It’s National Chocolate Day.Yay! To celebrate and with the help of Waitrose, we bring you these 3 ideal chocolate recipes. From moist, gooey brownies dotted with chunks of creamy sea-salt fudge to easy to make chocolate honeycomb fridge cake, these recipes will make you very happy.
Sea Salt Fudge Brownies
- Preparation time:20 minutes
- Cooking time:25 minutes to 30 minutes
- Makes 24
Ingredients
180g Hope & Greenwood handmade salt caramel fudge or other fudge
250g Waitrose Continental Plain Chocolate, chopped
175g unsalted butter
3 eggs
225g light muscovado sugar
75g self raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
100g roasted, salted large peanuts, chopped
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190C, gas mark 5. Grease and line a 27 x 18cm shallow baking tin with baking parchment. Cut the fudge roughly into 1cm cubes.
- Put the chocolate and butter in a bowl and melt, either using the microwave on medium power for 2-3 minutes or by resting the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir to make a smooth sauce.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until thick, smooth and beginning to froth. Stir in the slightly cooled melted chocolate mixture, then the flour and baking powder.
- Lightly stir in half the fudge and nuts and turn into the tin, spreading into the corners. Scatter with remaining fudge and nuts. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until a sugary crust has formed but the mixture feels wobbly underneath. (Check the brownies frequently towards the end of cooking as the flavour and texture are better if moist and gooey. Don’t forget that both the chocolate and butter will firm up as the cake cools.) Leave to cool completely in the tin.
- Lift out of the tin and cut into 24 small squares.
Chocolate Honeycomb Fridge Cake
- Preparation time:15 minutes + chilling
- Total time:15 minutes + chilling
Ingredients
2 x 100g bars Montezuma’s Very Dark Organic Chocolate
50g Waitrose Duchy Organic English Salted Butter, diced
4 tbsp golden syrup
150g pack Waitrose Duchy Organic All Butter Shortbread, broken into small pieces
100g whole organic almonds, roughly chopped
45g pack Cooks’ Homebaking Honeycomb Niblets
150g Love Life Ready To Eat Organic Soft Dried Apricots, diced
Method
1. Break the chocolate into a small pan, then add the butter and syrup. Heat very gently, stirring from time to time, until smooth and glossy.
2. Place the shortbread in a large bowl and stir in the almonds, honeycomb and apricots. Pour in the chocolate mixture and stir until evenly coated.
3. Tip the mixture into a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin, patting down carefully to get it right into the corners. Chill for at least 2 hours until set. Slice into wedges to serve.
Ideal tip: Mix things up by adding your favourite fruit, nuts or sweet treats. Try scattering pumpkin seeds over the top, dusting with freeze-dried raspberries, or stirring fudge chunks through before chilling.
Mint Chocolate Tart
- Preparation time:15 minutes, plus 2 hours chilling
- Serves: 8 – 10
Ingredients
200ml Waitrose Extra Thick Double Cream
25g unsalted butter
200g Waitrose
Chocolate Mint Thins, roughly chopped
1 tbsp whole milk
205g Waitrose
Sweet Pastry Case
Method
1. Put the cream in a small saucepan and gently heat until just below boiling. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and chocolates until smooth. Add the milk and stir well to combine. Pour into the pastry case and allow to cool. Chill for 2 hours in the fridge.
2. If liked, dust with icing sugar and/or cocoa powder, decorate with fresh mint leaves and serve with cream, if liked.