This recipe for chocolate roulade looks fairly complex, but I promise you it's not as difficult as you think. Just take your time and don't rush the process and you'll end up with a delicious dessert that taste as good as it looks!

Chocolate Roulade Recipe

Ingredients

200g plain dark chocolate

200g caster sugar

7 medium eggs, separated

300g double cream

3 tablespoons Cointreau or Grand Marnier

4 tablespoons of icing sugar for dusting

Fresh raspberries for decorating (or adding into the roulade)

spring of fresh mint

Is chocolate vegan?

It’s a question that we’re increasingly asked, here at Cocoa & Heart. Whether by interested students on one of our chocolate courses wanting to know a little more about the chocolate we’re using or by people wanting to buy some of our high-quality chocolate bars or truffles from our on line shop.

Chocolate comes from a plant and more specifically the pod of the cocao tree. So, in that sense, it could be said to start off life as vegan friendly. However, in the complex and time-consuming process of taking the raw beans and converting them to something like the chocolate we see on supermarket shelves (see our earlier blogs), a variety of additives are mixed in with the chocolate. These include sugar, milk and milkfats, to name just three.

At this stage it’s probably worth making the distinction between good quality and lesser quality chocolate in terms of the ingredients that they are likely to contain. This is crucial for determining whether the type of chocolate you’re considering buying will be vegan friendly or not.

I've always been fascinated by the process of making chocolate and whilst in my day job, I usually use already prepared chocolate covertiture, for this recipe I've decided to explore the world of actual chocolate making.

So, here is how to make a simple vegan chocolate bar with only three basic ingredients. This recipe is of course suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets, but it's also gluten and wheat free and doesn't contain any lactose (milk). So, this is as healthy as chocolate can get! 

The most delicious, moist and easy to bake chocolate cake with buttermilk. This is my favourite recipe I bake often for my family and friends - it's always a big hit!

Here is what you need:

For the cake:

175g unsalted butter

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence 

350g caster sugar

4 medium eggs separated into egg whites (one bowl) and egg yolks (second bowl)

100g self-raising flour

40g cocoa powder

175g buttermilk

If you've recently visited USA and miss all the amazing sweets you've tasted there, you might be searching for where to buy them here in the UK. Or perhaps you've moved to UK from USA and missing your childhood treats. 

Either way, here is where to buy traditional American Sweets in UK

Where to buy American Sweets

Supermarkets

All major supermarkets seems to have worked out that the general public rather enjoys traditional american sweets and most large supermarkets have designated aisles with American foods.

On-line shops

American Sweets

www.americansweets.co.uk

American Fizz

www.americanfizz.co.uk

Candy Hero

www.candyhero.com

Kingdom of Sweets

www.kingdomofsweets.com

I'm sure there are many more - do let me know if you have a favourite place to go for your american sweets. And by the way, which one is your favourite?

I'm not really sure when exactly the unicorn craze started, but these days, unicorns seems to be everywhere. And they are not just for the children. There is definitely something mystical about unicorns - they might or might not be real, they have wonderful flowing hair and they love rainbow colours. If you like me, think that we could all do with some magic in our lives, here is a little something to bring that rainbow into your day...

Unicorn Hot Chocolate Recipe

Here is what you need:

Hot milk

White chocolate, chopped in small pieces (or white chocolate drops)

Food colouring - pink, blue or purple

Minimarshmallows 

Sprinkles 

Rainbow sweets or any other pastel coloured sweets

Whipped cream

Chocolate or icecream sauces

Pretty drinking straw