November | 2011 | Cafe Lula

Archive for November, 2011

Gingerbread chocolate fudge

Posted in Baking, Chocolate, Christmas, Gingerbread, Sweets (fudge, truffles and candy) on November 21, 2011| 37 Comments »

Gingerbread chocolate fudge

So. The Christmas adverts have started. There are Christmas lights in (some) city streets. Christmas cakes are being baked, Christmas lists are being made, some people even have their shopping sorted already! (Not me, I leave it ’til the last minute every. Single. Year.) .

But some people aren’t impressed with these developments. I mean, it’s not even December yet! And the adverts aren’t in the spirit of Christmas, they’re just there to make you panic and spend money. And are those Christmas street lights really necessary? YES. YES THEY ARE. You big humbug. Let’s make Christmas fudge!

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Chocolate Tia Maria torte, or failed macaroon cake

Posted in Baking, Cake, Chocolate, Dessert on November 21, 2011| 17 Comments »

Chocolate torte

I have a confession. You know those pretty macaroons I made the other day? I sort of maybe didn’t tell you the whole story. Confession time

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Hotel Chocolat: a review and a giveaway

Posted in Giveaway, Review on November 19, 2011| 31 Comments »

Gingerbread chocolate

Hotel Chocolat makes some of my favourite chocolate (milk chocolate with chilli, sticky toffee-centred chocolate, cookie choc chip slabs… the list goes on!). I visited the Birmingham Bullring branch of Hotel Chocolat the other day for a “browse” and ended up with a bag full of chocolate. Oops. So obviously I was thrilled to be sent a giant slab of their Nibbly Noel from their Christmas range to review! Come in, you might win chocolate!

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Chocolate and Tia Maria parfait

Posted in Baking, Chocolate, Dessert, Egg yolks, Ice cream, Mousse on November 14, 2011| 13 Comments »

Chocolate Tia Maria parfait

I hadn’t planned to make this and it isn’t often that I spontaneously bake. Usually because I don’t have time in between all the planned baking! But after making macaroons I found myself with some spare egg yolks and it seemed a shame to throw them away. I knew I’d seen several recipes in my new Green and Black’s cookbook that only used egg yolks, and, as they all contain chocolate, I knew I’d want to make pretty much all of them! It was difficult deciding which to make (dark chocolate and cardamom ice cream? buttermilk and bitter chocolate ice cream? gooey chocolate puddings?) but I’ve never made parfait before so I decided to try something new. It was a good decision! Give me parfait!

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Vanilla macaroons

Posted in Baking, Biscuits/Cookies, Cake, Egg whites, Sweets (fudge, truffles and candy), tagged baking, macaroons, vanilla on November 13, 2011| 14 Comments »

Vanilla macaroons

I hate almonds. A lot. The taste of them in sweet things is just utterly unpleasant. So why exactly did I think it was a good idea to make some? Well, I know that they’re supposed to be difficult to make, a little prone to throwing a tantrum in your oven and breaking your heart, and I felt like taking on the challenge. I was absolutely thrilled when they emerged from my oven all pretty and not an exploded mess (don’t get me wrong, I’m not pretending they’re perfect, but I think they look pretty damn good for a first attempt). But now I have 14 macaroons sitting in a tupperware tub which I have no intention of eating. Come inside for more pretty macaroon photos

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Chorizo and thyme fougasse

Posted in Baking, Bread, Chorizo, Leftover ingredients, tagged baking, bread, chorizo, thyme on November 13, 2011| 4 Comments »

Chorizo and thyme fougasse

I can’t imagine that there’s even one person in the whole world who doesn’t love the smell of freshly baked bread. When I do my weekly grocery shop I have to stop myself scoffing all the bread on the way home. And, as with pretty much everything (except maybe things like cars), homemade is even better. (Perfume isn’t better homemade either. Remember when you were a kid and you made perfume with water and rose petals? At first it smelt really nice, but after a few days the water went really yellow and it smelt kind of sickly sweet verging on rotten. Homemade perfume definitely isn’t better than shop bought. Nuh uh). Click here if you love homemade bread (homemade perfume, not so much)

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Happy birthday to Chris! Part two: Chocolate sticky toffee pudding

Posted in Baking, Chocolate, Dessert, Double cream, Pudding, Toffee/Caramel, tagged golden syrup, sticky toffee, sticky toffee pudding, toffee sauce on November 9, 2011| 10 Comments »

Chocolate sticky toffee pudding

You didn’t think he only got a main course, did you? Every birthday meal needs a dessert! Chris is rather fond of this sticky toffee cake and that is what I was originally going to make for this birthday. But then I ordered a copy of Green and Black’s Ultimate Chocolate Recipes and came across this recipe. Sticky toffee pudding AND chocolate? Yes please. So I suggested it to Chris (because I was just thinking about what Chris would like for his birthday, obviously. Not because I really, really wanted chocolate sticky toffee pudding. No no no. Not at all.) and he agreed that it sounded like something he’d want to put in his face. So I made this and we put it in our faces and I was so happy I could have exploded. Get in my face, toffee!

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