Chocolate Ganache Hearts with Sour Cherries

Its mine and The Blokes anniversary today. We are having a meal out tonight, so in my efforts at romance, last night I made these chocolate ganache hearts. They can be a bit tricky, but if they don't look perfect - that's absolutely fine. They taste divine and are adorable! And the oozing filling is a lovely surprise.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

50g cocoa powder

6 tbsp. boiling water

175g self raising flour

300g caster sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

3 eggs

100g butter

4 tbsp. milk

 

Prepare a large baking tray (mine was 16x12 inches) by greasing and then lining with greaseproof paper. Set the oven to 180 C.

 

In a bowl, stir the boiling water into the cocoa powder to make a paste. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together. Pile the mixture into the prepared tray, smooth out flat with a spatula and bake for about 20-25 mins. until cooked through. Remove from oven and leave to cool.

 

For the milk chocolate ganache filling:

 

Break up 100g milk chocolate into a bowl. Heat 60ml double cream in a saucepan and just when it begins to boil, pour it over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted and leave to cool. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes until its quite solid. Then remove from the fridge and whisk with an electric whisk until smooth and creamy. Put into a piping bag (or a plastic bag with the corner cut off - I had to as have temporarily lost my piping bag!) Set to one side.

 

Using a heart shaped cutter, cut hearts out of the sponge and place onto a board. Pipe the ganache onto half of the hearts, leaving a hole in the middle. Fill the hole with a teaspoon of cherry preserve or jam (jelly to the US readers). Top with the un-piped sponge hearts. Use leftover milk chocolate ganache to fill in any gaps in the sides. Don't worry if it looks messy as it will be covered with the dark chocolate ganache.

 

For the dark chocolate ganache coating:

 

Break 200g dark chocolate into a bowl and heat up 200ml double cream. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until all the chocolate is melted. Leave to cool for about 4-5 minutes. Place the filled hearts onto a wire rack placed over some greaseproof paper. Pour the dark ganache over the cakes, covering all sides. If you have let the ganache get too cold, to pour, just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds. Then to finish, shave some milk chocolate over the tops and pop in the fridge for an hour to set.

 

Now you can serve!

 

 

 

 

Crunchy Coconut Prawns with a Dip

I am always looking for different ways to cook prawns, particularly for 'finger food'. This one I made on Friday night. We were watching a movie and didn't want to have a sit down meal, so I made finger food (more recipes to come later!) so we could nibble as we watched the movie.

These were the prawns. Dipped in a coconut mix and lightly fried until crunchy with a soy & sweet chilli dip. We ate the lot - they were delicious!

Ingredients:

150g raw king prawns
50g dried breadcrumbs
3 tbsp. desiccated coconut
2 tbsp. flour
pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
1 egg
2 tbsp. oil
3 tbsp. sweet chilli sauce
1 tbsp. dark soy sauce
juice of 1 lime

Method:

For the sauce, mix the sweet chilli sauce with the soy and lime. Combine well in a bowl, cover and leave to chill in the fridge while you make the prawns.

Mix the breadcrumbs, coconut & flour in a bowl (add the chilli flakes if liked). Beat the egg in a separate bowl. Dip each prawn firstly in the beaten egg, and then in the crumb mix. Put each one gently onto a plate until all are completed.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook each prawn on both sides for about 2 minutes; you will need to do in 2 or 3 batches (don't put too many in the pan together). Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm in a low oven.

Serve the prawns with the dip and let people help themselves. Delicious!