Baking · Breakfast · Chocolate

Chocolate Granola

My easy homemade TRIPLE Chocolate Granola makes a fun, chocolatey breakfast. It’s delicious, slightly bittersweet and great served with creamy yoghurt, or milk of your choice. A day that starts with a little chocolate is sure to be good!

There are many granola recipes on my blog. We’re utterly in love with this Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola when in need of a sweet ‘n’ salty treat for breakfast, but when we’re feeling like something a touch healthier, then our Basic Homemade Granola hits all the right notes.

I’ve said it lots of times before, I love making granola just as much as baking a batch of cookies, or a cheesecake. This granola is in fact inspired by my Triple Chocolate Cookies!

I’ll always find a way of getting chocolate involved in my breakfast bowl/plate…

Why buy all the expensive cereal/granola, when you can make it at home for cheaper?

When you make it yourself, you can control what ingredients are going in, which is definitely one of the many added bonuses of anything homemade.

What makes this granola contain triple chocolate: firstly, the cocoa powder combined with the oats before baking, secondly, the pack of dark/milk chocolate chips that’s stirred through the granola as it’s cools, and thirdly, the white chocolate chips added once the granola has completely cooled.

This granola is a dream breakfast for me. I love chocolate cereal, but with the oats in this and nuts, I feel it is just that little bit healthier than reaching for one of the go-to chocolate cereals!

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Chocolate Granola

My easy homemade TRIPLE Chocolate Granola makes a fun, chocolatey breakfast. It's delicious, slightly bittersweet and great served with creamy yoghurt, or milk of your choice. A day that starts with a little chocolate is sure to be good!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 350 g jumbo rolled oats
  • 100 g flaked almonds substitute with chopped hazelnuts, if preferred
  • 45 g dark or light brown sugar
  • 120 ml maple syrup or honey
  • 120 ml vegetable oil I use rapeseed oil
  • 60 g cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
  • sea salt flakes a generous pinch
  • 100 g dark/milk chocolate chips
  • 100 g white chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 150°C / 130°C Fan / 300°F / Gas Mark 2. Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment or a silicone baking mat.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, flaked almonds and sugar until combined.
  • In a small jug, whisk together the maple syrup/honey, oil, cocoa powder and vanilla extract until smooth.
  • Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, along with a generous pinch of sea salt flakes until the oats are all thoroughly coated. Spread the granola out on the baking tray - making sure it's an even layer.
  • Bake for 15 minutes, then give a good stir, making sure the edges are pushed to the centre and redistributed so every bit of the granola gets evenly toasted.
  • Bake again for another 15 minutes and repeat again, stirring as you did before. Now bake for a further 10 minutes. Sprinkle over 3/4 of the dark/milk chocolate chips, let the granola sit for a few minutes before stirring the chocolate in.
  • Allow the granola to cool on the tray, once it's completely cool, add the remaining dark/milk chocolate chips and the white chocolate chips, and stir through. The granola will keep stored in an airtight for up to a fortnight.

Serve your granola at breakfast: my favourite way to serve it is with natural yoghurt and fresh raspberries.

It’s also fantastic sprinkled over ice cream/frozen yoghurt, or eaten straight by the handful – something I’m most certainly guilty of doing!

A couple more granola recipes to try next!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola

Basic Homemade Granola

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Baking · Biscuits and Cookies · Chocolate

Caramilk Cookies

Caramilk Cookies are incredibly soft and chewy. Filled with lots of chunks of caramelised white chocolate and white chocolate chips!

I’m a wee bit late jumping on the caramelised white/caramel chocolate bandwagon! Upon my first taste, I’ve since become literally obsessed. Whenever I’m eating a bar of caramelised white chocolate, I’m thinking of the many ways I can combine it in my bakes.

This cookie recipe is based on the cookie dough I use to make my Mini Egg Cookies. It’s perfect in every way possible. These cookies are soft, a little bit chewy and jammed full of gooey chunks of Cadbury Caramilk and white chocolate chips.

Exactly how a good cookie should be!

Homemade cookies are always a good idea! You can never have enough cookies. I could eat them all day long.

That first bite of a gooey, delicious cookie is simply amazing. We loved the combination of creamy white chocolate chips, mixed with the decadent caramelised chocolate.

With the summer season here, take a couple of these cookies, and add a scoop of ice cream to the centre. Your very own cookie sandwich is a decadent treat that will satisfy your sweet cookie craving and cool you down.

Every time I make cookie dough, I always leave some in the freezer, so then I can reach for a homemade cookie when I want! I have some of this Caramilk white chocolate cookie dough in the freezer, and cannot wait for another one!

I might reach for the extra cookie dough very soon, along with a tub of vanilla ice cream…

These cookies reminded us of bakery-style cookies we loved years ago, but better!

The cookies will keep on your kitchen countertop for a few days. They taste best on the day of baking, but on the second day we find they firm up and the flavour has developed further.

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Caramilk Cookies

Soft and chewy cookies filled with chunks of caramelised white chocolate and white chocolate chips!
Prep Time 3 hours 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Servings 18
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 280 g plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornflour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 170 g butter (salted or unsalted) melted and cooled for 5 minutes
  • 150 g dark or light brown sugar
  • 100 g caster or granulated sugar
  • 1 medium or large egg
  • 1 medium or large egg yolk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 100 g white chocolate chips
  • 250 g caramelised white chocolate chopped - I use Cadbury Caramilk but Caramac works too

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cornflour and the salt - only add a pinch of salt if using salted butter.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the melted butter with both types of sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Add the whole egg, egg yolk and the vanilla extract, and whisk again to combine.
  • Now add the wet ingredients to your bowl of dry ingredients. Gently fold together to combine. Add your white chocolate chips and chopped Caramilk, stir to mix through. Cover the bowl and chill the cookie dough for at least 2-3 hours, or up to 3 days. I leave mine overnight and then allow it to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling.
  • When ready to roll the cookie dough, take 60g portions and roll into balls. Preheat oven 160°C / 150°C Fan / 325 °F / Gas Mark 4.
  • Space the cookie dough out on 2-3 large baking trays - you might need to bake the cookies in batches. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges - the cookies will appear very soft, but that's what you want. Press extra white chocolate chips and chopped Caramilk on top of each cookie while they're still hot. Leave the cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the baking trays, then they're ready to serve.
  • The cookies will keep for up to 3 days, stored in an airtight container or a covered plate at room temperature. Freeze the cookies in an airtight container/or freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months - thaw the cookie before baking.

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Biscuits and Cookies · Candy and Sweets · Chocolate · No-Bake

Crunchie Slice

Easy Crunchie Slice recipe! Made in a matter of minutes, this decadent slice combines crushed biscuit with melted butter, condensed milk and chopped Crunchie pieces, then it’s topped with a layer of milk chocolate and more Crunchie.

Today’s new recipe is this delicious Crunchie Slice. It’s no-bake and takes little time to prepare – only about 30 minutes in total!

For years on the WJBN, as soon as the summer arrives, I’m more in favour of sharing no-bake, easy and minimal fuss recipes, so you won’t be spending hours in the kitchen.

I’m really excited to kick off the summer-themed recipes on the blog. This slice is super simple to make, and it’s fantastic packed up and taken along as part of a picnic, or for a chocolatey sweet treat to enjoy.

Rocky road, slice, tiffin – I love all these kinds of recipes and want to further experiment with different flavour combinations!

Homemade Crunchie Slice is crushed biscuits mixed with melted butter, a whole can of condensed milk, then a whole load of chopped Cadbury Crunchie bars are folded through. The mixture is then pressed into a lined baking tin, then it’s topped with melted milk chocolate (I love Dairy Milk for this), with more chopped/crushed Crunchie bars scattered over!

It’s one hundred percent a truly indulgent sweet treat…

This recipe is one you’ll need to make in advance and allow to set overnight. If you try slicing after a few hours in the fridge, it will be too soft, so overnight refrigerating is essential.

Once it’s set, slice up pieces as big or small as you want!

If you love Crunchie, try my No-Bake Crunchie Cheesecake next!

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Crunchie Slice

Easy Crunchie Slice recipe! Made in a matter of minutes, this decadent slice combines crushed biscuit with melted butter, condensed milk and chopped Crunchie pieces, then it's topped with a layer of milk chocolate and more Crunchie.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Chilling Time 1 day
Total Time 1 day 20 minutes
Servings 16
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 300 g digestive biscuits finely crushed
  • 100 g butter (salted or unsalted) melted
  • 397 g tin sweetened condensed milk
  • 6 Cadbury Crunchie chocolate bars chopped into medium-sized pieces
  • 200 g dark or milk chocolate (I used Dairy Milk)
  • 1 tablespoon butter (salted or unsalted) - this is 15g

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the biscuit crumbs, with the melted butter and condensed milk. Stir until throughly combined. Now fold through 6 chopped Cadbury Crunchie bars.
  • Transfer this mixture to a lined 20cm square cake tin (or other suitably sized tin) and press down until compact and smooth on top.
  • Melt the chocolate and butter over a bain-marie, or in the microwave until smooth. Pour and spread the melted chocolate over the top of the biscuit layer. Now top with the remaining two chopped Cadbury Crunchie bars. Cover and leave to set in the fridge overnight.
  • When ready to serve, slice up into 16 squares or smaller pieces if desired. The slice will keep in the fridge for up to a week - the honeycomb will start to ooze slightly once sliced, but it still tastes delicious nonetheless.

Very similar to this recipe, No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

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Cheesecake · Chocolate · No-Bake

Mini Egg Cheesecake

No-Bake Mini Egg Cheesecake. Vanilla cheesecake filled with grated chocolate and chopped Cadbury Mini Eggs. This is an easy recipe to make for your Easter celebrations and for any Mini Egg lover!

This is the latest ‘bake’ of my Easter recipes. My blog is home to a vast range of cheesecakes – a few baked cheesecakes, but mainly no-bake cheesecakes. All very tasty, all easy and fun to make.

The Easter recipes have been featuring on WJBN over the last month and a bit, having shared these Double Cheese Hot Cross Buns and my Mini Egg Cookies recently. I’ve been looking for ways I can incorporate Mini Eggs into just more recipe before Easter!

This no-bake treat is an Easter-inspired cheesecake and it certainly is an indulgent dessert. I’ve used a basic vanilla no-bake cheesecake (without gelatine), but to make it perfect to serve at Easter, I’ve folded through some grated chocolate and chopped Mini Eggs. I used a 100g bar of dark chocolate, but feel free to swap that for either milk or white chocolate instead, if you fancy!

Adding grated chocolate as well as Mini Eggs makes this cheesecake even more decadent and I love how much chocolate you get in each bite of the cheesecake…

The chocolate mixed with the cheesecake reminds me of a Stracciatella-style dessert.

Once I added all that delicious grated chocolate and folded through the chopped Mini Eggs, the cheesecake was ready to go in the fridge to set. You can add more Mini Eggs if you like, just swap the grated chocolate for the same quantity of Mini Eggs.

To decorate, I load on more chopped/whole Mini Eggs and a few extra bits of Easter chocolate.

Serve this over Easter for friends and family and they’ll go absolutely mad for it! It’s light, mousse-like, packed full of chocolate. THE dream Easter dessert.

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Mini Egg Cheesecake

No-Bake Mini Egg Cheesecake. Vanilla cheesecake filled with grated chocolate and chopped Cadbury Mini Eggs. This is an easy recipe to make for your Easter celebrations and for any Mini Egg lover! THE dream Easter dessert.
Prep Time 6 hours 20 minutes
Total Time 6 hours 20 minutes
Servings 12
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

Biscuit Base:

  • 300 g chocolate or plain digestive biscuits
  • 140 g butter (salted or unsalted)

Cheesecake Filling:

  • 100 g dark or milk chocolate finely grated
  • 200 g Cadbury Mini Eggs roughly chopped or crushed
  • 600 g full-fat cream cheese leave it out at room temperature for half an hour to soften slightly
  • 100 g icing sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 300 ml double cream chilled - cream whips better when fridge cold

Instructions

  • Start by grating your chocolate and chopping your Mini Eggs.
  • Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Blitz the biscuits in a food processor to a fine crumb. Add the melted butter and mix until well combined. Tip the biscuit crumbs into a 23cm springform cake tin and press down until firm. Use the back of a spoon to smooth over, place in the fridge to chill whilst you make the filling.
  • In a large mixing bowl beat together the cream cheese with the icing sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. In another mixing bowl whisk the cream until stiff peaks form.
  • Start folding the cream in a bit at a time and mix to combine. Now fold through the grated chocolate and chopped Mini Eggs. Spread the cheesecake filling on top of the biscuit base, cover and refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 6 hours or overnight for best results.
  • When ready to serve, decorate as desired. I piped 150ml of extra whipped cream around the edge, then sprinkled over chopped/whole Mini Eggs - decorate the cheesecake just before serving. The cheesecake will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Doing some more baking this Easter? Here’s some recipe inspiration!

Mini Egg Cookies

Carrot Cake Traybake

Easter Chocolate Nest Cakes

Cadbury Creme Egg Ice Cream

Easter Bunny Shortbreads

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Baking · Candy and Sweets · Chocolate · Cookies

Mini Egg Cookies

Soft and chewy cookies, filled with crushed Mini Eggs, dark chocolate chips and white chocolate chunks. Topped while still warm with even more Mini Eggs and chocolate!

Easter is getting closer and I felt like baking cookies, as I hadn’t made any for such a long time.

I love all kinds of cookies. I’m not fussy at all!

I’m all for the super soft, chewy ones, the deliciously thick Crème London/Levain Bakery cookies, and thin and crispy cookies!

I’ve taken the elite Easter chocolate, Cadbury Mini Eggs, and added them to a batch of cookie dough. Today, I’m presenting to you my Mini Egg Cookies.

Over the last few weeks, most supermarkets here have unveiled huge displays of Easter eggs and various Easter favourite chocolates – there’s an incredible amount of choice. A couple of my favourites include Cadbury Mini Eggs and Malteser Bunnies.

You’re going to fall in love with the texture of these cookies. They’re super soft, with a gooey middle that’s filled with chocolate.

Chocolate wise in this cookie, you can add a combination you like. I went for a mixture of dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chunks, along with crushed Mini Eggs. You can add more Mini Eggs if you want. I like decorating the tops with more Mini Eggs for extra crunchy texture – this also ensures you get Mini Eggs in each bite of your cookie!

I find the easiest way to prepare the Mini Eggs for the cookie dough is to crush the Mini Eggs in the bag they come in with a rolling pin. You want a mixture of big and small pieces. Then tip the crushed eggs straight into your cookie dough! Alternatively, you can add the Mini Eggs whole into your cookie dough.

I used a Cadbury Mini Egg bar to top my cookies too. It’s delicious – I used the extra chocolate I had leftover from this bar and filled a croissant for breakfast. It’s game-changing!

These cookies are a scrumptious Easter bake! So good eaten freshly baked to really enjoy the gooey, soft texture. Equally enjoyed with a scoop of ice cream or dunked in a glass of milk.

With this recipe, you’re now ready to get your cookie fix this Easter!

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Mini Egg Cookies

Soft and chewy cookies, filled with crushed Mini Eggs, dark chocolate chips and white chocolate chunks. Topped while still warm with even more Mini Eggs and chocolate!
Prep Time 3 hours 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 22 minutes
Servings 18
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 280 g plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornflour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt add just a pinch if using salted butter
  • 170 g butter (salted or unsalted) melted and cooled for 5 minutes
  • 150 g dark or light brown sugar
  • 100 g granulated or caster sugar
  • 1 medium or large egg
  • 1 medium or large egg yolk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 150 g Cadbury Mini Eggs crushed or roughly chopped
  • 150 g chocolate chips or chunks I used a mix of dark chocolate chips and chunks of white chocolate - you can add more mini eggs instead
  • Cadbury Mini Eggs and chocolate extra to decorate the tops of each cookie

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cornflour and the salt - only add a pinch of salt if using salted butter.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the melted butter with both types of sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Add the whole egg, egg yolk and the vanilla extract, and whisk again to combine.
  • Now add the wet ingredients to your bowl of dry ingredients. Gently fold together to combine. Add your Mini Eggs and other chocolate of choice, stir to mix through. Cover the bowl and chill the cookie dough for at least 2-3 hours, or up to 3 days. I leave mine overnight and then allow it to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling.
  • When ready to roll the cookie dough, take 60g portions and roll into balls. Preheat oven 160°C / 150°C Fan / 325 °F / Gas Mark 4.
  • Space the cookie dough out on 2-3 large baking trays - you might need to bake the cookies in batches. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges - the cookies will appear very soft, but that's what you want. Press extra chopped Mini Eggs and chocolate on top of each cookie while they're still hot. Leave the cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the baking trays, then they're ready to serve.
  • The cookies will keep for up to 3 days, stored in an airtight container or a covered plate at room temperature.

Below are the Easter cookies I baked last year. These were vegan and were filled with dark chocolate chips and hazelnuts – yum!

We’re crazy for cookies here on WJBN! We’ve shared many biscuit/cookies with you, below are some favourites!

Easy Oat Biscuits

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pret’s Dark Chocolate Almond Cookies

Butter Cookies

Triple Chocolate Cookies

Scottish Shortbread

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Chocolate · Ice Cream · No-Bake

White Chocolate Ice Cream (Easy Three Ingredient Recipe)

Indulgently creamy homemade White Chocolate Ice Cream. This ice cream is made with three ingredients and without an ice cream machine in sight!

This White Chocolate Ice Cream is another recipe inspired by food I ate whilst away on a trip.

Ice cream was something we certainly indulged in during that holiday. I think I devoured about two or three ice creams a day…

I talked about a fantastic ice cream shop in this blog post. This shop sold really great ice cream and there was a flavour suited to everybody. On offer were classics like chocolate, strawberry and vanilla, and then some slightly different flavours, such as Kinder Bueno, berry/strawberry cheesecake, and fruity flavours including refreshing lemon, mango and watermelon.

One flavour that did amaze us, was white chocolate ice cream (chocolate blanco).

My sister picked this flavour the first night out and we all tried some. It was delicious, so utterly creamy and tasted just like eating a bar of white chocolate.

And you guessed it, the very next night I picked that flavour without hesitation!

I have a few no-churn ice cream recipes on my blog already, check these out below!

My most recent ice cream recipe is this No-Churn Oreo Ice Cream

Try my Cadbury Creme Egg Ice Cream for a delicious Easter-inspired recipe

Or if you’re a fan of Biscoff, try this incredibly good Speculoos Cookie Butter Ice Cream

I’ve said this many times before, but the no-churn method of making ice cream is truly special. It’s amazing how easy and quick (minus the freezing time) you can make homemade ice cream. I’ve made ice cream a couple of times in my ice cream machine, but it really is a faff and takes a lot longer than this no-churn version does to make!

The texture of this ice cream is very similar to gelato. A very decadent ice cream, one of which when you’ve started eating, it isn’t easy to stop yourself going back for more…

The ice cream takes just 10 minutes to prepare and then needs to freeze for at least 6 hours, or up to overnight.

All you need is a mixing bowl, a whisk, a spatula, three ingredients and a dish to pop your ice cream into.

Remember to take your ice cream out from the freezer and allow it to warm up for 10 minutes before scooping.

Serve your homemade ice cream in cones or a bowl. Other serving ideas include: serving the ice cream with strawberries or raspberries, topping the ice cream with a sprinkle of coconut, some toasted hazelnuts or pistachios. You could also serve this ice cream with a slice of your favourite chocolate or vanilla cake, brownies, a stack of pancakes, or even some apple crumble.

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White Chocolate Ice Cream (Easy Three Ingredient Recipe)

Deliciously creamy white chocolate ice cream. Made with only three ingredients!
Prep Time 6 hours 10 minutes
Total Time 6 hours 10 minutes
Servings 8
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 300 g white chocolate
  • 500 ml double cream chilled
  • 397 g tin sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

  • Melt the white chocolate either in a heatproof bowl atop a pan of simmering water (bain-marie), or in a microwave in 20-second bursts, stirring well until it's completely melted, and then set aside to cool slightly. Watch carefully as chocolate burns very easily.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk the cream until soft peaks form. Fold through the condensed milk, followed by the melted chocolate. Mix until everything is all combined - the mixture will thicken significantly once the white chocolate is added. Don't over mix.
  • Spread the ice cream mixture out into a suitable container. Scatter over some white chocolate curls and extra pieces of white chocolate, if desired. Cover the top with a lid or a piece of clingfilm.
  • Freeze for at least 6 hours or until firm and scoopable. I recommend freezing it overnight for the best results. Once ready to serve, scoop into cones or bowls. The ice cream will store in the freezer for up to one month.

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Candy and Sweets · Chocolate · Gluten-Free · No-Bake

Chocolate Truffles

Homemade French-style chocolate truffles. Made with dark chocolate, cream, butter and a touch of brown sugar. These fudgy truffles will just melt in your mouth. They make a wonderful gift or after dinner sweet treat.

At Christmas and for my birthday, during the summer, for the last couple of years, I received a box of chocolate truffles from friends and family, as a gift. The people close to me know just how much I love a good chocolate truffle.

We’ve been working our way through all the confectionery we got recently for Christmas and the other day, I finished the last of my latest box of dark chocolate truffles.

Whilst I was eating them, I thought about making chocolate truffles for the blog. In the past, I’ve made these 3 Ingredient Oreo Truffles, but today I have a classic chocolate truffle for you.

Chocolate Truffles are a decadent treat made from dark chocolate and double cream. These two ingredients, when heated and combined, make a chocolate ganache.

I use ganache to spread on top of Chocolate Fudge Cake, pipe on cupcakes, but in this case, you can roll the ganache once it’s chilled into balls to make truffles.

Making your own chocolate truffles is super easy. This recipe requires a fair bit of patience, as the ganache needs to chill in the fridge for a few hours or even better, up to overnight.

What Ingredients You’ll Need To Make Chocolate Truffles

  • Dark Chocolate – I use a supermarket’s own brand chocolate bar. Honestly, you don’t need to spend lots on expensive chocolate – use whatever fits in with your budget. I tend to go for a chocolate that is at least 50% cocoa solids or thereabouts. You can make chocolate truffles with chocolate containing over 70% cocoa solids. These will be slightly more bitter in taste, so bear that in mind.
  • Double Cream – Full-fat double cream is essential for these chocolate truffles. The cream will make your truffles extra decadent, will give them that soft, melt in the mouth texture.
  • Butter – Use either salted or unsalted butter – I prefer to use salted butter. The butter adds even more richness and will help make the chocolate truffles easier to roll. Once the truffles come to room temperature ready for serving, the butter, just like the cream, gives them that soft texture.
  • Brown Sugar – Just a tablespoon of brown sugar brings a touch of extra sweetness to balance out the dark chocolate. You can omit it if you want.

Transfer your chocolate mixture to a shallow baking tin, cover and chill. Chilling time is very important.

The ganache needs chilling for at least 3 hours. I would recommend longer, even up to overnight.

These are indulgently creamy chocolate truffles. The only downside to that is that they’re very sticky when rolling.

Scoop the truffles into 2 teaspoon sized portions. You can roll them smaller and use 1 teaspoon instead and therefore make double the amount of truffles. Roll them as quickly as you can, as soon as the chocolate hits your hand, it will begin to soften/melt slightly, so the trick is to roll as quickly as you can – they don’t need to be the perfect round shape.

Once you’ve rolled your truffles, roll them in sifted cocoa powder. Alternatively, you can roll the truffles in chocolate or colourful sprinkles. Desiccated coconut, chopped nuts, crushed biscuit/cookies, or even some crushed freeze-dried fruit would contrast really well.

Once the truffles are coated, finally, place the truffles back in the fridge again for a further half an hour to set. After that, the wait is finally over and the truffles are ready to eat!

The longer they sit in the fridge, the firmer texture your truffles will have.

These make a lovely edible treat for your friends and family for a special occasion.

Our truffles only lasted just over a day. I loved them even more the next day when they’d been in the fridge overnight and the chocolate flavour definitely intensified.

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Chocolate Truffles

Homemade French Chocolate Truffles. The perfect, indulgent chocolate treat made with 4 ingredients.
Prep Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Servings 18
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 200 g dark chocolate use chocolate containing at least 50% cocoa solids
  • 150 ml double cream
  • 25 g butter (salted or unsalted)
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar optional
  • 1-2 tablespoons cocoa powder for coating the truffles

Instructions

  • Chop the chocolate into small pieces - the smaller, the quicker the chocolate will melt. Transfer the chopped chocolate to a medium sized mixing bowl.
  • Place the cream, butter and brown sugar (if using) in a small pan. Heat gently until bubbles just begin to appear on the surface. You don't want this mixture rapidly boiling.
  • Pour the warm cream mixture over the chopped chocolate. Gently stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Transfer the ganache to a shallow baking tray, cover and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours or up to overnight.
  • When ready to roll the truffles, sift about a tablespoon or two of cocoa powder on a plate or in a small bowl. Take 2 teaspoons worth of the ganache, very quickly roll into a ball using your hands - try to limit how long the mixture is in your hands. Drop the truffles in the cocoa powder and roll around to coat. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining ganache.
  • Place the truffles in the fridge to set for a further 30 minutes before serving. The truffles will keep stored in the fridge for up to one week.

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Baking · Chocolate · Muffins

Blueberry White Chocolate Muffins

The fluffiest blueberry muffins studded with creamy white chocolate chips.

This comes as a shock to me, but this is the FIRST muffin recipe I’ve shared on WJBN!

Muffins are something I don’t tend to make often, but I’m going to rectify that now.

I love how simple they are to make, no different to a cake but without all the need for elaborate decoration. Simplicity is key here.

When it comes to muffins, the ultimate muffin, in my opinion, is the classic blueberry muffin. A chocolate chip muffin and a chocolate muffin are both close behind.

So, as blueberry muffins are my favourite, that’s where I thought I’d start with my muffin recipe creations.

These Blueberry White Chocolate Muffins are beautifully rustic. They are seriously light, fluffy, not at all dense thanks to the addition of yoghurt (which makes the softest muffins) and gentle mixing.

This muffin is filled with lots of blueberries, meaning you get plenty of sweet and juicy blueberries in each bite. The blueberries burst as they bake in the oven and will fill your kitchen with a gorgeous aroma.

I also decided to add a pack of white chocolate chips, because chocolate always makes everything better, in my opinion!

The creamy white chocolate works wonderfully with the blueberry flavour. You can use dark or milk chocolate chips instead, or just skip the chocolate all together and add even more blueberries to your muffin batter.

Once the muffins come out of the oven, they only need to cool for about 10-15 minutes and they’re ready to eat.

Even after a couple of days, if we do have any left, I heat one up in the microwave and it’s just like a muffin fresh from the oven!

When I start early at work, I love to wake up to a plate of these on the kitchen countertop for breakfast.

Or at the weekend, instead of having to flip pancakes, these muffins make an easy breakfast to grab along with a glass of juice or cup of coffee.

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Blueberry White Chocolate Muffins

Homemade blueberry muffins studded with white chocolate chips.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 12
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 100 g butter (salted or unsalted) or baking spread (I use Stork) at room temperature
  • 140 g caster or granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 140 g full-fat natural yoghurt substitute with buttermilk or sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 250 g plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 150 g blueberries fresh or frozen
  • 100 g white chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 200°C / 180°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter/baking spread with the sugar for 2 minutes until fluffy and lighter in colour.
  • Now add the eggs and beat to combine - don't worry if it looks curdled at this point, as once you add the dry ingredients, they will come together. Mix in the vanilla extract along with the yoghurt and milk.
  • Now take one tablespoon of the weighed out flour and stir that through your chocolate chips (this stops the chocolate sinking to the bottom of the muffins. You don't need to do this with the blueberries though). In a medium sized bowl, stir together the remaining flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt (omit this if you're using salted butter).
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Now add the blueberries and white chocolate chips and gently fold to combine - be careful not to over mix at this point.
  • Divide the muffin batter between the paper liners. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 180°C / 160°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4 and continue baking the muffins for 15-18 more minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre.
  • Once the muffins are baked, allow them to cool for a few minutes and then transport them to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. The muffins will keep for up to 3 days.

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Baking · Chocolate · Crêpes and Pancakes

Homemade Crêpes

Soft and fluffy traditional French Crêpes are quick and easy to make from scratch. This 4 ingredient recipe is one to have ready for Pancake Day!

Originally posted in February 2015, recipe and photographs updated January 2023.

When I’m craving homemade soft, buttery and fluffy crêpes this recipe ticks all the boxes for me.

These crêpes are incredibly easy to make as the batter can be made in a blender or just in a mixing bowl with a whisk. The batter also doesn’t require chilling before cooking, but it can also be made ahead of time.

I enjoy serving my homemade crêpes with chocolate hazelnut spread, Chantilly cream and berries, but the neutral flavour of these means you can serve and top them with anything that takes your fancy!

With Shrove Tuesday approaching next month, I’m sharing one of my favourite pancake recipes.

Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day is a day we celebrate and eat lots of homemade pancakes. The reason is that it uses up butter, eggs and other items that are given up for Lent.

I have very fond memories of Pancake Day growing up. We ate plate after plate of pancakes, all with different toppings!

I love big, fluffy American-style pancakes equally as much as I adore crêpes, and this Nigella recipe has never let me down – it’s a recipe I’ve made for years.

This is the kind of dessert I could eat forever and I would be happy. I love a thin crispy pancake packed full of warm Nutella, that really is dessert heaven for me!

These crêpes make an awesome weekend breakfast. They’re light, airy, and delicious with the warm, oozy Nutella spilling out.

Crêpes are great served with savoury fillings such as ham (a vegetarian option is also brilliant too), cheese and mustard. Another favourite of ours is lemon juice and sugar, it’s such a fresh and sweet flavour combination.

The list and choices are endless!

You can even make a Crêpe Cake too! Layer each crêpe, spread with your choice of filling and continue going until you’ve used all your crêpes up – you will probably need to make a double batch of this recipe to make enough crêpes for a cake.

Bookmark this recipe to make right away or next month for Pancake Day! You might also like to try my popular Fluffy American Pancakes or Fluffy Vegan Pancakes too!

I made a double batch of this recipe, and that made plenty of crêpes for dessert one night and breakfast the next day. We can’t get enough of these and they use very little ingredients, which is an added bonus!

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Homemade Crêpes

How to make traditional French Crêpes! These thin pancakes are great served with your favourite savoury or sweet fillings.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 6
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

  • 30 g butter (salted or unsalted)
  • 150 g plain flour
  • 325 ml milk
  • 1 egg

Instructions

  • Melt the butter and allow it to cool slightly.
  • In a blender or mixing bowl blend/whisk the flour, milk and egg until combined. Now add the melted butter and combine until you have a smooth and thin pancake batter. If there are any lumps in your batter, pass through it through a sieve. At this point you can chill the batter for up to 2 days before using - I always allow my batter to rest overnight, but this is optional.
  • Heat a small amount of extra butter in a small pan (the pan I use is approx. 20cm / 8-inch in diameter). Once melted carefully wipe away any excess butter. Take roughly 2-3 tablespoons of the pancake mixture into the pan and swirl around until a thin, crisp pancake forms covering the base of your pan. It will only take about a 1 minute to cook on one side. Now flip over and cook on the other side for about another 30 seconds until lightly coloured. Once cooked place on some parchment paper and keep warm in the oven - placing a layer of parchment paper in between each crêpe to avoid them sticking together.
  • Repeat the above step with the remaining batter. Fold or roll the crêpes and serve warm with a choice of fillings and toppings.
  • Crêpes will keep once cooked, covered for up to 3 days. They can be frozen, wrapped well for up to 3 months - when ready to serve, thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat in the microwave in 20 second bursts until hot.

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Cheesecake · Chocolate · Christmas · No-Bake

No-Bake White Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

White chocolate cheesecake flavoured with zesty orange, on top of a buttery digestive biscuit base.

Ever since I made this Terry’s Chocolate Orange Cheesecake for my blog 7 years ago, this cheesecake has remained the most viewed recipe on the blog. It’s especially popular around this time of year!

That cheesecake is a recipe many have made over Christmas. For years I’ve loved seeing photos of your TCO cheesecake creations!

Since Terry’s chocolate orange comes in different flavours, I wanted to experiment with the white chocolate variety you can now get.

Sensationally soft and light cheesecake, that celebrates the divine combination of creamy white chocolate and orange.

No-bake cheesecakes are so easy to make. Just mix together all the ingredients and then pop the cheesecake in the fridge to set and your work is done! Once it’s set, decorate however you fancy.

I went for more whipped cream, white chocolate orange segments and, some grated chocolate and orange zest.

We loved this cheesecake, so much so we might just have to make it again before Christmas.

If you adore chocolate orange recipes, then this cheesecake is a MUST on your Christmas baking list! After you’ve finished one slice, you’ll be dreaming of the next…

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No-Bake White Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

White chocolate cheesecake flavoured with zesty orange, on top of a buttery digestive biscuit base.
Prep Time 6 hours 15 minutes
Total Time 6 hours 15 minutes
Servings 12
Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

Biscuit Base:

  • 140 g butter (salted or unsalted)
  • 300 g digestive biscuits

White Chocolate Orange Cheesecake:

  • 300 g white chocolate
  • 600 g full-fat cream cheese softened - I leave mine out at room temperature for about an hour
  • 3 tablespoons icing sugar
  • 2 teaspoons orange extract adjust to taste
  • 300 ml double cream

Instructions

  • To prepare the biscuit base: Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Blitz the biscuits in a food processor to a fine crumb. Add the melted butter and mix until well combined. Tip the biscuit crumbs into a 23cm springform cake tin and press down until firm. Use the back of a spoon to smooth over, place in the fridge to chill whilst you make the filling.
  • To make the cheesecake filling: Melt the chocolate over a bain-marie or in the microwave in 20 second intervals. Leave to cool for a few minutes - chocolate stills needs to be slightly warm before adding the remaining cheesecake ingredients later to avoid lumps forming. In a medium mixing bowl beat together the cream cheese with the icing sugar and orange extract.
  • In another mixing bowl whisk the cream until soft peaks form. Fold through the melted chocolate into the cream cheese mixture. Finally, fold the cream into the cream cheese mix.
  • Spoon the cheesecake mixture over the biscuit base and smooth over with a spatula or palette knife. Cover and leave to chill for at least 6 hours, or preferably overnight.
  • When ready to serve, remove the cheesecake from the tin and decorate. Best serve chilled. The cheesecake can be made ahead of time, leave it in the tin, covered with cling film for up to 3 days. Leftover slices can be stored in an airtight container in a fridge.

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