Fridge-friendly nougat, malty ice-cream and a hybrid brownie-chocolate bar make for a summer selection that is sorted for hot weather. The heat requires special treatment of chocolate, and while few experts would agree, sometimes you have to gently shh them and do what feels right.
Why is chocolate better kept cold in summer?
Chocolate can be difficult in hot weather, especially when it is the kind that melts almost immediately. One example is like a choc-covered torrone morbido: a big slab of milk chocolate covering honey-laced pistachio and almond nougat. In summer heat, it can be a disaster, but kept in the fridge it becomes impressive, with pre-marked pieces that are so big and generous you cannot disobey them. Slice your knife into it and eat the piece within, say, three minutes before the whole lot turns molten in your fingers.
What new chocolate bars are worth trying?
Pump Street has just launched a with Haitian beans. It features brownie crumb with English Sharpham Park caramelised, hand-chopped walnuts. It is rich and deep in flavour.
How does chocolate work in ice-cream?
My father used to have an ice-cream shop, and he made the best chocolate ice-cream, which I think is difficult to get right, because he would mix the chocolate with chestnuts to give the gelato a wonderful mouthfeel. I keep meaning to try to emulate it. Not the same but a very worthy chocolate ice-cream for this weather is Ottolenghi’s made with 73% cocoa Ecuadorian chocolate.
What homemade chocolate treats are being made?
Soon I’ll be writing about making your own chocolate treats, but I am in love with , which feature an oat and almond base, nut butter and dates whizzed up into a dreamy caramel and drizzled with, for me, very high cocoa content chocolate. I customise her recipe with more nut butter than she suggests and sprinkle a few roasted peanuts into the caramel innards to make a bastard child of a Twix and a Snickers. Shop-bought can go hang.
