Christmas Cake

Merry Christmas everyone!

I make my buttery and rich Christmas Cake in November then I drip Amaretto over it weekly for 4 weeks, keeping it wrapped in cling film and foil and sealed in an airtight container. I marzipan the cake during the first week of December and Ice it during the second week. Here I have used ready to roll icing, I usually make Royal icing but with so much going on this year it was an easier option. I'll add another picture after the cake has been cut over the Christmas period to show you the cake inside together with the layers of marzipan and icing, mmm, I can't wait!

Deck the halls with boughs of holly, tra, la la la la, la la la la...

Chocolate Brazil Nut Brownie Cake

This cake is a bit special, two fudgy, nutty and chocolatey brownie layers, sandwiched and covered all over with a thick and creamy chocolate ganache, decorated with chocolate covered Brazil nuts and finished with a dusting of cocoa, need I say more?

Chocolicious!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

A fabulously 'retro' cake, if you were at school in the '70's then you probably made one of these in Home Economics! To make the cake all sticky and moist, spread the lining paper for your tin with soft butter and sprinkle on a good layer of caster sugar, arrange the pineapple rings and glace cherries, I added a few drops of coconut extract once the fruit was arranged in the tin, it adds a lovely fragrant element to the cake.

I'll pop the recipe here soon...

Eccles Cakes

Usually when I offer Eccles Cakes to visitors they are met with a grimace, it's a shame that these gorgeous little gems from Lancashire have got such a bad reputation, no wonder really, mass manufacturing is to blame for producing lardy and tasteless lumps of nothingness.

Now these are a different experience indeed, I use flaky pastry and fill the cakes with a mixture made with melted butter, soft, light brown sugar, currants, freshly chopped preserved peel, cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg. The top of the cake is brushed with milk and sprinkled with caster sugar before being baked in a hot oven for 15 minutes.

Eccles Cakes are absolutely delicious served with some Lancashire cheese, believe me, it really does work!

I'll pop the recipe here very soon.

Raspberry Swiss Roll

What can be more lovelier than a nice cup of tea and a slice of home made Swiss roll?

This cake is so light and fluffy, it has no butter and no raising agent in it, the lightness is achieved by whisking eggs and caster sugar until really thick and pale, then the plain flour is sieved and very gently folded into the mixture, it is baked in a hot oven for 10 - 11 minutes.

Trev's Tasty Tip

Use home made Vanilla Sugar to enhance the flavour of the sponge, delicious!

Here's how to make it

Equipment

An Electric Mixer with Whisk Attachment

Mixing Bowl

A 12" x 8" x 1" Swiss Roll/Roulade Baking Pan (I use the Alan Silverwood anodised one)

Greaseproof paper to fit the baking pan

Greaseproof paper to turn out the sponge on to

Soft Plastic Spatula

A Small Palette Knife

Cooling Rack

The Recipe

3 Eggs

3oz Caster Sugar or Vanilla Sugar

3oz Plain Flour

2 Heaped Tablespoons Seedless Raspberry Jam

A handful of Frozen Raspberries

White Vegetable Fat for lubricating the greaseproof paper

A little caster sugar for sprinkling

The Method 

Preheat your oven to gas mark 7 (220C).

Cut 2 pieces of greaseproof paper to fit your baking pan, smear one of the pieces with some white vegetable fat, I use Trex or Cookeen, all over the paper on one side. Place the greaseproof paper with the greased side uppermost and gently tease it into shape to fit the tin. Lay out your other piece of greaseproof paper on a worktop or table and sprinkle with a nice layer of caster sugar.

Put the eggs and sugar into the mixing bowl and whisk at high speed until the mixture is very, very light and fluffy, you should be able to leave a trail on the surface of the mixture when you lift out the beaters, when they are turned off, which stays there for a while.

Sieve the flour over the mixture and use your spatula to gently fold it through, pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan scraping the bowl out gently. Tip the baking pan back and forth, corner to corner to move the cake batter so that it fills the tin evenly, do not spread the batter with a utensil, you'll press all the air out of it.

Put the tin on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 11 minutes.

Take the sponge out of the oven and turn it out onto the greaseproof paper that has been sprinkled with caster sugar. Quickly spread the raspberry jam over the surface of the sponge with your palette knife, break up the frozen raspberries and sprinkle them over the top of the jam. Quickly roll the sponge up lengthways, take one end of the paper and lift so the sponge starts to roll into itself, gently guide the sponge until it is all rolled up. Use the paper to roll around the newly formed Swiss roll and scrunch up the ends to keep it in shape. Place this little parcel of loveliness onto a cooling rack, leave to cool.

Once completely cooled, remove the sponge from the paper and sprinkle on a little more caster sugar. Store in an airtight container in the fridge if you are not going to eat it straight away, like that's going to happen!

 

Serve a good thick slice with some really good vanilla ice cream for a really lovely dessert.

Lemon and Lime Butterfly Cakes

These little beauties are made with a sponge that has very finely grated lime zest added at the creaming of the butter and sugar stage, the sugar, being slightly abrasive, helps to break the zest down and extract more of the fragrant oils that live in the skins of citrus fruits. They have had the tops cut out and the wells left behind were spread with really good lemon curd, I piped in some lime and vanilla buttercream icing, made with freshly squeezed lime juice and vanilla extract, topped them with butterfly wings made by cutting the earlier decapitation into two pieces and finished with wafer daisies and a dusting of icing sugar.

Very pretty and very delicious too!

Raspberry and Vanilla Butterfly Cakes

These little temptation ticklers are made with vanilla sugar, the tops are cut out and the holes filled with really good raspberry jam, topped with whipped vanilla cream, they are finished with a home-grown raspberry, sponge 'butterfly wings' and a dusting of icing sugar. They have been baked in greaseproof paper muffin wrappers to give them a little more height and then placed into foil cake cases after decorating.

Mmmmm!

Apple Crumble

As summer rolls on into autumn, the trees in the orchards of our great country creak and bend with the weight of their swelling fruits, the wind blows and a few fall off, an early gift from Mother Nature. 

Bramley Apples, sitting in a circle under their previous home, were my first little gift this year after a night of high winds. I cooked them with a little butter and sugar then stirred in a little ground cinnamon, I put them into a dish and set it aside to cool. The topping is made with plain flour, butter, ground almonds, caster sugar and ground ginger, I make up the crumble mix and put it into the fridge and put it onto the apple base when I'm ready to cook the crumble. After a slow baking, 45 minutes at gas mark 4, I took it out of the oven, sprinkled on a little caster sugar and let it stand whilst I made up some custard, Bird's on this occasion, with an extra boost of flavour which came from my vanilla sugar.

Hungry?

Apple Filling

4lb Bramley Apples

2oz Butter

6oz Caster Sugar

1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

Juice of a Lemon

Crumble Mix

6oz Plain Flour

3oz Cold, Cubed Butter

3oz Caster Sugar

2oz Ground Almonds

Pinch of Salt

1 teaspoon Ground Ginger

1 tablespoon extra Caster Sugar for sprinkling

Peel, quarter and core the apples, pop them into a bowl of cold water with the juice of a lemon to stop them going brown whilst you work. In a medium sized frying pan, heat the butter gently until melted and pour in the sugar, give it a stir, take it off the heat, slice the prepared apples and place into the pan, give it a stir and put the pan back on the heat, bring the contents to simmering point and let the apples cook for a few minutes until some of the slices start to break down. At this point, take it off the heat again and gently stir in the cinnamon. Adding it at this stage stops the cinnamon turning rather acrid. Put the apple mixture into a baking dish, put it on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

Make the crumble mix by putting the flour, salt and butter into a food processor and pulse it until you get a breadcrumb consistency, add the sugar, ground almonds and ginger and pulse it again. Pour the mixture into a container and put it into the fridge until ready to bake the crumble. Making the apple crumble this way means you wont get that sogginess that reminds you of school dinners! You will achieve a light, airy and crisp finish.

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4, pile the crumble mix on top of the apple filling making a hill effect,  don't press it down. Put the dish onto a baking tray and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. When cooked, take it out of the oven, sprinkle with a little caster sugar and place on a cooling rack. Let the crumble rest for around 20 minutes.

Served with custard or 'a la mode', American for 'with ice cream', or with a dash of thick cream, or all three, either way, you will have a heavenly experience!

Rose and Vanilla Fairy Cakes

Simple, elegant little cakes, a cup of tea and a couple of these make a perfect afternoon treat! These are made with vanilla sugar and topped with glace icing made with beautifully fragrant rose water and a touch of vanilla, topped off with a single pink non pareil.

What the world needs now, is love sweet love... and cake!

Christmas Pudding

This Christmas Pudding is absolutely delicious. Sadly, people are governed by their childhood experience of Christmas Pudding, most having tried quite heavy and bitter tasting puddings that lingered on the taste buds for days! Not this one, I have developed my recipe over the past 15 years, adjusting it slightly year on year, I have managed to achieve a rich and dark looking pudding that is light, fruity and not too sweet. It is crammed with figs, sultanas, raisins, freshly milled spices, Guiness and Amaretto liqueur. I also use Medjhool dates, they are sticky and toffee-like, not like those really dreadful 'cardboard' ones that used to sit around in the lounge from Christmas to Easter until they were un-ceremoniously dumped into the kitchen pedal-bin along with the strawberry and orange cream Cadbury's Roses!

I serve the pudding with an Amaretto sauce simply made with milk, cream, cornflour, sugar and a really hefty measure of Disaronno, fantastico!

Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la, la la la la...

Lemon and Vanilla Butterfly Cakes

Elegant simplicity! 

I made these using my Lemon Victoria Sponge recipe and divided the mixture into 12 muffin cases, cut the tops out with a serrated knife when they were cool, put a teaspoonful of really good lemon curd into the hole and spread it up the sides, piped in some whipped vanilla infused cream and simply finished them with a dusting of icing sugar and some pink and white non pareils (sprinkles). Delicious!

Ready for my close-up...

Mmm, mmm, mmm!

Chocolate Bailey's Caramel Shortcake

Everyone knows 'Millionaire's Shortbread' don't they, this is a really lovely 'adult' version that has a crisp, buttery shortcake base with a rich and creamy vanilla caramel layer, topped with a smooth chocolate and Bailey's Irish Cream ganache, finished with shavings of dark and milk chocolate. It is absolutely delicious and so irresistible!

Watch this space for the recipe!

Banana, Pecan Nut, Maple Syrup and Cinnamon Cake

This cake is dense and very moist with flecks of crunchy pecan nuts, the fragrant maple syrup is poured over the cake as it leaves the oven and gets absorbed all through it, cinnamon sugar is sprinkled all over the top once it has cooled. The flavour combination is fabulous, it doubles up as a really nice dessert served with a dollop of clotted cream, really good ice cream or a good ladle-full of creamy custard.

Check back soon for the recipe!

Delicious!

Vanilla and Strawberry Scones

What can be more lovelier on a summers' day than a light, sweet scone with some really good strawberry jam and vanilla infused cream served with a pot of tea? These scones are made with buttermilk infused with vanilla, a new flavour dimension.

 

My recipe for these delightful scones will be here soon.

Triple Chocolate, Walnut and Bailey's Brownies

These brownies are rich and fudgy with contrasting textures of crisp pieces of roasted walnut and a smooth and creamy ganache. The marriage of flavours is wonderful, three shades of chocolate, roasted walnuts and Bailey's Irish Cream, a most heavenly experience indeed!

My recipe is coming soon!

The Birthday Cake for Chocoholics!

This cake is the one you would make for a chocoholic, two layers of deep Sachertorte Chocolate Cakes sandwiched together and spread all over with with silky smooth Chocolate Ganache, finished with chopped Flake chocolate bars, White Chocolate Hearts with red heart edible transfers and Silver Chocolate Heart Dragees... need I say more?

My recipe for Sachertorte will be coming soon, watch this space!

Banoffe Pie

Banoffe Pie like you've never had before! You know when you have bananas in the house and they go brown and smell like those foamy bananas you used to buy from the sweet shop with your pocket money, well don't put them in the compost, cook them in a smooth and creamy caramel, pour on top of a rich and buttery shortcake base, I put a small grating of nutmeg in mine to bring out the flavour of the bananas, chill in the refrigerator, pipe on some whipped vanilla cream and sprinkle over some finely grated dark chocolate that's been chilled for a couple of hours, (your fingers won't get messy if the chocolate is cold) serve after a fine lunch or dinner, save some room for it though!

Banoffeelicious!
The pie shown in the picture has been cut into portions and each slice is encased with a silver foil muffin case, perfect if you are going to make this and take it round to someone's home for a dinner, lunch or a treat!

Triple Chocolate Brownie Celebration Cake

This cake is the epitome of decadence! Perfect for those special and memorable occasions when indulgence in chocolate is called for, it has two deep layers of rich, fudgy chocolate brownies sandwiched and spread with rich chocolate ganache and finished with giant white chocolate buttons, giant dark chocolate buttons and regular milk chocolate buttons.

Chocolicious!

Vanilla and Raspberry Victoria Sandwich

This is a really lovely version of the Victoria Sandwich cake, it is light, sweet and full of flavour. The mellow Vanilla flavour of the sponge compliments the sharper, fruity flavour of the Raspberries, a marriage made by nature! I grow my own raspberries and gather them as they ripen, I then open-freeze them until solid then transfer them to a sealed container in the freezer, they break up really nicely for sprinkling over things and your hands don't get covered in juice. The cake is really lovely served with a nice pot of tea or as a cool, light dessert served with some really good Vanilla Ice Cream, in the colder months I serve it with some nice hot custard, it's a really versatile cake.

Here's what you need and what to do...

Preheat your oven to gas mark 5, that's 190 C (375 f) for electric oven owners.

Prepare two 8 inch (20cm) round cake tins, deep or sandwich tins are fine. Grease and line with baking paper, or use Bake-O-Glide liners.

My little secret for getting the ratio of ingredients just right for cakes is to weigh the eggs first and use this weight for the rest of your ingredients, so if your 3 eggs weigh 71/2oz (220g) weigh out everything else to this weight. A large or medium egg from one store will be lighter or heavier than from another. An important rule to follow is to weigh everything out and leave it all in the kitchen for a couple of hours so that everything is at the same temperature, your mixture won't curdle that way!

What you need:

Hardware
A mixing bowl
A wooden spoon
A sieve
A plastic or silicone spatula
A small palette knife
A cooling rack
Greaseproof/Baking Paper

Food stuff
3 eggs - large ones together weigh around 71/2 ounces or 200-225g (weigh your eggs and use that weight for the rest of your ingredients, the weights below are approximate)
71/2oz (200-225g) butter or margarine (I'm a fan of Stork margarine for baking).
51/2oz (150-175g) Caster Sugar
2oz (50g) Vanilla Sugar
71/2oz (200-225g)Self Raising Flour
2 massively heaped tablespoons of good Raspberry Jam (Seedless or Regular)
A handful of Frozen Raspberries
A little extra Caster Sugar for sprinkling
(If you don't have Vanilla Sugar, just use plain Caster Sugar and add a few drops of your favourite Vanilla Extract or Flavouring when you beat in the eggs).

What you do:

Wash your hands!
Pop your caster sugar, vanilla sugar and butter or margarine into the mixing bowl and beat them together with your wooden spoon until light and fluffy and the colour changes to a paler version of what is was. Add one egg and beat into the fat and sugar mixture, (now is the time to add your Vanilla Extract or Flavouring if you are using it), use your spatula to scrape down the mixture from the sides of the bowl. Add the other eggs, one at a time, beating each one into the mixture before adding the next. You should now have a light and mousse-like mixture, don't worry if it has split a little.

Sieve the self-raising flour over the mixture and fold it in using your spatula using a 'figure-eight' motion, don't be heavy handed, use light and gentle motions, fold until well mixed.
Divide the mixture between the two baking tins, spread it gently to ensure it reaches the edges, don't worry about getting a smooth surface, the mixture will spread and level itself during the baking process. Pop the tins onto the middle shelf of your oven and set a timer for 30 minutes. Don't be tempted to open the oven during the cooking time, you'll end up with two thin biscuits if you do! While you are waiting, cut some squares of greaseproof/baking paper big enough for each cake.

When your timer goes off, open the oven door slowly and give the top of your cakes a really gentle prod with a finger, if they are firm and a little 'springy' then they are ready to take out and cool, if not, give them another 3-5 minutes and check again.
Once cooked, sprinkle over a little caster sugar evenly on each cake. Turn out onto the squares of greaseproof/baking paper and transfer to your cooling rack, doing it this way means that the cakes won't stick on the rack and tear when trying to lift them off, the sprinkling of caster sugar stops them from sticking to the paper too.

Once cooled, place one of the cakes onto a cake board or serving plate of your choice and spread the top with the Raspberry Jam, crush the frozen Raspberries gently with your fingers and sprinkle the jewel-like pieces over the layer of jam, add as many Raspberries as you like, pick up the other cake and turn it over so the sugared side is uppermost and place it on the top of the lovely jammy cake to form a 'sandwich'. Sprinkle with a little more caster sugar if you wish.
The cake is best if sealed in a container and left for at least a couple of hours, the cake will lose it's 'crustiness' and soften really nicely.
Serve with a pot of tea and some people you really like!

Vanilla Sugar

Make your own Vanilla Sugar to use in your recipes. It is so easy to make and store, the flavour is fabulous.

How to make it 

Simply put Caster Sugar and split Vanilla Pods into a jar that has a really good seal, like the one in the picture. Use 1 Vanilla Pod for every 1lb (500g) Caster Sugar, seal up the jar, give it a good shake and leave it in a dark, cool cupboard for at least 4 weeks before using it in your recipes. Top up the sugar every time you use some, give it a shake after re-sealing the jar and put back into your cupboard ready for the next time you want to use it.

How to use it 

Generally, replace a quarter of the amount of Caster Sugar needed in a recipe with Vanilla Sugar so, if you need 4oz (100g) sugar, weigh out 3oz (75g) plain sugar and 1oz (25g) Vanilla Sugar. Happy Baking!

Lemon and Vanilla Birthday Cake

This fabulous Birthday Cake is made using my recipe for the Lemon Victoria Sandwich. It is generously covered in Whipped Vanilla Cream with hand piped Vanilla Cream Rosettes and finished with 'Wild Rose' sugar flowers, some lovely cake ribbon, a Happy Birthday Motif and tapered silver candle. It tastes as good as it looks!

Why not make every day your Birthday!

Lemon Victoria Sandwich

This is an absolutely gorgeous version of the Classic Victoria Sandwich cake, it is light and zesty and full of lemony loveliness! It is perfect with a good pot of tea or served as a dessert with some really good vanilla ice cream, try it drizzled with a drop of Limoncello liqueur to create an 'adult' treat.

Here's what you need and what to do...

Preheat your oven to gas mark 5, that's 190 C (375 f) for electric oven owners.

Prepare two 8 inch (20cm) round cake tins, deep or sandwich tins are fine. Grease and line with baking paper, or use Bake-O-Glide liners.

My little secret for getting the ratio of ingredients just right for cakes is to weigh the eggs first and use this weight for the rest of your ingredients, so if your 3 eggs weigh 71/2oz (220g) weigh out everything else to this weight. A large or medium egg from one store will be lighter or heavier than from another. An important rule to follow is to weigh everything out and leave it all in the kitchen for a couple of hours so that everything is at the same temperature, your mixture won't curdle that way!

What you need:

Hardware
A mixing bowl
A wooden spoon
A sieve
A plastic or silicone spatula
A small palette knife
A cooling rack
Greaseproof/Baking Paper

Food stuff
3 eggs - large ones together weigh around 71/2 ounces or 200-225g (weigh your eggs and use that weight for the rest of your ingredients, the weights below are approximate)
71/2oz (200-225g) butter or margarine (I'm a fan of Stork margarine for baking).
71/2oz (200-225g) Caster Sugar
71/2oz (200-225g)Self Raising Flour
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
2 massively heaped tablespoons of good Lemon Curd
A little extra Caster Sugar for sprinkling

What you do:

Wash your hands!
Pop your caster sugar, lemon zest and butter or margarine into the mixing bowl and beat them together with your wooden spoon until light and fluffy and the colour changes to a paler version of what is was. Add one egg and beat into the fat and sugar mixture, use your spatula to scrape down the mixture from the sides of the bowl. Add the other eggs, one at a time, beating each one into the mixture before adding the next. You should now have a light and mousse-like mixture, don't worry if it has split a little.

Sieve the self-raising flour over the mixture and fold it in using your spatula using a 'figure-eight' motion, don't be heavy handed, use light and gentle motions, fold until well mixed.
Divide the mixture between the two baking tins, spread it gently to ensure it reaches the edges, don't worry about getting a smooth surface, the mixture will spread and level itself during the baking process. Pop the tins onto the middle shelf of your oven and set a timer for 30 minutes. Don't be tempted to open the oven during the cooking time, you'll end up with two thin biscuits if you do! While you are waiting, cut some squares of greaseproof/baking paper big enough for each cake.

When your timer goes off, open the oven door slowly and give the top of your cakes a really gentle prod with a finger, if they are firm and a little 'springy' then they are ready to take out and cool, if not, give them another 3-5 minutes and check again.
Once cooked, sprinkle over a little caster sugar evenly on each cake. Turn out onto the squares of greaseproof/baking paper and transfer to your cooling rack, doing it this way means that the cakes won't stick on the rack and tear when trying to lift them off, the sprinkling of caster sugar stops them from sticking to the paper too.

Once cooled, place one of the cakes onto a cake board or serving plate of your choice and spread the top with the lemon curd, pick up the other cake and turn it over so the sugared side is uppermost and place it on the top of the lovely lemony cake to form a 'sandwich'. Sprinkle with a little more caster sugar if you wish.
The cake is best if sealed in a container and left for at least a couple of hours, the cake will lose it's 'crustiness' and soften really nicely.
Serve with a pot of tea and some people you really like!

Victoria Sandwich

This is your 'no nonsense' Victoria Sandwich, plain and simple, light vanilla sponges, seedless raspberry jam or, as in this picture, home-made Damson Jelly, Lemon Curd works well too, I'll put my recipe on this Blog for you to try. It is THE perfect accompaniment to a fresh pot of tea and some chatty friends, the only frilly bit on this cake is the d'oiley. Get the kettle on!

Baked White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake

I made this last summer for the first time and has proven to be extremely popular, doesn't it look beautiful, 'too good to eat!' I hear you cry, it tastes as good as it looks, believe me. Watch this space for the recipe! I can hear your taste buds clattering and your tummy rumbling!

Chocolate Bailey's Velvet Crunch Tart

This tart always goes down well either as a decadent dessert or as a treat with a good cup of tea or coffee. It has a crumbly, buttery biscuit base and a dark, smooth chocolate truffle-like layer, it is heaven on a dessert plate, oh, did I mention... no baking required here, just make and chill... deep joy! It can be finished with Dark Chocolate shavings or Chopped Pistachio Nuts, as pictured here.

Here's what you need:

An 8 inch (20cm) deep, round loose bottom baking tin
Bake-o-Glide Cake Tin Liner or Buttered Greaseproof Paper

For the base:
265g Digestive Biscuits
150g Melted Butter
Pinch of salt

For the Velvet Truffle Layer:

100ml Double Cream
50ml Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur
75g Butter
150g Dark Chocolate (90% Cocoa Solids is best)
150g Milk Chocolate

Shavings of Dark Chocolate or Chopped Pistachio Nuts to decorate.

Here's what you do...
Grind up the digestive biscuits in a food processor or put them in a food bag and give them a bash with a rolling pin, stir in a small pinch of salt. Melt the butter over a gentle heat, you want it to be just melted and not cooked. Stir in the crushed biscuits, mix well. Pour into the lined baking tin and press the mixture down gently and evenly, don't press it too hard otherwise you'll have it flying across the room when you try to cut it!

Let it cool and then chill the base in the fridge for an hour.

For the truffle layer, break up the chocolate into small pieces, pour the cream and Bailey's into a small saucepan and heat very gently, take it off the heat just before it comes to the boil, pop in the butter and stir until it has melted. Put back on to the heat and take it off again just before it reaches boiling point again. Pop the chocolate in and keep stirring until the mixture is silky, shiny and smooth. Leave it to rest for 5 minutes then pour over the biscuit base. Let it cool completely and then put into the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Grate a couple of squares of dark chocolate that have been chilled for a couple of hours in the fridge (stops your fingers getting too messy!) or chop some Pistachio Nuts in a food processor. Release the chilled tart from the tin, remove the lining from the bottom and place your chocolate creation onto a really nice serving plate. Sprinkle over the chocolate shavings or Pistachios (or both) and you're ready to go.

I always cut this delicious treat with a sharp knife dipped into very hot water and dried with kitchen paper, you get a really nice smooth cut through the chocolate that way. Dip and dry the knife for every cut.