Boozy Brownies

 

These chocolate brownies are definitely not suitable for children! They're great for an adults-only party or barbecue, though I made them as a gift for a friend who had been through a tough time lately. He seemed pretty pleased with them when I described what was in the brownies!

The recipe comes from Bake in Black - Music-Inspired Baking by Eve and David O'Sullivan which I reviewed when it came out. I hadn't made anything from this book in a while so when I decided to bake something for my friend, had a flick through until I came to a recipe I could make fairly quickly and easily and that I could package up to give to him. Chocolate brownies it was!

The recipe is actually called Whiskey in the Bar- all the recipes in the book are inspired by music and this one is apparently Thin Lizzy. They are raisin and whiskey brownies with an Irish cream liqueur glaze - they came out gooey even though I extended the cooking time, and they taste amazing!

 

Makes 12
150g raisins
4 tbsp. Irish whiskey - though I didn't have any and used Jack Daniels
250g milk chocolate
200g butter
250g caster sugar
3 eggs
60g plain flour
60g cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder

for the glaze:
50ml Irish cream liqueur
75g milk chocolate

Soak the raisins in the whiskey for at least half an hour.

When you are ready to begin baking, preheat the oven to 180C and grease a 20x20cm square cake tin.

Melt the chocolate either in the microwave or a bain-marie. Meanwhile in a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar and beat in the eggs. Pour in the melted chocolate and mix gently so it is all combined.

Add the raisins and the whiskey and fold in the flour, cocoa and baking powder. Pour into the baking tin and level the top; bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes [mine took more like 45, after I checked it a couple of times] until still squidgy but not raw in the middle when you test with a skewer. The skewer should emerge a bit sticky but not with raw brownie mixture on it.

Allow the brownies to cool in the tin. Make the drizzle when the brownies have cooled; heat the cream liqueur in a pan or a bowl in the microwave until just bubbling. Add the broken up chocolate and stir until smooth. Spread over the top of the brownies; the glaze will harden and you can then cut the brownies into squares.

I love Baileys but didn't have any and drinks like this don't actually keep that long - so if you have a bottle on the go that's great but I would advise against opening a new bottle for this recipe if you then aren't going to drink the rest (not on your own obviously!). Instead I found something really handy in Lidl a few months ago - a box of cream liqueur pots, like the milk you get in hotel rooms; you can open one or two as you want them and the rest will keep. Great if you just want the occasional drink or want to use in a recipe (or pour over ice cream perhaps?).

 

I'm sharing these with We Should Cocoa over at Tin and Thyme  and Treat Petite hosted by Kat the Baking Explorer.

Baileys Chocolat Luxe Cheesecake

If you haven't got a dessert for Christmas day yet - or want something different for Boxing Day - you've still got time to make this delicious Baileys cheesecake! I used the new Baileys Chocolat Luxe which is delicious - I'm surprised they haven't made a chocolate flavour before now (though I'm not complaining about the caramel version either)!


I adapted this recipe from one on the Baileys website. I left out the melted chocolate as I used Baileys Chocolat Luxe instead of the Original Irish Cream flavour and I made a few other tweaks.

You need:
150g digestive biscuits
50g butter, melted
50ml Baileys Chocolat Luxe
250g mascarpone cheese
100g cream cheese
200g fromage frais
2 eggs
40g caster sugar

Preheat oven to 180C. Crush the biscuits either in a food processor or in a plastic food bag with a rolling pin until you have crumbs. In a bowl, mix the crumbs with the melted butter.

Press the crumbs into the base of a loose-bottomed cake tin - I used an 8 inch one. Bake for 15-20 minutes until browned and firm. Then turn down the oven to 150C.

In a bowl, whisk the mascarpone, soft cheese and fromage frais with the eggs and sugar.

Add the Baileys and whisk again.

Pour the mixture onto the biscuit base and bake for around an hour. Check occasionally to make sure the top doesn't go too brown, in which case you can cover it with foil. Bake until the cheesecake is no longer wobbly when you move the tin.

 Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

 The cheesecake is deliciously light and creamy and you can definitely taste the Baileys with a hint of chocolate. We had this for dessert when we saw my boyfriend's parents the day before Christmas Eve.

I'm sending this to We Should Cocoa, hosted by Choclette from Chocolate Log Blog. The theme for the December challenge is alcohol (and chocolate) - so the Bailey's Chocolat Luxe in this cheesecake ticks both boxes.

I'm also sending this to Calendar Cakes, hosted by Rachel at Dollybakes and Laura at Laura Loves Cakes, as the theme this month is jingle bells rock, and I think this Baileys cheesecake is perfect for a festive party or Christmas dinner dessert.