Thinking of chocolate (which I do at least 3 times a minute) Here’s an even easier chocolate confection.

Actually it can hardly be called a recipe this and my sister got me on to these – Chocolate Nibbles.

I have the recipe on my website – called “Neecy’s Chocolate Nibbles” You can see some pics there.

http://www.virtualgranny.com/recipes/neecys-chocolate-nibbles-439.html

Similar nibbles cost a bomb in posh chocolate shops. If I recall correctly, my sister made some of these to sell at one of the Alnmouth coffee mornings.

Here’s the Recipe.

1. Start off with a selection of chocolate bars. Denise carried in a sack heaving with everything from snowy white to ultra dark chocolate, as well as orange and ginger, chocolate and bacon and chocolate curry (yes you really can buy those – but she didn’t use them in this recipe- keep the really weird for another time)

2. You will also need a selection of interesting things to put on top and again, there are literally hundreds of ideas to choose from, nuts, raisins, yoghurt coated dried fruit, crystallised flower petals and all those topping you can but for fairy cakes. Raid your kitchen cupboards before you go on a buying rampage, you are sure to find lots of useful items just hanging about on your shelves waiting for their big moment in the spotlight.

3. Next you need a roll of greaseproof paper and a tray to lay it on, a microwavable bowl and a wooden spoon. That’s it. Let’s get going!

STEP 1 Break the chocolate up and pop it in to the microwavable bowl

STEP 2 Melt the chocolate in short ten second bursts in the microwave

STEP 3 Pour into small pools on the greaseproof paper

STEP 4 Sprinkle with toppings

STEP 5 Place in a cool spot or fridge for around an hour to set.

STEP 6 Peel the nibbles off the greaseproof paper and keep in a cool place or wrap prettily in cellophane and ribbon to make a delicious edible gift.

I will try to come up with a recipe that doesn’t feature chocolate next time!

Judi

Here’s my good old standby Anytime Chocolate Cake Recipe. It isn’t actually all mine, because the original cake recipe was a Nigella one which I’ve jazzed up a bit.

Point is, you have usually got the ingredients hanging around in the kitchen cupboard waiting for their moment in the spotlight, so you can just sling this together if visitors ring up to say that they are heading your way. It’s a good first cake for the budding chefs amongst your grandchildren too.

Ingredients:

300g thin cut marmalade (alternatively bramble conserve or a mix of whatever happens to be hanging around in jars)
125g unsalted butter
100g dark chocolate
150g caster sugar
Pinch salt
2 large eggs
150g self-raising flour
20 cm cake tin, lined if not silicone (to make life easy, invest in a silicone one – nowadays they sell them in pound shops.)

Incidentally, unlike most cakes, this one seems to turn out perfectly, even if you don’t happen to have the exact size cake tin, so don’t stress about it. Pour the mixture in to muffin cases for that matter, and it still won’t let you down. (But bake for less time)

Preheat oven to 180/ Gas mark 4

Method

Put the butter in a heavy bottomed pan over a low heat to melt.
Stir in the chocolate until nearly melted.
Take off the heat and stir to amalgamate.
Add the sugar, salt eggs and Marmalade to the pan and stir together.
Beat in the flour, little by little.
Pour the mixture in to the cake tin and bake for about 50 minutes or until a skewer or thin knife blade comes out clean.
Cool in the cake tin for 10 minutes then turn out on to a plate.
That’s it!
If you don’t want to add adornments, but think it’s a little rude to present the cake totally naked, then sprinkle some icing sugar through a sieve on to the top.

I usually top with chocolate ganache with a few drops of orange oil mixed in to it.

If you are on a fast track tack and you can hear the thundering footsteps of hungry visitors already heading to your front door, then (cover your ears dedicated gourmets)keep a jar of chocolate hazelnut spread in your cupboard and add a few drops of orange oil, or even bog standard orange flavouring to it and whack it on the cake with a spatula. Voila! ready for the table!

A few orange Matchmakers go nicely on top too…and Brazil nuts are fab….and white chocolate stars are sweet…well, just see what left over chocolatey things you have about the house and let your imagination rip.

It’s a sturdy cake, half a pudding almost, rather than a fragile creature to be treated with the utmost care – all the easier for lugging about should you be taking it round to a friend’s for supper and all the more reason to make it a family favourite. Just get ready to pass on the recipe. EVERYBODY asks for it!

Can’t put any pics on here, but if you want to see what it usually looks like then have a peep on my virtualgranny.com site here-

http://www.virtualgranny.com/recipes/virtual-granny%E2%80%99s-anytime-chocolate-cake-1279.html

Only when you have well and truly finished here of course. I wouldn’t want to rudely kidnap visitors from this site.

Enjoy!

Almost put paid to my diet, but it was worth it -did try to stop at one small spoonful of fruit/toffee crumble and custard, but once I`d started, wild horses couldn`t have dragged me off.

If you fancy a look at our lovely beach on video in windy but warmer times and want to pinch some painting tips from artist Charles Evans, just right click on this link and then paste in to your search window
http://www.virtualgranny.com/activities/new-activities/learn-to-paint-with-a-tv-star-830.html

There`s lots of other activities on my new website, so have a peek and tell me what else you would like on.
Marrisse

The government are planning to scrap the current free bus passes for people aged 60 and force people to wait until they are 65. Some people will allegedly not even be eligible then, should means testing be applied.

If you would like to speak out about this development or even sign our virtualgranny online petition to press the government to scrap their plans then please click on this link.

http://www.virtualgranny.com/news/virtualgranny-campaign-to-put-a-stop-to-the-gov-plot-to-scrap-bus-passes-at-60-598.html

Thanks. Marrisse

Very impressive castle!

Cheers,
Marrisse

Cheers,
Ann & Doreen x