I am slowly getting back into the rhythm of Sunday afternoon baking. Last weekend, I was motivated by the fact that I needed to read some papers (17 studies/review articles on gender and autism) for a meeting early this week. And while autism and all things autism related are of great interest to me, the stack of papers sitting on my desk was the north pole to my north pole and sent me spinning into the kitchen. I found a chocolate based recipe (Nacho loves dark chocolate) which also required a ganache to be made so I thought it would broaden my culinary horizons.

As you can see from the information below it is fairly easy to make, with an uncomplicated ingredient list. I had all of the things in my cupboard except for the double cream.

How did it turn out?

Very nice…

I enjoyed making the ganache it was easier than I thought it would be. Somehow, because it has a French name, I thought ganache would be quite tricky to made. But that was a rather silly preconception, wasn’t it? Cream and chocolate, couldn’t be simpler. I’m tempted to find more recipes to experiment with this and then give the products away to my work colleagues.

So back to the final product. It’s chewy and tasty. The chocolate topping is smooth and not too sweet at all. My head is still trying to understand what the coconut brings to the taste and texture but my mouth is not complaining yet. We are now in the middle of a heatwave so it has been too hot to leave these out in current room temperature however they are doing well in the fridge.

Tonight, I’m home alone and it has been the perfect accompaniment for me while I sip some tea try and watch Nigeria play Argentina. Come on you Eagles!

…and yes, I will get through those papers (6/17 completed).

Ingredients

300g (10 1/2 oz) unsalted butter, melted

40g (1 1/2 oz) cocoa powder

300g (10 1/2 oz) wholemeal flour

210g (7 1/2 oz) soft light brown sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

150 (5 1/2oz) desiccated coconut

FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

175ml (6fl oz) double cream

150g (5 1/2 oz) dark chocolate, broken into pieces

Method

1. Preheat the oven 190oC. Line the base and sides of a 30 x 20cm (12 x 8 inch) tin with non-stick baking parchment.

2.  Melt the butter in a large saucepan and stir in the cocoa. Remove from the heat and stir in all the remaining ingredients. Transfer to the prepared tin and press down. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until risen, firm and coming away from the sides of the tin.

3. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes.

4. To make the ganache, bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan, remove from heat and stir in the broken chocolate. Stir until melted and smooth.

5. Top the shortbread with the chocolate ganache, leave to set, then cut into 16 squares.

Store for up to 7 days in an airtight container at room temperature or chilled. Not suitable for freezing.

Reference: Have Your Cake and Eat It – Mich Turner