Tipple | Orangey Hot Chocolate

Hot chocolate’s great, but add orange (and perhaps a splash of Cointreau) and it’s hard to go back.

Serves 6

2ltr whole milk
1 large orange
6 tbsp dark hot chocolate powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp grated fresh nutmeg Cointreau (optional)

1 Warm the milk in a large saucepan over a medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer.

2 Cut the orange in half, cutting each half into half-moon slices. Put six aside and add the rest to the saucepan, along with the hot chocolate powder, ground cinnamon and nutmeg.

3 Simmer gently for 5 mins, keeping the heat low to prevent it from boiling. Stir frequently to avoid the milk from catching on the pan. Once ready, discard the orange segments.

4 To serve, pour into cups and add a shot of Cointreau for a boozy extra, if desired. Garnish each cup with one of the orange slices set aside earlier.

This recipe is just one of the ideas from our March ‘gathering’ pages, which this month is a menu for a crafternoon of ‘loose ends’ projects. It also includes recipes for Carrot & Ginger Soup, Spiced Chicken Skewers, Roast Paprika Sweet Potato Wedges, Whipped Feta & Pistachio Dip and Pear, Dark Chocolate and Cardamom Muffins. Recipes are by Kay Prestney and photography by Rebecca Lewis. Ceramics kindly supplied by Francesca Atkinson of Frankie’s Ceramics @frankieceramics.

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Recipe | Chocolate, orange and almond cake

This moist and decadent chocolate loaf cake with a gorgeous caramelised almond brittle crust is sure to have you sneaking back to the tin for more

CHOCOLATE, ORANGE & ALMOND CAKE
Makes 1 large loaf
50g butter, diced
130g soft brown sugar
Zest of 1 orange
40g honey
150g flaked almonds
170g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
11⁄4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
225g softened butter
340g caster sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1⁄2 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped out (or 1⁄2 tsp vanilla paste)
160g buttermilk

1 Preheat oven to 160C/Fan140C/320F. Grease and line a 9x22x10cm loaf tin.
2 Melt the 50g of butter, brown sugar, zest and honey in a pan over a low heat, stirring, until thick and syrupy and the sugar has dissolved. Pour into the prepared tin, evenly sprinkle over the almonds. Set aside to cool. 
3 In a bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa and bicarb with 1⁄4 tsp of salt, then set aside. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
4 In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla seeds (or paste). With the mixer running slowly, gradually add the eggs to the butter mixture, ensuring each addition is fully
incorporated before adding the next.
5 Alternate between adding a third of the dry ingredients and a third of the buttermilk to the mixture, mixing well between each addition, until all the ingredients are added and the batter has just come together.
6 Pour over the almonds in the tin; bake for 60–70 mins, until firm and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
7 Leave to cool for a few minutes in the tin, then set a wire rack over a tray lined with
baking parchment. Invert the warm cake on to the rack and gently lift off the tin, taking care to avoid the caramel, which will be extremely hot*. Leave to cool completely.
8 To serve, cut with a serrated knife, gently sawing through the topping. The cake will keep for a few days in an airtight container.

Recipe from The Tivoli Road Baker by Michael James with Pippa James (Hardie Grant). 

  * If the topping sticks in the tin or falls off when you invert the cake, use a spoon or spatula to quickly stick it back onto the cake, taking care not to touch the scorching caramel.

Cake in the House is our monthly recipe feature - get a cake recipe every month in The Simple Things!

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Recipe | Campari orange poptails

There’s something a little mischievous about turning a childhood treat into something strictly for grown-ups. Poptails – or alcoholic lollies – are summer cocktails, only cooler; delicious, playful and quirky. 

Makes 8–10
60ml water
110g granulated sugar
600ml freshly squeezed orange juice (from 6 or 7 oranges)
80ml freshly squeezed lime juice (from 3 or 4 limes)
90ml (6 tbsp) Campari
Sliver of orange, to garnish (optional)

1 Heat water and sugar in a pan until sugar has dissolved. Mix with the orange and lime juice and Campari. 
2 Fill the moulds, leaving a little space at the top. If you like, put a sliver of orange into the top of each. 
3 Freeze until slushy (60–90 mins), then insert the sticks and freeze until solid, at least five hours.

Note: the alcohol content makes poptails more fragile than their booze-free cousins. For best results:
* Leave a 5mm gap at the top of the mould for expansion.
* Poptails take longer to freeze because of their alcohol content – about 5–8 hours or overnight.
* Metal or rubbery silicone moulds work best. Leave sitting at room temperature for a while before unmoulding (unless using silicone when you can just push them out) and take care – they’re more delicate than lollies.
* Serve as soon as possible after unmoulding, but if you need to store them, wrap in cling film and store in the freezer in an airtight bag. Best eaten within a week of making.
* Make bite-sized poptails in silicone ice cube trays, skewered with cocktail sticks.

Recipe from Ice Kitchen: Poptails by Cesar and Nadia Roden (Quadrille).

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