HOLLYS COOKBOOK: CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE TORTE

Chocaholic? If so, this blog post is for you.

The original recipe comes from Deliah - so head on over to her site to check out the ingredients list, which should look a little something like this:

Doha really isn't the easiest city to source baking ingredients, so I had to make a couple of variations to Deliah's ingredients list - for example, Elmlea instead of double cream, Cantuccini almond biscuits instead of Amaretti biscuits, and Cointreau instead of rum a) because my mum uses it to make hers b) I had this in the apartment c) I love the subtle orange kick that it gives to this dessert.

The one ingredient you really will need is liquid glucose. My mum brought out two tubes of this for me as I can't find it anywhere in Doha (if anyone finds it, please do share!) I tried to make this dessert once before without it, by using sugar mixed with water as I had read online that this works as a substitute. It still tasted really good but the whole dessert fell apart because it didn't bind together properly.

My final alternative to Deliahs recipe is swapping out half of the dark chocolate for half milk. This dessert is super rich, so this just tones it down a little. Credit to my mum for that tip!

You'll want to kick off by lining your baking tin with baking parchment. I didn't have any so I lined it with cling-film. I was a little worried about this but the only damage it did was creasing the top of the torte a little bit, so no harm done.

You'll want 75g of your Amaretti/Almond biscuits, finely crushed. Sprinkle these all over the base of your lined baking tin.

Next, break up your chocolate (450g), trying not to eat any of it (although buying 5 x 100g bars leaves you 50g left over to nibble on as you go. The one and only time I have ever been any good at maths)

I used Lindt as it's such good quality, and one of my favourite brands of chocolate. Isn't it beautiful?!

Mix up your chocolate, liquid glucose (5 tablespoons), and Rum/Cointreau (5 tablespoons) in a heat proof bowl, and sit on top of a saucepan of simmering water on the hob. Leave to melt. Deliah doesn't say anything about stirring, but I gave mine the occasional prod with a wooden spoon to let the heat get to all of the chocolate.

Whilst the chocolate is doing its thing on the hob, measure out your cream/Elmlea (570ml...although 573ml didn't do any harm!) and pour into a bowl. Beat until thickened. I used my electric whisk for this until it reached the desired consistency.

Once your chocolate has melted, you'll want to give it a stir, and take it off the heat to cool for 5 minutes or so until it is warm. Deliah reckons it should be smooth, although once stirred mine went a little bobbly.

Fold half of your cream into the melted chocolate, then fold the chocolate/cream mixture into the remaining cream. At this point all becomes smooth again. Grab another spoon and help yourself to a bit of the mixture - it's amazing. Now put the spoon down, no more until you're finished.

Pour the mixture into your baking tin, on top of your crushed biscuits. Smooth over with the back of a spoon or tap the tin until the mixture is laying flat.

Cover with clingfilm and pop in the fridge to set over night.

Now you may lick the bowl/spoons/whisk. Go on, you've earned it!

The next day, take out from the fridge and run a knife around the edge of the torte to loosen it up. I used a springform baking tin which made this whole affair a lot easier, but basically you need to turn your torte upside down so that you end up with the biscuit base at the top. Thanks to the liquid glucose, your torte should be solid and won't collapse during this process.

Ta da!

Dust the top of your torte with cocoa powder to pretty it up, and top with strawberries for a pop of colour to serve. Amazingly, I couldn't get hold of any strawbs (unless I was prepared to buy an entire crate - I wasn't) so mine was served up with just the cocoa powder, and a jug of chilled pouring cream on the side.

Deliciously smooth, rich, creamy and chocolately - this is the perfect dessert to serve up at a dinner party, and once you get the hang of it and have the right ingredients to hand, it is actually super easy to make :)

Enjoy!

HOLLYS COOKBOOK: ROASTED TOMATO & RED PEPPER SOUP

I have been living off Cadburys Creme eggs and Lindt chocolate for the past few weeks, and my waistline is starting to protest.

That, and the fact that I have developed a dreaded air-con cold, left me feeling in desperate need for something healthy, warm and comforting. I decided to head to the mall after work to pick up ingredients to make soup from scratch.

Unfortunately, I chose a bad day to hit the mall. Fridays at Carrefour are always chaotic at the best of times, but I was having a bad anxiety day so the whole trip stressed me out massively - I was a nervous wreck, and scooted round the aisles as quick as my wonky-wheeled trolley would allow so that I could get the heck outta there.

Back in the comfort of my kitchen, I got to work....and by work, I mean chopping. This is soup-er easy. So easy that even I (worlds worst cook, FACT) can make it, so you would have no excuse.

My measurements were enough for two portions. Perfect if you're cooking for you and your man-friend, your mate, your mum (...i've run out of M's), or you want to keep the whole lot for yourself.

To re-create, you will need:
Three medium sized beef tomatos. Not too big, not too small.
Two good sized red peppers.
One small red onion.
Garlic - I used four cloves because I'm a garlic fiend.
One stock cube - veg or chicken.
Olive oil.
Salt 'n' pepper.
Dried basil.
Chilli flakes.
A sprinkle of goats cheese to garnish. (optional..I forgot at that moment that I was supposed to be being healthy)
Fresh bread.

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tin with foil.

Get chopping those veggies! Once your toms, peppers, and onions are all roughly chopped up, lay them all out on the baking tin. Throw in a clove of garlic here and there with the skins on, and drizzle the whole lot with olive oil. It doesn't matter if they cosy up and overlap each other. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, and pop the tray in the oven.

I roasted mine for about 30 mins whilst FaceTiming my mum, then pulled them out after around half an hour when they were soft and the edges of the peppers had charred a little.

Take the tray out, and gently remove the peel from the garlic cloves with a knife and fork (they come off super easily). I leave the skins on my tomatoes, but this would be the point to remove them if you so wish.

Boil the kettle, add the stock cube to a jug, and fill with water, stirring the stock cube until it dissolves.

Transfer the veggies into a deep pan on the hob, being careful not to carry over too much excess olive oil if you can help it. Top the pan up with the stock, until the veggies are covered. Add a sprinkle of chilli flakes and dried basil to taste, and leave to simmer for 15-20 mins.

[EDIT: I forgot that at this moment I also added a glug (technical term) of balsamic vinegar!)

The perfect opportunity to butter yourself some nice fresh bread from the bakery!

Give everything in your pan a good stir, before ladling it into a blender and mixing for a good couple of minutes until smooth.

Transfer to a bowl, and top with a sprinkle of goats cheese.

Enjoy!