Wilkie's Chocolate Archives - Gimme The Recipe - You came for the food now stay for the romance!

I’ve Been Enjoying….

….Intense Coconut

a friend told me about Lindt’s Coconut Intense bar and I scoured the shelves of every shop I visited until I came up trumps. It is a rather tasty little treat.

….Baking Macaroons

keeping things coconutty I’ve been baking macaroons. Not to be confused with the dainty macaron the macaroon is robust sweet offering, not at all fiddly to make and utterly satisfying for the sweet-toothed.

….Receiving unexpected gifts

thanks to Shana Wilkie for sending me this gorgeously packaged Wilkie’s Hot Chocolate – I can’t wait to give it a try. I reviewed Shana’s chocolate some time ago and she was delighted with the write-up. You can read about it here.

….Quick summer cooking

there’s lots of bashing of chicken fillets going on in my kitchen this summer to produce blackened chicken which is a quick and tasty accompaniment for any salad.

…..Collecting beautiful things

I just couldn’t resist this Meadows & Byrne jug especially as it was on sale and came in the quaintest of colours.

….Discovering new products

I tried the ‘cheeky chilli’ on a puff pastry with melted cheese at a friend’s house and had to buy some myself. In business since 2012 ,The Natural Larder Company are selling these and other sauces, relishes, chutneys and rubs at Ballincollig and Cornmarket Street markets in Cork.

….Spicing up my mash

With a few simple store cupboard ingredients, sweet potato and carrot mash can really be livened up.

….Cheating

I highly recommend these little jars of garlic, chillies and ginger paste from Goodall’s – great to have in your fridge and saves you peeling, chopping, time and tears.

Talk to you in August! Enjoy, x Sheila

What to do with a delicious bar of chocolate? Firstly of course you will hide it. Actually, before that, if it’s a bar of Wilkie’s Chocolate you will take some time to marvel at the packaging and then hide it. It’s everything that you yourself want to be; cool yet understated and impeccably styled while remaining unpretentious and that is just on the outside.

After the hibernation period is over and the time arrives to finally indulge you will unwrap it carefully, inhale the mouth-watering cocoa aromas and slowly dive in.

However, you may wish to stretch your enjoyment a little further by making some of these Chocolate Fruit & Nut Clusters or indeed you may even share them as the perfect accompaniment to an after dinner coffee.

Marie Claire Digby of the Irish Times gave Shana Wilkie the producer of Wikie’s Chocolate this wonderful write-up recently. As Shana explains in the article “I am one of less than 10 chocolate makers worldwide who use only cocoa beans, cocoa butter and sugar to make their chocolate,” so obviously this will be no ordinary chocolate experience.

I’ve tried the chocolate several times now and what I love most is the sheer indulgence of it. What you’re getting here is a chocolate experience to remember and a world-class luxury product that has you tasting the best in the world without having to pay luxury prices. I ordered a selection of three bars which arrived promptly and beautifully packaged. If there’s a chocolate lover in your life these bars would make an excellent gift and you can visit http://www.wilkieschocolate.ie/ to discover more or indeed to try for yourself.

Chocolate Fruit & Nut Clusters:
You will need:
65g bar of excellent chocolate
50g dried fruit
50g nuts ( I used almonds)
Method:
Simply melt the chocolate (I break the bar up into a bowl and melt it in the microwave for a minute or 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between blasts until melted)
Add the dried fruit and nuts into the melted chocolate and stir until they are covered
Spoon small mounds onto non-stick baking paper on a baking tray
Cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes until hardened.
Enjoy.
‘Til next time, Sheila.

Tag: Wilkie’s Chocolate

I’ve been enjoying…. in July 2013

Chocolate Fruit & Nut Clusters (made with Wilkie’s Organic Chocolate)