are you near kilkenny???

if you are in or near kilkenny, this will be a brilliant event! if not, then have a look at their lovely new website and plan a trip...

Christmas Party InvitationThursday 3rd December 6pm – 8pm
Yipee we're having a party! Recently we decided it was high time we had a little party at Butterslip and would love you to come along. We'll be cracking open some bubbly, catching up with friends and hopefully spotting some good ideas for christmas pressies… To help us along there'll be €200 worth of Butterslip gift vouchers to be won as well as some tempting offers…
So dress up, or down, but do pop down we’d love to see you! xxx
click here to View Invite
Butterslip Website – Finally!
After much procrastination, deliberation, sticking of head in the sand…la la la.. we have arrived in computer land! Check out our lovely new website where we'll be busy writing about goings on at Butterslip, our favourite new pretty things in the shop and other notions and vagueries… We'd love to hear what you think so click in and have a look. The online shopping bit is not ready yet so for that you'll have to do the old fashioned thing and come and visit us in real life. Its much prettier anyway!
Click to view website

christmas at harvey nichs

rachael will be handing out samples of our winter range at harvey nichols in manchester. find her in the food hall on the evening of 25th november, along with lots of other artisans eager for you to taste their christmas delights! the events in manchester are always warm and bubbly, infused with that first sparkle of christmas.

look out for our five bar packs in the lucky dips at all the festive fetes across the stores. if you're not lucky enough to be a winner, the shelves should be well stocked!

turkish delight cocoa bean style!

emily mentioned our nightmares working with hot sugar in her last blog. but these are so worth the effort!

this limerick market recipe was the only one we could find at the time that was made with no animal products (important in aidan's vegan days!). the lack of gelatin means it is a bit softer and stickier than shop bought turkish delight and so works best dipped generously in dark chocolate. shame! it is very delicious - don't be put off by our stress warnings!

you will need a sugar thermometer unless you are a genius. use the chunk tempering method emily described in 'temper, temper'

4 cups caster sugar

4 cups water

1 tsp lemon juice

1 cup cornflour

1 tsp cream of tartar

1 1/2 tbsp rosewater

red food colouring (if you want it pink)

1. combine caster sugar, 1 1/2 cups of water and the lemon juice in a medium pot. stir over a low heat, without boiling, until the sugar dissolves brush the sugar crystals off the side of the pot with a brush dipped in water. simmer, uncovered, until the temperature reaches 116 C on a sugar thermometer ( a teaspoon of the mixture will form a soft ball when dropped into a glass of cold water.) remove from the heat.

2. meanwhile, in a separate pot blend the cornflour and cream of tartar with enough of the remaining water to form a smooth paste. stir in the remaining water and stir constantly over heat until the mixture boils and thickens.

3. gradually pour the hot syrup, in a thin stream, into the cornflour mixture, whisking constantly. simmer gently, uncovered, for about 1 hour or until it is translucent and pale straw coloured; stir occassionally.

4. stir in rosewater and tint with food colouring if you want pink turkish delight.

5. line a square cake tin with greased clingfilm. pour and spread in the tin. stand, uncovered for at least 3 hours.

6. cut jelly into squares with an oiled knife. dust with icing sugar and coat in 2 layers of tempered dark chocolate and store in an airtight container.

serve with strong black coffee or take to the woods and eat after a long, wintry walk.

christmas decorations

look out for our christmas decorations in harvey nichols, shops throughout ireland and online. harvey nichols have uk exclusivity of the bauble in milk, dark and white chocolate tied with a rich, red ribbon. in ireland you can also find the christmas tree and star tied with christmas colours.

these look fabulous on a tree with white lights. they are also perfect for giving to teachersor a thank you to a friend. They each come with a gift tag which means you can have a few in for a last minute present which you don't need to wrap!

beautiful butterscotch

this is a lovely, simple sauce for icecream, poached fruit ,baked apples or sarah's pancake recipe from last month. i served it with a very spiced apple tart for our bonfire party at the weekend and it was wickedly finished up for breakfast the next morning. delicious warm or delightfully gloopy and thick cooled down.

i'm not one for boiled sugar products, the turkish delight we made for limerick market wore my spirits for such things thin - however delicious it turned out my friday evenings became a battle between me and a sugar thermometer and my friday nights disturbed by feverish panics as to whether it would set overnight.

the great thing about this recipe is it is seemingly foolproof. originally from the waitrose website i have added golden syrup because, well because why wouldn't you? I will be trying this with the addition of chocolate as soon as the guilt of finishing the first batch has worn off.

ingredients

175g soft brown sugar

125g butter

150ml double cream

2 tbsp golden syrup

method

1.place everything in a saucepan and heat until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved (you shouldn't be able to see any gritty bits on the back of a wooden spoon).

2. remove from the heat and stir well.

3. leave to cool

be careful the sugar gets incredibly hot so take care.

beautiful butterslip

it's worth going to kilkenny to visit anne's fabulous shop alone. this designer boutique shop has truly original gifts from unusual tea (and cocoa bean chocolate bars of course!) to pieces from designers like Johnny Loves Rosie and Nica Zedzz. just being in the shop is inspiring and reinvigorates the good side of shopping - the excitement of getting a gift for someone that truly thrills them!