Tart berries and smooth chocolate make the perfect paring in these indulgent cocoa confections.
Chocolate Cookie & Raspberry Tart
Prep time 15 minutes, plus two hours to chill
INGREDIENTS
250g choc-chip cookies
3 tbsp of melted butter
250ml of double cream
200g plain chocolate
1 tsp of vanilla essence
100g frozen raspberries
1tbsp of icing sugar
Cocoa powder to dust
Fresh raspberries to decorate
METHOD
Place 200g of the cookies in a food processor and blitz into crumbs.
Add the melted butter and pulse until combined. Grease and line a tart tin.
Press the mixture into a flan tray and chill in the fridge until set.
Add half the cream to a pan and bring to a boil, remove from the heat and break in the chocolate.
Stir until the chocolate has melted, and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Whisk the remainder of the cream, and vanilla essence, then fold in the chocolate mixture.
Pour half the mixture over the biscuit base and allow to set.
Next, mash the frozen raspberries together with the icing sugar.
Spread the raspberries over the chocolate base and crush over the remainder of the cookies.
Top with the rest of the chocolate mix, and chill for two hours until firm.
Finally, dust with cocoa powder and top with fresh raspberries and serve.
Banana Chocolate Ice Cream
Serves 4, prep time 10 minutes, plus 4 hours freezing time
INGREDIENTS
4 ripe bananas
4 dessert spoons of Nutella
2 ½ tsp of cocoa powder
TO SERVE
Fresh raspberries
Flaked almonds
METHOD
Peel four ripe bananas, place them in an airtight bag and freeze for two hours.
Once they have frozen, break them into pieces and place them in a food processor.
Add four dessert spoonfuls of Nutella and two teaspoons of cocoa powder.
Blitz the mix until it’s smooth in texture.
Pour into a plastic container, cover and return to the freezer for 3-4 hours.
Serve topped with fresh raspberries and flaked almonds.
Beetroot, Chocolate & Walnut Brownies
Makes 12, prep time 15 minutes, cooking time 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
200g cooked beetroot
175g butter, coarsely chopped
255g brown sugar
250g dark chocolate drops
2 free-range eggs
75g plain flour
150g cocoa powder
1 tbsp of Nutella
¼ tsp mixed spice
100g chopped walnuts
A handful of fresh raspberries, keeping some to serve
Icing sugar, to dust
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Grease and line a 20cm square cake tray with baking paper, allowing the sides to overhang.
Blitz the beetroot in a food processor until finely chopped.
Place beetroot, butter, brown sugar and chocolate drops in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until melted.
Pour into a bowl, and add the eggs.
Fold in the flour, cocoa powder, Nutella and mixed spice.
Then add walnuts. Pour into the prepared pan.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the centre is just firm. Cool in the tray. Cut into equal squares.
Top with raspberries and dust with icing sugar.