Chocolate chips!

Oh my that looks fantastic.

It really is, and it's easy to make, which is useful when all the oven and stove space is needed for Christmas and Boxing Day dinners. I'll probably replace the chocolate olive oil cake this year, but I think the clementine cake is a keeper. This is another GF recipe that's always a hit at parties: Mexican Chili Chocolate truffles! I got it from Thomasina Mier's first Wahaca cookbook: http://www.channel5.com/shows/mexican-food-made-simple/recipes/chilli-chocolate-truffles

And to think that I've been going down to the Co-op and buying 3+ bags of those tiny chocolate chips every time I wanted to make cookies!  I'll have to remember to just buy a bar of baking chocolate next time.  I agree that it is difficult to adjust US recipes for the UK.  Back in May I made muffins that used applesauce as the sweetening agent.  Went to the grocery store only to find that apple sauce in the UK is more of a topping or a condiment than I stand-alone side dish (go figure).  Fortunately it was easy enough to make my own applesauce with a couple of apple on the stove.  The first time that I ever baked in the UK was in my student flat.  I must not have measured the amount of butter correctly (I was making a cinnamon roll cake) but, before the cake was finished baking, I had to pour the melted butter out of the pan.  I can still feel my arteries clogging....

There is a sort of Pam-like spay butter available at Tescos.  My MIL has some in her kitchen.

Back in May I made muffins that used applesauce as the sweetening agent.  Went to the grocery store only to find that apple sauce in the UK is more of a topping or a condiment than I stand-alone side dish (go figure).  Fortunately it was easy enough to make my own applesauce with a couple of apple on the stove.

I'd never made applesauce until I came to the UK. I used to be vegan and then used ready-made (US) applesauce as an egg substitute. Now my (UK) grandfather-in-law doesn't eat egg so I make sweets for him with homemade applesauce. I think some things turn out better with it! I love making banana-walnut-apple muffins with a brown sugar crumbly topping but they don't last long in this house.

It's so much easier to make homemade applesauce than I imagined - just peel and cut up an apple, rinse it, drain out as much water as you can (I find the apples will release enough liquid on their own) and simmer in a covered pan for 15-20 minutes. Mash and throw in a dash of cinnamon, maybe some raisins if it'll be eaten on it's own, and you're good to go! Simples! 

It's so much easier to make homemade applesauce than I imagined - just peel and cut up an apple, rinse it, drain out as much water as you can (I find the apples will release enough liquid on their own) and simmer in a covered pan for 15-20 minutes. Mash and throw in a dash of cinnamon, maybe some raisins if it'll be eaten on it's own, and you're good to go! Simples! 

Wow! I'm going to have to try this! Does it matter what kind of apples you use? /Would this affect the overall texture?

Wow! I'm going to have to try this! Does it matter what kind of apples you use? /Would this affect the overall texture?

I use Gala or Pink Lady as that's what I've usually got anyway. I suppose it would depend on how sweet or tart you like your applesauce. 

Wow! I'm going to have to try this! Does it matter what kind of apples you use? /Would this affect the overall texture?

I think that I used Bramley.  Didn't taste any different once it had been cooked into the muffin than the Motts that I usually use.

And to think that I've been going down to the Co-op and buying 3+ bags of those tiny chocolate chips every time I wanted to make cookies!  I'll have to remember to just buy a bar of baking chocolate next time. 

Doesn't have to be baking chocolate... any chocolate you like will do!

Ah, I see.  Maybe my lack of knowledge comes down to the fact that I never actually baked in the US. Ever.

Only in the past 6 months have I started baking-- I failed absolutely miserably at macarons, but kept trying, and have managed to make a mean meringue, scrumptious scones, chewy chocolate chip cookies, a fantastically rich dark chocolate torte.  This weekend I'm planning on a strawberry rhubarb pie with crisp topping like my Mom used to make -- wish me luck!  If only I could find some tapioca pearls...

I get my tapioca at Sainsburys, it's in their own-brand bag, probably a 500gm bag, I *think* I find it near the rice. Hope that helps!

I break up a Bourneville bar for my chocolate chips - works great! The recipe I use calls for 300 or 350 grams of chocolate chips, these come in 200 gram bars but I don't bother splitting one; they're plenty chocolatey even with that. Good luck :-)

Thanks yall! I like the idea of cutting up a chocolate bar. The teeny Sainsbury's bag of dark chocolate chips do taste pretty much like semi-sweet. I got Trex (vegetable shortening like Crisco) through Sainsbury's online shop and it's pretty close. Not sure why it needs to be refrigerated though.

I also LOVE baking. Luckily all my recipes are American so I don't have to convert from cups to grams or whatnot. I still think I'm going to have my parents bring over my kitchen scale when they come for a visit, though.

I recently stumbled upon these: Guittard Semisweet Super Cookie Chips at Ocado for BOGO.  I added them to my basket to try them out, and it looks like they've been imported from the US (the US Nutrition Facts label is covered over with a sticker containing nutrition information in the UK format). 

They taste good to me!  But each one is about the size of a penny...which kinda caught me off guard when I was expecting the itty bitty <5p sized chips.  Easy enough to chop them up though

You will have to adapt your baking here. You can't get Crisco in the stores…you can get it online from importers but it's expensive. Costco is going to be the best place to find things. I love using Pam and the don't sell that here. I buy the big Costco brand cans and it last me a long time. I use the Tollhouse recipe for cookies but they never turn out like they used to in the US.

They don't have Crisco but you can get a similar product that they keep in the refrigerator section called Trex. It's in a white cardboard box and it looks just like crisco and it worked the exact same when I used it to flour my cupcake tins for Boston Cream Cupcakes.

What stuff can be made by using Chocolate chips!

For those of you chopping up chocolate bars for chocolate chips...forget the fancy stuff. Tesco's everyday value plain chocolate bars, for about 30p each, taste almost the same as the plain chocolate chips back in the USA (or...what i remember them tasting like?)

ANYWAY it works fabulously in a nice toll house recipe!!

From a quick Google search, it looks like "semi-sweet" chocolate is scaled around 50% (with milk less than 43%) cocoa solids. So if you buy a couple of bars of baking chocolate, try to get around 50%. I know I see 60% quite often, so I'm guessing that would be pretty close? I've always just chunked up chocolate bars too when I baked cookies in France or the UK as the milk chocolate is just way too sweet for me!