esme's sleepover birthday cake

i made the cake in a square cake tin for 25 minutes at 180 degrees using 100g butter, 100g caster sugar, 2 eggs and 100g flour with a sprinkle of cocoa powder. i was chatting to emily and put all the ingredients in the mixing bowl together instead of creaming the butter and sugar first. i decided i couldn't do anything about it so whisked them all together and kept my fingers crossed. the cake rose beautifully so i was either lucky or there is a conspiracy to make baking more complex than it needs to be!

i cut a strip off the cake and used it for the pillows and then decorated it with coloured butter icing and lots of sprinkles.

the sleepover went well - the girls had salami pizza, flambouyant icecreams and giggled until midnight!

bridgestone guide

the following snippet is from the online bridgestone guide for the chocolate shop in the english market in cork:

'Niall and Rosemary Daly’s shop sells chocolates, and the very best chocolates at that.
If you search for Cocoa Bean from Kerry, or Willie Harcourt-Cooze’s extraordinary Peruvian Black San Martin 100% Single Origin, then it is here. “Chocolate is an affordable luxury”, says Niall, and their range, from Pralus to Skelligs, reveals just how luxurious chocolate can be. Only brilliant.'

see more at http://www.bestofbridgestone.com/

we invited john and sally to a spring market in limerick when we were still a very new company and they were our food heroes. not only did they come along but they were enthusiastic and supportive. i remember john telling us that the best way to work was to be genuinely happy to help your competitors as well as your customers. we embraced this ethos and it has proven to be a way not only to do great business but to make good friends.

happy valentines day

i really wanted to make aidan a valentine poster out of some blurry photos of us at a pixies concert at brixton academy(kim deal and frank black's thrilling outlines in the distance.) the problem was they were stuck on my fairly basic phone and events conspired against me - so the girls and i have spent the day making things instead. we made a love mobile out of an old bike wheel, bright felt and assorted ribbon; sparkly cards; a collage of butterfies up one wall and a plate of pastel cupcakes (from the hummingbird bakery cookbook). aidan will be flying across the atlantic from montreal to heathrow any minute now. the two older girls are still wide awake together in our big bed, too thrilled by his imminent arrival and their valentine offerings to possibly sleep. the almost definite arrival of canadian sweets and chocolate only adds to the anticipation!

i am sorry for the woeful lack of pictures - my camera says it has a lens error.

hope your day is full of chocolate and good things.

chocolate cake with beetroot

this is a great cake but maybe you do have to like beetroot because there is a pleasant earthy taste that runs alongside the dark chocolate that would probably taste distinctly beetrooty to someone who is not a fan. i am a fan and i found this cake a pleasure to make and eat.

the cake

125g butter

75g dark chocolate pieces

300g soft light brown sugar

3 eggs

225g self raising flour

1/4 tsp salt50g cocoa powder250g cooked beetroot, grated

grated white chocolate

double cream to serve

preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4

grease a loose bottomed 23cm tin and line the base with greaseproof paper

melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.

beat the sugar, butter and eggs ina separate bowl. stir in the melted chocolate, fold in the flour, cocoa powder and salt. once combined, add the beetroot and stir.

carefully transfer the mixture into your cake tin and bake for 45 minutes. it is ready when your skewer comes out almost clean. leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. turn it onto a wire rack and leave to cool.

the icing

150g dark chocolate pieces

135ml double cream

5 tbsp icing sugar

put all the ingredients in a bowl and melt over a pan of simmering water. stir it altogether then take off the heat. stir quickly until you have a smooth and glossy mixture. leave to cool and thicken.

spread the icing over the cake and top with grated chocolate.

serve with whipped double cream.

thanks to diana henry, mrs. ramsay and daniella's sister who first introduced me to vegetables and chocolate. yum!

i suspect...

i suspect that the romantic rose and pistachio bar will run away with the cocoa bean bar valentine sales award this year though i wouldn't be too quick to write off the aphrodisiac qualities of the chilli and pink peppercorn. those living in the glen, who are in the know, will put the smart money on glamorous g and t - the runaway winner every year. come on rose and pistachio - you're my favourite!!!!

lemon curd truffles and experiments with vinegar

i made lemon curd on the same night as i was making truffles for a friends 40th birthday party and i joined them in beautiful union! 60% ganache with single cream, a good dollop of lemon curd (easy recipe below) and enrobed in lovely dark, dark chocolate. they were perfect.

i remember eating a divine chococo lemon curd truffle a couple of years ago and now wonder why it has taken so long to try one myself. then i started experimenting with vinegar and made the most beautiful chocolate ganache with rich undertones of thick and sweet seggiano balsamic, almost like a winter walk through the woods but much warmer...

recipe for lemon curd - inspired by tana ramsay's recipe in home-made, this is very easy although my mum's lemon curd is the best in the world (but more complicated.)

30g cornflour

50g caster sugar

300ml water

zest and juice of two lemons (i always use unwaxed when zesting)

2 large egg yolks

put cornflour and sugar into a medium saucepan and gradually stir in the water, mixing all the time. firstly it will go into a smoothe paste and then into a cloudy liquid. add the lemon zest. bring to the boil, stirring all the time. when it starts to boil, the liquid will become thick and lose its cloudiness. simmer for a few more minutes and then remove from the heat. add the lemon juice and stir well.

irish blog awards

the nominations for the irish blog awards are open until february 5th. if you fancy nominating us, just click on the link! http://awards.ie/blogawards/