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A Boxful of Treats
Sweet snacks are love in a box
BY Nicola Jayasundera
BROWNIES
Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees. Grease a Swiss roll pan with butter. Whisk together 3¼ cups of flour, 2¼ cups of sugar, three tablespoons of cocoa powder, a teaspoon of salt and ½ a teaspoon of baking powder. Whisk together three eggs, a cup of vegetable oil, two tablespoons of milk, a tablespoon of vanilla, a tablespoon of red food colouring and two teaspoons of white vinegar. Mix the dry and wet ingredients until they’re completely combined. Remove ¾ cup of the batter and place it in a medium-size bowl. Whisk in three tablespoons of milk and pour the remaining batter into the prepared pan. Beat 500g (8 oz.) of cream cheese and ¾ cup of sugar until it’s fluffy. Add two eggs and two teaspoons of vanilla, beat them until they’re combined and there aren’t any lumps. Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the red velvet layer and smooth the mixture. Drop dollops of the remaining red velvet batter onto the top of the cream cheese layer. Drag the tip of a knife through the red velvet and cheesecake layers to create swirls. Bake it for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through until the centre is set. Let it cool completely on a wire rack before cutting. Cut heart shapes using a cookie cutter.
SHORTBREAD
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a square baking pan with parchment paper. Combine 1½ cups of sliced rhubarb, a cup of sliced strawberries, ½ a cup of sugar and ¼ cup of water in a medium saucepan. Bring it to the boil and cook until the fruit is softened and beginning to break down. Leave it to cool. Pulse three tablespoons of icing sugar, ½ a teaspoon of salt and a cup of flour in a food processor. Add ½ a cup of butter and pulse it until a coarse meal forms. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of a prepared pan. Bake until golden around the edges and leave it to cool on a wire rack. Puree the rhubarb mixture in a food processor until it’s very smooth. Add two eggs, two egg yolks, a tablespoon of lemon zest and ⅓ cup of sugar, and process until it’s smooth. Add five drops of red food colouring and three tablespoons of flour, and pulse only until it’s smooth. Pour it over the crust. Bake until it sets for about 25-30 minutes. Cool the contents completely on a wire rack. Chill it for at least two hours or up to a day. Cut these into squares and garnish them with sliced strawberries.
COOKIES
In a bowl, whisk together 1⅓ cups of flour, ½ a cup of cocoa and ¼ teaspoon of baking soda. Beat ½ a cup of butter, ½ a cup of sugar and two tablespoons of vanilla in a large bowl until it’s fluffy. Beat in an egg. Add the flour mixture and mix until it’s all incorporated. Divide the dough in half. Roll each half between two sheets of parchment paper until it’s ⅛ inch thick. Chill this for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment. Cut out X and O shapes in the rolled out dough and transfer them to prepared baking sheets. Bake these, rotating the baking sheets halfway through for about eight to 10 minutes until it’s set. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets before transferring the contents to wire racks to cool completely. Sandwich it all with melted marshmallows.
