Decadent Chocolate Pudding with White Rum

Happy New Year!  To start off 2014, I thought I'd share this amazing Chocolate Pudding recipe that I whipped up last night to celebrate the new year.  It's a very rich and indulgent treat, so look away if you started that diet/detox today - this is strictly for the chocolate lovers only.

Makes 4

Ingredients:-

- 3 medium free range eggs, separated

- 200g quality dark chocolate, chopped / broken into small chunks

- 185ml double cream

- 2tbsp caster sugar

- 3 tbsp white rum

How to:-

1.  In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks and place to one side.  Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of hot water and allow to melt slowly, stirring occasionally until smooth.  Remove the bowl from the heat and gradually add the beaten yolks, mixing until you have a smooth texture again.  Fold through the cream and white rum, and stir until everything is combined.

2.  Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form.  Add the sugar and whisk again to mix it in.  Fold a small amount of the egg white mixture into the chocolate to slacken it, then quickly and light fold in the remainder.  Continue mixing until there are no streaks or pockets of egg white visible.  

3.  Pour the mixture equally into four ramekins or cups, cover with cling flim and chill in the fridge until firm.

These Chocolate Puddings will keep in the fridge for around 2 days and you can experiment with using different spirits or liqueurs if you don't fancy rum (I've also made these with whisky in the past and they're to die for).  For something non-alcoholic, you can try adding some strong espresso instead for an extra kick. 

[Recipe adapted from Easy Living magazine]

Homemade Houmous / Hummus

Nearly all of my vegan friends are huge lovers of chickpeas, but whilst I can tolerate them in a dish, they don't really rock my world.  Strangely though, I absolutely love them when they're whizzed together and made into houmous.  Now houmous is something I could eat every day!  If you're a fan, I strongly urge you to ditch the supermarket / shop varieties and have a go at making it from scratch yourself.  It's unbelievably quick and easy to do, and trust me when I say it tastes a million times better.  It really does!  

Ingredients:-

- 400g can of good quality chickpeas (preferably organic), rinsed and drained 

- 2 tbsp tahini paste

- 2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped or crushed

- 1/2 tsp ground cumin

- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (you can use more if desired)

- freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon

- 1 tsp smoked paprika to serve with (optional)

How to: - 

1.  Place the chickpeas into a food processor, and then add in all of the other ingredients on top.

2.  Blend on a medium speed for a few minutes until everything is thoroughly blended, and so that it has a smooth overall texture.

3.  Place in a bowl and sprinkle over the smoked paprika if desired. 

4.  Serve with your favourite crudites and pitta chips, use as a spread in pittas, or with some falafels.  Keeps for up to 3 days in the fridge.

This recipe was adapted from one a friend picked up when she was travelling through Palestine last year.  The original version uses mint leaves, more olive oil and less tahini, so it's a very easy recipe to adapt to your own tastebuds.  Changing the texture is also easy; just add more olive oil, lemon juice, or cold water if you want it more runny, and less if you want it to be thicker. You can also try adding herbs, different spices like cayenne pepper and rock salt to season it further.

  

Strawberries with Golden Meringue Pieces

The end of September marks the end of the strawberry season in most places in England, so I wanted to bid a fond farewell to my favourite fruit and I whipped up this little dessert.  I decided to make a whole meringue as it keeps for up to a week in an airtight container (and I just love meringues!) so use your discretion about how much you want to use when it comes to serving this up.

Ingredients:-

- 225g golden caster sugar

- 1 1/2 tsp cornflour

- 4 large egg whites

- a large handful of strawberries, quartered

- caramel sauce or ice cream to serve (optional)

How to:-

1.  Preheat the oven to 160C / Gas mark 3.  Draw a 25cm circle on baking paper, and place on a baking tray.

2.  Stir the golden caster sugar and cornflour in a jug together.

3.  In a large bowl, whisk the egg white until they are stiff (do the holding the bowl over your head trick!), and then whisk in the sugar mix a tbsp at a time until everything looks thick and glossy.

4.  Pour the mixture carefully onto the circle of the baking paper.

5.  Bake for 1 hr, then turn the oven off and allow it to cool inside for a further 1hr.

6. Once cooled, break the meringue up into chunks and arrange in dessert bowls with the strawberries.

7.  Serve with caramel sauce (as shown) or ice cream if desired.