will stiffen a little to a thick pouring consistency.

Transfer the cooled cake to a large serving plate and pour over the chocolate ganache, allowing it to drip down the sides.

Decorate with the chopped pistachios and the remaining Turkish delight. Some fresh rose petals will add extra va-va-voom, if you have them.

What to drink: I'd be perfectly happy to drink coffee or tea with this cake but given you could serve it as a dessert you might want a sweet wine with it. Andrew Quady's Elysium black muscat, an exotically scented sweet red would be perfect or possibly a well-chilled glass of pink port.

From Home Cookery Year by Claire Thomson (Quadrille) Photography: Sam Folan. You can follow Claire on Instagram at 5oclockapron