The Botanical Kitchen
Recipes, travel and the occasional rant
I was recently invited to learn about a new chocolate delivery service called Cocoa Runners. This is no ordinary delivery service The concept is pretty simple. You choose to pay monthly or quarterly, or indeed as a one off treat, and receive a box of chocolates. But unlike some others, the box fits through your […]
I used to be put off by making madelines because many recipes call for leaving the batter to rest and I never usually have the time or I am never organised enough. This recipe is quick to rustle up and makes a nice gift too. I’ve paired these mini versions with Caramel Dipping Sauce. You […]
Nuts are getting a fair amount of media attention recently. Is it to drive seasonal sales in supermarkets? Have you noticed how the shelves are laden? Is it because we are no longer scared of the saturated fat they contain? Or crave the essential fatty acids, B vitamins, fibre, protein, carbohydrate and a host of minerals […]
A few weeks ago I went to Paris for a patisserie adventure as a guest of Eurostar and their new #wheninparis campaign. You can see my write up on their little website. As well as patisserie, Paris is of course well known for it’s ‘chocolatiers’ and ‘confisseries’ – chocolate and sweet shops. And there […]
Decadence is such a beautiful feeling yet the dictionary defines is as ‘the act of falling into decay or deterioration – especially of the moral kind’ I think that’s just so sad. It’s a wonderful feeling. Complete and utter indulgence every now and then never did any of us any harm. And this is exactly […]
Sugar. Such a lovely word. Such a lovely taste. There is nothing better than a hot, buttery crumpet with a sprinkling of brown sugar. A teaspoonful is only 15 calories vs 22 in the same of honey. Bet you didn’t think that would be the case eh? Sugar is a carbohydrate that’s naturally in most […]
I love Nigella. For me she’s just totally and utterly glam. I loved that she was recently on the cover of one of my favourite magazines and came across as this earnest, shy woman despite the sexy goddess persona we see on TV. Nigella Bites – a cookbook I use time and time again Her […]
It’s Chocolate Week! A whole week dedicated to all things chocolate so I could not let this wonderful experience with master chocolatier Paul A Young slip by without sharing his words of wisdom and recipe for simple Chocolate Truffles. First a quick bio.. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Paul, here’s a quick […]
This recipe is by the fabulous Eric Lanlard who I met at a masterclass organised by the lovely people at Neilsen Massey Vanilla. It’s a wonderfully rich sponge which holds itself very well with the velvety smooth creme mousseline. You’ll need For the sponge 350g unsalted butter, softened 350g golden caster sugar 5 medium eggs, […]
This recipe looks complicated but it honestly isn’t. You can even buy the pastry cases if you really want to. I found this fabulous supplier on Amazon who does all sorts of shapes. Personally I make pastry in batches and freeze it so there is always some handy. You can do this pre-baking which is […]
If you are as old as me and grew up in England you will be very familiar with the phrase “through the square window”. This was the time of day I loved. Just home from school, sitting with a snack in front of our tiny TV watching Play School on BBC1. Every episode you […]
Matcha Chocolat was founded 2010 by former biologist, Katie Christoffers. Following six years of biology research Katie turned her attention to chocolate making. She started with pairing fine teas from Japan, China and India with chocolate but her range now encompasses other wonderful botanicals including spices, herbs, fruits and flowers. I spent a day with […]