Chocolate - and a new beginning....

Well there we are then. Finally it’s been decided and we have a new government – a Tory LibDem Coalition. I do hope it works particularly with the economy in the state it’s in. Having seen the new PM and Deputy PM live on TV a few minutes ago, it seems that they are fully committed to making this happen. Who would have thought it?

So what else has been happening – Gordon has gone, David Milliband has thrown his hat in the ring but what about the air crash that killed 121 people? Not news it seems!

On the home front Eleanor and Jack have both had horrible coughs and colds, Claude has learnt to crawl, Jessica is still limping around having fallen 20ft off the climbing wall at the Crystal Leisure Centre, Bethany looked beautiful on Saturday as she was bridesmaid to one of her best friends, Laura survived a hen weekend in Southport and Miles is trying to overcome his disappointment at the end of the rugby season.

With Laura away, and me in loco parentis, I decided to take Eleanor and Jack to Cadbury World. Can you believe it – I’ve never been! The last time I went round the Cadbury factory I was at Stourbridge High School for Girls and that’s much longer than I care to think about!

We all really enjoyed it, however Eleanor announced when she got back in the car that she wasn’t eating chocolate ever again! Mind you by Sunday she’d changed her mind which was just as well as we came away with a boatload, so Cadbury don’t need to worry about lost customers!
It did make me think though, as I went round this very British company, how did it happen that Cadbury, a huge manufacturer and perhaps more importantly a huge benefactor to Bourneville, Birmingham, the UK and third world countries could fall into the hands of an American company in a hostile takeover. Surely that shouldn’t be allowed to happen? Then yesterday, on Midlands Today it was announced that Kraft were closing the Cadbury Head Office in Cheltenham with the loss of 400 jobs. The reporter did say later that this might be good news for Bourneville, but will this bring in 400 jobs in Birmingham – I doubt it.

So with chocolate in mind, and as promised in my last blog, I’m going for a chocolate recipe, Chocolate Fudge Cake. This was given to my mother by Mrs. Hodges, who was the headmaster’s wife at my brother’s old school, Lucton, in Herefordshire.

My copy is so old and well-used that years ago I laminated it with sellotape which is why it’s in English not metric. I now own a laminating machine – how times change (although metric is still a bit of a challenge)!

Here goes:

1/2lb digestive biscuits
4oz butter or marg
3tbsp golden syrup
3tbsp cocoa powder
2oz sultanas
1oz glace cherries halved
6oz choc for top (I use plain but you can use milk if you prefer)
Optional – 1oz nuts chopped (brazils/walnuts/hazelnuts)

Method

Melt the butter, cocoa powder and golden syrup together, crush the biscuits (not too finely or it changes the texture) and add with the rest of the ingredients, except the chocolate for the top, and mix well. Pour into tin (loose-bottomed preferably – about 8” round).
Melt the chocolate slowly over a pan of water or on low in the microwave (if you do it too quickly it burns and tastes ghastly), pour over the top and jiggle around to cover the biscuit/choc mixture. Put in the fridge to set.
To serve, take out of the fridge and let it get to room temperature or the chocolate cracks when you cut it. Serve with cream as a pudding or with a cup of coffee or tea as a biscuit.

DELICIOUS!

Try it out and let me know what you think.