Chocolate & cinnamon swirl loaf

I made cinnamon rolls a few weeks ago but was too afraid to document because it was my first attempt. They turned out amazingly well so I'll be making them again at some point. I thought for the time being I'd try out a cinnamon swirl loaf. I found a few recipes on pinterest  and I've taken bits of instructions from each. Here's what I did:

Ingredients:
250g plain flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 120g mini chocolate chips (I used both dark & milk), 1 egg, 150g of dark brown sugar, 50g granulated sugar, 240ml buttermilk, 80ml of veg oil, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
For the cinnamon swirl: 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 65g granulated sugar

Method:
- Preheat over to 180 degrees and grease or line a non stick loaf pan. Make what will become of the cinnamon swirl but combining the granulated sugar and cinnamon then set aside.

- Whisk the egg, brown sugar and granulated sugar together until all the lumps are out. 

- Whisk in the buttermilk, oil, vanilla until well combined.

- Sieve all the dry ingredients into the wet mixture (flour, baking powder, salt) and also add the chocolate chips. Do not over mix as the loaf texture will be too tough.

- Pour half the batter into the loaf pan and then top evenly with the cinnamon sugar. Pour the remaining batter on top. Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon sugar on top.

- Cover the pan loosely with foil and bake for 45-60 minutes. Check the loaf is cooked by inserting a cocktail stick and if it's come out clean it's done.

- Allow bread to cool before eating. We ate this on the day it was baked and then finished it off the next day. It definitely tastes better the day after because all the favours have intensified. This should keep for a good few days afterwards. ENJOY!

Sweet prune bars

It's the season to eat far too much and far too many naughty things! These colder days & evenings bring a need for something sweet to start the day. I ran out of eggs so I needed to find something for a quick sugar fix - thank the Lord for Rachel Allen's 'Bake'. I love her recipes. They are so simple & everything I've made of hers has always tasted so good. She brings the best to home baking and comforting meals!

I made these prune bars. Rachel makes them with dates but I just used what I had in my cupboard and they worked just as well. We had these hot one night for pudding but had them cold as a 'breakfast bar' the following morning.

Ingredients:
250ml water, 200g of chopped prunes (or dates), 175g plain flour, 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, 175g soft light brown sugar, 100g porridge oats, 175g diced butter, pinch of salt.

Use 8 x 8 square cake tin

Method:

- Preheat oven to 180 degrees (gas mark 4). Put a sheet of greaseproof paper on the bottom of the tin and butter the sides.

- Place chopped prunes and water into a saucepan and simmer. Cook until the prunes are soft and the mixture becomes thick. It looks like too much water to start with but once the fruit softens it will thicken. Just be patient. Should only take about 10 minutes.

- Sift flour & bicarb into large bowl. Add sugar, oats and salt. Mix up well. 

- Add the butter and rub between fingers to create a crumble. Press half of this mixture into the bottom of the tin to create the base. Spread the cooked prune mixture over this and sprinkle the rest of the crumble loosely on top.

- Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes. They should be golden brown around the edges. Allow to cool & then cut into bars.