chocolate

Churros, or Spanish doughnuts

August 20, 2010
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We spent a week in Barcelona recently, and walking around the city, you notice little bars and cafes everywhere selling hot chocolate with long, piped doughnuts, ribbons of fried batter coated in sugar and sold in cones or paper bags. Ethan latched onto the idea, as kids do, that he wanted to try churros, but [...]

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A very good chocolate brownie

March 17, 2010
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There’s nothing quite like a good chocolate brownie. It’s not quite a cake, not quite a biscuit, but more of an indulgence than either.  A good chocolate brownie recipe is one of those things every cook should have up his or her sleeve. This recipe is excellent, a straightforward brownie recipe with an extra flourish [...]

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The Drunken Duck Inn, near Ambleside, Cumbria

January 1, 2010

We thought we might be staying longer at The Drunken Duck, by default. The night had been cold, and the previous day’s showers had frozen over the lying snow. We checked out and set off down the country lane to the side of the Inn, the car wheels skidding on black ice. I was beginning [...]

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Amaretto and chocolate torte

December 23, 2009
Amaretto and chocolate torte Gordon Ramsay

At this time of year, I tend to over indulge a little, not too much, but enough to make me think that, yes, I really do need to go to the gym or grind out some miles along the canal bank. This recipe was the start of the Christmas downfall for this year. It’s rich, [...]

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Pinenut and honey tart

April 26, 2009
Pinenut and honey tart

This nearly didn’t happen. There were too many things that could have gone wrong, and most of them nearly did. Toasting pinenuts, blind baking a pastry case, the wrong type of honey… To my surprise, things turned out well, and we had a delicate and delicious dessert, sweet and balanced with a deep honey flavour, [...]

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Elizabeth David’s Chocolate and Almond Cake

February 28, 2009
Elizabeth David's chocolate and almond cake

A superlative cake from a cooking legend. Melt 115g of good quality chocolate, along with a splash each of black coffee and rum, in a bowl placed over a simmering pan of water. The quality of the chocolate is key. High cocoa content, at least over 70% is vital. I swear by Green & Black’s, [...]

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Skinny man steals chocolate

November 5, 2008

“Two teenagers, one skinny and one stocky, are being hunted after a haul of chocolate bars was stolen from a lorry parked in Bradford last night.The suspects got into the lorry, which was in a car park off Tong Street, through unlocked back doors and stole two ten kilo boxes of Bounty bars, valued at [...]

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Chocolate praline truffle cake

October 27, 2008
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This is a very heavy duty chocolate cake…a huge slab of chocolate punctuated with praline and nuts. There is nothing light here, but much to enjoy. A Nigel Slater recipe, from the Observer. Toast 100g of shelled and skinned hazelnuts in a dry pan until golden. Keep the nuts moving – they’ll burn in an [...]

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