DIY Truffles for your party guests!
December 31, 2008
Here is another Jamie Oliver idea for a party if you know you will have lots of “foodies” coming!
You provide the ingredients and set up for your guests to make their own truffles, exactly as they like them!
Here is the description & recipe directly quoted from the website:
“These are deconstructed chocolate truffles and if you arrange this nicely on a table, put a few cocktail sticks next to them and let people get stuck in and make their own I’m telling you, you’ll have some excited guests. It’s interesting, it’s different and to be able to make your own truffle is really quite cool, not to mention delicious. It’s worth remembering that chocolate is friends with lots of different booze so if you prefer, you can swap out the brandy here for rum, whiskey or red wine. Ingredients
makes about 50 teaspoon-sized truffles
Ingredients
• 300ml double cream
• a knob of unsalted butter
• finely grated zest from 1 clementine
• 300g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into small pieces
• a pinch sea salt
• a splash of brandy
• a handful of mixed nuts (Brazil nuts, toasted almonds and hazelnuts)
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, to serve
• 1 pack biscotti, to serve
• 1 bottle of Vin Santo, to serve
Put the cream in a pan over a medium heat and let it heat up. You don’t want it boiling, just hot. As soon as tiny bubbles start to appear add the knob of butter and the clementine zest. Once the butter has melted pour this hot mixture over the chocolate pieces whisking as you go so the chocolate melts nice and slowly. If the mixture splits slightly, don’t worry, you can bring it right by adding a splash of boiling water.
Add a pinch of salt to the mixture; it may sound bonkers, but the smallest pinch of salt actually makes chocolate taste even chocolatier! Stir in a splash of brandy.
Once completely melted and smooth, pour your melted chocolate mixture into a nice little serving dish or bowl. Pop this in the fridge for about 2 hours to set. Christmas is a busy time so you can always do this a few days before you need it if you want. About 30 minutes before you’re ready to make your truffles pull the bowl out of the fridge and let the chocolate warm up to room temperature.
Put your mixed nuts into a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to bash them up quite finely. Get some little saucers or bowls and put the nuts in one and your cocoa powder in the other. Put a teacup filled with boiled water on the tray and pop a few teaspoons in there for scooping the chocolate. Get everyone around the table to spoon their own truffles out of the serving dish and roll them in cocoa powder, crushed nuts or anything else you fancy. Or, you can let them smear their truffles over a biscotti like some posh Nutella! Serve with a few glasses of your chilled Vin Santo.”
Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
December 30, 2008
Now this recipe looks way too good not to post!!
It is definitely on my list of recipes to try (my favourite two so far that I have tried are Jamie Oliver’s Gooey Chocolate Cake, and my White Chocolate and Raspberry Mousse).
The recipe is from Ezrapoundcake.com.
Here is the description and recipe from the website:
“Most chocolate pudding cake recipes involve a cake mixture that resembles brownie batter, a sprinkling of cocoa powder and sugar, and boiling water. The ingredients aren’t stirred, so some parts are cakey, and others form pockets of chocolate sauce. Pure edible magic, no Kitchen-Aid required.
This Hot Fudge Pudding Cake, developed by Cook’s Country, has even more chocolate flavor than others, because the recipe contains double the cocoa powder in the batter and a handful of chocolate chips. It also skips the vegetable oil in favor of four tablespoons of melted, golden, delicious butter.
The end result is a messy, gooey, scrumptious cake that you couldn’t slice if your life depended on it. I like to just scoop it into bowls or mugs and top it with ice cream or whipped cream. Very “rustic.” But if you’d like to take this cake uptown, try baking it in eight 6-ounce ramekins or coffee cups. Each cup will get two tablespoons of batter, 1 1/2 tablespoons of cocoa mixture and two tablespoons of boiling water. Bake the cakes for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are cracked. Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
From Stephanie Alleyne for “Cook’s Country”
Serves 6-8
* 1 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup milk
* 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
* 1 large egg yolk
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 cup boiling water
* Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8-inch square glass or metal cake pan with cooking spray. Whisk 1/2 cup sugar with 1/4 cup cocoa in small bowl.
2. Whisk flour, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, remaining 1/4 cup cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk milk, butter, egg yolk, and vanilla in medium bowl until smooth. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Using rubber spatula, scrape batter into prepared pan and spread into corners. Sprinkle reserved cocoa mixture evenly over top. Gently pour boiling water over cocoa. Do not stir.
4. Bake until top of cake looks cracked, sauce is bubbling, and toothpick inserted into cakey areas comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Cool on rack for at least 10 minutes. To serve, scoop warm cake into individual serving bowls and top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.”
Gooey Chocolatey Fudge Cake
December 17, 2008
I found another yummy looking recipe on the Jamie Oliver site, and tried it out at home.
It’s a really rich, squidgy in the middle, naughty, fudgey, chocoately, scrupmtious cake! The only think I changed from the receipe was that I added a bit more fudge (mixture of vanilla and chocolate fudge), and I found that it needed almost double the stated time in the oven (although that may just have been my oven!).
Try some of our fudge and 70% chocolate when you bake this cake!
You will find the receipe here.
Choccie biscuits with soft, gooey centres!
December 15, 2008
Here’s a delicious looking receipe from Jamie Oliver.. (click here for the receipe)
You make chocolate biscuit dough, cut out circles, and then add a sqaure of chocolate in the middle. Add another circle of biscuit dough n top, and seal it up before baking.
The centre then goes all runny and gooey and chocolately!
Sounds scrumptious!!
How to make frothy milk at home without a cappuccino machine!
December 12, 2008
Have you ever wanted to make a thick, frothy, hot chocolate or cappuccino like you get in a cafe – but at home, and without spending a fortune on an expensive coffee machine??
Well, I saw this on a Jamie Oliver programme on TV once, and I have tried it a good few times, and it really works!!
Here’s what you do…
Next time you empty a plactic milk container, wash it out and save it for your frothy milk.
Heat up enough milk for your drink in a saucepan – make sure it’s hot, but not boiling. Empty it carefully into your plastic milk container until it’s about half full (no more as the heat and steam will make it swell up!). Put the lid on tightly, and hold it closed with a tea towel, and give it a good 30-60 second shake. Carefully open the lid as hot steam will escape, and pour over your coffee, or drinking chocolate for a yummy treat!
Make your own chocolate gifts – Packaging
December 9, 2008
In the last few blog posts, we have given you a few ideas on making your own chocolate inspired gifts.
Once you have made your delicious homemade truffles or other homemade goodies, you need some way of presenting them to give as gifts.
Here are a few ideas that you can make yourself at home..
Soak an empty jam jar (or similar) in warm soapy water to remove the labels and give them a good clean. Fill with your homemade goodies, and either print some labels and a “lid cover”, or use some scap pieces of fabric or wrapping paper. Finish off with a piece of ribbon around the top, and write or print a personalised gift tag to tie on.
Or you could have a go at making the little gift boxes in the picture. You can download templates here, and use some patterened card stock, or just print the templates with the design already on them on some plain card. You can decorate them with some stickers, or ribbons.
One idea I came accross was here.. Use some old greetings cards to make small patterened boxes for your goodies.
There are a few ideas to get you started. If you have any more ideas, or would like to share your finished product, please post a link below!!
The Truth About Chocolate…
December 4, 2008
For anyone who is feeling guilty about the amount of chocolate that have eaten recently.. or will be eating over the next few weeks… here is some good news for you!!!
Chocolate is derived from cocoa beans….
… Beans are a vegetable… and vegetables are good for you!
Sugar is made from sugar beets, or sugar cane….
….Both are vegetables… and vegetables are good for you!
Chocolate also often has milk or cream in it…
… Milk and cream are dairy products which are to be included in a healthy diet.
Therefore, the conclusion MUST be…. Chocolate is good for you!!!
Just For Her
December 2, 2008
Tonight (2nd December), at 7.30pm, we will be at the “Just For Her” Fashion and Beauty Extravaganza at the Radison SAS hotel in Athlone.
Tickets are €10 and can be purchased at the door.
The Show will be a mix of interactive hair and beauty stands where the participating salons will carry out treatments for free on the night!
Chocolate Heaven will be there with our gorgeous chocolate fountain giving out freshly dipped chocolate covered marshmallows,, and selling a few of our little treat bags. There will also be a demo from the Radisson Head Chef.
Fashion stores will also showcase the latest trends during the fashion show.
Make your own chocolate gifts – Idea 3
December 1, 2008
Another easy idea for all the family!
Get some mixed salted nuts, and some digestive biscuits – put them in a plastic freezer bag, and give them a bit of a bash with a rolling pin. Dont crush them too much as you want some good sized chunks.
Melt milk or dark chocolate in a basin over some boilng water, add a little knob of butter and stir until its all melted and combined.
Coat the nut & biscuit chunks with the melted chocolate, and spoon in paper cases, or on a sheet of baking paper, and leave in the fridge until it has set.
Package the finished goodies up in a pretty bag, or a box, and make sure that you get to try some yourself!!
Let us know how you get on…