speedy chocolate truffles

it is very late and i'm going to see the family tomorrow who have given us their daughter's cot for iris. i have been intending to make chocolates for them for the last week as a thank you but have not got around to it. so, here's how to make cocoa bean truffles quickly!

prepare little pots of ingredients - i save these from indian takeaways. I used nuts, dried fruit, fresh herbs, rosewater, citrus zest, balsamic vinegar, sea salt, spices ... be creative!

make a ganache of 500g chocolate and a 500ml single or soya cream. you will also need about 250g dark chocolate to enrobe.

for more details on how to make the ganache, temper and enrobe the chocolates see my blog on Dec 3rd 2008.

spoon the plain chocolate ganache into each bowl and mix well. pop in the freezer, have a cup of tea and prepare your toppings and before you know it, they are ready to spoon out onto a plate of cocoa, roll and place on greaseproof paper. remember to label your flavours - a small pencil reminder on your greaseproof works well.

temper your chocoate, dip and top. If you have failed to buy a nice gift box, wrap a small box in nice paper, line with greaseproof paper, fill with truffles and tie with ribbon or string and a handwritten label.

these truffles will be best eaten in a week, especially if using lots of soft fruits and no alcohol - most people see this as an advantage!

biscuits from corfu

we have just got back from an idyllic week in corfu. feeling a bit sad and missing the sun, the sea, the feta cheese, sardines, olives, sausages, aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes and chicken kebabs, elsie and i decided to cheer ourselves up by trying a recipe for biscuits that the woman from our favourite bakery had given us on our last day. so thanks to rosie near the town of gastouri. efharisto!

35g butter

30g caster sugar - i used sugar that has a vanilla pod stored in it or you could add a drop of vanilla extract

1 egg, beaten

85g sifted self raising flour

a few handfuls of dark chocolate chips or broken pieces

25g chopped brazil nuts

pinch of salt

preheat the oven at 180 c/ 350 f gas mark 4

grease a large baking tray

cream the butter and sugar in a bowl and then beat in the egg. fold the sifted flour into the mixture and beat well. use a teaspoon to spoon small heaps onto the tray, spaced well apart. bake for 10-15 minutes and enjoy hot while the chocolate is still melted or leave to cool and eat at the end of a long greek breakfast with a really strong coffee.

lola's chocolate bunny

this is a great project for kids to do, with the mid term break coming up at the end of the month i fully recommend getting in the few things you need to do this as it is a rewarding little project with endless possibilities for variation. they make lovely handmade gifts too, especially if you gift wrap them (try keylink for off the shelf chocolate packaging, or improvise with greaseproof paper and ribbons for a truly artisanal look).

so meet lola, 3 (very nearly 4 as she is at pains to point out). she decided to make a bunny. at this age a little supervision is useful but older children would be fine on their own.

you will need melted chocolate to form the base of your shape, this will make up the majority of the finished shape so choose your favourite. i find it is rarely worth melting less than about 100g of chocolate at a go, too smaller quantity is at risk of burning during melting or is likely to set too quickly once you stop heating it.

these are the types of things you can have handy for decoration-

contrasting chocolate, either melted for sqiggling, or buttons or shavings...sprinkles...dried fruit...edible glitter...jelly tots...marshmallows...basically anything that sticks to melted chocolate and the intended receipient would appreciate...

1. draw out your basic shape on some greaseproof paper. i find that sticking the paper down to a plate or baking tray is useful to stop it curling while you're working. a couple of blobs of butter on each corner works well.

2. test the chocolate

3. spoon on the melted chocolate to fill the shape. smooth it out with the back of the spoon so it is nice and even and thick enough to press your decorations in to.

3. decorate

4. test the decorations

5. pop the whole lot in the fridge til it sets then peel off the paper and gift wrap if you'd like.

6. or eat.

fantastic flapjacks

these chocolate chip and raisin flapjacks make a great snack with coffee and are a perfect balance between oaty goodness and buttery, syrupy wickedness to make them very popular in lunchboxes.

ingredients

125g butter + a little extra for greasing
125g golden caster sugar
90g golden syrup
210g porridge oats
25g toated sliced almonds
50g dark chocolate chips
25g raisins

method

1. heat oven to 180c and butter the lower half of a 8" square cake tin
2. in a pan melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup over a medium heat, stirring continuously. take off the heat and add the oats, almonds, chocolate and raisins.
3. spoon the mixture into the tin and level off. bake for about 25 minutes until the edges are golden brown. remove from the oven, and while still warm, mark into 16 pieces.
4. leave to cool and break along premarked lines. can be stored for several days in an airtight container

bonjour

we have just returned from two beautiful, sunny days in paris. the weather meant that it was idyllic just wandering through the gorgeous parisian parks, riding on carousels and eating icecream.

the girls had a great time trying out their few well rehearsed french phrases. we managed to hang all our gear on the handles of iris's pushchair - maybe too much gear as it lost a wheel near the sacre couer and is still soldiering on, thanks only to the truly sticky french cellotape.

the food in general was underwhelming. we still had that ingrained understanding that the standard of french food would be pretty high wherever we chose to eat. it wasn't. esme's real hamburger was the only savoury food that caused any excitement.
pastries and cakes were a different matter. i wandered the streets with iris in the early morning of my birthday and felt it was the perfect excuse to gather freshly made pain au chocolat, friands and chocolates ( including easter eggs still shamelessly looking pretty on shelves!)

later in the day we ate a selection of equisite miniature birthday cakes in the jardin de luxembourg. layer after layer of chocolate and strawberry in as many ways as you could dream of...look out for more recipes. i have been inspired!

love aprons, love clodagh

clodagh mckenna has always been very generous about shouting out her love of cocoa bean chocolates. whenever she gets the opportunity on radio, tv, print or in person, she tells people our story and apparently even hands out our bars to filming crews.

we first met at selfridges in manchester late in 2004. emily and i were doing a tempering demonstration in our early days and felt a bit clumsy in front of the crowds after a sleepless night on a freight ferry and a hair-raising drive in our new, very big cocoa bean van. in contrast, clodagh was cheerful, bright eyed and accomplished! she was also friendly and encouraging and inspired by her presence, we did manage to produce a batch of beautifully shiny orange zest chocolate bars for the baying crowds!

now clodagh has some super stylish aprons that are delightful, frivolous and great for when getting changed into a fancy frock is the last thing on your list.

http://www.clodaghmckenna.com/love_aprons.php

the website also has a good list of farmers markets - even more wonderful now spring is in the air!

chocolate on the southbank

spring sunshine, music from the carousel and the rich aroma of cocoa made for a lively and inspirational start to this sunday morning. the first outdoor chocolate festival at the southbank centre was a bustling market of everything chocolate from cocoa butter to mexican chilli.

over the weekend there was an impressive range of talks and demonstrations from big names in chocolate including william curley, uk chocolatier in 2007, 2008 and 2009 (my claim to fame is watching italy win the world cup with william curley in his more obscure days, in a small bar just outside turin!)

outdoor chocolate festivals and markets still fill me with that slight edge of stallholder panic - one minute the chocolate is in danger of melting, the next a dark cloud hovers and the threat of getting wet takes over; the constant shift of chocolate to shade and shelter. today, on the customer side of the stalls, i could just taste and enjoy! and the mexican chilli with dark chocolate was excellent. look out for a recipe in the near future...