Planning a special romantic meal and still don't know what to cook? TV celebrity chef Martin Blunos has just the thing to spice up your Valentine's Day. The popular Michelin-starred food maestro has created tempting chocolate Buckfast Passion Pots with Hearty Treats and the tasty dessert is guaranteed to set hearts aflutter because Buckfast Tonic Wine - one of the main ingredients - is regarded as an aphrodisiac in the West Indies.
Martin, who has appeared on BBC1's Saturday Kitchen and Channel 4's Masterchef Australia and Iron Chef UK, said: "Locals in the West Indies regard Buckfast as an aphrodisiac and mix it with coconut milk so my new Buckfast Passion Pots with Hearty Treats, heart-shaped Valentine biscuits which accompany the chocolate pots, are a superb blend for a romantic evening on Valentine's Day. The heart-shaped shortbread biscuits, which are sandwiched together with a delicious soft Buckfast vanilla caramel, are amazing when eaten with the chocolate passion pots."
Martin will be demonstrating his recipes at food festivals and events throughout the UK in 2013.
Details of all Martin's recipes can be found on www.celebritychefsuk.com/recipes and I've posted his Valentine's Day creations below.
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BUCKFAST
PASSION POTS
Makes
6 decent sized pots!
Ingredients
225g dark chocolate (70%
cocoa), grated or finely chopped
400ml double cream
125ml whole milk
50g icing sugar
2 medium egg yolks
2 passion fruits, halved
scooped out
9 amaretti biscuits
buckfast
Method
- Put the chocolate into a large bowl.2. Put the cream into a saucepan, bring it gently to the boil, then pour it over the chocolate. Stir together until the chocolate melts and put this mixture to one side.3. In another bowl, mix together the milk, icing sugar and yolks. Then stir in the passion fruit pulp.4. Pour the egg and milk mixture into the chocolate, stir till combined, then strain through a sieve into a clean bowl.5. Break the biscuits into smallish pieces and put about 1 ½ biscuits (in pieces) in each pot dribble over as much buckfast as you like. Then spoon over the chocolate mixture and refrigerate overnight.6. To serve, remove from fridge and leave at least 45 mins, before taking to the table with a couple of heart-shaped biscuits to hand.
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BUCKFAST HEART TREATS
Makes 16 biscuits
Ingredients
220g unsalted butter
110g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
340g plain flour
Buckfast Caramel (see below)
METHOD:-
Sieve flour into a
machine bowl add the sugar and pinch of salt.
Cut butter into 2cm
cubes and add to the dry ingredients.
Mix on machine till
crumbly texture is achieved.
Take bowl from machine
and finish mixing by hand till a smooth dough is formed. Flatten into
a 3cm fat disc then wrap in cling film and put in fridge for 30mins
to firm up.
Remove
cling film and place on non stick parchment cover with another sheet
and roll out to a biscuit thickness (approx 5cm thick)
Pop back in fridge to
firm up again.
Cut fluted discs (a
5.5cm heart-shaped cutter is about right) from the sheet – gather
up all the trim and repeat the rolling process above.
Count
the discs then cut the middle out of half of them (Valentine heart
shapes are de-riguer!)
Place
all on non-stick baking sheets and bake in an oven pre set at 160
degrees fan oven for about 8 – 10 mins until golden around the
edges.
Cool on a wire rack.
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BUCKFAST
CARAMEL
200ml Buckfast
75ml double cream
100gr unsalted butter
300gr caster sugar
50ml cold water
METHOD:-
Put
the Buckfast into a small sauce pan and bring to the boil on the
stove and reduce till you have about 75ml left – this will burn off
the alcohol and concentrate the Buckfast into a syrup. Set aside.
Place
the water and caster sugar into a saucepan and set over a high heat.
Make a caramel by boiling till the contents of the pan turn a dark
blond colour (take care here as it gets very hot). Take off the heat
and carefully (stand back a tad), add the reduced Buckfast, cream and
butter.
Mix
in as best you can with a heat proof spatula then put the pan back on
the stove and re-boil the contents for 2 mins – stirring from time
to time.
Pour into a small metal
bowl and cool then store in fridge, covered, till needed.
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TO FINISH YOUR HEART
TREATS
Warm the Buckfast
caramel in the microwave for a few seconds till it softens and can be
easily mixed
Put about ½ a teaspoon
blob of the caramel onto the middle of a base (full round) biscuit
then top, gently pushing, with a cut out biscuit – keep flat for a
few mins till the caramel cools and firms up.
Repeat with rest of
biscuits.
Oh yes – now eat
them!
Great with the
Buckfast Passion Pots!
Other blogposts you may be interested in :
That's so funny that he uses Buckfast Tonic Wine - I come from Buckfast, I can see the Abbey where they make it from my childhood bedroom! It's vile stuff though, not sure I'd want it in any food!
ReplyDeleteLOL Awww it sounded so lovely too ! You could make it without the wine ! ;-)
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