I’ve purposely saved this recipe for this time of year, because I believe quite strongly that January needs its own comforts and pleasures. Who needs to layer the misery of abstinence on top of the starkness of the first month of the year?
I call this ‘chocolate mulled wine’, but it’s actually made of largely non-alcoholic rum, which my friend Tracy introduced me to. You take 750ml of non-alcoholic rum (I use Captain Morgan Spiced), one cinnamon stick, a teaspoon of chilli flakes, another of ground mixed spice, five whole cloves, 100g of dark muscavado sugar and 80g of 100% cocoa chocolate (it must be 100%) – I use Firetree which is the best 100%, but any will do. The secret ingredient is a few drops of Fiori di Sicilia essential oil, which I get from Bakery Bits, it’s worth a buy because you can use it in lots of baked goods. Gently heat everything in a saucepan until the chocolate melts. Then either imbibe immediately or keep in the fridge, reheating a small cup each day while you stare out of the window, seeing in January. Now, isn’t that better?
Pump Street in Suffolk has launched two new bars. A very limited-edition Double Sourdough, £9.95, which has as the name suggests, double the amount of sourdough crumbs that its regular Sourdough and Sea Salt bar does. Each of these bars is hand-numbered by co-founder Joanna. It’s delicious and super crunchy, the chocolate used is 66% single origin Ecuadorian.
If that’s sold out – and even if not – try the 66% Grenada and Nibs, £9.95, which satisfyingly has bits by virtue of the cocoa nibs. I do love a cocoa nib, they give an extra chocolatey bite to things, adding no-sugar interest.