Tutu much?

What is a girl to do with several metres of tulle and a bit of elastic? The answer is pretty self explanatory; get making tutus! I made a pink tutu for my daughter, posted a picture on Facebook and within a few hours had requests from friends to make four more... Starting with the two green "tinkerbell" tutus pictured here

Perfect brownies

Usually I enjoy the process of baking even more than the result, however with my brownie recipe the results are so good I can't resist them... My husband loves them so much that I sometimes have to whip up a batch in the evening after a difficult day to cheer him up. I developed this recipe by tireless trial & error so this epitome of chocolate pudding is;

Natalie's Ultimate Chocolate Brownie Recipe

200g 70% cocoa chocolate
200g milk chocolate
250g butter
200g caster sugar
4 eggs, beaten
200g plain flour

Preheat oven to 160°C
Grease and line a suitable 8" square baking tin

• Melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave (in a microwavable bowl) for a minute at a time and stirring in between. It is ready when a tiny bit of the chocolate is left unmelted; stir the mixture until this last bit has disappeared to prevent burning the chocolate

• Add the caster sugar and egg to the bowl and beat until smooth

• Sift in the flour and mix until just combined (it's ok if there's a tiny bit of flour left)

• Add the batter to the tin and spread evenly

• Bake in the centre of the oven for 35-40 minutes until just set in the middle

Cool, slice & scoff!

(delicious served warm with ice-cream)

I'm thinking of adapting this for Christmas by adding a teaspoon of mixed spice or cinnamon & nutmeg to the flour but my husband really doesn't want me to do a single thing different!