A Chelsea Chocolate Tasting Tour

One of my genius Christmas presents from the boy this year was a Chocolate Ecstasy Tour which we booked for today. Based in Chelsea and Belgravia, the tour takes you to four artisanal shops and makers in the area, giving you the chance to learn more about the chocolate making process, and most importantly, to try everything in sight!

Choocywoccydodah: Bar du Chocolat

Tucked away down a little road in Brighton, Middle Street to be exact, is the Choccy Woccy Bar du Chocolat. Choccy Woccy make the most incredible cakes from chocolate, as you'd imagine. These should give you an idea…

Towards the end of last term we all needed a bit of chill out time and some relaxation after essay deadlines. Our place to fulfil an afternoon of relaxation was of course ChoccyWoccyDoDah. Or, to be more exact, the Choccy Woccy Bar du Chocolat. A haven to chocolate, cake and incredible hot chocolates, all in an ethereal, Alice in Wonderland style fairlytale setting. You are immersed in chocolate and it really is an incredible experience.

We surrounded ourselves with huge chunks of cake, tea and hot chocolate until we could no longer see the table. I like cake but I could barely eat a 1/3 of my chocolate indulgence, the slices are ridiculously huge! My advice: visit on a very empty stomach but do make sure you visit, this place is definitely an experience!

Choccy Woccy have bars in both Brighton and London. If you haven't already, be sure to check them out! 

Christmas hampers #1: Chocolate Bark

This little series is the recipes for the components of my Christmas hampers. I made hampers as gifts this year for family and friends and they went down incredibly well! Despite the festive season now having passed, these recipes are perfect for wintery days, weekends in the kitchen and simple gifts throughout the year. Most of the foods do suit the wintery months best and the majority of ingredients have the benefit of already being in the larder. You can check out my Pinterest here for more homemade present inspiration.

The first, and my favourite of the homemade gifts is a delicious chocolate bark! A bag of chocolate bark can be created by even the most novice of cooks and really can be customised for all tastes and purposes!

I used:

2 or 3 bars of good quality dark chocolate

1 cup of almonds

1 cup pistachios

1 tbs cocoa powder

2 tbs coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 cups flaked coconut

1/2 cup sesame seeds 

Begin by popping your pistachios and almonds in a baking tray, with the coconut oil and roast for 10 minutes at about 150 degrees. After 10 minutes remove from the oven and add the sea salt, cocoa and vanilla extract. Roast for a further 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, break your chocolate into small pieces and melt over a bayonet until smooth and silky. Stir the chocolate to ensure that it doesn't burn.

Line a baking tray with cling film and drizzle in your melted chocolate. Try and resist the temptation to eat it at this stage!! Push the chocolate around so that its fairly evenly distributed.

Grab the nuts from the oven and pour into the chocolate. Sprinkle over the sesame seeds, a little more sea salt (to stop the chocolate from being too bitter) and the flaked coconut. Stand back and admire the beautifulness and then pop the tray in the fridge for a couple of hours to allow to fully set. 

Cut up systematically or smash and pop into cellophane. Decorate as desired and its ready to share - do make sure you try some yourself though, it really is delicious!