Choc a block
Bay Delight. Photo: Fiona Feasey
Some clever anonymous soul once said, “Chocolate is cheaper than therapy, and you don’t need an appointment”.
It contains a chemical called phenylethylamine, which brings on a sense of wellbeing and happiness, and good-quality chocolate (the darker the better) is also rich in potassium, magnesium, phosphorous and iron. No wonder chocolate was once given as a medicine!
When chocolate was first brought to Europe, doctors prescribed it as an effective treatment for a broad range of illnesses, including consumption, gout, kidney stones, mental and physical fatigue, shortness of breath and tuberculosis. A 19th century German chemist, Baron Justus Von Liebig, is recorded as saying: “Chocolate is the perfect food, as wholesome as it is delicious, a beneficent restorer of exhaustive power, it is the best friend of those engaged in literary pursuits.”
Although chocolate isn’t regarded as a seasonal food, I still feel that it suits the colder months best.
This recipe is called Bay Delight, and although I’m sure it doesn’t refer specifically to Golden Bay, I don’t see why we can’t take advantage of the name and make it often. It is very rich, and I’m sure the accompanying doctor’s prescription would say “Consume in small quantities, as often as required.”
Bay Delight
250g milk chocolate
250g white chocolate
250g dark chocolate
1 packet of Super Wine biscuits, crushed
125g melted butter
1½ cups of mixed unsalted nuts
1 tin of condensed milk
1½ cups of shredded coconut
Preheat the oven to 150˚C.
Mix together the melted butter and the crushed wine biscuits and press into a sponge roll tin. Break the chocolate into chunks and mix with the nuts and cover the base with this. Now drizzle on the condensed milk and top with the coconut. Bake for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool, and (here comes the hard part) refrigerate overnight before cutting.
A chocolate truffle recipe I used to make often when catering is sophisticated and for a mature audience only. It’s fatal to have a pile of these in the fridge and just yourself at home. These make perfect gifts and can be flavoured with whatever liquour you fancy or have on hand.
Truffles au chocolate
Melt 400g of dark chocolate in a bowl over hot water. Heat ¾ cup of cream in a saucepan and stir into the chocolate carefully, along with 60g of softened butter.
Stir until the mixture is blended and add 2 tablespoons of Grand Marnier (or brandy etc), stir and chill.
When the mixture is totally firm, use a teaspoon to scoop out small balls and roll them in some quality sifted cocoa. I think these look good as irregular shapes as opposed to perfectly formed balls, but it’s up to you.
If you are very clever you can scoop out balls and refrigerate them again before dipping them into melted chocolate for a crunchy exterior to bite into.
Either way, chill till serving time.
Purchasing a good-quality cocoa is just as important as buying the best chocolate you can afford. Next time you visit the city you could stock up on some Valrhona cocoa powder (considered by many as the best in the world). A 250g bag retails for around $15, but a little goes a long way and you will never regard that pale, tan-coloured stuff as cocoa again. Valrhona is dark and rich and has a nutty, chocolatey noise. The Mediterranean food shop stocks it, or look online.
For this classic recipe for Self-saucing Chocolate Pudding, you will see just what a difference a quality cocoa can make. This is an oldie but a goody, and kids love it. Must be served with lashings of ice cream.
Self-saucing chocolate pudding
Sift together:
1 cup of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 tablespoons of cocoa
A pinch of salt
¾ cup of sugar
Stir in ½ a cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Use a spatula to place the mixture into a lightly buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 cup of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of cocoa and carefully pour over 1¾ cups of boiling water.
Bake at 180˚C for about 35 minutes. Allow to sit for a few minutes before serving. Very hot! Make sure each serving has some of the sponge from on top, and some of the sauce which will be lurking at the bottom. It’s perfect winter food.
And with the therapist still in mind, here are some words from Dave Barry:
“My therapist told me that the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today I have finished 2 bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already.”
Fiona Feasey
