Gü Chocolate Cookbook

3. Spread the mixture evenly on a baking tray and bake for 20–25 minutes or until golden brown. Leave to cool then crumble into small pieces. The crumble keeps in an airtight container for up to 3 days, but you can freeze any leftovers.

♦ GÜ TIP In place of the pecans, use other nuts, like walnuts, almonds, brazil nuts or pistachios – or a mixture of a few.

♦ GÜ WAYS TO USE THIS RECIPE We think this pecan crumble is just the business sprinkled over Chocolate and Pecan Muffins, Boozy Cherry Chocolate Clafoutis or the Pot au Chocolat. It also makes a great base for either of our cheesecakes and.

Sesame Nougatine

This nougatine is a thin, crispy sheet of caramel filled with sesame seeds. It’s a brilliant little recipe and can be broken into shards to decorate desserts or crumbled finely over dishes to make them extra special. Use any excess as a delicious seedy snack.

MAKES ABOUT 500G

150g caster sugar

125g unsalted butter, diced

3 tbsp liquid glucose or runny honey

175g sesame seeds

EQUIPMENT

Two 38 × 30cm baking sheets

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C/Gas mark 4 and line the baking sheets with baking parchment or reusable silicone baking mats. Cut two more sheets of baking parchment to the same size.

2. Put the sugar, butter, glucose or honey and 2 teaspoons of water in a heavy-based saucepan and place over a medium-low heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture binds together. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sesame seeds.

3. Pour the mixture evenly between the baking sheets. Place a piece of the baking parchment on top of each and use a rolling pin to roll the mixture thinly to 1–2mm thick. Leave to cool slightly and peel off the top sheets of paper.

4. Bake for 5–10 minutes until they are golden brown, turning the trays once to ensure even cooking. Remove from the oven and leave to cool until solid, then break into small shards and store in an airtight container.

♦ GÜ TIP The mixture can be made ahead Cup to the end of Step 3) and frozen raw in sheets to be cooked as needed.

♦ GÜ WAYS TO USE THIS RECIPE For an after-dinner treat, make our Gü Chocolate Ganache using 70 % chocolate instead of the 50 % and pour it into a square dish or tin lined with baking parchment. Allow to cool then set in the fridge. Cut the chilled ganache into little squares and decorate each with a shard of this sesame nougatine.

♦ GÜ WAYS TO USE THIS RECIPE Use the sesame nougatine shards to decorate the Raspberry Ganache Tart or crumble the nougatine over the Chocolate Stuffed Crust Pizza or the Chocolate and Peach Knickerbocker Glories.

Caramelised Popcorn or Puffed Rice

Popcorn needn’t be reserved just for trips to the cinema, it’s great fun to add to a wide variety of goodies. For some ideas, see our suggestions below.

MAKES ABOUT 3 LARGE HANDFULS

2 tbsp caster sugar

15g unsalted butter

3 large handfuls (about 15g) cooked plain popcorn or 25g puffed rice

1. Line a baking tray with baking parchment, then tip the sugar into a saucepan and add 1 teaspoon of water. Heat gently for 3–4 minutes without stirring until the sugar has dissolved and turned a golden brown colour.

2. Stir in the butter until it melts, then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the popcorn or puffed rice to coat evenly. Scrape out onto the lined tray and leave to cool. The popcorn keeps in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

♦ GÜ WAYS TO USE THIS RECIPE Popcorn or puffed rice cooked in this way can only ever add another layer of pleasure to such recipes as the Caramelised Banana Split with Warm Rum Chocolate Ganache and the Chocolate Fondue.

Candied Citrus Fruit

You haven’t tasted candied fruit until you have tasted this candied fruit. In fact, maybe you’ve never tried it at all but trust us – you should! It is truly delicious, succulent and juicy. It can also be made with any citrus fruit that you choose. To serve as sweet treats with coffee or as a cool gift, thoroughly drain pieces of the candied fruit then dip in melted dark chocolate and place on a piece of baking parchment in the fridge to set.

MAKES ABOUT 500G

3 unwaxed oranges or 2 pink grapefruit

Pinch of salt

500g caster sugar

1. Wash the fruit, cut the oranges into quarters or the grapefruit into eighths and place in a saucepan. Add the salt and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, drain and repeat this twice more (without adding more salt).

2. Pour the sugar into the cleaned pan with 1 litre of cold water. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then add the blanched oranges, cover with a lid and simmer very gently for 3 hours. After this time the oranges will be translucent and very soft, and the syrup will have thickened slightly.

3. Leave to cool and then place in the fridge overnight to firm up. Keep in an airtight container or a sterilised jar.

♦ GÜ WAYS TO USE THIS RECIPE Recipes in the book that would love to be topped with these tasty morsels are the Chocolate Financiers, Jaffa Cake Lollipops and the Chocolate, Ginger and Sesame Cookies. Or use them to dip into our Chocolate Fondue.

Caramelised Nuts

Mmmm! More goodies to add a little something extra to a recipe, we suggest you scatter these nuts over the Chocolate Waffles or the Melting Chocolate Bombe. Alternatively, use them instead of the caramel in the Floating Islands.

MAKES ABOUT 500G

200g caster sugar

300g nuts, such as pecans, blanched almonds, skinned hazelnuts, peanuts, walnuts or pistachios, or a mixture

EQUIPMENT

Sugar thermometer (optional)

1. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. To make the caramel, tip the sugar into a saucepan and add 2 tablespoons of water. Heat gently for 3–4 minutes without stirring until the sugar has dissolved, then increase the temperature to medium and bring to the boil. Continue to heat the syrup until the sugar thermometer reads 117–120 °C (this is known as the soft-ball stage; for checking that this has been reached, especially if you don’t have a sugar thermometer).

2. Tip the nuts into the caramel and keep stirring on a low heat. At first the sugar will crystallise and look white and hard, but keep stirring because it will soon start to melt and become a golden caramel once again and coat the nuts. Be careful not to burn the nuts or they will become bitter.

3. Tip the caramelised nuts out onto the lined tray and leave to cool. The nuts keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

♦ GÜ TIP For the sugar thermometer-free amongst you, to test that a syrup or caramel has reached soft-ball stage, lift a tiny drip of the mixture with a fork and drop it into a cup of cold water. Then pick the sugar out of the water with your fingers and if you can squeeze it easily, like soft toffee, then it’s ready. If you can’t squeeze it and it feels a little like jam, then try again a minute later.

Citrus Dust