As Strong As Soup

This may not be the most serious dessert I've ever made but it's a fine store cupboard treat for chocolate lovers. It uses two types of chocolate (dark and white), egg whites, sugar and water - and that's it. I could tell you that this was a personal challenge to create a dessert from the ingredients lying around in the kitchen or I could admit that I was far too busy watching old Keith Floyd episodes to bother going to the shops. The usual rule for chocolate desserts is ‘thou shalt never mix chocolate and water’ but this dessert depends upon the Hervé This method of doing exactly that to create a chocolate cream or mousse. I've been using this technique for a few years now and I'm not getting tired of it yet. It's the intensity and purity of the flavour that I like so much. Let's face it, Mr This is a genius and should have several parks named after him. I layered and arranged the chocolate elements with meringue shards, but you can forget the meringue...

To celebrate the second birthday of the We Should Cocoa Challenge Choclette of Chocolate Log Blog has asked us to create something chocolaty inspired by a cocktail. I'm not really known for my consumption of cocktails. (Well, except maybe in the Epsom Bar in Dieppe – but let's not go there. No wait, on second thoughts, let's….). On the other hand, I'm deeply fond of an aperitif and the aperitif for me is the kir. Fortunately, when I looked at a very official looking web site on cocktails, I found the kir listed. Mel of Sharky Oven Gloves made lovely kir macarons for We Should Cocoa back in July using the classic crème de cassis and so I thought I’d create something inspired by my favourite alternative ‘kir’: crème de pamplemousse rose (pink grapefruit) with a dry rosé wine. (I'm eternally grateful to Catherine at l’Ombre Bleue chambres d'hôtes for introducing me to this little aperitif a couple of years ago). This is also a bit of an excus...

If I'm called on to cook any sort of fancy or special meal for a few people then there's a pretty good chance that the starter will be a meze-style selection of dips and other little dishes. That's partly because I can make them in advance but it's also because that's just the way I like to eat. I often use peppers in dips and this particular version has developed a stronger flavour over time. It started out as vaguely North African, then suffered a bit of Spanish influence and now has a hint of Mexico, I suppose. I don't use green peppers very often in cooking but in this dish the slightly sour qualities are essential. Choclette of Chocolate Log Blog has set an interesting task for the February We Should Cocoa challenge: a savoury, vegetarian dish including chocolate. So this should fit the bill. You could add some chillies for heat and other flavours such as garlic or more spices. They would work in this dip, but I prefer the purer flavour of peppers, espec...

This simple recipe is a low-fat, winter alternative to the famous Eton mess (although it does contain a fair amount of sugar, so not that healthy). It’s made up of chocolate meringue, pears and something a little healthier than double cream. Happily, all the components can be prepared well in advance. For this month's We Should Cocoa challenge Chele of Chocolate Teapot has asked us to be health conscious – although health conscious with some chocolate attached, of course. The amounts given here should serve 4, probably with some meringue left over, but it all depends how much of each element you fancy using. Chocolate Meringues There's nothing particularly special about this method of making meringues, so use any method you prefer. In my oven this method gives me the combination of crumbly and chewy that I like for this dish but no two ovens seem to produce truly identical meringues in my experience. You could cut the quantity but I find using less than 3 egg whites a bit ...

You might think that this recipe is just another stop on my interminable journey around the cakes of France. Well, I suppose it is but, in this case, Choclette of Chocolate Log Blog is largely to blame. For the December We Should Cocoa challenge Choclette has specified the combination of chocolate and orange. That made me think immediately of nonnettes. Nonnettes are deliciously moist, sticky cakes originally made by nuns and are often associated with this time of year, although you can buy them anytime. The ingredients and method are very similar to pain d'épices but they’re normally flavoured more strongly with orange. Marmalade is placed on top of the mixture before baking and sinks into the cakes as they cook. Nonnettes don't normally contain chocolate, but I saw some with chocolate on sale the last time I was in France and I've been intending to make a batch ever since. This version is pretty close to the traditional recipes that I've come across but I've s...

Chele of Chocolate Teapot has chosen apples as the ingredient to combine with chocolate for this month’s We Should Cocoa Challenge. I made a torte containing chocolate and apples for the challenge in September so I wanted to do something a little different this time. After a bit of personal food excess in October, I also wanted to make something fairly light. The idea of this dessert is to create something that looks quite substantial but is actually so light that looking at it in the wrong way will make it float away. It’s  not really a millefeuille, you need puff pastry for that, but I can invent fancy names with the best of them.  Nor is it a particularly difficult dish to make but it does require a delicate touch and, to be honest,  I'm not sure that's really my strong point. The amount given should serve 4 although I made big millefeuilles for sharing between two people. I freely admit that I stole borrowed the idea of the wavy chocolate tuiles from the ch...

For this month's We Should Cocoa Challenge Choclette of Chocolate Log Blog has issued the challenge of using chilli with chocolate. I have a slightly childish fascination for the way that chocolate can enhance and balance the flavours of savoury dishes and so this seemed like too good an opportunity to miss. I'd like to tell you that this is an authentic Mexican dish but I don't really do authentic. In fact, this started out as a Pat Chapman version of a Mexican recipe some time ago, but it's wandered a fair way from the original now and seems to have picked up some hints of korma on the way. It might seem like a long list of ingredients, but it's actually a pretty simple dish to put together. You can use more chillies if you like, but personally I think this dish should be fragrant rather than seriously hot. The amount given here should serve 2 – 3. 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 – 2 tbsp fresh chillies, finely chopped 2 tsp sesame seed...