Ginger Plum Cake

Victoria Plums

If, like me, your Victoria Plum tree has produced a bumper crop this year. Then all things plum are currently featured on my dessert menus in a desperate attempt to wade through the purple fruit mountain that has formed in my kitchen. 

Compote is one simple solution making a delicious accompaniment to yoghurt. 

However, if you're looking for some comfort food then this recipe is for you. 

Ooops! Perhaps I shouldn't be using such a terrible term as 'comfort food'. In a few years Google will be trawling our blogs deleting such terms in a desperate attempt to reduce obesity. Very scary to read child obesity is on the increase...stop giving them those sugary drinks!

I tried this particular recipe from the Good Food website with a couple of minor alterations.

Ingredients

butter, for greasing
2 tbsp demerara sugar
500g plums
For the cake
175g butter
175g dark muscovado sugar
140g golden syrup
2 eggs, beaten
200ml milk
300g self-raising flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp mixed spice

Method

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. 
• For the cake, melt the butter, muscovado sugar and syrup in a large pan over a low heat, stirring until smooth. Cool for 10 mins. 
• Meanwhile, grease and line the base of a 23cm square cake tin with baking parchment. Butter the paper generously and sprinkle with the demerara sugar. 
• Wash the plums, remove the stones and slice. Arrange in the base of the tin - see picture below.
• Once the butter and syrup mix has cooled slightly stir in the eggs and milk. Sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices, then mix to a smooth batter.
• Pour the batter into the tin, over the plums, and bake for 50-60 mins until firm to the touch. Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool. Will keep in the fridge, wrapped in baking parchment and foil, for up to 5 days.

Delicious served with cream or ice-cream. Equally delicious sliced cold with a cup of coffee. Cuts into 16 generous squares.

Glen Ample Raspberries and Ginger on Dark Belgian Chocolate

Having just booked a holiday in Scotland it seems only right that I should review some chocolate delights from across the border in Aberdeenshire. Berry Scrumptious, what a delicious name for a company and it sums up exactly what they do. Berry Scrumptious was devised and created by husband and wife team, Claire and Ross Rennie. Growing all their own raspberries and strawberries ensures that they have the very best ingredients to work with and I'm sure many foodies would agree that Scottish raspberries are excellent. Not only do they grow and harvest them but they also freeze dry them on site to guarantee all those fantastic flavours are locked in.

It would be amiss of me not to mention their chocolate dipped strawberries which look amazing and obviously make ideal wedding favours or gifts for some very lucky people. I would imagine these are their top sellers and chocolate bars possibly play second fiddle to the dipped strawberry gift packs which retail at £19.99 for six. That's not to say that the same care and attention is not bestowed upon their bars.


Claire kindly sent me a Raspberry and Ginger bar to taste which is simply presented in big shards in a clear cellophane bag. The type of chocolate used is not clear except that it originates from Belgian with a cocoa content of 54%.

The Chocolate: The bar is bright and has a good snap and I like the way the bar has been made and presented. The dried raspberries have been well crushed to almost a powder and sprinkled evenly throughout the bar producing a delicious 'zing'. The dark chocolate is probably a bit too sweet for my liking but it blends well with the raspberries and ginger. I was expecting a greater depth of flavour from both the raspberries and ginger. That's not to say there isn't any flavour there is just not enough of it. I want more zing!

Chocolate, raspberries and ginger make a great combination. I just think there needs to be a bit more of the essential ingredients to provide that extra level of flavour. The dark chocolate is low in cocoa which made it a little too sweet for my taste and perhaps they might consider experimenting with other dark chocolates, therefore I'm awarding this bar a score of 6/10. At £2.95 for an 85g bar it is reasonably priced for a handmade product and would make a lovely gift.


To buy this bar click here

Thorntons Dark Chocolate with Ginger 61%

A glass of wine has just been offered. Whilst this is very tempting you can't drink white wine and taste chocolate at the same time. In fact there are not that many wines that go with chocolate. Perhaps somebody can tell me which wines are good for drinking with chocolate? However, I have to show my commitment to the job of blogging and tasting chocolate. The show must go on or something like that. Wine will just have to wait a few minutes longer.


Continuing with the Thorntons theme my next chocolate is a block of dark with ginger. The chocolate is from Togo officially the Togolese Republic a small country bordered by Ghana in West Africa. Apparently Togo is highly dependent on agriculture. Apologies about the continuity my previous bar from Thorntons was also a mango coloured package!

The Chocolate: According to Thorntons this chocolate has spicy natural hints of gingerbread. Well I'll have to take their word for it as I'm sure the ginger will mask the flavour of gingerbread. Doh! Chinese ginger has been used to add some fiery heat. Rest assured there is no real heat coming from the ginger just a pleasant aromatic flavour that permeates throughout the munching process. The chunks of crystallised ginger are soft and are well balanced with the dark chocolate. The ginger and earthy flavours of the chocolate don't fade quickly and you're left with a pleasant after taste making this bar very quaff-able a bit like my glass of wine which is waiting for me. 


This is a good bar of chocolate and I'd like to taste the Togo cocoa on its own to really appreciate it as the ginger does mask it. 

For me this bar of chocolate scores a high 7/10 for flavour and texture. At £1.89 from their retail shop at Liverpool Street station you can't go far wrong and it's excellent value for money and I will certainly be going back for more.


To buy this chocolate click here Thorntons.


More Thornton bars can be found here....


http://chocchick.blogspot.com/2011/02/milk-chocolate-with-mango.html


http://chocchick.blogspot.com/2010/09/thorntons-milk-chocolate-with-hazelnut.html

70% Dark Chocolate with Ginger and Orange

I must admit that before I started writing this blog I did not know a lot about Divine. However, the more Divine chocolate I review the greater understanding I have of their company. Which can only be a good thing.

Divine: What and who is Kuapa Kokoo? To explain this I've just quoted what is on their website, as follows: 


Supported by Twin and SNV, a Dutch NGO, they set up their own company to buy their cocoa and sell it on to the Government Cocoa Buying Board. The cocoa farmers' organisation was founded and named "Kuapa Kokoo" which in the local language, Twi, means "Good Cocoa Farmers Company". Their motto is "Pa Pa Paa" which means "the best of the best of the best".

The organisation is for farmers and set up by them with the mission to effect:

    * increased power and representation within the market for the farmers
    * social, economic and political empowerment
    * enhanced women's participation in all its affairs
    * environmentally sustainable production processes

Kuapa Kokoo consists of:
Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union
This is made up of village societies that elect society committees and representatives at regional level, who in turn elect representatives to the national Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union.

Kuapa Kokoo Limited
The trading arm of Kuapa Kokoo.

Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Trust
Responsible for distributing money for community projects, generated from the fair trade premium between the farmers.

Kuapa Kokoo Credit Union

Provides credit and banking services for the farmers.

The Chocolate: This is a 70% dark chocolate with added orange granules and ginger flavouring. In total 89% of the ingredients are certified to International Fairtrade standards. All Divine chocolate is made in Germany using Ghanaian cocoa. Ginger is the main aroma that comes through as you open up the packaging. The chocolate is well tempered, bright in colour and has a good snap. The cocoa provides a good back drop for the ginger and orange flavours. The granules of orange are a bit off putting as you feel as though you've eaten a fruit gum which is not a good marriage.

This is a reasonable bar of chocolate but I think they could have done better by adding real pieces of ginger. Considering they go to so much trouble sourcing fairtrade products why don't they try a little bit harder with the other ingredients. Overall I give this bar 5/10 for flavour which comes across as being a bit artificial and 10/10 for ethical policy.


To read more about Divine click here.