Cooking

Fashionably late, here is my entry for We Should Cocoa with Dates.

It is based on Rachel Allen’s Bake Date Bar recipe. The bars surpassed my expectation especially since I wasn’t mad about the dates to start with. They tasted pretty good straight from the oven, packed with oaty, fruity goodness, they will be a perfect match for my New Year’s get-fit resolution.

Chocolate Date Bars
~16 bars
250ml water
200g dates (stoned and chopped)
175g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
175g soft brown sugar (light or dark)
100g porridge oats
175g salted butter
1/2 tsp ground ginger
150g dark chocolate, finely chopped
50g hazelnuts, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line an 8″x8″ tin with parchment paper.
2. Place the water and chopped dates in a pot. Bring to simmer and cook for 10 mins until the mixture it thick and soft. Stir in the ginger. Allow to cool to room temp.
3. Add the flour, bicarb, sugar, oats and butter into a food processor and pulse until the mixture is just coming together. Alternatively, rub the butter into the dry ingredients.
4. Press half the oat mixture into the base of the prepared tin. Spread the cooked dates over it, then sprinkle on the chopped nuts and chocolate. Finally gently press the remaining oat mixture on top.
5. Cook for 35-40mins until set and golden brown.
6. Allow to cool in the tin before cutting into bars.

The bars firm up well when cool, making them perfect hiking bars. Anyone doing the Art O’Neill challenge walk this year would do well to pack a few! This walk is a tremendous way to stay fit and focussed over the Christmas break. Ha ha those were the days!

Starting at Dublin Castle at midnight and ending 53km away in Glenmalure, this walk challenges the body and mind. It follows the escape route of Art O Neill and Red Hugh O Donnell in 1592 from Dublin Castle. Unfortunately Art died during the escape deep in the Wicklow mountains. Obviously you will need more than date bars to complete this walk. Best of luck to all involved!

The most brilliant Alice Medrich has done it again in my kitchen. She has this uncanny ability to make me feel like she is beside me while I make her recipes.

In her book, Pure Dessert, she describes a recipe for Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels containing golden syrup. It reads beautifully and I find with her recipes they are a labour of love. She omits not one step, however obvious it might be.

Had it not been for the We Should Cocoa challenge I may have missed this recipe altogether.

Here is what I did with Alice Medrich’s recipe; halved and reorg’ed a little for my cupboard.

Fleur de Sel Caramel Sticks
~ approx 30 2″ sticks long, 5mm thick

• 1/2 cup golden syrup
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup single cream
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 43g or 1 1/2 oz salted butter, room temp and cut into cubed
• 1/4 tsp fleur de sel

1. Line a 8×8″ tin with parchment paper.
2. Add the golden syrup and sugar to a pot. Heat on medium stirring until it starts to simmer. Dip a pastry brush in water and brush down the sides of the pot. Cover and cook for 3 mins.
3. Wash the utensils you are using before using them again. Uncover and brush down the sides of the pot again. Cook until it reaches 305.
4. Meanwhile, heat the cream until just simmering.
5. Once the mixture reaches 150C, turn off the heat and stir in the butter carefully. Then gradually and again, carefully, stir in the cream.
6. Return the mixture to a medium-hot heat and stir occasionally until the mixture reaches 118C. Now stir constantly until it reaches 129C.
7. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour into the prepared tin and leave to set for 2-3 hours.
8. Lift the caramel from the tin using the parchment paper. Sprinkle over with fleur de sel. Cover with another layer of parchment and use it to gently press the salt into the caramel (avoiding fingerprints).
9. Cut into pieces, dip in tempered chocolate if you like, but make sure it is stored in an airtight container.