Foolproof fudge

Happy Halloween!

Whilst I understand some people's reservations about Halloween (I must admit I've been fairly aghast by the inches of shelf space devoted to this somewhat dubious occasion), I do like to see kids having fun. As such, I enter into the spirit of things and carve pumpkins and stock up on goodies to offer the trick or treaters that make their way to our door. It is just seven 'o clock and already the supplies are looking a little depleated - we've had a steady stream of witches, ghosts, gouls, grim reapers and skelletons since dark descended.

First to go were the little bags of homemade fudge I made at the weekend. I've never had a great deal of success with fudge-making for some reason, but this time I've cracked it. It is a slightly cheaty recipe using condensed milk but I don't care as it tastes just as fudge should - sweet and creamy with that wonderful slightly granular texture. I'm particularly pleased that I finally decided to part with some cash and invest in a sugar thermometer (grand total £4.99). This meant I could relax and judge the moment to take my fudge of the heat by watching the thermometer rather than dropping bits into ice-cold water (...though works well too).

I'm a bit boring in that I like my fudge fairly plain - vanilla is best for me. But this recipe is easily spruced up with various additions - crystalised ginger is a winner, rum-soaked raisins another or walnuts and a dash or two of maple syrup go down well too. Chocolate chips, dried fruits or coffee are other ideas which may appeal.

Foolproof fudge

Adapted from this recipe on the Carnation Condensed Milk website

Makes approx. 60 squares

Ingredients:

1 397g tin of condensed milk

150ml semi-skimmed milk

450g light muscovado sugar (or any pale brown sugar)

115g unsalted butter

1.5 tsp vanilla extract

1. Grease and line an 8 or 9 inch square tin.

2. Tip all ingredients into a large heavy-based non-stick saucepan and heat over a low heat, stirring constantly until the sugar has disolved.

3. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring all the time, until the mixture has reached 'soft-ball' stage. This is when the mixture reaches 116C or when the mixture forms a soft ball when dropped into a bowl of ice-cold water.

4. At this stage, remove the pan from the heat and beat for around ten minutes until the mixture has become thick (but pourable/scrapable) and grainy.

5. Pour and scrape into the prepared tin and leave for an hour or so to set before cutting into squares.

Hotel Chocolat Competition Winner

It has been a funny few weeks. My husband has slipped a disc in his back and has been off work in agony. Somehow, him being at home has meant that I am behind with all sorts of things. I am spending far too much time sitting, chatting to him whilst he lies flat and far too little time tending to household tasks, cooking and blogging.

Hence my delay in posting the winner of my Hotel Chocolat competition. Apologies all round.

Anyway, today I remembered and dilligentlly wrote all the entries on small pieces of paper, folded them and popped them into a hat. I then enlisted the help of my two trusty companions (husband and dog) in randomly selecting a winner.

So. Who did they pick...?

Happyfox. Congratulations - a delicious Hotel Chocolat Easter Egg will be heading your way very soon.

 

For those who missed out, fear not! Hotel Chocolat are running their own very exciting competition. They are looking for a name for their latest chocolatey creation and you can be the person to invent it. The winning entry will receive a fabulous chocolate hamper worth £75. Hop over to their website to enter.

Egg-citing Hotel Chocolat Competition

It has to be said that I am partial to a bit of chocolate.

I'm a bit funny about chocolate though. Quite particular. Until very recently, I have to confess that I was a 'cheap chocolate' sort of a girl. I was unimpressed by rich truffles. I eshewed Equador's best dark chocolate. All I was really interested in was overly-sweet milk chocolate. At Christmas, the rest of the family would indulge in sophisticated Bittermints and luxurious Belgian truffles. I would bring my own box of Milk Tray and happily scoff the lot (...with the exception of the Turkish Delight - one has one's limits).

I'm still more than happy with a bar of something cheap and cheerful but, in recent years, I've been persuaded to branch out. I've been seduced by pralines, salted caramels, guianduja and velvety ganaches. I attribute this change of heart entirely to the arrival of Hotel Chocolat on some of the more upmaket high-streets of our nation. Whilst their mail-order and internet service is absolutely first-class, there is nothing to beat actually visiting a store 'in the flesh'. It is a true chocolate emporium with treats to please everyone. There are wonderful slabs of chocolate studded with caramel and cookie pieces, little bags of truffles in every flavour under the sun, gorgeous gift boxes and intriguing cocoa-based ingredients (including chocolate pasta). It really is heaven for chocoholics and I defy you to come out without clutching a little something.

What I particularly love about Hotel Chocolat is that their products are fun. Many have a touch of whimsy about them and this really sets them apart from their competitors. I've been lucky to receive a host of Hotel Chocolat presents recently from visiting friends and also from my lovely husband on Valentine's Day. We've really enjoyed sampling the imaginative offerings in the Sleekster boxes which make a great gift as they will fit through a letterbox!

Anyway, just as we were fighting over the last Caramel Sweetheart, what should arrive but a lovely Easter Egg sent from Hotel Chocolat for me to review. Hurrah! As you would expect, Hotel Chocolat have the most fantastic selection of Easter Gifts at all prices and to suit all ages and tastes. I was sent the Milk Chocolate Easter Egg Eggsposé - a deliciously extra thick milk chocolate half-egg shell filled with delicious mini praline-filled eggies. I was already a fan of the variety of filled mini eggs having given my husband a selection box last year for Easter. I them promptly insisting on sampling at least one of each flavour and particularly liked the pralines. Not only are these mini eggs far prettier than your average, they really deliver on deliciousness too. So I certainly enjoyed the lovely mini eggs. But the actual egg? Now that was very exciting. It was much thicker than a 'normal' Easter Egg and, as such, much more satisfying for the die-hard chocoholic that I am. A delicious thick and creamy 40% milk chocolate - not too sweet, I'd say this is definitely a grown-up Easter Egg.

Wonderfully thick Easter Egg shell

Would you like to win a Hotel Chocolat Eater Egg?

It didn't take us long to polish off this delicious egg (which also comes in a dark chocolate and white chocolate version). The great news is that Hotel Chocolat have kindly provided me with another egg to give away to one of my lucky readers. You could give this egg away to a loved one this Easter, but I suggest you sit back one afternoon with a nice cup of tea and devour the lot yourself (....but you probably shouldn't listen to me!).

To enter the competition:

All you have to do to win this competition is take a look at the Hotel Chocolat website and leave a comment to let me know what Easter gift you would most like to receive this Easter.

For a 'bonus' entry, please follow Hotel Chocolat and Foodglorifood on Twitter and then comment below to let me know you have done so.

Anyone in the UK can enter, bloggers and non-bloggers alike. If you are a non-blogger, please leave details of how I can contact you should you win!

Deadline for entries is midnight on Sunday, 3rd April.

The nitty gritty (dull, but important):

-Regretfully, this competition is only open to those with a UK address.

-Winner will be selected at random.

-Prize cannot be substituted.

-Deadline for entries is Midnight, Sunday 3rd April.

Chocolate and wine matching

With Easter just around the corner, culinary thoughts may well be turning towards chocolate. On Sunday, the Easter Bunny will hopefully arrive bringing chocolate eggs, rabbits, truffles and other scrumptious goodies.

There are people who claim not to like chocolate. This is something that I've never been able to understand though I frequently wish that I fell into that category (...I'd be a great deal less rotund). However, I have to tell you that over the past few days I have been suffering rather from chocolate excess. Yesterday I found myself unable to even look at a chocolate.

Shocking, isn't it?

The reason for my sudden chocolate aversion is due entirely to over-indulgence. On Saturday I hosted a chocolate and wine matching workshop for work and have been munching on the sublime leftover chocolates ever since. They were amazingly good (especially the salted pralines) but deeply intense and 'serious' chocolates. I've definitely eaten too many.

However, for the greater good, I have decided to post about chocolate despite my current aversion. Or rather, I've decided to post about matching chocolate and wine. It isn't an obvious combination certainly. In fact, in many cases, the combination can be downright disastrous. Chocolate's delicious melty texture coats the palate, making is tough for any wine to get through. The intense flavour of good quality chocolate plus the high sugar content of some render the brown stuff even less wine-friendly.

However, all is not lost! There are wines which can work with chocolate (and chocolates for that matter).

My tips, for those who are interested, are as follows:

1. Fortified wines often work best. The extra alcohol stands up to the texture and intensity of chocolate. There are plenty to choose from. My top choice might be a Malmsey Madeira which works particularly well with any chocolate dessert featuring nuts.

Sherry is another good choice - choose either a sweet oloroso (oloroso dulce) or for ultimate decadence, try a Pedro Ximenez poured over chocolate and vanilla ice cream. Divine.

Port can work - I've had chilled tawny port alongside many a chocolate torte and the match is reasonable.

Look too at fortified reds from the South of France - Banyuls or Maury for example. For me, these work well with chocolate deserts featuring red fruits.

2. The Muscat grape is your friend. Or rather, it is chocolate's friend. In most of its forms actually. Of course, the deep and sticky fortified raisined muscats from Rutherglen in Australia work a treat but you can go off-piste here too. A real winner from our tasting at the weekend was a light and frothy Moscato d'Asti. This fun and frivolous Italian classic is especially good with white chocolate (not that there is such a thing per se) and also with creamy milk chocolate truffles. It would also be worth a try with a light and airy milk chocolate mousse.

3. Sparkling Shiraz is not for everyone but I've met many who really enjoy it alongside a slice of chocolate cake. Certainly better than a glass of dry Champagne to accompany the cake at a birthday party.

4. Finally, it is important to know which wines to avoid when serving up your chocolate-fest. Avoid anything dry or tannic - ideally you need as much if not more sweetness in the wine as in the dessert. A dry, tannic red will be stripped of its fruit by a mere mouthful of chocolate. Avoid classic dessert wines such as Sauternes - save these lighter, creamy puddings or even blue cheese.

With that, I wish you all an extremely Happy Easter!

Melt-in-the-middle chocolate truffles

What could be better than a homemade chocolate truffle?

A homemade chocolate truffle that looks like this in the middle...

These completely and utterly divine truffles have a wonderful 'melting middle' of chocolate caramel. Eat one and weep.

You'll have to patient however. I'm not about to divulge the recipe just yet. You see generally speaking, I'm not a fan of small, dainty, fiddly cooking. Whilst I enjoy a canapé, they are not my favourite things to prepare. Whilst I love a beautifully presented individual tart, you're much more likely to find me serving up a giant one, willing everyone to help themselves to as much (or as little) as they desire.

Occasionally though, I give in to the cute and mini-portioned. In fact the past few weeks has seen my clumsy, oaf-ish fingers preparing several micro-treats. And whilst perfection they have not been (the truffles were the largest you've ever seen), they have been fun to make and rather endearing.

Firstly, I had a hand in the preparation of a staggering number of mini mince pies. I was visiting a friend for the weekend, staying with her parents. Her mother enlisted our help in making an impressive 250 mince pies for a village party she was organising.

We used two sizes of star cutter for the mince pies and I rather liked the result. Usually, I just use a star for the top and stick to a round cutter for the base. But the star cutter for the bottom made a rather pleasing claw to fill with mincemeat and the whole lot looked rather festive. You'll spot that we didn't bother to brush them all with egg (life's too short when you are baking 250 pies). Dusted with plenty of icing sugar, they'll look just perfect.

But it is ok. I'm now coming on to the aforementioned truffles. Years ago I used to make chocolate truffles for Christmas. It was my 'contribution' to the Christmas feast, along with the brandy butter when I was too young to do much else. I remember that the recipe was a Delia Smith one and that it involved Greek yoghurt. It was very good, though extraordinarily messy in the preparation.

On Sunday, I had friends over for Sunday lunch and, as I had a bit of time to prepare on the Saturday, I decided it would be nice to make some chocolates to go with coffee. Whilst flicking through my folder of recipe clippings, I found this tempting recipe for melting middle truffles from BBC Good Food magazine. Once I spotted Dulche de Leche in the list of ingredients, I knew for certain that I had to make them!

These truffles are simpler than they might sound. Better still, they can be frozen so you can make them ahead of Christmas and defrost on Christmas Eve. They would also make a great gift for a chocolate lover, perhaps with a bottle of chocolate-friendly wine (a

Malmsey Madeira or a PX Sherry, for example).

I had a couple of problems with the recipe. Firstly, the quantities seemed a little off. I used just a third of the caramel filling - the recipe makes far too much. I'd suggest either halving the quantity of the filling, or doubling the quantity of the truffle mixture. I've amended the recipe below to make it a little more even. Secondly, I had a problem with the caramel. The recipe makes it sound simple. You freeze the caramel mixture and then snip it into small pieces before pushing into the centre of the truffles. Only problem was that my caramel didn't freeze. At all! I think this is because I used a squeezy bottle of Dulche de Leche caramel, rather than a jar (I couldn't find one). I think perhaps they add something to the caramel to make it more runny and that this prevents it from freezing solid. Next time (and there will certainly be a next time), I'll hunt out the jar. As it was, I did manage. However, it was a very sticky and mucky business. It also meant that I had to mould my truffles right around the middle, rather than just pushing the firm caramel into the truffle balls. The result? Enormous truffles. Not too much of a problem, although I couldn't manage more than two as they were very rich.

Without further ado, here is my version of the recipe. For the original, click here.

Melt-in-the-middle chocolate truffles
Makes approx 30

Ingredients

1/4 420g jar of dulche de leche caramel toffee
50g good quality dark chocolate
400g good quality milk chocolate (I used Green and Blacks)
142ml pot double cream
1 tsp vanilla essence
Lots of cocoa powder for dusting

1. Chop the dark chocolate into small pieces. Heat the dulche de leche in a milk pan until runny and then add the dark chocolate. Stir until melted and evenly combined.

2. Place a large bit of cling film over a dinner plate and oil all over. Pour the chocolate caramel over the cling film and then (once cool) place in freezer for 2 hours, or until very firm.

3. Whilst the middle mixture is freezing, make the truffle mix. This could hardly be simpler. Chop the milk chocolate and place in a bowl. Bring cream to the boil in a pan and then pour over the chocolate. Leave for 2 minutes and then add the vanilla. Stir until smooth and fully combined. Chill in the fridge until quite firm/solid.

4. Once the middle mixture is firm and the truffle mixture is set, you can start making the truffles. With wet scissors, cut the caramel mixture into small pieces (about the size of fingernail). Dust a baking sheet with cocoa powder and also dust your hands. Then take a teaspoon of the truffle mixture, poke in a caramel chunk and then shape the truffle mixture around the filling. Roll into a ball shape and roll in cocoa on the baking sheet.

5. Repeat until you've used up all the truffle mixture. You'll need to keep dusting your hands with cocoa as it is quite a messy business! Chill or freeze until required.

Note - when serving, I recommend taking these from the fridge a good hour before you want to eat them. If not, they are a little too firm and middles not sufficiently melty.