To give an idea of the size of these beautiful horses, Alan is standing at the base of the one called Duke! Duke and Baron were real working horses who the sculptor, Andy Scott, used as his models.
Part of the tour was to go inside Duke, here is what that looks like!
This was such a special thing to do, and the timing of it was fantastic! The Kelpies only opened to the public at Easter this year and there is no visitor centre or anything yet. As a result, there are not many crowds. I predict by next year, there will be tour buses and school groups. Many thanks to Sue for being aware of these gorgeous creatures!
As always, a road trip is not a proper road trip without home baking. Sue had requested Salted Caramel Brownies after we had a taste of them at the grand opening of the Steamer Trading Cook Shop's basement! It was up to me to find a recipe that would work! And finding the time to do it.
I admit to cheating a bit and buying Tesco's Finest Salted Caramel Sauce. Maybe one day I will have time to do it all, but not right now. Cheating is fine as long as the final product lives up to its promise. And these brownies were incredible. When Sue first tasted them, the look on her face was such shock, I began to wonder if I had made a terrible mistake. But the shock was from having no words to describe how delicious they were! What a great compliment!
Due to time constraints, I found a brownie recipe I had used before trouble is, I can't remember where I got it. Looks like I tore it out of a magazine a long time ago, and here it is (I do try to convert measurements but cannot guarantee I get them perfectly correct!):
Double Chocolate Brownies
3/4 cup unsifted flour (175g plain flour)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter (100g)
3/4 cup granulated sugar (195g)
2 tablespoons water
1 12 ounce package (2 cups) chocolate chips (339g) - divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 325F, 160C.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine butter, sugar and water. Bring just to a boil, then remove from heat.
Add 6 ounces (half) the chocolate chips and vanilla extract. Stir until morsels melt and mixture is smooth.
Transfer to a large bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Gradually blend in flour mixture.
Stir in remaining 1 cup chocolate chips and the nuts (if used).
Spread half the batter into a greased 9 inch square baking pan.
Add the salted caramel sauce and then the remaining brownie batter. I used a knife to swirl the mixtures together before adding the second layer of brownie batter.
and I forgot to take a picture before putting the send layer on! Here is the best I could do, a bit of caramel peaking out!
Bake 30 - 35 minutes.
Cool completely. This instruction is always impossible for me to follow!
Cut into 2 1/4 inch squares.
Makes 16 squares.
The recipe with no notes or photos is at the end of the blog!
In the beautiful sloping hills of Connemara in Ireland, for example, faeries were believed to have been just as beautiful, peaceful, and pleasant as the world around them. But in the Scottish Highlands, with their dark, brooding mountains and eerie highland lakes, villagers warned of deadly water-kelpies and spirit characters that packed a bit more punch.”
― Signe Pike, Faery Tale: One Woman's Search for Enchantment in a Modern World
― Signe Pike, Faery Tale: One Woman's Search for Enchantment in a Modern World
Double Chocolate Brownies
3/4 cup unsifted flour (175g plain flour)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter (100g)
3/4 cup granulated sugar (195g)
2 tablespoons water
1 12 ounce package (2 cups) chocolate chips (339g) - divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 325F, 160C.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine butter, sugar and water. Bring just to a boil, then remove from heat.
Add 6 ounces (half) the chocolate chips and vanilla extract. Stir until morsels melt and mixture is smooth.
Transfer to a large bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Gradually blend in flour mixture.
Stir in remaining 1 cup chocolate chips and the nuts (if used).
Spread half the batter into a greased 9 inch square baking pan.
Add the salted caramel sauce and then the remaining brownie batter. I used a knife to swirl the mixtures together before adding the second layer of brownie batter.
Bake 30 - 35 minutes.
Cool completely.
Cut into 2 1/4 inch squares.
Makes 16 squares.
