Tag: chocolate

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Updates and News!

It’s been a busy month for us, so we thought we’d give you a bit of an update. Our most exciting news first, we’re working on a new scent – I can’t give away too much yet but our latest fragrance has been created for men and is both crisp and spicy and oh so delicious! We can’t wait to have it on the shelves, so watch this space…

In other news, we’ve got our Indian meal coming up this Friday. It’s a fabulous plate of home made lentil Dahl, and it’s one of Susan’s specialities! If you haven’t booked yet, there’s still time – book here.

16barsbox

We’ve also been revamping our chocolate range. Gayle’s been hard at work in the kitchen and we’ll soon have some brand new additions to the range. For those that may have missed it, her last creation was this fantastic mini-bars box in our World Flavours. Get in quick before we eat them all!

The plants are coming along nicely (they’ve even survived the brief flurry of snow) and the workshop’s been busy making more soap than anyone could possibly need…

In the happiest news so far, we’ve actually been keeping on top of the blog! Fingers crossed we might manage to keep our new year’s resolution, and get to talk to all of you a lot more.

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Exciting Times…

We can only apologise (once again) for the lack of blog posts recently – the days just don’t seem to be long enough! We did think you’d like to be kept updated though, so here’s a look at all the exciting events that we’ve got planned for the next few months…

stitchandbitch

lunchisserved

book.talk

italian.night

 

Dates for your diary:

Thursday 6th October – Stitch and Bitch

Wednesday 19th October – Irish Night

Friday 28th October – Halloween Trick or Treat

Thursday 3rd November – Toiletry Gift Making Workshop

Wednesday 23rd November – British Winter Staples Night

Details to follow…

If you see an event that takes your fancy, give us a call on 01840213442 to book. If you’ve got an event, group or meeting and are in need of a venue, give us a call and we’ll be happy to help. We’d love to see you all, so don’t be shy and come along!

 

 

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Exciting News!

So it seems like I say this a lot but sorry for the lack of blog posts lately! We’ve been having a very busy (and exciting) time recently and we are now very proud to announce that our coffee shop has reopened! It’s looking cuter than ever – with cosy booths, books, cushions; the whole shebang… Susan has been busy in the kitchen so we have a fab selection of homemade, exceedingly delicious cakes to go along with our selection of Lavazza Gold coffees and our very own teas and tisanes. For those of you who haven’t popped in yet, here’s a sneak peak of our brand new look…

booth1 picturewall teaandcoffeeboards booth2

 

 

We’re still in the early stages, but watch this space for a delectable range of wines and local ales, savoury meals and evening meet ups!

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Sri Lankan Coconut and Dark Rum Snowball Truffles

We know everyone’s probably sick of it by now but nevertheless this week’s recipe is Christmas themed. (At least it’s only once a year!) These deliciously tempting truffles are great for the run up to Christmas, on the day or even as a special gift. Without further ado, Sri Lankan coconut and dark rum snowball truffles…

Ingredients:

200g Sri Lankan coconut chocolate

100g clotted cream (being from Cornwall, we always recommend Rodda’s!)

1 – 2 tbsp dark rum

50 – 100g desiccated coconut

 

Method:

The great thing about these truffles is that there’s no need for tempering or any of that fancy shmancy stuff. Just microwave your chocolate for 20 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until it’s all melted. Then add in your clotted cream and rum, and stir until it makes a beautiful creamy mixture. Refrigerate until it’s set hard enough to handle – usually around an hour. Scoop up a teaspoon at a time and roll into balls (you might want to wear some gloves for this – it can get messy!). Once you’ve formed your truffles, pop them into a bowl of desiccated coconut and roll until they’re covered.

Whether you choose to box them up as a gift or eat them straight away, these will knock your socks off! If you want to keep them for a later date, remember to keep them in the fridge – no one likes gone off cream… Enjoy!

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Recipe – Chocolate, Orange and Raspberry Cookies

Everyone loves a biscuit (or 4!) but it can be a bit of a bore always having the same old selection to choose from. That’s why I’ve stopped trawling the shelves in the supermarket, hoping for something a bit different, and just started making my own! This recipe is great because they’re so quick to make and so delicious you won’t regret the effort. It’s an adaptation of a Nigella recipe (you might have read before how much I love her recipes!), retaining all of the rich chocolaty-ness but with our typical St Kitts twist.

biscuit

Ingredients:

125g dark chocolate

150g plain flour

30g cocoa powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

125g butter or margarine

75g Demerara sugar

50g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg (refrigerated)

100g orange chocolate (roughly chopped)

100g raspberry chocolate (roughly chopped)

 

Method:

– Preheat the oven to gas mark 3/170C

– Melt the chocolate either in the microwave or in a bain-marie

– In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.

– Mix in the chocolate and vanilla extract, then add the egg and beat until well combined.

– Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa powder and mix thoroughly, until it is the consistency of cake batter.

– Mix in the roughly chopped orange and raspberry chocolates, making sure they are fairly evenly distributed through the mixture.

– Scoop out 12 equal sized mounds and place onto a lined baking sheet. Be sure to leave a good amount of space between each and do not flatten them – they will spread out in the oven.

– Bake for 16 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean (as if you were testing a cake – if you hit a chocolate chip then try again)

– Leave to cool slightly then transfer to a plate or cooling rack.

– Enjoy with a glass of milk or cup of tea!

The best bit is, you can substitute the orange chocolate and raspberry chocolate chips for any flavours you fancy, or even something other than chocolate – I might have a go with cardamom and cranberry next!

 

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Recipe – Gluten & Dairy Free Raspberry Chocolate Cake

Gluten Free, Dairy Free Raspberry Chocolate Cake

glutendairyfreecake

Whether you’re celebrating or commiserating, there’s always an excuse for cake! Unfortunately, those of us with special dietary needs can often be left out of the cake feast. That’s why we’ve adapted our original chocolate raspberry cake recipe to be gluten and dairy free – and still dense and delicious…

Ingredients:

300g margarine (Pure Sunflower spread works best for us)

300g gluten free plain flour (doves farm do a great one)

300g sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

200g soya yoghurt (Alpro plain works well)

2 tsp baking powder (gluten free)

¼ tsp xanthan gum (if you can’t get hold of this,I’ve left this out before and it’s been fine)

70g cocoa powder

6 tbsp almond or rice milk

 

For the topping:

2 tbsp raspberry jam

225g raspberry dark chocolate

125ml soya cream (again, Alprodo a fantastic one)

100g fresh raspberries

 

Method:

– Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas Mark 5

– Grease and line a spring form cake tin (roughly 20cm diameter)

– In a bowl, beat together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy

– Add the vanilla extract and yoghurt and whisk until well combined.

– Sieve in the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and xanthan gum, the fold the mixture.

– Add the milk and stir until the mixture is smooth.

– Transfer the mixture to the cake tin and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

– Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

– To make the ganache topping, melt the chocolate either in the microwave 10 seconds at a time, or in a bain marie on the stove.

– Once melted, add the soya cream and stir thoroughly, before putting to one side to cool. As it cools, it should harden to an easier to handle consistency.

– Spread the 2 tbsp of raspberry jam over the top of the cooled cake.

– Pipe or spread the ganache over the cake, top with the fresh raspberries and grate/curl some extra chocolate over for decoration.

 

I promise, you won’t even know it’s not the real thing!

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Recipe – Easter Nests

It’s a time-honoured tradition (in our house anyway), Easter is all about the chocolatey nests. A great way to spend an afternoon with the kids – and you get tasty treats out of it too!

Ingredients:

400g milk chocolate

5 shredded wheat, crushed

Roughly break up the chocolate and put it in a glass bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of boiling water and leave until all the chocolate is melted, stirring occasionally (this can be done in a microwave, just heat for 10 seconds at a time until the chocolate is melted). Stir in the crushed shredded wheat, making sure it’s all completely coated in the chocolate. On a lined baking sheet, arrange each large spoonful of the mixture into a nest shape and nestle a small chocolate egg, or a selection of mini eggs, into the ‘nest’. Then just leave them to set! If you can get a hold of them, arrange a little easter chick on the nest for decoration.

If you’re the adventurous kind, add some citrus peel to the mixture before shaping or stir in some tiny pieces of chopped marzipan for an extra burst of flavour. Or come up with your own variation – we’ve always wanted to try it with mini marshmallows…

This is a fun and achievable activity… here is a nest made by Poppy

made-by-poppy

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Become a Taste Tester

Do you love chocolate? Are you adventurous, discerning, have a critical eye (constructively of course!) and can write interesting and readable reviews? If you’d like to be the first to sample our latest chocolate concoctions over the coming months, become a part of our new taste testing team! We’ll send you samples out for free, fresh from our kitchen, in exchange for an honest review before they hit the shelves. This is a great opportunity for any chocolate lovers out there to be involved in the whole process (and get tasty samples too!). To apply, just email us a review you’ve written for any kind of chocolate bar and we’ll let you know if you make the team!*

*This is not a paid or unpaid post and there is no contract of employment implied or intended.

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Christmas Cocktails Chocolate Alexander

It’s December and Christmas is on its way.  To help you celebrate in style this year, we’re going to be posting one of our favourite cocktail recipes every week this December! To start you off is the ‘Chocolate Alexander’.  Created when I was still a teenager and alcopops weren’t yet around, we made our own of whatever we could.   I can’t drink quite so much of this these days, but I still give it a good go!

chocolate alexander glass pic

1 part vodka

1 part crème de cacao

1 part tia maria (or similar)

1 part baileys (or similar)

chocolate milk (chilled) to taste

It’s really easy too – just stick it all in a glass and give it a stir!  For an extra pretty touch, garnish the glass by melting some chocolate and dipping the rim of the glass, then quickly dipping in chocolate vermicelli and leaving to set.  Cinnamon chocolate works great for this if you’d like a Christmassy twist, you can also replace the Tia Maria with an orange liqueur such as Grand Marnier.  Or try Amaretti instead of vodka (or as well as vodka, we won’t tell anyone).

(Warning: This is a lot more alcoholic than it tastes  – not to be confused with regular chocolate milk!)

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Ginger Chocolate Biscuits

As the days get shorter and winter draws closer, there’s nothing better than tucking up with a cup of tea and a homemade biscuit.  Since its chocolate week it’s only right that it should be a chocolate one.  Chocolate biscuits have always comforted me and this recipe gives them a warming ginger twist.

 

Ingredients:

125g Ginger chocolate

180g Plain flour

1tsp Bicarbonate of soda

125g Butter or margarine

125g Caster sugar

1tsp Vanilla extract

1 Egg

250g Chocolate chips

100g Crystallised ginger, diced

Method:

– Preheat the over to 170C/Gas mark 3

– Break up the chocolate and melt in the microwave or in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted.

– In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

– Stir in the melted chocolate.

– Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.

– Add the flour and bicarbonate of soda. Stir until thoroughly combined.

– Stir in the chocolate chips and crystallised ginger until spread evenly throughout the mixture.

– Line a baking sheet and scoop out the mixture into equal portions about 6cm apart. Do not flatten them.

– Bake for 18 minutes and test with a skewer. If it comes out wet with batter, continue to cook until the skewer comes out semi-clean.

– Leave to cool for 5 minutes, transfer to a cooling rack and leave to cool again until they have hardened.

Don’t forget to enjoy with a cup of tea!