LGE Signature Mint Chocolate Martini Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients
Fresh Chocolate (milk or dark your choice) enough to grate
25ml Creme de Menthe
Small handful Crushed Ice
25ml Creme de cacao
50ml Vodka
25ml Baileys
Sprig Fresh Mint
Martini glass and or equivalent
Lemon /lime

Method
Add all the ingredients to the Cocktail shaker
Shake for 5 mins
Grate your chocolate onto a plate
Squeeze the juice of the lemon or lime onto a small plate
Dip the rim of the glass into the juice
Then dip or roll the rim onto the chocolate
Strain your cocktail mixer into a chilled glass
Garnish with mint (optional)

Kala King - Salted Caramel with Peanut Butter

Ingredients - Salted Caramel 

500g sugar
400g cream
50g glucose
100g butter
11g salt
1 tbs vanilla paste

Method 

• In a heavy bottom pan, caramelise a little sugar at a time with all the glucose till the caramel turn amber.  This will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
• Add the vanilla paste to the cream and warm slightly before gradually pouring into the caramel. Stir well.
• Add butter and salt.
• Leave it to cool and emulsify in thermomix or a blender.

Ingredients - Peanut Butter 

500g peanut
2 tbs grapeseed oil
1/2 tsp salt
250g white chocolate

Method

• Roast the peanuts with salt in a 180C oven for approximately 10 minutes.
• Leave it to cool and blend it with the grape seed oil to a smooth peanut paste
• Add the paste to melted white chocolate

Prescotts Salted Caramel Shards 

Ingredients

100g of unsalted butter (cut into chunks)
100g of soft light brown sugar
100ml of double cream
Sea salt flakes (about ½ -1 tsp)
200-300g of milk chocolate

(These quantities mean you will have leftovers to use for other things e.g pour over ice-cream, as a filling or topping on cakes and cupcakes or just as it is! Keep refrigerated for a couple of weeks.)

Method

Lay out a baking tray covered with a piece of greaseproof paper.

Salted caramel

• Heat the butter, sugar and salt together, stirring until it comes gently to the boil.
• Let it simmer on a gentle heat for a few minutes stirring occasionally.
• Once the sugar and butter have completely melted and the mixture looks emulsified take off the heat (about 5 minutes).
• Quickly add in the double cream whisking until combined. At this point, if you wish, you can add in few bits of solid chocolate to thicken up the mixture, stir until dissolved.
  Leave to cool.

Heating the chocolate

• Whilst the caramel is cooling, break up the chocolate and gently heat it either over a bain-marie or in short bursts in a microwave removing and stirring regularly until you are left with a few visible bits of chocolate.
• Avoid heating further as the warmth of the melted chocolate will melt the remaining solids. You want to avoid the chocolate becoming too hot as it won’t set.
• If you have a sugar thermometer check the temperature does not go over 35 degrees. Wait for the chocolate to cool to about 30 degrees before using. Another method is to dip a small piece of your greaseproof into the chocolate and if it starts to set after a couple of minutes its ready to use.
• Pour the melted chocolate onto the greaseproof smoothing and thinning out with a spatula or by gently shaking the tray by the edges.
• Allow the chocolate to set until firm. Now you can drizzle the caramel over the chocolate slab
• Pop the chocolate caramel slab into the fridge to allow the caramel to set slightly. About 20 minutes. Remove from the fridge.

To Finish

• Gently warm up the remaining chocolate and pour over the caramel smoothing carefully with a spatula so you don’t dig into the caramel. You want the caramel to be completely covered with a layer of chocolate.
• Sprinkle sea salt flakes over the top to finish.
• Let this set completely in the fridge and remove from fridge and either score with a knife and break or just crack the slab into shards and tuck in! Best kept wrapped in parchment paper to contain the caramel.

My Chocolate - Chocolate Martinis Affectionately known as the Choc -Tail

Ingredients 

25ml whipping cream
25g milk chocolate buttons
25ml vodka
25ml coca liqueur
2 handfuls of cubed ice
100g melted milk chocolate

Method

• Heat the cream in a saucepan over a low heat
• Stir in the solid milk chocolate buttons
• Add the ice to the cocktail shaker and pour in the chocolate cream mixture
• Add the vodka and coca liqueur & securely cocktail lid and shake well
• Hold a martini glass at a 45 degree angle and slowly turn the glass while drizzling the melted milk chocolate from a tablespoon
• Pour the martini into the glass and enjoy

Edinburgh School of Food & Wine - Chocolate Delice

Ingredients 

170g dark chocolate
160ml double cream
1 egg
70ml milk
50g sugar
100g butter
150g plain flour

Method 

Shortbread base

• Make the shortbread base by creaming the butter and sugar together until pale
• Add the flour and mix together
• Roll out and fill tart tin with removable base
• Bake shortbread until golden and allow to cool

For the Delice

• Gently heat the milk and cream together
• Whisk in the chocolate until melted and allow to cool for 5 mins
• Whisk in the egg and pour into tray
• Place in fridge and allow to cool for further hour
• Dust down with cocoa powder to serve

Kitchen Joy - Chocolate Avocado Brownies  (serves 12)

Ingredients 

1 large avocado
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup spelt flour or GF flour
1/2 cup cacao powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup
Big pinch salt
1 tsp of bicarbonate soda

Method

• Preheat the oven to 175 degrees
• Prepare your ingredients for the blender- mash up the avocado and measuring the remaining ingredients
• If mixing by hand ensure the avocado is well mashed before adding the other ingredients to avoid lumps and ensure a smooth batter
• Blend or mix the ingredients thoroughly or until smooth
• Place in 20cm by 20cm roasting tray lined with baking paper
• Bake for 20 mins
• Allow to cool before slicing and serving

The Avenue Cookery School  - Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients 

110g butter
150g Bournville dark chocolate
100g Cadbury's dairy milk chocolate cut into small cubes
2 Clarence Court duck eggs
110g brown sugar
35g self raising flour

Method

Preheat over to 190c fan
Line roasting tin with baking parchmont
In a pan , melt the butter and off the heat add the Bourneville chocolate to melt
Sprinkle the cubed dairy milk chocolate evenly lined baking tin
In a bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until creamy and then mix in the melted chocolate and butter
Fold in the flour and pour the chocolate mixture into the baking tin  over the cadbury cubes
Bake in the oven for 24 mins
Cool before cutting
Sprinkle with icing sugar! yum yum