The Easiest Chocolate Truffles

These are great for Christmas.   Imogen and I have made them for her to take into School today, as presents for the teachers and teaching assistants.

Ingredients

150ml Double Cream

200g Mortimer Dark Chocolate Powder

1 tablespoon Brandy

 

Method

In a saucepan, heat the cream until it just starts to bubble.

Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate powder until melted.

Add the brandy and beat until the mixture is smooth.

Set in the fridge for about 1 hour.

Take a teaspoon full of the mixture and roll into a ball, then roll in some Edible Glitter.

 

Cooks tip

When the mixture is cool, but not set, spoon into chocolate moulds that have been covered in cling film. The cling film makes it easy to remove the truffle from the mould.  You can then use the truffle as a filing for more elaborate chocolates.

 

 

 

Honeycomb

Honey comb

Honeycomb is fun to make and great to eat.
You can also use it to make Gold Edible Glitter. However, if it is used to decorate foods that are not dry such as truffles and icing, it needs to be eaten straight away, as the moisture in the food will quickly soften the honeycomb.

For Christmas we have mixed the broken up honeycomb with melted chocolate to make our very own chocolate honeycomb crunch.

Ingredients
250g granulated sugar
3 tablespoons honey
60ml water
25g butter
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
You will need a tin lined and greased (I used a 25cm by 18cm tin) and a sugar thermometer.

Method
Put the sugar, honey, water, butter and vinegar into a saucepan and heat slowly, stirring the mixture, until the sugar is dissolved.
Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
Boil, without stirring, until the temperature on the sugar thermometer reaches 150 oC. (About 5 minutes).
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda.
The mixture will rise up, full of bubbles. Pour into the greased tin and leave to set.
Turn out onto a board and break up into pieces. The easiest way is to cover with a sheet of greasproof paper and tap firmly with a rolling pin.
To make Edible Gold Glitter, blitz in a food processor.
Store in an airtight container

Cooks tip 

To make your own chocolate honeycomb crunch put 200g of Mortimer Dark Chocolate Powder in a baking tin, (I used a 25cm by 18cm tin), and melt in a low oven (100oC) for 15 minutes until molten. Remove from the heat. Stir in about half of the broken pieces of honeycomb, spread out and leave to cool, before putting in the fridge to set. Break into pieces. You will find the bottom of the set chocolate has a lovely sheen to it.

Tiramisu

Tiramisu – a special dessert for Father’s Day, this Sunday.

Ingredients

• 50g Mortimer Dark Chocolate Powder
• 1 pack boudoir biscuits (approx 30)
• 3 eggs separated
• 250g tub mascarpone cheese
• 50g caster sugar
• 200ml cold strong black coffee
• 3 tablespoons of rum

 

Method

• In a mixing bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese, sugar and egg yolks, with an electric mixer until evenly blended and creamy.
• Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks.
• Fold into the mascarpone mixture.
• Break the boudoir biscuits in half. In a shallow dish mix the coffee and rum. Dip the biscuits in the rum and coffee, carefully as they will absorb the liquid quickly.
• Depending on the shape of your serving bowl, put roughly a third of the biscuits in the bottom.   (My serving dish is much narrower at the bottom than top, so I use less biscuits in the bottom), Add a third of the mascarpone mixture.   Then sprinkle over a third of the chocolate powder.
• Repeat the layers twice more, finishing with a thick sprinkling of the chocolate powder.
• Leave to chill in the fridge for several hours, or overnight.

 

This Italian desert is always popular.  It looks and tastes wonderful, yet it is straightforward to make.

 

Chocolate Chilli Meat Balls

Chocolate and Chilli is a great combination for this family favourite recipe.

 

Serves 4-5

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

1 tablespoon Mortimer Dark Chocolate Powder

450g beef mince

1 egg

½ large or one small onion finely chopped

1 clove of garlic crushed

1 tablespoon tomato puree

½ teaspoon chilli powder

Salt and pepper

You will also need 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil for frying

For the tomato sauce

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

½ large onion or one small onion finely chopped

½ teaspoon chilli powder

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

500g tomato passata

I heaped tablespoon cream fraiche

Salt and pepper

Method

First make the meatballs

Put all the meatball ingredients into a large mixing bowl and using your hand mix all the ingredients together.

Shape into about 15 meatballs and put in the fridge for half an hour.

 

To complete the dish

Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a frying pan and brown the meat balls.

In a second large frying pan, heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil over a medium heat and fry the onion, chilli and paprika for 6 minutes, until the onion is soft.

Add the passata and cream fraiche and bring the mixture to a simmer.

Season with salt and pepper.

Add the meatballs and simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve with pasta .

Chocolate Brownies

I am so pleased fellow Blogger Kingdom of Appentency found our West African Chocolate Powder in Sainsburys and enjoyed making my brownies.  

See how he did it…   Chocolate Brownies.

Festive Mincemeat Tart

Festive Mincemeat Tart

If you have any mincemeat left over from Christmas, why not try this lovey tart.

Serves 8

First make the pastry

Orange pastry

Ingredients:

• 200g plain flour
• 75g butter
• 50g lard
• 1 orange
• Water

Method

Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl. Grate the butter and lard into the flour. Occasionally coating the grated fat with the flour to stop it sticking into a lump.

Rub the butter and lard into the flour, until it resembles bread crumbs. Finely grate the orange zest and stir into the flour. Squeeze the orange.

You need in total 8 dessert spoons of fluid. Measure in the orange juice and make up the rest with water if needed.

With a fork stir the liquid into the flour mixture. Using your hands bring the mixture together and knead very lightly until a ball is formed.

Rest the pastry in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Tart Ingredients

• I quantity of Orange Pastry
• 1 heaped tablespoon Mortimer Chocolate Powder
• 4 tablespoons mincemeat
• 410g can of pear halves in fruit juice

For the topping

• 2 level tablespoons plain flour
• 1 level tablespoon ground almonds or semolina
• 25g butter
• 1 level tablespoon caster sugar

Method

Roll out the pastry to line a 23cm (9inch), flan tin.

Make up the topping: grate the butter into the flour, then, rub in until it resembles bread crumbs. Stir in the sugar and almonds or semolina.

Stir the chocolate powder into the mincemeat and spread over the pastry. Drain the pears and arrange on top of the mincemeat. Lastly, sprinkle over the topping.

Bake in a hot oven Gas Mark 6, 200 deg C (180 deg C for fan ovens), for 30 minutes, until golden.

Serve hot or cold.

Cooks tip

Delicious with brandy butter if you have any of that left over as well!

Spanish Hot Chocolate and Churros

We have recently come back from a lovely holiday near Santander, Spain.  In the local shops we bought some specialist chocolate to make Spanish Hot Chocolate, to compare with our own.   It was so sweet not even the children would drink it! What they need is Mortimer Chocolate Powder.   Here is my recipe for a thick delicious, not too sweet hot chocolate, that I would hope is more typical of a traditional Spanish Hot Chocolate.  Together with the Spanish doughnut, Churros

Spanish Hot Chocolate

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 100g Mortimer Dark Chocolate Powder
• 200ml water

Method

Heat the water in a pan until it starts to simmer

Add the chocolate powder and whisk until thick

Serve in small espresso cups

Churros

For the choux pastry:

• 65g plain flour
• 50g butter
• 120ml water
• 2 eggs

For deep fat frying:

• 500ml vegetable oil

Method

Sift the flour into a small bowl. Put the butter and water into a pan over a low heat until the butter melts. Increase the heat until the mixture boils. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour.

Place back over a medium heat and stir until the mixture forms a ball. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool for a bit. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, until the mixture is smooth. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle.

Heat the oil in a deep pan until hot. I used an 18cm diameter pan and 500ml of oil filled it to one third full. When a small cube of bread browns in 30 seconds the oil is hot enough.

Pipe approx 5cm lengths of the mixture into the oil and fry for 5 minutes until golden brown. Put the churros onto kitchen roll, to remove excess oil and sprinkle with sugar.

Deliciously Creamy Chocolate Ice-Cream

Chocolate Ice-cream

I have been trying lots of different recipes for chocolate ice-cream ever since an ice-cream company  gave us a sample when we were exhibiting at the BBC Good Food Show in 2011.  It was deliciously creamy.  I think I have now come close to matching both the flavour and texture.   Some recipes come together straight away, whereas others are years in the making!

You start off by making the chocolate sauce which then needs to be cooled.  This stage can be made the day before.

Serves 6-8 – You will need an ice-cream maker.

Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients:

100g Mortimer Dark Chocolate Powder

170g tin of carnation evaporated milk

100ml vegetable oil.

Method

• ·         Pour the evaporated milk into a pyrex bowl .
• ·         Add the chocolate powder and whisk.    Don’t worry it won’t mix well at this stage.
• ·         Microwave on high for 1 minute.
• ·         Whisk until the chocolate has melted and the sauce is smooth.
• ·         Add the oil and continue to whisk until it is completely incorporated.
• ·         Cover the surface of the sauce with cling film and allow to go cold.

 

For the ice-cream

Ingredients

1 quantity of chocolate sauce

2 eggs

2 tablespoons caster sugar

300ml double cream

100ml milk

Method

• ·         In a large mixing bowl beat the eggs and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
• ·         Beat in the cream followed by the milk.
• ·         Finally pour in the sauce and beat well.
• ·         Using the manufacturers instructions, pour the mixture into the ice-cream maker and churn.
• ·         If you can resist not eating it straight away, put into a plastic container and put in the freezer.   The flavours do develop if left overnight.

·         You will need to put the ice-cream from the freezer into the fridge for 30minutes before serving, so it is easier to scoop.

Devil’s Food Cake

I am pleased to say that my Devil’s Food Cake recipes is proving popular and has recently been published on line on both:

Making Cakes and Bakes: http://makingcakesandbakes.co.uk/2013/05/24/devils-food-cake/

Simply Homemade: http://www.simplyhomemademag.com/blog-projects/item/348-devils-food-cake-recipe

Ingredients:

• 75g Mortimer Dark Chocolate Powder
• 150ml strong black coffee
• 150g butter
• 200g soft brown sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 300g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 110ml plain yoghurt

You will need 2 x 21cm diameter cake tins greased and lined.

Method

Make up the black coffee. While it is still hot, add the chocolate powder and stir together.

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar together. Add the beaten egg, one at a time, together with a tablespoon of the flour and beat until well mixed.

Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda. Fold some of the flour into the cake mixture, followed by some of the yogurt and finally some of the coffee. Alternate folding in the flour, yoghurt and coffee until it is all evenly mixed in.

Spoon into the cake tins and bake at 170 deg C (150 deg C for fan ovens), Gas Mark 4, for 25 minutes, until the cake is firm to the touch.

Turn out and allow to completely cool, before decorating with the chocolate frosting.

Chocolate Frosting

• 100g Mortimer Dark Chocolate Powder
• 50ml water
• 2 egg yolks
• 200g icing sugar, sieved
• 125g soft butter, divided into 6 portions

Method

Heat the water in a pan over a medium heat, add the chocolate powder and whisk for about a minute until smooth.

Beat in the egg yolks, then remove from the heat.

Add the icing sugar and mix in thoroughly.

Beat in the butter a portion at a time, until melted.

Once all the butter is incorporated, place the pan in a bowl of cold water and beat the mixture until it is light and thick enough to spread.

Use to decorate your cake.

Cooks tips

This is a good cake recipe, but decorating it with the chocolate frosting turns it into something rather special.   We often make it for Birthdays and if our daughter has anything to do with it, then it may also get covered in maltesers!

Carrot Cake with White Chocolate Icing

The Mortimer Chocolate Company’s White Couverture Powder, the dairy-free White Chocolate has been awarded a Highly Commended at the prestigious Free From Food Awards 2013.  To celebrate I have come up with a diary-free Carrot Cake recipe.

You will need to make the icing first because it needs a couple of hours in the fridge, to set to a spreadable consistency.

Serves 8-10 – You will need 2 greased and lined 8inch (20cm) round cake tins

Ingredients:

For the Cake

225g self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

150g caster sugar

¼ pint (150ml) vegetable oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 ripe banana, mashed

100g grated carrot

For the icing

100g White Couverture Powder

250ml coconut cream  (Blue Dragon)**

I have specified the brand of the coconut cream I used as this comes in a soft block form.   Some of the other coconut creams are much more liquid and not suitable for this recipe

Method

For the icing

·         Melt the White Couverture Powder in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.

·         Pour the coconut cream into a mixing bowl and gently beat until smooth.

·         Add the melted couverture powder and beat together until completed blended in.

·         Cover with some cling film and leave to set for 2 hours in the fridge.

For the cake

·         Sieve all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.

·         Stir in the sugar.

·         Add the rest of the ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until well mixed.

·         Divide the mixture between the two lined and greased tins and spread out evenly.

·         Bake in the oven 180⁰C (160⁰C for fan ovens) GM4, for 25-30minutes, until golden and firm to the touch.

·         Turn out and leave to cool.

·         Sandwich the two cakes together with half the icing, then spread the rest on the top.

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