Hotel Chocolat Easter Egg giveaway!

***Giveaway has ENDED***

It’s been a while since I last blogged – but work (and play) got in the way. My current job is ridiculously busy, and I usually come home and end up falling asleep on the sofa due to pure exhaustion. There is one good thing about the busy work rota though… the random weeks off we have. And last week, I took advantage of one of these breaks and visited New York for the first time! We had an amazing time, and I ate so much food that I’m sure I gained a fair amount of weight when I was there. But hey, that’s what holidays are for.

I’ll definitely be writing about my New York trip, so stay tuned for those posts. But in the meantime, it’s time for a giveaway! Consider it an apology for the long silence on the blog.

Easter eggs have always been something of a fascination for me. I suspect it’s because Easter is not a big thing in Malaysia, and you don’t see the abundance of chocolate Easter eggs that you see here in England. There’s just something about biting into a steroid-supersized chocolate egg that appeals to me. Especially when they’re filled with even MORE chocolates. Ahem.

If you’re an Easter egg enthusiast like myself, you’ll love the Hotel Chocolat range of Easter chocolates. From chocolate chicks to egg “sandwiches” – they’ve got it. But of course, they also have the more traditional Easter eggs… with their own twist. A few of their eggs are “extra thick“, which means you get MORE chocolate per bite of egg. How perfect is that?

The Eggsibitionist is one of these extra thick eggs, which is beautifully presented in a white/gold/black box that is simply a treat for the eyes. I’m a complete sucker for well presented food (and rarely buy cookbooks that don’t have pretty accompanying photos to go with the recipes), so Hotel Chocolat appeals to this side of me very well indeed.

But of course, it’s the actual egg itself that counts. Made from 40% chocolate, The Eggsibitionist is not too sweet, yet not too bitter. (I enjoy both milk and dark chocolate, and find that a 40%-70% cocoa content is my happy medium.) The extra thickness of the egg means that you need to employ a little more force when breaking up the egg into bite size pieces, but to be honest, that’s not going to stop anyone from scoffing this down.

The large egg is filled with chocolate mini eggs filled with ultra smooth pralines and meltingly soft centres, all with it’s own individual design. You can take your pick from the Chocolate Brownie Egg (milk chocolate with hazelnut praline and cocoa crispies), the Mousse au Chocolat Egg (silky soft dark chocolate ganache with a 70% dark shell), the Milk Praline Egg (hazelnut praline in a 40% milk chocolate shell), the Vanilla Custard Egg (soft and custardy vanilla ganache in a milk chocolate shell), the Strawberry Egg (refreshing and tangy strawberry ganache in a creamy white shell) or my favourite – the Caramel Egg (soft liquid caramel in a 50% milk chcocolate shell). Nothing like some liquid caramel and chocolate to make my day.

To win yourself a Hotel Chocolat Eggsibitionist, just answer this very simple question:

Are you a milk, dark or white chocolate fan? Or do you just like them all? I want to know!

For bonus entries:

• Tweet about this giveaway, and leave a comment below so I know you have done this: I just entered the @breadetbutter giveaway to win a Hotel Chocolat Eggsibitionist Easter Egg! http://wp.me/pAcXx-tW #giveaway

• Like Hotel Chocolat on Facebook, and leave a comment below telling me you have done this. If you already “like” them, let me know and you will still get an extra entry.

And for a little something extra – some of you may be interested in the Hotel Chocolat Easter Competition, where they are giving away a “Be Pampered Chocolate Hamper” to the person who comes up with the best name for their newest Easter Egg. There are also runner up goody bags for grabs.

This giveaway is open to all residents of UK, Europe and USA. Giveaway ends Wednesday 6th April 2011 at 23:59 BST. A winner will be chosen at random, and once he/she confirms their address, the Eggsibitionist will be sent out to them. If the winner fails to confirm their address within 24 hours, another winner will be chosen.

***Giveaway has now ENDED! Congratulations to Romana, the winner of the Eggsibitionist Easter Egg!***

Good luck!

*non-watermarked photo courtesy of Hotel Chocolat

Ham and cheese pancakes

There’s nothing more irresistible than a stack of freshly cooked pancakes. Maybe its the novelty of it being a “weekend” breakfast, or maybe its the excuse to overindulge in maple syrup – who knows?

Some of you probably know that my favourite pancakes are Bill Granger’s ricotta hotcakes. Truth be told, I’ve not made any other types of pancakes since I discovered those little morsels of goodness… (I don’t make pancakes very often – I’m usually too hungry and therefore lack the patience to make them). But since Pancake Tuesday was coming up, I figured that it was time to try something new.

Whilst I’ve got a massive sweet tooth, I do still love a good savoury dish. So I thought to myself “I should try to make a savoury pancake”. And so I did.

I adapted Bill Granger’s (yes Bill again) buttermilk pancake recipe to make these – I left out the sugar, and added some salt and pepper in its place. I also separated the egg whites and yolks, and beat the whites separately before folding them into the pancake mixture. This is because I have found that this results in a lighter, fluffier pancake.

I served the pancakes with some honey roasted ham and gouda cheese, and topped the pancake stack with some salad leaves and a drizzle of truffle infused oil. And you know what, it was a brilliant combination. A refreshing change from sweet pancakes, especially if you’re not a fan of sweet breakfast/brunch dishes. Definitely something I will be making again. I might even experiment with adding the ham and cheese into the actual pancake batter…

Do try this if you’re in the mood for something a little different!

Happy Pancake Day, everyone!

Ham & cheese pancake stack
Adapted from a recipe in Bill’s Food

For the pancakes:

• 2 cups plain flour
• 3 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 3 cups buttermilk*
• 50g butter, melted
• 2 eggs, separated

To serve:

• Ham
• Cheese of your choice
• Salad leaves (optional)
• Truffle infused oil (optional)

1. Place the flour, baking powder, baking powder, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Mix well.
2. Add the egg yolks, melted butter and buttermilk to the flour mixture, and mix until just combined. Don’t worry if there are still some lumps in the mixture – don’t be tempted to overmix as it will result in a dense and stodgy pancake.
3. Whip the egg whites (in a stand mixer or with a handheld whisk) until they form soft peaks.
4. Fold the egg whites into the pancake batter mixture, until just combined.
5. Spoon 1/2 cup of batter into a oiled non-stick pan over medium high heat. Flip the pancake when bubbles start to appear on the surface of the pancake, and when the edges are starting to dry out. Once flipped, cook for a further minute. Remove and keep warm.
6. Repeat with remaining pancake batter, until all the batter is used up.
7. Serve with ham, cheese, salad leaves and a drizzle of truffle infused oil.

*No buttermilk? Make your own – add 1 tablespoon lemon juice to 1 cup milk. Leave to stand for 5 minutes. Voila, homemade buttermilk!