Chocolate Skillery

Last night I attended a Chocolate Skillery evening hosted by Food and Wine Magazine in Dublin. They were showcasing the fantastic Dr Oetker chocolate products with the help of Irish chef Andrew Rudd. His establishment, Medley, was buzzing with 40 guests eager to learn more about chocolate.

Creme Anglaise

He cooked up some fabulous chocolate treats using Dr Oetker’s chocolate which has been designed specifically for the home baker. Creamy creme patissiere with Tia Maria and silky creme anglaise both using the excellent 72% chocolate.

Creme Pat

There are loads of fantastic recipes on the Dr Oetker website including the Dark Chocolate and Pistachio Bark and the Caramel Kiss Chocolate Brownies that I tasted last night. Andrew explained that you can add chilli pepper or sea salt to the caramel in the brownies too. You can also seperate the egg whites from the yolks when mixing into the batter to give the brownies a couple of extra days shelf life!

Brownies

I was fascinated by the light, crunchie chocolate covered honeycomb that he made and am sharing the recipe here….

Ingredients
For the Honeycomb:
Dr. Oetker Cake Release Spray
150g Granulated Sugar
30ml Dr. Oetker Liquid Glucose
30ml Honey
Dr. Oetker Bicarbonate of Soda Sachets x 2 (2 tsp)
100g Dr. Oetker Fine Cooks’ Milk Chocolate

Spray a deep 18cm (7inch) square cake tin with Cake Release Spray to grease. Place the sugar in a large saucepan with the Liquid Glucose, honey and 30ml (2 tbsp) of water. Heat and stir gently, until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and cook, without stirring, for about 3 minutes until the mixture turns a deep, golden caramel.

Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the Bicarbonate of Soda thoroughly – the mixture will immediately foam in the saucepan. Quickly pour into the prepared tin whilst still foaming. Leave to cool and set and carefully remove from the tin. Put upside down on a board lined with baking parchment.

Break the chocolate into small pieces and place into a large heatproof bowl. Stand over a bowl of barely simmering water until melted. Remove from the water and cool for 10 minutes.

Pour the chocolate on top of the honeycomb. Tap the board gently so that the chocolate runs down the sides smoothly and evenly. Stand in a cool place to set – only refrigerate if the air temperature is warm and chill for 30 minutes maximum.

When the chocolate has set, cut the honeycomb into chunks using a large bladed knife. Store the honeycomb in an airtight container between layers of greaseproof paper.

The tasting plate we were served included chocolate and pistachio bark, chocolate curls and a chocolate and caramel brownie, but my favourite by miles was the chocolate covered honeycomb!