Malibu Ice Cream

Today I have a quick, easy and very fun recipe for you. It's a most delicious Malibu flavoured ice cream. Not only does it taste great but it'll get you pretty drunk and pretty soon.

What you'll need:
150 grams icing sugar
2 tablespoons of Malibu (or any coconut flavoured rum)
3 tablespoons of apple liquor
500 ml double cream.
3 shots pomegranate or cranberry juice.

Add the icing sugar and the juice into a bowl. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved into the juice Once dissolved add in the rest of the ingredients while whisking. Whisk all the ingredients until the cream has thickened. Place into the freezer for a few hours and badda-bing, badda-boom you're already for one delicious and alcoholic cold treat. Also this recipe is so versatile that if rum or coconut aren't really to your liking then you can just change the flavours to your own choice.

Fruity Chili Chocolate Pavlova

This recipe is one I adapted from a Nigella classic! There's just something to wonderful about the concept of chili and chocolate that really works. The tastes really compliment each other and will provide some rather good oral fixation for a while.

6 egg whites
300g caster sugar
3 small sachets of Options Orange cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar
100g dark chili chocolate
250ml double cream
500g frozen fruit

Preheat your oven to 180ºC/ gas mark 4 and line a baking tray with baking parchment.
Beat the egg whites until they form satiny peaks. The egg whites will be ready IF you can turn the bowl upside down and they don't move. Then add the caster sugar one tablespoon at a time while still beating the eggs. (This is easiest to do with an electronic whisk). Once ready add the cocoa powder and the vinegar. Finely chop half of the 100g chocolate and add to the mixture. Fold all the ingredients together. Don't whisk! Fold! Do this until everything is fully folded in. Pour the mixture onto the centre of the baking parchment. Try make a circle. Turn the heat of the oven down to 150ºC/gas mark 2 and bake for one hour to one hour and a quarter. Once done turn off the oven, open the door and let the pavlova cool. Once it's cooled down remove from the baking tray, pour the double cream on top, the frozen fruit and grate the remaining chocolate on top of the pavlova.

Chocolate Orange Rocky Road

Today's recipe is a delicious treat that's quick and easy to make, and because of it's versatility it can be served at practically any occasion. It works great as a birthday cake for children's birthday parties.

2 x 200g dark chocolate
100g chili or orange dark chocolate
5 table spoons of honey or maple syrup
22 rich tea biscuits
227g unsalted butter
50g mini marshmellows
1 small bag of dark chocolate chips

Preheat a pot of boiling water on high temperature on the stove. Break up one of the 200g of dark chocolate and the 100g of orange or chili dark chocolate into a bowl that'll sit comfortably in the pot of boiling water. Add 3 tablespoons of honey or maple syrupl and add roughly 160/70 g of unsalted butter into the bowl. Once the water starts to boil place the bowl into/ on top of the pot. While the ingredients in the bowl begin to melt place the 22 biscuits into a sandwhich bag, seal and bash with a spoon/ rolling pin/ whatever. Don't break the biscuits up too small, it is rocky road after all. Once the biscuits are beaten return to the chocolate and stir gently until all the ingredients have melted! Roughly 10 - 20 mins. Once the ingredients have completely melted remove the bowl from the pot of water. Add the marshmellows, the broken up biscuits and chocolate chips into the melted chocolate mix. Fold all the ingredients into each other for roughly 2 or 3 minutes. Remove the mixture and place into a suitable tray.
Break up the remaining 200g bar of dark chocolate and place into the bowl, then add 2 tablespoons of honey/ maple syrup and the remaining butter. Place back into/on top of the boiling water until the chocolate and butter have melted completely. Once ready, pour the melted chocolate on top of the rocky road to get a smooth topping. Place in the fridge until fully cooled and enjoy.

Since Christmas is coming up (as I'm writing this) I thought I'd just give this little side note here to make this delicious recipe just a bit more festive. Nothing says Christmas more than the smell and taste of cinnamon and ginger. They're so earthy, welcoming, warming and relaxing. When you're melting the chocolate the first time round add about two teaspoons of cinnamon and one teaspoon of ginger and then follow the recipe as normal. Once the Rocky Road is ready to be eaten just sprinkle some icing sugar on top to give that wonderful snowy look that'll just complete this festive treat.