SWEETS FOR YOUR SWEETHEART
Valentine’s day on February 14th is the perfect excuse to make some home-made favourites for your lover, friend or partner. Few things are more romantic than taking time to prepare something homemade and delicious for your ‘special someone’. If you don’t have a lover, why not make some lovely treats to share with your mother or a friend!
Gourmet Rocky Road (with dried cranberries, goji berries and pistachios)
I have to say that after making this delightful slab of choc goodness it would be easy to eat the lot. It is great piled high in a traditional thick slab or you could set set it in tiny patty pans as individual clusters. It is an exquisite blend of texture, colour and flavour, either way. Justify the goodness by the vitamins & antioxidants in the berries if it makes you feel better, or just take one bite and forget about it!
INGREDIENTS
170g pack of craisins (sweet dried cranberries)
375 g pack of compound dark cooking chocolate (Cadbury is the only gluten free brand)
100 g pack of rainbow coloured mini marshmallows (use a gluten free brand if you wish)
100 g pack pistachio nuts (OR chopped walnut, macadamias, pecans or brazil nuts)
Optional extra…..1 /2 cup of goji berries and ½ cup shaved coconut for topping.
METHOD
1. Pre-line a shallow tray with foil (shiny side up ).Put the chocolate in a large (glass or plastic) bowl and heat in microwave for I minute.
2. Take out and stir, then heat for another 30 seconds and then stir again. (May need to repeat this until melted but be careful not to overheat the chocolate.)
3. Stir until the chocolate is smooth and then add the nuts and dried cranberries.
4. Add the marshmallows last so that they don’t melt too much into the warm chocolate. Mix until all ingredients are coated and then pour into pre-prepared foil tray. Quickly spread evenly over tray and then sprinkle top with dried pink goji berries and lovely curls of shaved coconut.
5. Place tray in the fridge and wait 10 minutes until set hard. Remove foil and cut the slab into even bite sizes pieces. Presentation is everything so serve on a lovely plate with a red rose or wrap into bundles using clear cellophane and red ribbon. It’s the perfect Valentine’s gift that you made yourself .You can get creative with different combinations of nuts and dried fruits.
Toffee Strawberries
A unique way to impress your friends after dinner and a perfect end of romantic meal for two. (Although these few ingredients are quite affordable, perhaps halve the recipe amounts for two people.)
To make this recipe seem effortless, have everything pre-portioned and prepared before you even start the meal.
METHOD
1. Wash 1-2 punnets of strawberries carefully. Pat them dry (extremely well) with a clean towel, without bruising them.
2. Place a tooth pick in each strawberry’s leafy core.
In a (heavy bottomed) saucepan place…
1 cup of caster sugar
1 teaspoon of white vinegar
1 cup of water
2-3 drops of red food colour
3. Pre-line a tray with foil (shiny side up) and lightly spray with oil and place the strawberries on it 3 cm apart with all the tooth picks in the same direction for easy access when dipping in toffee.
4. After dinner discretely (or not) slip into the kitchen for 10 minutes to make the toffee and dip the strawberries.
5. Bring sugar and liquid to the boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, to dissolve the sugar. As it begins to boil be very attentive because it will change colour quickly to a ‘pale hay colour’.
6. ‘Test’ the toffee by spooning a little into a shallow bowl of cold water (already set aside)…As soon as the toffee goes “hard crack†remove the pot from the heat with a dry oven mitt or towel. You have to act quickly at this point, so be careful not to burn the toffee or yourself. One by one, dip the strawberries in the toffee, using the tooth pick to hold them. Return each coated berry to the foil tray and allow setting. Place the tray in the fridge or freezer to cool quickly.
7. After a few minutes the toffee sets like glass. Carefully remove the tooth picks and present on a nice plate. The strawberries cook slightly in the toffee and form a warm burst of flavour with each bite.
This recipe is time sensitive and they must be eaten within 30 minutes or before the strawberry juices begin to dissolve the toffee coating. Later to clean the pot, cool the toffee, then boil with more water to dissolve.
WARNING! Never add water to hot toffee, as it will spit furiously at you!!
Secret Recipes, Illustration & creation by Steve Anderssen © Copyright 2010. chefsrevenge@bigpond.com
