Rosewater Marshmallows - Valentine's Day

Ingredients

9 Sheets of leaf gelatine
450g granulated sugar
1 tbsp liquid glucose
200 ml water
2 large egg whites
2.5ml rosewater
icing sugar
cornflour

This recipe will make about 80 hearts

Method

1. Soak the gelatine in 140 ml cold water.
2. Prepare two large baking sheets with parchment paper rubbed over with a little oil. (sellotape the paper to the tray and wipe the oil off with kitchen towel.)
3. Put the sugar, glucose and water into a heavy-based pan. Bring to the boil gradually and continue cooking for about 12-15 minutes until mixture reaches 127C on a sugar thermometer. Christine's Top Tip - bring to the boil gradually until the sugar has completely dissolved and then increase the heat. Do not overstir.
4. When the syrup is up to temperature, carefully slide in the softened gelatine sheets and their soaking water. The syrup will bubble up so take care not to burn yourself. 
5. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, using an electric whisk in a mixing bowl otherwise you will be there for ages. Continue whisking while pouring in the hot syrup from the jug. The mixture will become shiny and start to thicken. Add the rosewater and continue whisking for about 5-10 minutes, until the mixture is stiff and thick enough to hold its shape on the whisk.
6. Spoon half the mixture into a large piping bag fitted with a half inch plain nozzle. Keep the mixer running so that the remaining mix does not set. Using side by side shell shapes form the mixture into hearts. This does take practice....plenty of spares for nibbling. Immediately dust liberally with a mixture of icing sugar and cornflour.
7. Allow to cool for 1 hour to set at room temperature.
8. Lift each marshmallow from the paper and dust the underside with the icing sugar/cornflour mix and shake off any excess.
9. Keep in an air tight container for up to 3 weeks or wrap in pretty bags tied with ribbon to give to your loved one.

Enjoy!

Valentine's Day Chocolate Ideas

Valentine's Day Biscuit Recipe

It's not often that I indulge in a little self promotion or what one might call a 'selfie'. Don't be concerned there'll be no 'Miley esque' type sleazy twerking going on!  

Some might call it bragging. But, I don't expect to be invited onto a TV talkshow anytime soon, we live in hope! So, why not use my blog to peddle my own wares. 

What is the point of a blog if you're not going to advertise and promote some of your own hard work and I have been working hard. Especially, when I've written so many words about other chocolates and chocolatiers over the past few years. A few self-centred words of self promotion or 'puking' as it's often referred to, won't be too risque.

Ok, so now I've got that of my chest let me tell you about some of the lovely Valentine's Day gift ideas that we have lined up for you this year.......

Valentine's Day Chocolate Hamper £27.50

At The Chocolate Truffle Company we only use good quality chocolate from around the world, including Venezuela, Peru and the Dominican Republic to produce our delicious chocolate goodies. We've spent many years trying different varieties of chocolate and have found these to be the most appealing in terms of taste and texture. The Valentine's Day Chocolate Hamper is certainly for the chocoholic lover including decadent handmade truffles and solid chunky chocolate heart shapes . The hamper is only available for local delivery to CM1, CM2 and CM3 postcodes.  Visit my Facebook page for more information.

If you want to be more discerning and perhaps specific in your choice for your loved one then we have some delicious items online for you.....

Where there is love, there is chocolate...

Lollipops!

Handmade Champagne Truffles!

When ordering online why not take advantage of our special promotion code and save 10% just enter the word PERK10 as you checkout. Ta dah!

Champagne is always popular on Valentine's Day so why not visit our friends at The Real Champagne Company who provide an excellent range of artisan champagnes that you'll not find on the shelves of your local superstore. Why not try a bottle of Perron Beauvineau Cuvée Elixir Extra Dry, I highly recommend it.

The REAL Champagne Company

Retro Valentine Biscuits

Ladies and gentlemen, to complete this recipe I'm assuming you have your SAWA 71, kitchen aid, languishing somewhere in a kitchen cupboard. I purchased my SAWA 71 from the Ideal Home Exhibition in the early 70's.  The SAWA was originally manufactured in Lessebo, Sweden. It is a kitchen tool for baking press cookies, biscuits and cakes. It can also be used for making meringues and other thick batter pastries. 

I'm sure Nigella has one tucked away in her kitchen! Amazon sell similar biscuit makers from £8.72.

Preparation time 20 minutes plus baking.

Ingredients:

1. 250g unsalted butter
2. 125g icing sugar sieved
3. 375g plain flour sieved
4. Vanilla paste - 1/2 tspn
5. Pinch of salt
6. Milk Chocolate for decoration

Method:

1. Cream butter and sugar and work to soft pliable dough with the flour. I would do this part in a food processor if you have one.
2. Roll the dough into the shape of the biscuit maker. To ensure best results warm up the dough with your hands.
3. Press any selected shapes straight on to a cold and lightly greased baking sheet.
4. Bake at 170 in a fan oven (gas 5-6) until just turning golden brown.
5. Allow to cool on a cooling tray.
6. Once the biscuits are cool dip or drizzle each biscuit with chocolate.

Get Pressing!

Allow to cool before adding chocolate.

Gingerbread Heart - Marks and Spencer

Firstly, I must give Simon Burns, MP for Chelmsford and Minister of State, Department of Transport, the thumbs up for making the effort to travel by train immediately it was pointed out that he was spending all our hard earned cash on a chauffeur driven car. I'm not sure if he is still taking the train on a daily basis? 

From what I understand he didn't even have a seat and had to stand all the way to Liverpool Street, poor love.



Horse is now back on the menu, well not knowingly on British menus. Tesco is jumping through hoops or is that over fences to apologize for their burger error? They must be secretly be loving all this free, if rather, unfortunate publicity!  

Not only is horse back on the menu but, so are other interesting creatures including crocodile, buffalo, kangaroo and springbok. The majority of these meats with the exception of horse are extremely expensive and out of reach of most shoppers. So, putting horse back on the menu in these times of recession seems like a good idea.  The French must be sniggering into their croissants at the thought of Les Anglais eating their beloved horses. It is all about national identity and we are the Roast Beefs, don't you know?! And we would probably rather die than eat the winner of the 2:10 at Curragh.

Iced Gingerbread Biscuit by Marks and Spencer

Ok, back to the biscuit from Marks and Spencer! At £1.50 this little biscuit, weighing in at just 43 grams, is perhaps on the small size. Especially when you consider you could probably make a whole tray for that price. But, that would mean buying ingredients, turning on the oven, finding a recipe, getting the recipe wrong at least once and then doing all the washing up! I think £1.50 is good value, don't you?

I'm not so keen on the plastic packaging as it makes it look cheap. Once out of the packaging the biscuit has plenty of gingerbread flavour and a good buttery taste. A crisp and dry biscuit rather than a chewy one. It was quickly wolfed down by the tasters in my household.  They didn't even see the biscuit's wording! Overall 5/10 for taste and novelty value.

I'm not sure how I'd feel if somebody gave me a heart shaped biscuit as a token of their endearing love....I might think they were taking the biscuit.