Damson, Gin and Toasted Almond Chocolate Slab
Can you believe 2011 is almost over? Neither can I…It seems only yesterday I was typing up my recipe for Damson Gin, and yet we’re already at the stage where I’m bottling it. Still, I’m not complaining; I not only get delicious gin to drink, but I have the most amazing gin soaked damsons to put to use in the kitchen.
I was sitting yesterday morning after taking a few sips of the damson gin (and note my “few sips” is quite a bit where gin is concerned) and was wondering what to do with the left over fruit when I came across a recipe for Chocolate, Almond and Damson Slab that seemed to tick all the boxes. The damson gin has a strong almond like aroma (presumably from the fruit pits) so combining it with toasted almonds seemed to make perfect sense.
Although I haven’t tried the original, I have tweaked it a little. I’ve reduced the amount of cream because as I see it, mixing cream with chocolate is only going to give you sticky fingers and prevent it setting properly. If you use a good quality chocolate the cream isn’t going to add anything anyway; if you’re worried about the dark chocolate being a little too strong, go for one with a lower percentage cacao solids.
Recipe: Damson, Gin and Almond Chocolate Slab
Summary: This chocolate slab is a great way of using your alcohol soaked fruit left over from making damson gin. It also works well with sloes!
Ingredients
- 200g Dark Chocolate (65% is fine, above if you like it dark)
- 200g Gin soaked Damsons or Sloes
- 125g Blanched Almonds
- 50ml Double Cream
- 1 tsp Unsalted Butter
Method
- Start by ripping apart your damsons, removing the sloes. Meanwhile, put your almonds on a baking tray into the oven at 200 degrees c for 10 minutes to toast.
- Cover a flat baking tray with greaseproof paper (use a few dabs of butter to stick it down and prevent wrinkles), then cover evenly with the damsons and almonds.
- Heat a pan of water and put a heatproof bowl on top of the pan (but not touching the water). Into this place your chopped up chocolate, cream and butter, and stir until melted.
- Pour the chocolate mixture over your damsons / almonds and spread with a spatula to fill all the gaps.
- Allow to cool to room temperature, then place into a fridge until required.
Variations
Sloes (left over from making Sloe Gin) work just as well in this recipe. Also try adding a little chilli to the chocolate to enhance the flavours.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 5 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 12