Chocolate spread is one of those indulgences I normally find is best avoided, simply because, if it’s in the cupboard, every venture to the kitchen will involve sneaking a spoonful. At least this week, I’ve had very good reason to be eating it, and even better, there are no half-full jars left to tempt me.
First up, a savoury canape. Marmaduke Scarlet’s chorizo, chocolate and oregano toasts horrified and delighted guests in equal measure. Chocolate mousse profiteroles from ColonialCravings were too wolfed down in seconds, the chocolate spread adding an extra element of creamy sweetness to a classic dessert. Fadime Tiskaya’s chocolate, hazelnut, thyme and halva loaf is my new go‑to banana bread; the thyme manages to take the edge of sweetness off its fellow ingredients, with the roasted hazelnuts and chopped banana adding interest to the texture of the loaf. Bread and butter pudding got a super-rich spin from detoutcoeur Limousin, with croissants, chocolate spread and chunks of dark chocolate falling into a custardy base. I managed to rationalise this as a weekend breakfast, and suggest that you do the same. If you’d prefer to make your own chocolate spread, however, then Adam Holden’s recipe is straightforward and pretty good for you, to boot.
This week’s winner managed to turn “simple” into “extraordinarily good”. This is best described as a giant, silky‑smooth Ferrero Rocher.
The winning recipe: Chocolate and hazelnut cheesecakes (pictured above)
These are so easy to make and so very indulgent. The only difficulty is the four-hour wait while they become beautifully set cheesecakes in the fridge. Best to keep some extra chocolate spread aside to satisfy any cravings during the wait!
BinnyShah, via GuardianWitness
Serves 6
250g Oreos, filling removed
50g unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla essence
500g cream cheese
3 tbsp icing sugar
150ml double cream, whipped
400g jar of Nutella
Chopped hazelnuts, to decorate
1 Break the Oreo biscuits up until they are crumbly; to save precious time, I popped these into my chopper and gave it a good blitz.
2 Place the crumbled biscuits into a bowl and add in the melted butter. Mix it all up until it is properly combined.
3 Put this mixture into the base of your containers and press down firmly to make a flat surface, then chill for 30 minutes.
4 Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese and the icing sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, then mix in the double cream and chocolate spread.
5 Decorate the top of each pot with chopped hazelnuts and pop back into the fridge and chill for around 4 hours, until set.
Thyme, banana and hazelnut cake with chocolate spread and halva
The mixture of chocolate spread and halva “filling” combined with thyme, hazelnut and banana cake is rich, fragrant and just delicious.
Fadime Tiskaya, via GuardianWitness
Makes 1 large loaf
60ml milk
½ tsp dried thyme
120g butter
130g caster sugar
3 medium eggs, beaten
2 ripe bananas, 1 chopped, 1 mashed
240g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
‡ tsp bicarbonate of soda
A pinch of salt
150g plain yoghurt
70g hazelnuts, chopped
120g plain sesame halva, crumbled
150g chocolate spread
1 Mix the thyme and milk together. Boil the milk for 30 seconds, then let it cool.
2 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Line a 30cm x 15 cm x 10cm (1kg) rectangular cake tin (or a deep 20cm cake tin) with baking paper and set it aside.
3 Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, then gradually add the eggs and whisk until combined, followed by the mashed banana. Sieve the thyme from the milk and add the milk to the egg mixture.
4 Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt together, then alternately add the flour and yoghurt while stirring, until you have a smooth batter.
5 Fold in the chopped banana and hazelnuts and pour half the batter into the tin. Scatter over the halva pieces and generous dollops of chocolate spread, then swirl a little so it mixes through a bit.
6 Add the remaining batter into the tin and bake for about 30 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 160C/340F/gas mark 3 and bake for about another 20-30 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Chorizo, chocolate and oregano toasts
I like the idea of “companion eating” – where you serve meat with ingredients that the animal might have eaten when it was alive. So, on the basis that pigs might have foraged on hazelnuts (bear with me), could chorizo work with chocolate spread? Trust me, it does! The smoky, spice flavours of paprika-drenched chorizo tastes beautiful with the sweet hazelnut and chocolate spread. Perfect party bites to intrigue and delight your guests.
Marmaduke Scarlet, London
Serves 8
4 slices of artisan bread, such as sourdough, sliced to 1cm thick
1 garlic clove, peeled and halved
Olive oil
3-4 tbsp chocolate spread
100g cured Spanish chorizo sausage, sliced
Salt
16 fresh oregano leaves
1 Very lightly toast the bread and allow it to cool. Rub one side of each toast slice with a little fresh garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Cut out discs using a small pastry cutter.
2 Spread a thin layer of chocolate spread over the top with a tiny pinch of salt. Top with a slice of chorizo. You can either give them a quick reheat under a hot grill or serve at room temperature, scattered with a few fresh oregano leaves.
Hazelnut chocolate profiteroles
The filling of these is a super-simple two ingredient hazelnut chocolate mousse (it’s just whipped cream and chocolate spread). Despite being so simple it tastes incredible, which let’s be honest, most things made with chocolate spread do!
ColonialCravings, via GuardianWitness
Makes 16
For the choux pastry
60g butter
120ml water
75g plain flour
2 eggs, beaten
For the filling
200ml double cream
100g hazelnut chocolate spread
Melted white and dark chocolate, to decorate
1 Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6 and line a large baking tray with parchment or a silicone mat.
2 Put the butter and water in a medium saucepan and bring it to boil. Remove the pan from the heat and tip in all of the flour. Vigorously beat it with a wooden spoon until you end up with a ball of dough that has pulled away from the sides of the pan. Add about a third of the egg to the pan and beat it in. Once it has been absorbed add another third and beat it again. After the third and final addition of egg, the dough should become soft, smooth and glossy.
3 Use a couple of teaspoons to drop blobs of the dough onto the prepared baking tray. If you need to smooth off any edges or pointy bits then just dip your finger in a little water first. Bake the choux pastry for 30 minutes, until golden, then turn off the oven and open the door a little, leave them in the oven for a further 10 minutes to dry out a little. Once they are done you can transfer them to a wire rack to cool. I would recommend poking a little hole in them, somewhere discreet, to let the steam out and prevent them from becoming soggy. You can use this later when you fill them.
4 Softly whip the cream for the filling, so that it just holds its shape. Take a big dollop of the cream and mix it into the hazelnut chocolate spread to lighten it a bit. Transfer this mixture back into the rest of the cream and whip it again, until it becomes more stiff, but be careful not to over-whip it. Put the hazelnut chocolate mousse in a piping bag fitted with a plain tip, insert the tip into the steam hole that you created in each of the cooled profiteroles and gently squeeze in the filling. Drizzle the top of each one with a little melted dark and white chocolate and then pop them in the fridge until you are ready to serve them.
Vegan chocolate spread
Much better than shop-bought spread, and much better for you, too.
Adam Holden, via GuardianWitness
Makes 1 small jar
250g hazelnuts
20g cocoa (95% solids)
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 Roast the hazelnuts at 180C/350F/gas mark 4 for 15 minutes, take out and blitz in a blender until fine.
2 Melt the maple syrup and oil over a low heat, then stir in the cocoa solids . Stir to mix then put in a jar and chill.
Chocolate croissant bread and butter pudding
Chocolatey, rich and so easy to make, this is a lovely combination of croissants, a simple egg custard and a double dose of chocolate from the chocolate spread and dark chocolate chunks. And it can be prepared in just a few minutes.
detoutcoeur Limousin, via GuardianWitness
Serves 4-6
½ tbsp butter
200g croissants (about 4 medium-size croissants)
100g chocolate spread
100g dark chocolate (60% cocoa solids), roughly chopped
2 eggs
500ml milk
A pinch of salt
To serve
A sprinkling of icing sugar
Ice cream, custard or cream
1 Use the butter to grease a 500ml pudding dish or pie tin.
2 Next, slice the croissants into 5-6 pieces widthways. Spread the chocolate on one side of each slice. Layer the slices evenly in the baking dish, adding a scattering of chocolate chunks to each layer.
3 Whisk the eggs into the milk with a pinch of salt, then pour this over the sliced croissant and chocolate mix. Press down gently to aid the absorption of the liquid, then cover and leave in the fridge for at least an hour – but can be left for longer if you want.
4 When ready to serve, bake in a preheated oven at 180C/350F/gas mark 4 for 25-30 minutes, or until the custard has just started to set (but is still a bit wobbly), and the top is golden and puffed up. Leave for about 5-10 minutes, sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.
