The Malteser Chocolate Teaser

I would like to introduce you to The Malteser Chocolate Teaser......



It's my Mum's birthday this week so to celebrate I had to create the ultimate, indulgent surprise for her that you couldn't just 'pick-up in Waitrose'.
After some serious recipe deliberation, I concocted this double-layered chocolate dream with her favourite Maltesers in the butter icing.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

100g unsalted btter
250g caster sugar
30g cocoa powder
3tsp baking powder
300g plain flour
4 eggs
80ml milk
2tsp vanilla extract

 

For the Malteser butter icing:

Maltesers
200g butter
400g icing sugar
3tsp milk

For the chocolate icing:

25g cocoa powder
50ml double cream
300g icing sugar
50 g butter

Preheat your oven to 180C and mix together the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla essence. Mix together until smooth and then whisk in the eggs followed by the cream and milk.

Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture and beat well and then split the mixture between two cake tins and cook for around 35 mins until spongy and looks like this:



Prepare the Malteser butter cream while these are cooking:
Crush the packet of Maltesers and leave to the side.
Mix together the butter (it's easier if this has been left out to soften) and the icing sugar adding in a few drops of milk.

Now, the best part, mix in the crushed Maltesers - tasting and licking the bowl is compulsary throughout this cake making!  Keep in the fridge until the cakes are ready.

Cool the cakes on a wire rack.

Once cool, spread the Malteser butter icing on the top of one cake and place the second cake on top.
The quantities above should be more than enough to ensure that you have a thick layer of icing.
Now, some more bowl licking to come (!), mix together the icing sugar and cocoa powder to create the chocolate icing that is going to cover the cake.

Melt the butter and mix in with the double cream until the whole mixture is smooth.

Smear generously over your cake and decorate with Maltesers....easy peasy!!



A bit of a beast that probably should come with some kind of health warning, this chocolate cake has some great layers once you cut in to it.

What have you been baking this weekend?

The Grill at The Dorchester, London

London is full of classic, grand hotels that are renowned internationally.
The Dorchester falls in to this category and can be even described as one of the leaders of the pack.
Located on Park lane, Mayfair, overlooking Hyde Park, it is a favourite for celebrities and wealthy tourists living the jet set lifestyle.
As this is my last week living in London, where better to dine than in the opulent surroundings at The Grill at The Dorchester?
Look at the detail that has gone in to the flower arrangements - beautiful!



 

 

We started with a broccoli-flavoured Amuse Bouche...



Starter was delicious hake wrapped in lettuce with mussels and cucumber.  The little black dots are lime-flavoured meringues with charcoal colouring....



Main course was salmon washed down with a delicious Alsace Riesling.  The salmon was perfect and the flavours complemented each other amazingly.
The boys went for pork which looked impressive but none of us were willing to share with each other as it was so good!



Dessert was a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate and hazelnut Molineux.
Crack open the chocolate ball and it oozes with warm melted chocolate all over your plate....



Surprisingly, the restaurant and the hotel as a whole was extremely quiet.  We're putting this down to it being a Tuesday night in January because, quite simply, The Dorchester is lovely - the perfect place to take the parents of if you are celebrating something special!
Fantastic food and large portion sizes - we all left in massive food coma!

Date Night...The Ivy, London

 

Friday night was date night.............So we put our glad rags on and headed for a delicious dinner at The Ivy to celebrate the confirmation of our move to Singapore at the end of this month -the best way to start the new year.

 

 

We ate lamb and venison with a delicious Rioja and finished off with The Ivy's delicious melt-in-the-mouth Baked Alasksa

Unfortunately you can't take photographs inside so I can't show off all the scrumptious food but I managed to sneak these shots....