Anyway, to the chocolate part of the day! Two chocolate recipes combined to make a rich indulgent chocolate cake. And I thought since Himself was going to break his Lenten fast from chocolate it had better be good.

The cake itself is the trusty Naughty Chocolate Fudge Cake and the icing from Lorraine Pascale’s ‘I can’t believe you made that’ cake.

It took 2 and 1/2 packets of Cadbury’s chocolate fingers  to cover the sides. The remaining 1/2 packet will disappear in jig time if you dunk them in tea:
- Bite off both ends of the chocolate finger
- Dip it into tea and suck until the tea comes thru the chocolate finger. Then pop the whole biscuit into your mouth!

I have gone from detesting rice pud to absolutely adoring it. Maybe because I don’t treat it as a dessert now but a standalone snack. It is filling, warming and comforting. My favourite flavour is simply rice, milk and sugar but this chocolate one is a little weekend indulgence.

Chocolate Rice Pudding
~ serves 6
100g pudding rice
50g caster sugar
1200ml low-fat milk
30g cocoa powder

1. Preheat the oven to 150C (130C Fan). Place the rice and sugar in a buttered ovenproof dish.
2. Mix 100ml of the milk with the cocoa powder until it forms a paste. Gradually mix in the remaining milk.
3. Pour the chocolate milk  over the rice.
4. Cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
5. Serve in individual ramekins with a dollop of strawberry jam.

Imagine the shock of the giddy birthday gang when she arrived with a pizza box?! I will have to stock up on more fun decorative ingredients so HoneyB can go wilder.

Again, HoneyB is showing that she is more than just a cake mixer and decorater. Today she helped temper some chocolate with so much patience that it filled me with pride.

Her passion lies in decorating though, carefully sampling the colourful gems to see if they will fit into her taste and colour scheme. This 7″ wide chocolate heart is destined for her Dad and she knows she will get a decent chunk.

Weddings are wonderful events. I enjoyed every minute of our wedding. We finished work on a Friday, got married on Sunday and were on a plane to NZ by Tuesday. And there were no wedding jitters – I mean what’s to worry about? A day with all the family and friends. We should have more days like that!

Now via chocolate I can get a sneak peak into others’ wedding plans. I’m talking about wedding favours; those little treats bestowed on the guests at the wedding reception.

Anyhow, this wedding was special – a friend was getting married. I could not attend because I could not fit into my dress (ha!)and no makeup could hide the dark rings around my eyes but mostly because LittleButton is only a month old. So in my stead Himself brought some chocolate.

Packed in silver butterfly boxes were two milk chocolate truffles; milk chocolate and rose; milk chocolate and raspberry. It was a lotta work. Not only do the truffles have to be handmade, but then there’s the assembly, lining, packing and labeling of boxes, and then carefully delivering them.

But thankfully all the family helped. I made the truffles, Himself and HoneyB packed, LittleButton slept. HoneyB was so thrilled to be allowed help. Usually she is not allowed near ‘customer’ chocolate but this was a special order and she donned her white cotton glove with pride.

We wish all the very best in the world to the newly married couple! Thank you for letting us contribute to your very big day out.

Her hair is light brown, she is way longer than either Himself or I can take credit for, 7lb 14oz, long fingers that will be perfect for chunky jewellery, doe eyes that would melt the coldest heart, and a cry that no-one will ignore

The day before she arrived HoneyB had said ‘I think it’s a boy’ and had to do some quick modifications to her welcome-baby card. ‘Mom Mom don’t bring the baby in yet, I have to draw a dress’.

She also could not see the point in the ‘Its a girl’ balloons opting instead for a birthday balloon … the biggest one in the shop. Oh, what fun they will have  … oh how empty Daddy’s pockets are going to be!

As a final post for 2011, with 2012 and new beginnings around the corner, I want to share this wonderful Poem for Expectant Moms and wish everyone a Happy and Peaceful New Year.

HoneyB was delighted with the brightly coloured sprinkles which she found easier to use than the icing sugar, sweetened cocoa or plain cocoa powder. The Cake Gallery in Ennis have a great variety of sprinkles. We used Shimmering Sugar too (bright pink!) unsuccessfully but I bet it will look da-biz on white icing.

Using this Chocolate Biscuit Truffle recipe, she produced a decent box of truffles and a decent mess. Both outcomes acceptable in my book.

Well Done HoneyB!

There’s lots of dark chocolate in this recipe leading to a rich cookie – not for the faint hearted at all. They can be toned down with some sweeter chocolate.

Bittersweet Decadence Cookies
~30 cookies

1/4 cup plain flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
225g dark chocolate
2 tbsp butter (salted)
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups of your favourite nuts like pecans, walnuts, pistachio
175g dark, milk or white chocolate buttons/chunks

1. Preheat your oven to 180C. Line three baking trays with greaseproof paper.
2. Whisk together flour and baking powder in a small bowl.
3. Melt the butter and 225g dark chocolate in a microwave at medium, stirring every 30 secs.
4. Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla thoroughly. Stir them into the warm chocolate.
5. Stir in the flour mixture, chocolate and nuts.
6. Scoop rounded tablespoons of the cookie mixture onto the prepared baking trays around  1 1/2″  apart.
7. Bake until dry on top but still gooey in the middle, 12-14 mins.
8. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. A fish slice/pancake turner will help you here.
Enjoy!

Aztec Inspired Hot Chocolate
~ serves 2

20g sugar
20g cocoa powder
50g dark chocolate
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
Pinch of chilli (to taste)

1. Heat 400ml water, sugar and cocoa powder. Whisk until cocoa powder has dissolved.
2. Add the chocolate and whisk until emulsified.
3. Add the spices and whisk for a few minutes at simmering point.

Cappuccino Truffles
- approx 80 truffles

250ml single cream
20g ground coffee
450 milk chocolate, finely chopped
4 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Add the cream into a small saucepan, stir in the coffee and bring to a simmer. Take off the heat and leave to sit for 10 minutes.
2. Put the saucepan back on the heat and bring back to simmering.
3. Strain the cream through a sieve over the chocolate and gently stir until the chocolate has melted.
4. Allow the mixture to cool and stand at room temp overnight or 4 hours in the fridge before shaping the truffles. If using the fridge, remove 15 minutes before rolling the truffles.
5. Mix the cocoa powder and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Scoop a teaspoon of the truffle mixture, shape and roll in cocoa.
6. Store the truffles in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.

And here is the recipe for Baileys Truffles I mentioned.

Thank you to Sarah and Olivia for helping with the course logistics. It is daunting to go into someone else’s kitchen but they made the transition from Ennis to Cloughjordan seamless.

And a big thank you to all those who travelled from near and far. It was lovely to meet you all and please feel free to contact me with any questions … particularly if you have questions about making those all important Christmas gifts.

Margaret from Oldfarm took lots of photos so I will update this post when she gets a chance to upload them. Now given that Margaret is up t her eyes in orders for their gorgeous Christmas hams, it will not be this side of Christmas.