Chocolate by Miss Witt

Normally when I tell you about something in the country it’s within half an hour’s drive from where I live on the Surrey/Hampshire border. I am about to make an exception to that untold rule because I really need to tell you about this fabulous stuff….

The package arrived by post… how great is that….? I don’t even have to leave the house for these delicious handmade delicacies. Inside I found a sexy black and gold box of chocolates and a letter.

I felt like I should be eating them in my boudoir sprawled out on my chaise longue as a very handsome man wafted me with a giant palm leaf. I don’t have any of those things so I settled for eating them at my dressing table with Justin Timberlake blaring from the ipod as I got ready for Valentine’s dinner with my mum (more on that later).

This little Italian is my favourite so far. White chocolate, pistachio and caramelised hazelnuts. I’m nuts about nuts. It’s like a macaroon in a truffle.

I couldn’t wait to try this one. I’m a sucker for afternoon tea whatever form it may take. A white chocolate truffle with an Earl Grey tea centre. It didn’t disappoint!

The chocolate ganache is made using water instead of cream which not only means they have fewer calories but I think it also gives the chocolate a great snap, similar to the snap when you bite into a chocolate covered ice cream lolly. It also really brings out the flavour and quality of the chocolate especially in the dark chocolate truffles…. which I indulged in next….

Ocean Daze was another spectacular truffle. As a kid did you ever have sweet chocolate and salty crisps in one mouthful? Well this is similar except more grown up. Fabulous. 

The Peruvian ginger is another favourite of mine. Spicy & dark.

Finally you really must try this one…It really is what it says on the ‘tin’.     

I inhaled my chocolates within minutes but I’m already planning on getting my mum a box for Mother’s day with the flavours I haven’t tried yet. Hopefully she’ll share.  If you’d like to try them too they are available from the very talented Miss Kerry Witt’s Pop Up every Saturday at Lymington Market or just pop her an email on her website to get them through the post.

Christmas Stocking Fillers

From what I’ve gathered, mainly as a spectator, Christmas is about indulgence.  Plenty of food, plenty of drink and plenty of things, things, things & more things. So as part of getting into the festive spirit I thought I would indulge. I decided to fill a Christmas stocking to give to… myself, which has been a great excuse to buy everything I recently thought was too expensive, too impractical, not required etc. It has been fun!!!

For my first ever Christmas stocking I started off with the traditional …

white chocolate coins ,  a Christmas pudding of my own choosing , two kinds of orange; real and chocolate, fruit and nuts  & panettone .

Then I started planning my Christmas morning breakfast so I popped in a stove top coffee maker , coffee from pact for £1 using this link    and for my favourite brekkie, a boiled egg timer.

Then came something to make me look pretty for Christmas lunch:

Chanel Peridot nail varnish ,

After gorging on astronaut ice cream , I thought a relaxing bath with Lush bath bombs, and a diptyque candle  before hitting the hay with my silk pillow cases  would round off the day perfectly.

Finally to balance my karma, I did spare a thought for those less fortunate and bought a couple of these Oxfam Unwrapped gifts too…

 There are a couple of things I’m sure I forgot to include so will update if needed. My next task is to convince my sister to fill my stocking while I sleep and wake up on Christmas morning totally surprised!

Too Good To Eat

It was Christmas Fair time at Ascot Racecourse again this weekend. As usual there were my favourite stands.

• Jasmine Silk, who are having a sale at the moment so go have a look at their website. I would love one of their dressing gowns.
• Zaini beanie hats worn by most of the cast on Made in Chelsea

• The amazing Schokolat. Let me tell you how unlike chocolate they look but how like chocolate they taste. Although, made from really good Belgian chocolate, they look too good to eat.

I swear these really are made totally of chocolate.

• Lastly, my favourite find. You’ve heard of Brazilian blowdries & Brazilian waxes, well now there are Brazilian Cheeseballs. Otherwise known as Bolitas.

They are mouthfuls of gorgeous chewy melted cheese great eaten with guacamole, salsa etc and the best bit is, as they are made from cassava flour so are gluten free. They come in sweet versions too  so do away with your regular fix of Pizza Express dough balls and order a box of these online or find them at various outlets in Oxford (see website for more details).

I recommend the feta balls swiftly followed by the fudge. Would be perfect served on a giant platter like the Ambassador does with the Ferrero Rocher.”Senhor, with these cheeseballs you are really spoiling us.” Great for the festive season.

Bat Bourbon Biscuits

Still on the theme of Halloween and also my favourite subject in the entire universe; biscuits!! I have recently noticed that despite the vast selection in the biscuit aisle there is a small omission. Why are there no chocolate biscuits? Yes you have your chocolate covered digestive, chocolate covered hob nob, chocolate chip cookies, double & triple chocolate monsters, thickly covered chocolate rings, chocolate Viennese fingers (Mmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!) and of course the classic bourbon but I’m talking about a simple.plain.chocolate.flavoured.biscuit!

Now there’s nothing wrong with any of the biscuits mentioned above but I had a taste for something specific. Something like a rich tea but chocolate flavoured not covered, not dipped and with no chips. I had to make my own. If you’ve ever felt like scraping off the fondant filling and just eating the bourbon biscuit then this recipe is for you.

• 50g Caster Sugar
• 50g Butter
• 1tbsp Golden syrup
• 110g Plain flour
• 15g Coco Powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Pre-heat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3. Cream the butter and sugar together well and then the golden syrup and vanilla. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder together and work into the creamed mixture to make a stiff paste. Knead well then cut out into rectangles. Although I used a bat cookie cutter for Halloween. Sprinkle with granulated sugar before baking for 15 to 20 mins. Leave to cool on wire rack. Best served with milk.

Ok ok, I did sandwich these with a chocolate raspberry fondant but only because the world is not ready for my advanced biscuit eating tastes. If you want to stick to the regular sandwiched bourbons then for the filling you’ll need:

• 75g Icing sugar
• 50g butter
• 15g cocoa or chocolate & raspberry cocoa
• 1 tsp coffee

Beat the sugar until soft and then add the sugar and cocoa and beat again.

 

Dissolve half a teaspoon in one teaspoon of water and add to the mixture. This will accentuate the chocolate flavour. Then spread the mixture onto your cooled biscuit and squish another on top.

Oh I forgot about Oreos!

Bathrobe Day at Coworth Park

In a bid to get in holiday shape before my birthday I entered the Aerobathon at my local  gym. It entailed 12 hours of consecutive classes dressed up as a superhero and included vital complimentary snacks all in the name of charity. I went as brooding billionaire Bruce Wayne’s alter ego.

It also doubled up as an outfit for a movie themed fancy dress birthday party. Yes that is me carrying several pieces of birthday cake in coca cola napkins. That’s the best kind of cake! I’m definitely going to steal the minion idea for the next time. Isn’t that outfit genious?!

Anyway the day after the gym I ached from head to toe and just sitting up in bed was a struggle let alone getting out of it. I found rolling out was a useful tactic. This could very easily have turned into a duvet day but struggle I did as I wasn’t going to miss my appointment. I managed to run myself an ice cold bath which numbed the pain long enough for me to get dressed and drive down to Coworth Park in Ascot, a hotel part of the Dorchester collection known for its polo days.

Set in acres of beautiful gardens I was already feeling calm, serene and looking forward to my well deserved spa day. I was greeted by the ladies at the front desk who showed me around before ushering me to the changing rooms. I was determined to make the most of the facilities so I quickly changed into one of the sumptuous robes and headed for the pool.

The pool was just what I needed. The water was warm enough to soften my aching body and the underwater music relaxed my mind. The sauna helped a lot too but made me thirsty. Thankfully they provide plenty of lemon water around the pool for you to help yourself but I needed something a little stronger so that I didn’t fall asleep and miss my massage appointment. I headed up to the Spatisserie for my morning cuppa.

The windows were wide open so it had all the fresh air of eating outdoors whilst also providing the privacy to feel comfortable sat in a bathrobe. I sank into a sofa with a magazine still in my robe (isn’t that brilliant!!) and slurped up my pot of tea with mini cranberry muffins. Fruit = health, right?

After tea I managed to get in a few more laps in the pool before heading to my Moor Mud experience. The treatment is perfectly prescribed after any strenuous sport to soothe tired aching muscles. I had plenty of those. It uses the thick black mud from the lowlands of Eastern Europe legendary for its therapeutic properties. Well, if it’s good enough for Gwyneth Paltrow….

My masseuse was great. Very calming and friendly which made the experience all the better. After my treatment she led me back to the waiting room where I could help myself to the cucumber water and I popped a few Florentine things even though I knew I was headed for lunch shortly.

 Still in my robe I sat down in the Spatisserie again for lunch starting with a very tasty juice cocktail before my salmon bagel arrived.

As always, dessert was the best course. The blackcurrant and chocolate mousse looked so incredibly rich I wondered if it fitted in with the spa but was so pleasantly surprised how light and yet how chocolate-y it was. You need this in your life! If I had the recipe I’d be telling you how to make it instead you’re going to have to head to Coworth Park to try it out.

BTW – muscles ached for days!

Vicky Sponge

I don’t understand why on your birthday you are expected to bring your own cakes and treats into the office for everyone else to enjoy. Surely they should be giving you things. So when a work colleague asked me to bake a cake for the office to celebrate her birthday, it made sense to me.

I was given free rein but obviously I had to make a little extra effort in honour of this occasion. I took inspiration from my latest culinary heroine, Anna Olson, and piped chocolate decorations. Then I took advice from  Mary Berry who always says you should top your cake with the flavours found inside so I used chocolate covered strawberries to dot around the edge. Finally for added indulgence, forget cigarillos, chocolate fingers are far tastier and cheaper!

The cake was kept simple, something that everyone would like. A victoria sponge layered with strawberries inkeeping with the day her birthday falls; St George’s Day. Victoria sponge is a bit like a football formation but with 4 extra players. all you need to remember is 4-4-4-2. That’s the ratio of butter, sugar, flour and eggs. This will be enough batter for 2 seven inch pans.

I’m sure you all know how to make this basic recipe by just putting all the ingredients in one bowl and beat or here are my little tips:

1) Beat the sugar and butter together thoroughly until the sugar slightly dissolves and is less grainy. The mixture may turn a little paler too.

2) Add the beaten eggs in slowly so as not to curdle the mixture but don’t worry if it does as….

3) folding in the flour until it’s just combined will sort this out.

4) Pour into pans and bake at 180C until a skewer comes out clean.

Lavender Christmas gifts

During my recent exploration of Hampshire, I stumbled on a little place perfect for last minute Christmas gifts. It’s perfect because there aren’t many people that know about it so you can avoid the usual hustle and bustle of the high street. Also the items are not what you would normally find and would have to travel far and wide to source them unless you call London your home.

Also on site is a textile shop perfect for unusual oriental rugs, scarfs, throws etc. 

Located off the Selbourne Road (B3006).