No bake, Vegan Chocolate Tart

 

Some plans are never going to happen, creating an impromptu gift guide with 12 entries and no preparation was a bad-bad idea. That doesn't mean that something else wonderfully useful can't happen instead. 

It's the time of the year when it's so easy to be a little over-ambitious, just to realise that there will be no time left for making that showstopper dessert you had planned a month ago. So, let's scale down and with the help of the first-ever GBBO, Edd Kimber, create a dessert that will be loved by all, vegan included.

I'm a great fan of chocolate mousse but, the attraction of this recipe is that it takes no time to make, no pastry to take care of, no baking with all the anxieties that brings. Aren't no plan the best plans after all?

Merry Christmas 

No-Bake Chocolate Tarts

Recipe created in partnership with recipe creator Edd Kimber and Lizi's 

INGREDIENTS FOR THE TART CRUST

175g Lizi’s Original Granola (other granola are available)

80g coconut oil, room temperature

INGREDIENTS FOR THE VEGAN GANACHE

265g dark chocolate, finely chopped

50g light brown sugar

115ml almond milk* (*you can use any plant-based milk for this recipe but almond or coconut milk both have flavours that can complement chocolate)

METHOD TO MAKE 4

1. To make the crust place about 2/3 of the Granola into a food processor and process until fine and crumbly.

2. Add in the remaining granola, the oil and salt and process until everything is evenly combined and the mixture is clumped together. Divide this mixture equally between four loose-bottomed 10cm tart tins and press firmly into the base and up the sides of the tin. 

3. Place the tart cases in the fridge whilst you work on the ganache. 

4. Place the chocolate into a bowl and set it aside. Add the almond milk and sugar to the pan on medium heat and gently heat until just steaming.

5. Pour the hot milk over the chocolate and set aside for a couple minutes before stirring with a whisk until a silky smooth ganache is formed.

6. Pour the ganache into the chilled tart cases and place them into the fridge until the ganache has set, which will take at least a couple of hours. 

7. Serve with a little vegan whipped cream or sour cream if you're not vegan. Kept refrigerated these will keep for 3-4 days. 

Gail's Bakery Kits for your Baking Friends

 Very belatedly, I decided to share with you, presents ideas for Christmas. I thought of calling this series the Twelve Days of Christmas. But, reading about the history of the Twelve Days, I found out that they are not these leading to Christmas day but rather those following it, ending with the arrival of the 3 wise kings on Epiphany, the 6 of January. 

Change of name was necessary and there you have it, the series is now called Pebble Soup's Advent Calendar. Today we are gifting our Baking Friends. 

During lockdown one, in 2020, when the hospitality industry was struggling like mad to find a way to survive, we witnessed the first of the '.... in a box'. My very own first was a French Christmas in a Box and I was definitely impressed. 

Baking kits are far from new. Many of us recall making our first biscuits, cakes, and flans 'out of a box', the modern twist involves recreating a chef recipe with lush ingredients, here 23% dark chocolate, 11% dark couverture chocolate. What baker wouldn't like such a pressie?

The Chocolate and Pecan Gail's Brownie Baking Kit make 20 gooey squares, I've not made mine yet but head towards the #gailsbrownies page on Instagram to see some examples. Order online or by phone and collect from your nearest Gail's bakery. The kit cost £18. My devious mind tells me that it could easily make four or five lovely bags .....just don't pass the creations for yours....if you can help it.

See you in a couple of days with a present for your Vegan Baker friends.

Disclaimer: I was given a kit as a kit but received no further remuneration to write this post.  I was not expected to write a positive review – I retain full editorial control.
 

Chocolate Truffles with Japanese Flavours

These sophisticated chocolate truffles developed by Yutaka Japanese food experts come with a warning and you'll soon see why.

The same way, one will keep champagne truffles out of reach of little sticky fingers. Pickled Sushi Ginger, Wasabi Furikake and Yuzu flavoured chocolate truffles might be best kept among adults.

The basic recipe is as we know it. To make 30 - 36 truffles, you'll need

• 200g dark good quality chocolate
• 60ml double cream
• 80g unsalted butter

Please note that when I try this recipe out I halved the proportions

Method for all truffles

In a double saucepan (or a Pyrex bowl in a saucepan), place chocolate, butter and cream. Heat through slowly until smooth whilst whisking. Remove from heat and divide into 3 equal portions, adding the various flavourings to each individual portion as below. Place in the fridge to set – overnight if possible. Get the mixture out a little before using it so that the hard layer which has formed overnight has time to soften.

I'll start with my favourite if you don't mind.

Yuzu chocolate truffles

 Yuzu is a citrus. It always surprised me that it's yet to be widely used in Europe. Maybe we are waiting for the arrival of Yuku which is a sweeter version of this fruit as Yuzu is very tart. The flavour is akin to mandarin-orange and marries ever so well with chocolate. Yuzu is never eaten as a fruit but used in cooking only.

       To make Yuzu truffles, add 2 tsp Yutaka Yuzu to one of the bases before refrigerating.

Wasabi Furikake Chocolate Truffle

Furikake means shaking. These truffles are now known at Pebble Soup HQ as Wasabi Shaky Shaky. 

• You'll need 2 tbs of the Yutaka ready mix which is a mixture of sesame seeds and Wasabi. 

This is a chocolate truffle for the more adventurous palates, on reflexion, He decided that though very pleasant, the wasabi mixture would be put to better use in a cracker recipe.

Pickled Sushi Ginger Flavouring

I'm very partial to ginger, however before now I never had the pleasure to cook with sushi ginger, it is so very different. I don't think I'll ever buy any other type of pickled ginger from now on. This sushi ginger is thinly sliced rather than Julienne (that's the long thicker stripe).

• You'll need 2 tbs of chopped Yutaka sushi ginger

If you decide to make only one type of truffle out of these three, this is the one you should try out. On two accounts:

       1- you'll be able to use the sushi ginger in other recipes. Let's face it we don't want to end up with yet another jar in the fridge.

       2- most of us are already familiar with the taste of ginger. Delicious.

For the coating the choice is yours. I used Vermicelli, icing sugar and golden sugar nuggets as it's what I had in the pastry box. The recipe sheet recommended drinking chocolate, cocoa, melted white chocolate, pink salt crystal and dark chocolate.

This post has been shared with

 We Should Cocoa hosted by Chocolette over at Tin and Thyme

Disclaimer: I was sent a voucher and the ingredients by Yutaka to recreate these recipes. No other payment was exchanged. As usual, words are my own.

Les Sourires aka Chocolate Lace Crisps #InheritanceRecipes

We all do it, don't we?: mnemotechnics. We all have little tricks to recall people's names, places etc...When he and I travel, we tend to change the name of places into similar sounding words to commit them to memory.

Years ago, a visit Mexico unleashed my inner Laura Croft. I suddenly became very keen on visiting all possible sites, may they be from the Aztecs, Mayan, Toltecs, Zapotecs or any other ancient cultures, for that matter.

Ancient cities in this part of the world have a fascinating Science-Fiction quality, especially these located in the dense jungle. The scenery helps to reinforce an aura of mystery.

In spite of the constant rain (If you think the UK is wet, try Yucatan) the sites are highly visited. People of all nations wearing, colourful PVC ponchos come and go, all day long and it's a spectacle in itself to watch them.

The problem with visiting so many sites soon becomes a very old one: "How do you recall which one is which?". So we applied fool-proof memo-technics and soon Yaxchilan was pronounced YackChilian, Teotihuacan ....Teoti-can-can and Chichen Itza became  forever the famous Chicken-Pizza site.

"Forever" is the critical word. As neither of us are now able to revert the proper names. This got forgotten. It can lead to some rather embarrassing conversations:

"When in Mexico, where did you go?" 

"heuuh, Teo-Ti-can-can, Chicken-Pizza" think not.

But this problem is not confined to travels. It spilt out, in fact, it has always been a way of coping with complicated proper names. Most of the dishes, I ate at my grandfather's had Arabic names, some of them didn't  even have a name. Of the many desserts baked by the equally many aunties, neighbours and which adorned the dining table during the religious festivals, often, were "renamed". 

A classic is the Ghoriba, a sweet, flowerless almond biscuit crinkled all around which I used to call Sourire because the cracks look like smiles. Sadly, I never got the recipe but on the first day of Spring, Sourires is the recipe, I wanted on Pebble Soup. So I chose to bake Chocolate Lace Crisps instead and from now on they will be called Sourires too.

Sourires aka Chocolate Lace Crisps

First, read these few tips.

These biscuits should not flatten (as they have in the picture)  Adding more oil than called for will also cause the cookies to spread -- I wouldn't suggest it, they really don't need extra butter.

Another way to make them rounder is to make them bigger

The icing sugar often gets absorbed during the baking process. to avoid this roll the balls, let them dry a little and then roll them in the sugar.

Ingredients

• 100g dark eating (semi-sweet) chocolate, chopped coarsely;
• 80g butter, chopped;
• 220g caster sugar;
• 1 egg, beaten lightly;
• 150g plain flour;
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder;
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda;
• 40g icing sugar.

Method:

1. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate and the butter
2. In a large bowl, mix caster sugar, egg, sifted flour cocoa and bicarbonate of soda when the chocolate sauce has cooled a little add this to the bowl and stir, with a wooden spoon, don't use a mixer. Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is firm.
3. Preheat the oven 180C\160 fan. Roll level tablespoon of the mixture into balls, let them dry 5 minutes while you line a baking tray with greased baking paper
4. roll the balls in the icing sugar. Place them on the tray, well apart about 8cm
5. bake for 15 minutes. cool before transferring to an airtight container, they will keep a week

If like mine, they don't turn "a little too flat" use a cookie cutter to shape them.

a common problem to inherited recipes is that often inherited recipes don't really have a name. Therefore, with this reason in mind I add Sourires to this month "Inheritance Recipes" challenge which  hosted by Margot




Please join us Here and link your inheritance recipes we will add it to our social media
Note:
Pictures of Yucatan are my own, they were taken in 1999 and digitalized this morning for the purpose of this post.

And as this recipe makes plenty, I am also sharing with Casa Costello and Maison Cupcake

Buche de Noel

                                           Wishing You a Merry Christmas

 

Ingredients

For the base

150g Caster sugar

6 large free range eggs, separated

250g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)

Icing sugar for dusting

For the Filling

400ml double cream, lightly whipped

150g raspberries, or canned cherries

For Chocolate butter cream

 

250g unsalted butter, softened

450g superfine ice sugar

50g cocoa powder, sifted

2 tbsp milk

Method

 Line a 23 x 33cm Swiss roll tin with baking paper and preheat the over to 180C.

Wisk sugar and egg yolks in a bowl until thick and white.

In another bowl whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and gently mix with the chocolate mixture. Spread in the tin and bake for 10 minutes maximum.

Soak a clean tea-towel and slide the cooked dough with parchment in the towel. Roll and leave it to cool. that will prevent the log to crack.

When completly cold add unroll and spread the filling in.

Roll back with the small width facing you.

 

For the filling

Beat the double cream with fruits of the forest or canned cherries

For the covering butter cream, beat the butter, then sift in the icing sugar and cocoa. Beat well, adding enough milk to create a smooth light butter cream.

Spread to cover the cake over and use a fork to make the log effects, decorate with icing sugar, He used little hearts to finish it nicely.

This recipe was such as success that it might reappear for St Valentin and with a lighter cover later on during the year as My Buche de Paques.

In the meantime, I am sharing it with the Inheritance Recipes being one of the most traditional French dessert. So here it is passed down to me by a whole nation.

Inheritance recipes is a challenge co-hosted by Coffee and Vanilla and Pebble Soup 

 

 

 

 

Chocolate Fudge and Cornish Sea Salt Brownies

In November, I started to work my way through Great British Chef's Chocolate Collection,  a series of chefs recipes entirely dedicated to chocolate. The first attempt was an alternative Chocolate and Orange Mousse.

Then came a lovely invitation from Vanessa Kimbell at Goddess on a Budget. For the second year running Vanessa had organised a home-made Christmas gifts swap, the food blogosphere gets really busy and "buzzy" when the invitation drops. It is genuinely a great idea, to spend some time making your own gifts rather than running around buying them. We all love the event which this year was taking place at the infamous Rococo chocolate factory, though it felt a little odd to bring chocolate to a chocolate factory.

So putting two and two together I came up with:

His

and Mine



So very often with chefs recipes, you have to up your skills a little. On Great British Chefs recipes are never out of reach, there are no ingredients one can't find but there is often that little thing which will stretch you, that little plus which will make you go the extra mile and that is why I chose to bring these brownies to the gift swap.

Afterall if a creation will be judged by the like of Chantal Coady from Rococo, Xanthe Clay from the Telegraph, Lucas Hollweg from the Sunday Times and Sophie Conrad, then you have to think carefully and this cold Sabayon base brownies sounded perfect.

Judges were impressed by the creativity behind the presents, they all had a big grin on their face after working their way through the amazing array of gifts; and No, Chocolate Fudge and Cornish Sea Salt Brownies didn't get a prize but I surely enjoyed making them and I learnt that, "Melting, rather than beating, the chocolate, butter and sugar together to make brownies gives them a thick, fudge-like texture."

Chocolate Fudge and Cornish Sea Salt Brownies a recipe by Nathan Outlaw

Ingredients

225g of unsalted butter

275g of 70% bitter chocolate

400g of caster sugar

5 eggs

200g of plain flour

100g of fudge, chopped

10g of Cornish sea salt

Method
1. Begin the brownies by preheating the oven to 150°C/gas mark 2

2. In a bain marie, melt the butter, chocolate and sugar over simmering water

Tip : Making a Bain Marie for chocolate

If you don't have a bain marie, you can make one. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4 and fill a roasting tin halfway with water. Place the chocolate in a ramekin in the water and put the roasting tin in the oven

3. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until they form stiff peaks. You will need an electric mixer with a whisk attachment for this

Tip :  Whisking the whole eggs to stiff peaks

It will take a little time, but eventually you will reach stiff peaks or a cold sabayon if you will      

4. When the chocolate mixture is melted, carefully fold it into the eggs

5. Sieve the flour and fold it into the chocolate mix. Add in the chopped fudge and the sea salt

Tip : How to add the salt

The salt goes in straight from the packet, but you may like to give it a light crush between your fingertips

6. Pour the batter into a greaseproof paper-lined baking tray and bake for 20 minutes, or until the brownies are cooked so that they are set but still slightly soft in the middle

7. Remove from the oven and cool. Once cool, cut into desired shapes and serve.

The brownies should last up to 4 days

This post has been sponsored by Great British Chefs, the top picture is from GBC website.



Chocolate and Orange Mousse

Some people spend hours browsing through cars, shoes, IT catalogues, may be not all at once. As far as I am concerned, I could spend days gazing at pictures of chocolaty creations wondering if I could work my way through them all. There is no better way to know than to try.

I made a start with Chef Nathan Outlaw's creation from Great British chefs. This puddings which marries Orange and Chocolate in a  mousse. Mousse au Chocolat is a French classic which owes its lightness to the air trapped in the fluffy whisked egg whites but not in this case which was intriguing.

Nathan Outlaw works his chocolate (cocoa powder and 70% bitter chocolate) with cream, egg yolks, milk. The binding is generated by gelatine. Not used to work with this product, a bit of research was necessary. Gelatine comes in two forms: powder and leaf, in this recipe the latter is used.

Step one work with gelatine leaves

Soak first in cold water for 5 minutes, the time is on the packet in the instructions. Then squeeze out the excess water and place the leaves in a saucepan over gentle heat and melt or alternatively if you work with other hot ingredient place the squeezed ball directly in and it will melt of its own accord.

Step 2. Mix the egg yolks and caster sugar together in a bowl

           

Step 3. Bring 300ml of the double cream together with the milk and orange zest to the boil. Pour the mixture onto the egg yolks and sugar then return to the pan and cook over a low heat until the mix thickens a little.

Step 4. Remove from the heat. Finely chop the chocolate and stir in, along with the gelatine and cocoa. Place the pan over a bowl of ice to cool. Meanwhile, semi-whip the remaining 160ml of double cream

Step 5. When the chocolate custard mix is at room temperature, fold in the cream until fully incorporated.

Step 6. Transfer to a bowl and chill in the fridge for 2 hours before serving

Ingredients

80g of caster sugar

460ml of double cream

6 gelatine leaves

1 orange, zested

6 egg yolks

80g of 70% bitter chocolate

80g of 70% cocoa powder

300ml of whole milk

Tips

Making crème anglaise or custard

When stirring the mixture on the heat be sure to use a flat edged spoon, moving it continuously along the base of the pan so the mixture does not catch.

Intensifying the orange flavour

Get hold of a microplane - a great tool for removing the maximum amount of zest without the bitter pith.

Leave the cream, milk, and orange zest to infuse for an hour before re-heating to pour over the egg yolk and sugar mixture.

Verdict.

Mixing 2 kinds of chocolate make this dessert much lighter than its French counterpart. it's quick and easy to make, the orange flavour comes through and that's a really nice addition. Working with gelatine leaves is much easier than it looks and here it gives much more "form" to the mousse. A perfect mousse to serve at the end of dinner in coffee cups.

Chocolate & Ginger Scones Crown

Mention the word Chocolate and readership increases immediately by 20%. We, as a nation, are chocolate mad. Our chocolatiers, are the best in the world, no exaggeration here. 
During Chocolate week, The International Chocolate Awards announced the winners of the 2012 World Final, out of 600 products, the likes of Paul a Young and Damian Allsop led the way to the top prizes and not chocolate medal in site.

The blogosphere is not immune to this passion, there is of course Chocolatier a review and news magazine which I am so delighted to contribute to and Choclette's very own blog, Chocolate log blog,  a much-loved read. 

Thinking along the lines of French-English alliance, I turned to a timeless cookbook Cranks' Breads and Teacakes and opted for a warming and spicy marriage of chocolate chip and ginger in a couronne (a French type of bread) of scones. Perfect for autumnal breakfasts or mid-afternoon teas, this tear and share made of scones is fast and easy to bake.

Chocolate Chip and Ginger Scones Crown

The original recipe uses carob chip and wholemeal flour

Ingredients:

1lb (450g) Wholemeal Flour

2tbsp (30ml) Baking powder

4oz (100g) Butter

3oz (75g) Unrefined brown sugar

2oz (50g) Chocolate chips

1oz (25g) Crystallized ginger, finely chopped

1/3 pt (200ml) Buttermilk

Egg glaze made with one egg and 3tsp milk

Method:

Combine the flour and baking powder in a bowl and rub in the butter. Stir in the sugar, carob chips and chopped ginger and add the milk to form a soft dough. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead quickly. Roll out the dough 1 in (2.5cm) thick and 2½ in (6.5cm) plain pastry cutter, stamp out scones and place on a buttered baking tray.

Or to make a crown arrange the scones, overlapping in a circle.

Brush with egg glaze and bake 425/22/gas 7 for 15-20 minutes until risen and golden.

Cool on a wire tray

Makes about 14 scones

Recipe from Bake me I'm Yours....Chocolate: Stars of Wonder



Bake me I'm yours....is a series of books which stand out for two reasons: the expertise of its authors and its cute covers. The books are smallish and very attractive with their polka dots spine, their little imitation rubbons, they scream "buy me". I first came across the collection with Sarah's Sweet Bite Size Bake.

The formula is the same for each book. About a third is dedicated to "How to" chapters and nitty-gritty sections, a lot of expert information to help  the readers to progress.

For example, in Chocolate by Tracey Mann, a page is dedicated to chocolate moulds, should we use plastic or silicone shapes?

Each piece of advice is then summed up on a banner at the bottom of the recipe pages.

Take Tempting Truffles, which I am off to make next, the bottom banner states the pages for basic tool kits, tempering and ganache.

Tracey Mann is a highly successful Cake Designer, her chocolate creations are stunning, I would not say they are simple but simple enough for average bakers to give it a go. Reading through her book, I was transported in a kind of Bake Off situation. For the recipe which is reproduce below you will need to know how to temper chocolate and how to make simple chocolate bites.

As the world and its wife know, I am not the best of bakers, following a recipe seems to be beyond my natural abilities however I feel confident that with this book, I could create that sexy birthday cake. Because of its layout it forces you to focus on each element and isn't that the secret of making beautiful creations. The devil is the details.

Stars of Wonder

These sparkly chocolate bites will make perfect treats for the stars in your life this Christmas. Serve on a platter at a party or tie together with ribbon as a classy gift.

you will need
(for nine bites) …
one batch of chocolate bites, 6cm (23⁄8in) in diameter
250g (9oz) white chocolate paste
25g (1oz) dark couverture chocolate
large star cutter
disco white hologram edible cake glitter
red dusting spray

1 Prepare a batch of chocolate covered bites. Evenly roll out 250g (9oz) of white chocolate paste onto icing sugar and use the large star cutter to cut out nine star shapes.

2 Spray some of the white chocolate paste stars with the red dusting spray and dust the remainder with the disco white hologram edible cake glitter.

3 Temper 25g (1oz) of dark couverture chocolate and place in a disposable piping bag. Pipe a small dot of tempered chocolate onto the top of the chocolate bites and position a star on top. Pipe another dot of tempered chocolate onto this star and arrange the second star in a contrasting pattern, lternating between red and gold stars for interest.

For tasty stocking fillers, tie a stack of three biscuits together with an organza ribbon Chocolate Bites

These mouth-watering chocolate bites are so simple to make and don’t even require any baking.

They can either be made as indulgent cookies for yourself or to give as gifts –
simply use a variety of cookie cutters to vary the size of your bite.

ingredients (for nine small bites or four larger bites) …
12 digestive biscuits (Graham crackers)
250g (9oz) white, milk or dark chocolate
55g (2oz) butter
60ml (4 tbsp) drinking chocolate
30ml (2 tbsp) golden syrup
18cm (7in) tin
Round, metal cookie cutters

Do not let the chocolate set completely, or it will be diffi cult to cut out the
individual bites

1 Melt the butter and golden syrup together in a pan over a low heat.
Add the drinking chocolate.

2 Crush 12 digestive biscuits in a bag with a rolling pin. Add the melted mixture to the crushed biscuits. Push the mixture into the tin until it is flat and chill for approximately 20 minutes.

3 Temper 250g (9oz) of the chocolate of your choice, pour onto the mixture and spread into an even layer using a palette knife. Tap the tin to remove any air bubbles and leave for approximately 10 minutes at room temperature until the mixture is partially set.

4 Before the chocolate has gone completely hard use the round metal cutters to cut out the bites. Leave to harden before decorating as desired.

Thank you to FWMedia for authorising the publication of the recipe, photo and for sending 3 copies to readers and myself

Chokablok: New Choc on the Block

Chokablok, three weeks ago, I had never heard the name. That was before the brand invited a selected few journalists and bloggers to a "Make your Own Chocolates Masterclass".  The event took place in a converted violin factory.

 

The conversion was filmed for Kevin McCloud's Grand Design. Personally, I am not moved by this type of home which I find soulless, however, I was duly impressed by the £34 000 gas cooker and the fact that two tonnes of cocoa beans where being tempered releasing a delightful aroma.

After the initial Chokablok range presentation, we were invited to create our own chocolates and bars, mine was to be a pistachio white chocolate filling in milk chocolate cases and orange flavoured and golden balls bar called "Orange Revolution".

The trick with working with chocolate is to be really fast. Good chocolate sets extremely quickly, so planning is essential. The chocolate industry has nothing to fear, I am not going to open my chocolate factory soon. Though I had lots of fun, I'll stick to my writing job.

If you are looking for an Easter chocolate egg for kids Chokablok Billionaires Dynamite Egg priced at £5 retailed by Tesco has been voted best buy by several magazines.

My thanks to Chokablok for a fun afternoon

Hotel Chocolat Valentine's Day Love Notes

Is it really true that, "Valentine's day is lovely and everybody should have one?" I wonder, I am rather torn, I am not a fan of behaving like everyone else so mass celebrations are not really my cup of tea. On the other end, love is my driving force, I have learnt to recognise its beauty and fragility. Its very own existence is something to celebrate.

And celebrations warrant a token but you don't want to feel that you are being exploited buying overpriced roses and what is the point of booking a table for two when everybody else will have book one too. Expensive gadgets, are for mysterious reasons not associated with romance but chocolates are.

In the current buoyant chocolates market, Hotel Chocolat is doing very well. I was asked to pick any product I liked in their Valentine range to review. After much consideration and deliberation. Love Notes came up trump.

Aptly named Love Notes as hidden under each heart shaped chocolates there is a quote from Virgil to Eva Gabor. I could not help it every time somebody picked a chocolates, I wanted to know what the box said for me that was the best part + the strawberry, black pepper combo which is nice. Of course there was a romantic hidden message for this very blog, provided by the bard himself, "They do not love that do not show their love."

Description and acknowledgment
Love Notes box contains a blank card and envelop, 12  chocolate hearts and romantic hidden messages – selection  included smooth truffles with mellow vanilla and raspberry, comforting chocolate brownie and velvety praline, strawberry & black pepper and super soft caramels with mouth-warming chilli. RRP: £14

I received a free box to review, opinions contained in this post are my own.

Happy Cookies

You go away for a few weeks and on return, the world has been transformed. The world, may be a little bit of an exaggeration.
Let me elaborate: when I have a minute, I take a sweet delight in reading "the Greenwich Phantom". Every district, town, village should have a phantom, ours is a kind of contemporary freelance town-crier. This morning as I looked at his/hers website, I gasp, threw my shawl over my head and flew out of the house direction....... a new bakery. We have not had a bakery for pffffffff many many years, I got to Rhodes in 5 minutes flat, that is its name: "Rhodes Bakery" not the island, I have not grown wings yet. It was hiving, a joyous site, lovely, brown breads in the window, buttercups and tartelettes parading on their stand, this is really good new and it would seem that artisan-bakeries are back.

Sometime ago, I got an email from a friend who was about to finalise her dream: opening a bakery. Rather they are going to re-open the village bakery in Wye (Kent) which had long closed and will offer freshly baked high-quality breads, cakes and all sorts of other baked "deliciouseries". So it was with some anticipation that I tried one of her recipe.

Chocolate and Ginger Cookies

Chocolate and Ginger is a marriage made is heaven, we are all aware of the mood-boosting properties of chocolate and if the best property of crystallized ginger (also called candied ginger) is its tastes, it also relieves indigestion, the symptoms of colds, it alleviates nausea of all sorts including morning sickness and now.... wait for it..... it could even burn fat, the latter I doubt a little, certainly not when used in this recipe.

Yield: c.24
150 gm plain sifted flour
2 gm baking powder
100 gm crystallised ginger, finely chopped
50 gm soft light brown sugar
120 gm castor sugar1 large egg
120g plain chocolate chips
120g butter, softened

Method


Beat sugars and butter until light and fluffy. Mix in egg. Sift flour and baking powder and add to mixture, along with ginger and chocolate chips. Blend lightly but well.
Drop rounded dessertspoons of the mixture onto two greased baking sheets spacing well apart. Bate in pre-heated 175 C oven for about 18 minutes until light golden brown. Transfer to cooling rack. Store, when coll, in airtight container.