Tag Archives: dessert

STEP ASIDE GU – THERE’S A NEW DESSERT DON IN TOWN

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Every once in a while a sweet treat lands in our lap that changes EVERYTHING. Pati & Coco’s multi-layered, multi-textured chocolate desserts have done just that.

Picture this, you start by cracking through the signature layer of fine tempered dark chocolate. Once through, experience patisserie folds of luscious ganache and delicate sheets of chocolate underneath before ending with a satisfyingly crunchy biscuit layer at the base. Swoon.

Available in packs of 2, these 80g pots come in four intense and luxurious flavours. Disclaimer, our favourite was the caramel & choc pots, giving decadent, millionaire’s shortbread vibes!

  • Ganache & Choc
  • Praline & Choc
  • Caramel & Choc
  • Pistachio & Choc

Available to buy at Sainsburys

Ice cream for the festive season

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Judes ice cream toddy pecan

Two new flavours from Judes

Christmas is just a few weeks away and you need something to go with all those mince pies and Christmas puddings. If you like ice-cream then Judes have a couple of new offerings that are ideal for the festivities.

Brown Butter Pecan (£3.00 for 500g) is full of swirls of caramel, lovely buttery flavours and chunks of real caramelised nuts. It is absolutely delicious and is made with stacks of fresh milk and natural ingredients.

If you like the flavour of whisky, the firm also has a Hot Toddy ice cream (£4.79 for 500g), made with cinnamon and Laphroaig single malt whisky. Again, it is just the sort of thing to serve in depths of winter, preferably in front of a blazing fire or – if you can’t manage that – a warm radiator.

Hakkasan Chinese New Year Menu Review | The Best of London

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We have reviewed Hakkasan before and are never disappointed. This michelin-starred restaurant feels like the centre of everything. People talk about Hakkasan in hushed tones in office, they pull happy faces when you say you have been, talking about how delicious the food is. Hakkasan on Hanway Place, the original Hakkasan, is the place to see and be seen. That doesn’t mean you won’t be able to relax however. There is no pretension for all its class and the staff are very friendly and know their stuff. Hakkasan is, without doubt, the best of London. Hakkasan is where to go for traditional Cantonese cuisine.

For Chinese New Year, the year of the sheep, Hakkasan will be honouring the Chinese “Wishing Tree” tradition by collecting wishes from around the world as well as offering a nine dish festive feast perfect for family and friends. The wish collection and signature menu will be available to guests from Sunday 8th February to Sunday 1st March.

This nine dish menu starts with small eats to start.

Dim Sum, Spicy lamb lupin wrap and Golden fried soft shell crab with red chili and curry leaf.

Hakkasan Hanway Place Chinese New Year Menu Review #dimsum Hakkasan Hanway Place Chinese New Year Menu Review spicy lam lupin Hakkasan Hanway Place Chinese New Year Menu Review #crab #curry #curryleaf Hakkasan Hanway Place Chinese New Year Menu Review sauce Hakkasan Hanway Place Chinese New Year Menu Review #cocktails

The starters are stunning. The Dim Sum is always brilliant. Scallops, crab meat, prawn: they are just heavenly. The spicy lamb lupin wrap is perfect, there is a good heat from the sauce and the lamb is expertly cooked. It has a delicious soft texture. The fried soft crab with red chilli and curry leaf is superb. The crab is amazing and the curry leaf goes well, a wonderful and original dish.

To go with our food we have a Kumquatcha, a specialty cocktail representing good fortune, prosperity and happiness, I have a virgin one and my colleague has the real deal. Both taste amazing. A brilliant combination of Germana cachaça, Campari, Kumquat and lime.

The mains include a number of signature Hakkasan items like their Spicy prawn, Stir-fry black pepper rib eye beef with Merlot and Grilled Chilean sea bass in honey, We also have Stir-fry Lily bulb and garlic shoot and Abalone and dry scallop fried rice,

Hakkasan Hanway Place Chinese New Year Menu Review #beef Hakkasan Hanway Place Chinese New Year Menu Review #lilybulb Hakkasan Hanway Place Chinese New Year Menu Review #rice Hakkasan Hanway Place Chinese New Year Menu Review #seabass Hakkasan Hanway Place Chinese New Year Menu Review #curried #prawns Hakkasan Hanway Place Chinese New Year Menu Review rice

The spicy prawn has generous and delicious prawns in a yummy sauce, the Stir-fry black pepper rib eye beef with Merlot is just perfect and Grilled Chilean sea bass in honey is definitely one of the best sea bass dishes I have ever had. The Stir-fry Lily bulb and garlic shoot is as tasty as it is original and the Abalone and dry scallop fried rice is the best rice ever. I still have dreams about it. There is no bum note in this menu: all of this food is just one mouth-watering dish after another.

Hakkasan Hanway Place Chinese New Year Menu Review #wishingtree Hakkasan Hanway Place Chinese New Year Menu Review kumquat tree Hakkasan Hanway Place Chinese New Year Menu Review #cocktail Hakkasan Celebrates Chinese New YearHakkasan Hanway Place Chinese New Year Menu Review #dessert #wishingtree

The desserts are as amazing as the other dishes. Stunning in their originality, a Kumquat Wishing Tree: chocolate, caramelised macadamia and cocoa rocks, and delicious chocolate treats hanging off a Kumquat tree end the meal. The dishes are out of this world. Not all Asian restaurants do dessert well. I am glad to say that Hakkasan is definitely an exception.

I also have another mocktail. Hakkasan do mocktails very well. Perfect if you don’t want to drink. If you eat from the Chinese New Year signature menu you will receive a red envelope with special gift of a complimentary cocktail or mocktail. More reason to indulge.

Hakkasan’s limited edition menu created by Michelin-starred Executive Head Chef Tong Chee Hwee includes a selection of its acclaimed signature dishes as well as a contemporary interpretation on authentic Chinese New Year fare.The Chinese New Year menu is available for £88.88 per person. A la carte items will be individually priced, starting at £12.88.

For more information on Chinese New Year at Hakkasan, please visit hakkasan.com.

 

 

 

Kelly’s of Cornwall Ice cream Meringue Tart | Recipes

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Kelly’s of Cornwall Ice cream Meringue TartIngredients:

6 tart cases

1 tub of Kelly’s of Cornwall Clotted Cream & Strawberries ice cream

6 mini meringues

Strawberry sugar to sprinkle

Chocolate sauce

 

Method:

Microwave the tart cases for 5-7 seconds (not too hot or the ice cream will melt).  Add a few spoons of Kelly’s ice cream in to the tart cases and spread out evenly. Place the meringues on top, decorate with a drizzle of chocolate sauce and add some sugar sprinkles to top it off.

This recipe has been created by Kelly’s of Cornwall with Jacinta Zechariah, blogger of Jacintaz3as part of Kelly’s Creative Kids in the Kitchen 2014 campaign. To see Jacinta’s blog please visit http://jacintaz3.co.uk/the-day-i-died-and-lived-to-tell-the-tale/

 

 

 

Kelly’s of Cornwall Eddie’s Mess Ice Cream | Recipes

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Kelly’s of Cornwall Eddie’s Mess Ice CreamIngredients:

3 strawberries, sliced
A handful of blueberries and blackberries
3 meringue shells, broken
2 scoops of Kelly’s Clotted Cream & Raspberries ice cream

 

Method:

Layer sliced strawberries, broken meringue pieces, blueberries and blackberries (leaving a few to decorate) in a fancy sundae glass then add a couple of scoops of ice cream.  Decorate with remaining blueberries and blackberries and serve.

 

This recipe has been created by Kelly’s of Cornwall with Galina Varese, blogger of Chez Maxima as part of Kelly’s of Cornwall’s Creative Kids in the Kitchen 2014 campaign.  To see Galina’s blog please visit http://chezmaximka.blogspot.co.uk/

 

 

 

Kelly’s of Cornwall Banoffee Pie Ice Cream

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Kelly’s of Cornwall Banoffee Pie Ice CreamIngredients:

100g butter, melted

200g digestive biscuits

4 bananas

Kelly’s of Cornwall Clotted Cream ice cream or Kelly’s Cornish Dairy Vanilla ice cream

Jaffa Cake mini rolls

Kelly’s of Cornwall Clotted Cream and Honeycomb ice cream

 

 

 

Method:

  1. Line a cake tin with cling film.
  2. Bash the biscuits to make crumbs and mix with the melted butter.
  3. Push the crumb mixture into the cake tin to make a base.
  4. Chop the bananas into slices and use to cover the biscuit base.
  5. Cover the bananas with a layer of Kelly’s of Cornwall Clotted Cream Vanilla ice cream.
  6. Chop the Jaffa Cake rolls into slices and cover the ice cream.
  7. Finish off with a layer of Kelly’s Clotted Cream and Honeycomb ice cream.
  8. Place the tin in the freezer for a couple of hours and then serve.

 

This recipe has been created by Kelly’s of Cornwall with Alison Maclean, blogger of Fairy dust and Dragons as part of Kelly’s Creative Kids in the Kitchen 2014 campaign. To see Alison’s blog please visit http://www.dragonsandfairydust.co.uk

 

 

Bonnie Marcus Collection Book Reviews

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We received two cool books to review from the Bonnie Marcus Collection: Guilt-Free Girl Desserts and Cupcakes & Cocktails. First impressions of the book is that they have a great design. Second is: I am now hungry. And I want a cocktail.

Guilt-Free Desserts is my kind of book. Who doesn’t want to eat dessert without getting fat? It may seem like a pipe-dream but you can make dessert as guilt-free as possible. These desserts are low calorie, there are a lot of figure-friendly recipes. Some of the desserts have fewer than 250 calories each. The book is bursting with great desserts that will make you a domestic goddess. It is hard to choose a favourite but I particularly thought the Banana and Coconut Ice Cream Balls looked amazing.

The book also lets you know what ingredients to add that are super-foods and will make you healthier. This is a stylish book with great dessert ideas.

Bonnie Marcus collection, cupcakes and cocktails, guilt-free desert.

Cupcakes & Cocktails

Cupcakes and cocktails. Just so yummy and they really make a party. This book even helps you match cupcake and cocktail flavours, or make the ingredients clash. There is even cocktail cupcakes to try.

This book should be on every bookshelf. It has a huge amount of cupcakes and cocktails, all delicious. It doesn’t just have recipes, it also has tips on baking. There is also a lower calorie chapter and a chapter entirely on chocolate. Heaven awaits. There are so many to try it will take a while to get through them all. Which is only a good thing as it will be a lot of fun.

 

Bonnie Marcus launched her stylish stationery company, the Bonnie Marcus Collection “Where Fashion Meets Paper®” in 2002 from her dining room table, while expecting her first child.

As a former wedding planner in New York City, Bonnie was well-known for her event planning expertise, and found there was a void in the stationery market in terms of fashion-forward, stylish designs. She decided to combine her passion for fashion (having worked for designer Diane Von Furstenberg) with her love of event planning, and her collection took the stationery industry by storm!

Bonnie’s stylish designs are now available in thousands of retail stores world-wide, and celebrity fans include Cindy Crawford, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Eva Longoria, Marcia Cross and many others. Bonnie has been recognised as a pioneer for women in business and is proud to be an established partner of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Autism Speaks.

Available from Amazon UK

 

How To Cook in High Heels Cocktail & Dessert Recipes

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strawberry cocktailFrost loves cocktails and apps. So an app that gives you cocktail recipes? Our cup runneth over. Hot on the heels of Summer is Tequila Rose’s Strawberry Kiss, a new and decadent way to enjoy strawberries and cream – and now the recipe is available on new app, How to Cook in High Heels.

 

A mix of luxurious strawberry cream liquor, Tequila Rose, white rum and chocolate liquor, this indulgent Strawberry Kiss cocktail is an ideal treat while catching up with friends. The natural strawberry flavour of Tequila Rose, makes this cocktail utterly irresistible.

 

Tested (and devoured!) by the savvy cookery authors and TV presenters, Sacha and Korin at How to Cook in High Heels, Strawberry Kiss and Tequila Rose recipes, are super easy to make by downloading the new How to Cook in High Heels app, free to download on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch via iTunes from July 12th 2013.  If you can’t wait until then, here’s the recipe!

 

Tequila Rose Strawberry Kiss

50ml Tequila Rose

15ml White Rum

25ml Chocolate Liquor

Shake all the ingredients together and strain into a chilled Martini Glass garnished with chocolate sprinkles. Serve with fresh strawberries.

 

Strawberry Jewel

50ml Tequila Rose

15ml Cream

Garnish with red sprinkles

You won’t fail to impress friends by serving up Strawberry Jewel, sipping this creamy cocktail is an indulgent way to catch up over drinks.

 

Strawberry Kiss

50ml Tequila Rose

15ml White Rum

25ml Chocolate Liqueur

Shake, Strain into Martini Glass garnished with chocolate sprinkles

 

Strawberry Kiss is one to be savoured, this elegant cocktail is the perfect party drink – it looks amazing and tastes even better – everyone will want to toast with this in hand.

 

Strawberry Split

50ml Tequila Rose

15ml Banana liqueur

15ml Coffee liqueur

Layer in a shot glass

Get your retro summer fix with this vibrant Strawberry Split number – fruity, creamy and all together delicious!

Tequila Rose Yogurt Dessert

Ingredients (For 4 People):

50g Digestives

4 Tbl Spoons golden syrup

200g Set Greek yogurt

15g Pectin

50g Good quality strawberry conserve

100ml Tequila Rose liqueur

 

 What a way to end a dinner party, you won’t fail to impress by serving this Tequila Rose Yogurt Dessert – cool and refreshing with a cheeky shot of Tequila Rose.

 

1.        Crush digestives with a rolling pin.  Spoon into a ramekin and press down firmly

2.        Gently warm the golden syrup and spoon a thin layer over the digestives – this will create a barrier for the liquid layer.

3.        Heat the pectin in 20mls of boiling water add to a combination of Tequila Rose and Greek Yogurt.  Blend together until the resulting mixture is smooth in texture. Add to the ramekin.

4.        Allow to set in the fridge for 6-8 hours.

5.        Very gently warm the Strawberry Conserve and lightly spoon over the set yogurt mix.

6.       Allow to cool in the fridge for 10 mins.

7.       Serve when requires.

 

Alternatively serve as a frozen sweet.

 

 STRAWBERRY JEWEL

What are the ‘red sprinkles’ made of (this is probably covered in the video or a stupid question)? They are the type of sprinkles you would put on ice cream

Any comment on type of cream? It would be double cream

Is “50ml” ‘one’ serving as jt were? Yes

 

STRAWBERRY KISS

Is there a particular technique or skill to the ‘garnishing’? You could wet the rim with Tequila Rose then dip the glass into the sprinkles

I have put the step in as garnish before pouring – did you film this one?  Is this how you did it?

Is “50ml” ‘one’ serving as jt were? Yes

 

STRAWBERRY SPLIT

In what order should they be layered?  This is important to the steps – and again they would need to match the video? The order to match the image

Is “50ml” ‘one’ serving as jt were? Yes

 

TR YOGURT DESSERT

What is the garnish in the picture?  Will add this as a recommended 6th step for completeness… Lime zest