WITH the Easter hols fast approaching, we've been on the lookout for some chocolatey treats to wow family and friends – and now we've found them!
In fact, we may have done a little scream when the new Lindt Cookbook (Ebury Press) landed at Fabulous HQ.
It's packed with incredible-looking recipes that fans of the melt-in-your-mouth bestselling Lindt chocolate will adore.
They range from super-easy to showstopper tricky, so there's something for everyone, plus they make use of all the different Lindt chocs, from the darkest of squares to the milky white type, plus gold-wrapped bunnies and, of course, those irresistible balls!
We know exactly what we'll be serving up at our next dinner party – Lindor tiramisu for the win!
And if you're looking for Easter-themed baking inspo, you won't be disappointed.
Lindor Truffle Tiramisu
Serves: 6
Prep time: 25 mins, plus chilling
Ingredients:
*300ml freshly brewed strong coffee, cooled
*3tbsp rum
*250ml double cream
*350g mascarpone
*50g caster sugar
*2tsp vanilla extract
*3tbsp Amaretto liqueur
*125g ladyfingers
*1-2 squares Lindt Excellence 70% Dark Chocolate
*7 Lindor 70% Dark Chocolate Truffles, unwrapped and quartered
To decorate:
*18 Lindor Milk Chocolate Truffles, unwrapped and halved
*Cocoa powder, for dusting
Method:
1.Mix together the coffee and rum in a shallow bowl and set aside.
2.In a large bowl, whisk the double cream until you have soft peaks. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the mascarpone with the sugar, vanilla extract and Amaretto liqueur for about 2 minutes or until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream until you have a smooth and creamy mix.
4.Dip half of the ladyfingers, one at a time, into the coffee mixture. Ensure that both sides are soaked but do not stay in long enough to disintegrate (you want them to absorb the flavour but still stay intact – the colour should change slightly and they should soften a little).
5.Layer the soaked ladyfingers into the base of a 1.25L deep dish (ours was around 18 x 18 x 5cm) – you may need to break a couple of the biscuits to fit snugly or dip extra to cover the base.
6.Top with half of the mascarpone mix, smoothing over with the back of a spoon in an even layer to completely cover the biscuits.
7.Using a fine grater, grate over the Lindt Excellence 70% Dark Chocolate square to cover the surface (you may need 2 depending on the shape of your dish). Scatter over the quartered Lindor 60% Dark Chocolate Truffles in an even layer.
8.Soak the remaining ladyfingers and add on top (dipping extra if required). Top with the remaining mascarpone mixture, smoothing the top as before. Decorate with the halved Lindor Milk Chocolate Truffles, cut side facing down, and dust with cocoa powder. Cover
and chill for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
9. Serve chilled or, if you prefer, remove from the fridge 30 minutes beforehand.
Matcha & White Chocolate Muffins
Makes:8-10
Prep time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 25 mins
Ingredients:
*200g self-raising flour
*125g caster sugar
*Pinch of salt
*1½tbsp matcha powder, plus extra for dusting
*1 large egg
*65ml vegetable oil
*125ml whole milk
*75g Lindt White Chocolate With A Touch Of Vanilla, roughly chopped, plus 50g melted, for drizzling
Method:
1.Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/gas mark 3. Line a muffin tin with 8 larger muffin cases or 10 small paper cases and set aside.
2.Whisk the flour, sugar, salt and matcha powder together in a large bowl.
3.Add in the egg, oil and milk and mix until you have a smooth batter.
4. Fold in 50g of the chopped chocolate — taking care not to overmix— ensuring the chocolate is evenly distributed throughout.
5. Fill the muffin cases so they’re three-quarters full and sprinkle the remaining 25g of chopped chocolate on top. Bake for 20–25 minutes
until a skewer inserted into the middle of the muffins comes out clean.
6. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Finish with a drizzle of melted
white chocolate and a sprinkling of matcha powder.
Dark Chocolate Shortbread
Makes: 24
Prep time: 35 mins, plus chilling
Cooking time:15 mins
Ingredients:
*200g unsalted butter, at room temperature
*100g soft light brown sugar
*½tsp vanilla extract
*315g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
*24 squares Lindt Excellence 70% Dark Chocolate
*Sea salt flakes, for sprinkling
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/gas mark 3. Line 2 large, flat baking sheets with greaseproof paper.
2.Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until pale and fluffy. Mix in the flour in 4 batches until all has been incorporated and you have a smooth dough.
3. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.
4.Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll out the dough to 1cm thick.
5.Cut into 24 rectangles that are 4 x 5cm – big enough to fit a square of the Lindt chocolate. Using a spatula or palette knife, carefully transfer the shortbread rectangles to the prepared baking sheets, well spaced apart. Top each with a square of Excellence 70% Dark Chocolate and press into the dough slightly.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the shortbreads are golden. You may need to make them in batches.
7. Cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheets, before sprinkling lightly with sea salt flakes. Leave to cool completely on the baking sheets before transferring to airtight storage containers. These will keep for up to 4 days at room temperature.
How to save money on chocolate
We all love a bit of chocolate from now and then, but you don't have to break the bank buying your favourite bar.
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how to cut costs…
Go own brand –if you're not too fussed about flavour and just want to supplant your chocolate cravings, you'll save by going for the supermarket's own brand bars.
Shop around – if you've spotted your favourite variety at the supermarket, make sure you check if it's cheaper elsewhere.
Websites like Trolley.co.uk let you compare prices on products across all the major chains to see if you're getting the best deal.
Look out for yellow stickers – supermarket staff put yellow, and sometimes orange and red, stickers on to products to show they've been reduced.
They usually do this if the product is coming to the end of its best-before date or the packaging is slightly damaged.
Buy bigger bars – most of the time, but not always, chocolate is cheaper per 100g the larger the bar.
So if you've got the appetite, and you were going to buy a hefty amount of chocolate anyway, you might as well go bigger.
