Once upon a time, when animals could talk and there were
hardly any people, the lion was King of the Jungle. Today, lions live
on the plains of Africa--called savannahs--and not in the jungle at
all. But why, you may want to know, is he called the King of the
Jungle, and not the King of the Savannah? That is the story I will
tell you now. MORE

Hello! Happy Thinking Day!
As promised here is the recipe for Chocolate Surprise Pudding - it's yummy!! You may need some adult help though as you have to use a hot oven and a hot kettle, so BE VERY CAREFUL!!

You will need:
3 oz (75g) self raising flour
1 oz (25g) cocoa powder
pinch of salt
4 oz (100g) butter or margarine
4 oz (100g) castor sugar
2 eggs
2-3 drops of vanilla essence (you don't have to use this if you don't want to)
1-2 tablespoons milk

For the sauce:
4 oz (100g) soft brown sugar
1 oz (25g) cocoa powder
1/2 pt hot water

What to do:

Find a 2 pint baking dish or pie dish, and butter the sides of it really well. Put it on a baking tray so that it is easier to take it out of the oven (mine also overflowed, so it stops the oven getting covered in chocolate too!!). Turn the oven on to warm up (375F, 190C, Gas Mark 5) and find a pair of oven gloves. Fill and switch on the kettle to boil.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt onto a plate or into a bowl and put it to one side. Put the butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture is creamy.
Lightly beat the eggs and vanilla essence in a small bowl. Gradually beat the egg into the creamed mixture. Add a little of the flour with some of the egg to stop the mixture separating. Fold in the rest of the flour with a tablespoon and mix in just enough milk to make a soft consistency (what I would say was very thick soup!). Spoon the cake mixture into the buttered dish and spread it level.
Put the soft brown sugar and cocoa powder into a small bowl.Stir in the hot water (Please ask an adult to help) and mix well to make a chocolate sauce. Pour the sauce over the cake mixture in the baking dish.
Put the pudding into the warmed oven and bake for about 40 minutes.(Ask an adult to help you here too) The 'surprise' is that during baking the cake rises to the top and the sauce goes to the bottom. You have a chocolate pudding with its own yummy sauce. Serve it hot with cream, or ice cream (or both!!!!) - delicious!!!

There you go then, have a chocolate feast. You could also try putting in some orange peel and juice, or some mint or coffee essence to give the pudding another surprise! (please don't put all of that in at once though, as it would taste pretty foul!)
Anyway, I'd better go now because writing this recipe for you has made me feel a little peckish! Hope you enjoy trying this out, but whatever you do...ask for some help when you have to use a kettle and the oven - I did! I made my housemate Emma do the sauce and then made her put it in the oven and take it out - well, she had to earn her pudding after all!!! Bye for now, be good and keep smiling,

Tawny Owl xx :-)

Hello!
How is half term? I wish I had a half term!! I don't though which means that I am still hard at work. I am trying to persuade my housemates to pose for a photo so that I can show you what they look like, but they are very camera shy - hopefully by the time I see you at Easter I may have succeeded in capturing them on film. I'm also trying to take photos of my house but it doesn't stay tidy for long and you don't really want to see my washing do you???
Happy Thinking Day! I hope you will all be thinking about Brownies from different parts of the world this week, because I will. Anyway, I must dash as I have a very rumbly tum as I haven't eaten since lunch - my housemate and I have made a chocolate pudding and if it tastes yummy I might post the recipe on the website for you to try too...
Have a good week off school, and think of me working away here...I'll see you in about six weeks time. Be good and keep smiling,
Tawny Owl xx :-)