Birthday Brownies and Pistachio Ice Cream

When we went to Bumpkin my boyfriend got served his brownies and ice cream in a Kilner jar and he was amazed, he has that make at home and he kept joking that he would bring in his massive one and ask them to fill ‘er up so for his birthday I thought I would provide the brownie and ice cream and a massive Kilner jar.

The original! Bumpkin dessert, sooooo tasty

For the brownies I made one following the hummingbird recipe I used before just adding in chopped pecans as a little extra. 

The other I went off piste…

I used milk chocolate instead of dark (don’t think I’ll make that swap again there is too much oil in the milk chocolate so the oil separated out from the mixture like in my carrot cake and freaked me out again, I had to send up a little prayer to the Bake Gods) 

I then made up a batch of cookie dough using our favourite recipe from BBC good food. I got my tray dotted around the cookie dough and poured over a cascade of brownie mix and stuck it in the oven. 

Adding a little extra milk to soften it up

It took a lot longer because it was about double the size but I didn’t need to turn the temperature down I just kept checking it with a tooth pick and it took about 25 minutes longer. It was really interesting how it turned out all the brownie sunk and formed a bottom layer and the cookie dough cover the whole top layer very tasty though!

For the pistachio ice cream I followed this recipe from BBC, of course. I put in all the pistachios instead of saving some and I tried to used my ice cream maker, it’s the one were you put the base into the freezer but I think it was a little too much for it to handle and I should have done it in batches. Instead I put the mixture into a container and stuck it in the freezer till it was solid and volia ice cream!

I actually had to give him this feast a day after his birthday because we ate so much on the day and he did refrain from eating a whole massive Kilner jar of supped up calories and went with a bowl instead as we have a holiday coming up and I got a big thank you kiss.. and then a bowl of brownie and ice cream!!!

Thanks for Reading xx

Bumpkin Westfields

The other day we got to go to an incredible little restaurant that just added a new location, its third, to Westfields at Stratford . Bumpkin has stayed true to its roots and offers up British classics like fish and chips and chicken pie but also does British twists on American dishes like the burgers and milkshakes, their version is more of a frappuccino.

The first time I went I got the burger which was delicious, you have to try the guacamole it is incredible and get the chips they are so moreish! However my heart really lay with the baby back ribs. I knew I was going to get messy and I didn’t want to have to be the only caveman at the table so I recruited in my boyfriend and we headed back. You can also get ribs for a starter but we were there for the main course and they came out on a wooden board with two rib racks stacked and a sprig of rosemary on top. I love eating with my hands probably because it’s such a novelty and I definitely got to do that here and get a little messy along the way. The ribs were amazing the meat pulled off cleanly the marinade was flavourful even though it did get a little too sweet towards the end, it maybe needed a touch of mustard and more rosemary to bring that down and make it even more British but I totally wanted another set when I got to the end of mine. Luckily we had both spicy wedges, I was thankful we got offered mayonnaise because they pack a spicy little punch after a couple, and chips, salty, crispy and delicious, to fill me up and prevent me going back for more!

Then just when we thought it couldn’t get any better we ordered dessert! I went for a brownie, it was all that I could squeeze in, and asked for it warm and I was soooo happy I did it came gooey and chocolately and made me ahhhh in appreciation. Next time I’m getting ice cream too! The other side of the table was a dessert heaven, on the menu it offered to wrap up part of it so you could take it home or recommended you share and it disappeared in about 2 minutes, maybe less I was distracted by a brownie. Part came in a Kilner jam jar, similar to a Mason jar, that was filled with brownie, ice cream and caramel sauce and then you had three mini jam doughnuts, with a definite British twist, on the side and it was all so tasty! I am very lucky to have found a guy that doesn’t mind giving me a taste.

So what I have learnt from my two trips to Bumpkin; go with someone you don’t mind getting messy in front of so you can get the ribs, don’t get the milkshakes somethings are better American, always get chips and order the biggest dessert on the menu because it is all delicious. Oh and get ready to go back again because there is so much stuff to try, next time I think I am going to have to try out a pie.

Pictures below!

Thanks for Reading xx