Chocolate almond slice

Ingredients

Melted butter, to grease
 125g butter, at room temperature, chopped
 45g (1/4 cup) icing sugar mixture
 150g (1 cup) plain flour, sifted
 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut
 180g (3/4 cup) chocolate-hazelnut spread
 4 egg whites
 155g (1 1/2 cups) almond meal
 155g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
 4 drops of almond or vanilla essence
 75g (3/4 cup) flaked almonds


Step 1

Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush a 16 x 26cm (base measurement) slab pan with melted butter to grease. Line with non-stick baking paper.

Step 2

Use a wooden spoon to mix the butter and icing sugar mixture in a large bowl until well combined. Add the flour and coconut, and stir until well combined. Press the mixture evenly over the base of the lined pan. Smooth the surface. Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes or until light golden.

Step 3

Spread the chocolate-hazelnut spread evenly over the base.

Step 4

Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the almond meal, caster sugar and almond or vanilla essence. Use a large metal spoon to fold until well combined. Spread the almond meal mixture over the chocolate-hazelnut spread. Smooth the surface.

Step 5

Sprinkle with the almonds. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until firm and golden. Set aside in the pan to cool completely.

Egg salad with onion

Egg and onion is a steadfast duo, to which spring onion adds piquancy. Excellent as a topping on toasted sourdough.

Serves 4-6
1 onion, finely sliced
1 tbsp olive oil, for frying
6 large hardboiled eggs, peeled and grated
2 spring onions, pale green and white bits, chopped
1 tbsp mayonnaise
A few gribenes (optional)
Salt and black pepper
1 bunch watercress and black olives, to garnish

1 Gently fry the sliced onion in the oil until soft and just starting to turn golden. Blitz the onion with a stick blender until smooth, then scrape into a bowl. Stir in the pureed onion, then the grated egg, mayonnaise and gribenes, if using, Season to taste. Spoon into a serving dish, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for up to two days until needed. To serve, garnish with watercress and decorate with a few black olives.

Marbled Brownie Recipe

 Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
3 ounces finely chopped semisweet chocolate
3 ounces finely chopped unsweetened chocolate
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Marble:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened (the microwave for 45 seconds at 50 percent power is a great way to do this)
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, so that the edges of the paper come up the sides. Lightly butter the paper.
Put both the semisweet and unsweetened chocolates and the butter in a heatproof medium bowl. Fill a medium saucepan with a couple inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat; set the bowl of chocolate over the water to melt. Whisk until smooth. (Alternatively, melt in a microwave at half power, for 1 minute, stir and then heat for another minute or until melted.)
Whisk the flour and salt in a bowl.

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Stir the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just blended. Take care not to over mix the batter. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.

For the marble swirl: Whisk the cream cheese with the sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Drop very large spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture onto the surface of the brownie batter. Insert a butter knife through the batter to the bottom of the pan. With the flat edge of the knife, make swirling motions through the batters, occasionally lifting the knife through the top, until the dark and light batters are marbled.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out coated with a fudge-y crumb, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool the brownies in the pan on a rack.

To take the brownies out of the pan, lift the edges of the paper. Cut the brownies into squares. Serve.