The Mayans were amazing and sophisticated people. They learnt how to cultivate cocoa trees, and they developed ways of fermenting and roasting the beans so that they could be consumed. At the same time the Roman Empire was peaking, the Mayans were building their huge pyramids.
So here’s a recipe inspired by those incredible Mayan Pyramids. To create the unique shape of this chocolate triangle cake, the mixture is poured and set into a tilted cake tin. I have used almonds and raisins in this recipe but you can substitute any dried fruit or nuts you like; for example hazelnuts, mixed nuts, dried apricots, de-stoned prunes, dates, or glacé cherries to name a few.
Ingredients:
Preparation Guidelines:
Time:Â 20 minutes to prepare plus cooling and setting
Cocoa Treats: 10 servings
Continue readingFor this recipe, I’ve combined two recipe favourites into one – meringue with fruit and cream and iced forest fruits with hot chocolate sauce. My recipe uses white chocolate and contrasts the tartness of the dark berries with the sweetness of the meringue and chocolate cream sauce. It’s great because you take the hot sauce to the table and let your guests pour as much or as little as they like over their fruity meringue mountains. (Also try frozen berries with white chocolate sauce, which is very similar but doesn’t use meringue.)
Iced Fruit Mountains and Hot Chocolate Snow is a sumptuous melting pot of a dessert. It looks and tastes heavenly, and makes a great finish to a special meal. It’s also achingly easy. Small fruits definitely work best for this because larger ones (like strawberries or large blackberries) take too long to defrost. If you really want to use larger fruits, you’ll need to defrost them in advance so that they’re not hard and cold in the middle – then they should be perfectly defrosted as the hot sauce pours over them.
Ingredients:
Preparation Guidelines:
Note:Â Â Â You can freeze your own selection of fruit throughout the year for this and other desserts by laying fresh berries on a tray in the freezer, freezing until solid, then bagging up. This process stops them from solidifying into large clumps that are difficult to thaw or separate. It also makes it easier for you to extract the berries a bit at a time without damaging their appearance.
Time:Â Â 15-20 minutes to prepare
Cocoa Treats:Â 4 servings
Continue readingTo my palette, there’s nothing much more exquisite than the combination of chocolate and liqueur. A rich round off to a romantic candlelit meal with someone special, accompanied by a glass of cava or champagne. White chocolate doesn’t contain any cocoa solids and in truth is masquerading as chocolate, but we adore the divine blend of cocoa butter, milk solids and sugar. The composition of white chocolate gives it a lower melting point than chocolate made with cocoa solids, and this just serves to accentuate it’s melt-in-the-mouth sensuality. This white chocolate mousse is one of my favourites. Make it and you’ll find out why.
Ingredients:
You will also need an electric whisk.
Preparation Guidelines:
Note: Equally as pleasure-inducing are mint, raspberry or coffee liqueurs in place of the orange liqueur. Have a little experiment with the toppings too!
Time: Less than 30 minutes preparation time, plus a minimum of 1 hour chilling time
Cocoa Treats: 6
If you love this version, also try this rich chocolate mousse.
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