Bake It! Toffee Pecan Ring

You have probably guessed from the fact that I have left it a month between blog posts that I have been too busy to get round to blog writing - the truth is much worse. I have, in fact been so busy that I have barely had time to cook never mind make anything worth writing about.  I have recently started back at university to do my post graduate teaching diploma and it has lead to big changes in our home. I have spent the last six months or so being a more-or-less full time housewife and am now a commuter and full time student, with lots of homework, reading and research. Any cooking I have done has been tried and tested recipes and filling the freezer with the easily re-heated meals and banana muffins. 

Things have been so hectic that when we had house guests last weekend I resorted to shop bought pizza bases. The bases themselves were the fresh kind that you find in the chilled section next to the pastry and not the thick cardboard ones so the resulting pizza was tasty and enjoyable - just not up to my usual hostess standards. To make amends I decided that the latest Bake It! challenge from Cooking, Cakes and Children would be the perfect after dinner treat - and it was. It also went down extremely well re-heated with coffee the next morning.

Toffee Pecan Ring

(from Cooking, Cakes and Children)

75 g butter, diced

450 g self raising flour

50 g caster sugar

2 eggs, beaten

150 ml milk

25 g butter, melted

75 g pecans

2 tbsps light soft brown sugar

50 g dark chocolate chips

1 packet Rolos, quartered

1 tbsp milk to glaze

25 g dark chocolate, melted

• Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease the bottom of a 10 inch round baking tin.
• Rub together the butter and flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Mix in the sugar then add the eggs and milk, a little at a time. Mix until it forms a soft dough.
• Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to make a square of approx 35cm.
• Coarsely chop the pecans and mix in the soft brown sugar.
• Brush the dough with the melted butter then sprinkle over the pecan and sugar mix, chocolate chips and chocolate toffees, leaving a 2.5cm border at the top and bottom.
• Starting at the edge nearest to you, roll up the dough tightly like a swiss roll, then cut it into 2.5cm slices. You should get about 12-14 slices.
• Lay the slices around the edge of your baking tin at a slight tilt so they overlap a little.
• Brush the top with a little milk and bake for about 20-25 minutes, until they are golden and cooked through.
• Leave to cool for 10-15 minutes in the tin and then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Drizzle the top with melted chocolate.