Chocolate pots de crème are a perfect dessert
Plus WE WON!
A win!
My cookbook ENJOY won at the PANZ book design award. It was awarded Best Cookbook. It was thrilling to have the book win and my very clever designer / publisher Sally Greer (Beatnik Publishing) awarded for having created something so beautiful.
Do you know what’s funny? I actually thought we would win. I don’t know if that’s gauche to say but I could just see it clearly in my head. I faltered in my confidence for a moment at the awards ceremony right before they called out the winner but then they read the judges notes on the winner, sighting the use of white space and lovely paper stock and I knew it was us. They called it “An absolute feast from start to finish”. How amazing!!
Sally did such a wonderful job designing a book that communicates all the heart I put into the recipes and photography.
It’s not the easiest environment out there for small publishers like mine and no one (authors or publishers) are doing it for big sums of money so it’s the best feeling to have the hard work and creativity appreciated.
The BIG winner over the night in many catergories was the book REWI, which is gorgeous.
(If you’d like a signed copy of my book, you can grab one HERE)
Chocolate Pots de Crème
Serves 5-6
This is one of my very favourite desserts. The contrast of dark chocolate with a dollop of whipped cream on top is delicious. It’s perfect for entertaining because it can be made in advance and feels just the right amount of fancy. Similar to a chocolate mousse but denser, richer and not overly sweet which I really love.
1 cup full-cream milk
1 cup fresh cream
5 egg yolks, whisked
2 tablespoons coconut sugar (regular sugar also fine)
185g dark chocolate (50-65% is ideal), finely chopped
To serve: whipped cream, fresh berries
Add the milk and cream in a saucepan. Place over a medium heat until very hot but not boiling. Remove from the heat.
Pour 1/4 cup of the hot milk into the egg yolks slowly and whisk together. Add another 1/2 cup and whisk again. Add the egg yolk mixture into the remaining hot milk slowly and whisk constantly. Return saucepan to medium-low heat and cook for a few minutes until the custard coats the back of a spoon.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the sugar. Add the chocolate and give it a minute to melt in the custard before whisking until smooth.
Pour through a sieve (to remove any lumps) into a jug.
Pour into small bowls, large ramekins or small tea cups and place in the fridge to set for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours prior to serving. Remove from the fridge 20 minutes before serving. Top with whipped cream and fresh berries. Chopped pistachios are really nice too.
Listening:
Podcast: What went wrong , American Psycho. I’m on a run of listening to film podcasts lately. I find them ideal to have on in the background while I work or do chores. This episode on American Psycho is a good one.
Listening:
Chappell Roan, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. Oh my gosh, help me-along with everyone else on the planet-I can’t stop listening to this album. It is so fun. It’s got so many delicious hooks, it’s raunchy and the lyrics are a witty delight. I’m enjoying it at an ear-splitting volume while driving. It does make me drive too fast. Love Karma is my kink, Red wine supernova, Femininonon and Good luck babe
Watching:
We’re Not Kidding interview series, Episode: Medhi Hasan and Riz Ahmed (Zateo Media) The media outlet Zateo is the new venture of Medhi Hasan formerly of CNN. They produce really interesting content (the Unshocked series with Naomi Klein is good) but today I wanted to point you in the direction of a conversation on the We’re Not Kidding series in which Medhi speaks to funnyish people. This conversation with Riz Ahmed is a great listen. On substack you’ll need to be a paying subscriber but you can listen to the whole conversation for free on Youtube. The episodes with Rob Delaney and Bassem Youssef are also excellent. I also just saw there’s a new episode out with Nish Kumar, who I like alot so that’ll be a good one too I’m sure.
Recipes from the archives worth making
Vietnamese noodle salad with crunchy salt and pepper tofu. Written 7 or 8 years ago for Dish Magazine. Still such a great dinner, especially on a warm evening.
A beautiful herb and garlic butter roasted chicken with vine tomatoes. A lighter, more summery take on a roast chook. Written for free range chicken brand Bird and Barrow a while ago.
A note on the newsletter
I was absent from my regular emails for a few weeks. I’m very happy to be back at it. A couple of you messaged to check up on the newsletter. I’m rather happy you noticed and (hopefully) missed it.
It’s a boring reason. I’ve just been really busy with my freelance work and had to focus on getting some big projects out the door. I assume most of you know this, my ‘real job’ is as a food writer / recipe developer / food photographer. This busy period of the last 3 months or so has been really full on but also brilliant because it’s come after a rather quiet 12 months, with client budgets getting smaller and smaller. The middle of this year seemed to be a time of bouncing back for many my food clients. It’s been lovely being back on the tools consistently.
Thanks for reading! Drop me a comment if you’ve got any feedback.
See you next week. Kelly xox
Yay. Well done 👏. Great to have you back too. You were sorely missed.
Huge congratulations on the win, & it’s lovely to have your newsletter return to my inbox - I missed it!