Love Is In The Air
Yes, St Valentines day is generally associated with romance, but at Cloughan Farm & Cookery School we say its a day to celebrate people and their company.. A lovely warm mug of steaming hot chocolate, a few homemade biscuits to nibble on and of course a good old chat ..Now that’s what we call “LOVE”
I hope you enjoy these little morsels with a mug just as much as we do .
Happy Valentines Day to you all
Fiona
112g (4oz) caster sugar
112g (4oz) soft butter
1 large egg beaten
1 tabsp coffee granules or powder
2 tsp hot water
225g (8oz) self raising flour
Icing sugar for dusting
Filling & Decorating
75g (3oz ) soft butter
25g (1oz) white chocolate melted
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180oC . Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
Measure the coffee and hot water into a small dish or ramekin and mix until smooth and lump free.
Add the soft butter and sugar into a bowl. Using a hand held mixer or the back of a tablespoon start beating until soft and light.. Add the egg and coffee and half the flour, fold gently to incorporate. Add the remaining flour and continue gently folding until all the ingredients are all incorporated.
Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough into a ball and divided into 4 pieces. Place the pieces back into the bowl or plate, cover with cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Meanwhile to make the filling, add the icing sugar, cocoa powder and butter into a bowl and using the back of a tablespoon beat until the mixture is starting to come together. Add the cold water and continue beating until the icing is lump free and smooth. Cover until needed.
Take 1 piece of dough at a time from the fridge and place on a work surface lightly dusted with icing sugar. Gently roll the dough until it is about 1/8in thick. Using a heart shape cutter (or whichever cutter you choose) stamp out and place the biscuits slightly apart on the baking tray. Repeat until all the dough is used in the fridge.
Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes until slightly brown. Transfer into a wire rack to cool
To decorate, use the filling to sandwich the biscuits together and lay them on a wire rack with a roasting tin or flat tray underneath. Melt the white chocolate and drizzle over the biscuits using the tip of a teaspoon or a piping bag fitted with a very thin plain n
ozzle.. Once chocolate has set
store in an airtight biscuit tin.
Hot Chocolate Mug’s
Ingredients – Serves 2
400ml/ 14fl oz milk (full fat)
40g dark chocolate (we use bournville)
2 tsp cocoa
2 tabsp marshmallows
3 tabsp softly whipped cream
Drinking chocolate or chocolate shavings to decorate
Method:
Put the milk, chocolate and cocoa into a saucepan. Place over a gentle heat stirring all the time until the chocolate has melted and cocoa has dissolved. Bring almost to a boil, remove from the heat and immediately pour into warmed mugs.
Spoon over the cream on top followed by the marshmallows and finely the chocolate shavings or dust with drinking chocolate.
Ahhh, what a treat!
