orange, cardamom & ginger chocolate cheesecake

i took the basic chocolate cheesecake recipe from the big book of chocolate by jennifer donovan and just played with it to give it the cocoa bean twist. i had promised a chocolate dessert for a large and lively 30 people dinner party on friday night.

the main course was curry so i chose to go for one of our spicy flavours with the heat of ginger to warm everyone after braving the newly frosty air to leap about with sparklers. . .

base

250g ginger biscuits ( you can also add crystallised ginger to spice up the flavour - chop small)

75g butter

2 tbsp cocoa powder

cheesecake

50g butter

400g cream cheese

2 eggs lightly beaten

5 tbsp caster sugar

150g dark chocolate melted

orange zest from 2 oranges

juice of half an orange

12 cardamoms toasted gently and crushed

method

grease a 23cm loose bottomed cake tin or flan dish

crush the biscuits and melt the butter for the base. mix together with the cocoa powder and crystallised ginger. press firmly into the base.

beat the cream cheese, eggs, sugar, butter, zest, cardamoms, orange juice and melted chocolate together in a large bowl until thick and smooth. it's good to use a electric hand mixer. spoon the mixture over the base and smooth with a palette knife. refrigerate for at least two hours. you can top it with cocoa powder or shavings of chocolate if you like, though i think it's nice plain.

pumpkins and quince

lettercollum kitchen are having a winter wine and pumpkin tasting this coming friday, 15th october, from 2pm -5pm. it'll be an informal tasting of wines from enrico fantasia from the grape circus and sheridan's wines and some of our pumpkin recipes.
we'll also have tastings of cheese and this years lettercollum chutneys and membrillo.
the membrillo is a spanish accompaniment for manchego cheese made from quince.
we had our first ever harvest of quinces this year!
we hope you have some time to pass by the shop on friday

lettercollum
timoleague
co. cork
www.lettercollum.ie

chocolate week

h harvey nichols is celebrating chocolate week with colm and me! i will be at knightsbridge, london on friday from about 6pm-8pm with samples and tasters of our new winter and christmas chocolates. colm will be at dundrum on saturday. hope to see some of you....

ponte vecchio

while the little girls slept every afternoon and esme was off playing wild games with her older cousins, aidan packed me off to sample the delights of killaloe cafes and bars. i spent a couple of hours writing and reading in this great little delicatessen. the shelves of italian delicacies and big blocks of parmesan jostle cosily for space with the chairs and tables tucked into alcoves and corners. it had a secret, indulgent feel and was perfect for an afternoon of escapism. in fact two ... pictured is the freshly made lemon and poppy cake with hot chocolate. the next day, i returned for olives, beer and cheese. great stuff!

www.pontevecchio

killaloe sunday market

on sunday we wandered into killaloe along the lough and over the bridge to ballina where we swam and watched the market being set up across the water. by 11am, when the market opened, we had worked up a great appetite for the fabulous cakes made by the fellas that are in our old unit at crossagalla. their dark chocolate tart was rich, smooth and intensely chocolatey!

burren beo - september events

saturday 11th september burrenbeo conservation volunteers monthly outing. led by butterfly expert, jesmond harding. clearing hazel and hawthorn from an important marsh fritillary breeding site. everyone welcome, but must register at trust@burrenbeo.com

thursday 16th september. monthly talk - venue and speaker to be confirmed.
everyone is welcome to participate in these events, more info from trust@burrenbeo.com or 091-638096

fabulous fresh fish

we have had a great summer! i have been busy with christmas products for cocoa bean, going out with the girls, the garden and a fabulous week in killaloe visiing aidan's family and old friends and colleagues. i have loads to write about and this is the first chance so i'll do it bit by bit. the first treat was the new shop run by mark anderson who was head chef of the cherry tree when i lived in limerick. he has now opened this great shop in killaloe where you can buy local meat, fish and organic vegetables. he is also starting to serve food that can be eaten at a stylish counter in the shop. over the week we bought swordfish, monkfish, scallops and organic corn fed chicken. they were fabulous and i was sorry to leave. mark has always been passionate about food whether it was making a special menu for aidan in his vegan days or demonstrating cookery at limerick midsummer market. this shop is no exception and i hope he is thriving when we go back to killaloe for christmas.

gravitas -purveyors of fine foods & fresh fish. bridge street, killaloe, co. clare