The Inquest and the day after.

The Operating Instructions and The Manual provided both state the capacity of each melting pot is a maximum of 250g of chocolate (or candy buttons) and states “Note: If using block chocolate, chop or grate the chocolate into small pieces to reduce the melting time … and … Do not melt chocolate or candy buttons to a level above the “MAX” line stamped in the melting pot.”

The jury's out.

I used small chocolate chips and weighed out 250g – if I'd have used them all they would have overspilled the pot so I reduced the weight to 200g.

I couldn't find any instructions or information anywhere in either the Operating Instructions or the Manual how long it takes to melt, in theory, 250g of chocolate.

It's no wonder customers get frustrated – don't they understand – it's not rocket science!

Moving on, use your ever faithful kitchen timer. Set it for 10 minutes for the pre-heating process. Add your chocolate, set your timer again for 10 minutes – it doesn't look particularly encouraging at the end of the first 10 minutes period, stir the chocolate as it suggests, set the timer again for another 10 minutes. Now it's looking much better – nice and glossy.

So, the answer to my original question is preheat for 10 minutes and it takes 20 minutes (in two 10 minute blocks) to melt the chocolate.

The other question that occurred is – what if I've got chocolate leftover in the melting pot – can I re-use it?

I had leftover chocolate which I set aside and covered. The following day I uncovered the melting pot and chocolate, placed it in the base and preheated for 10 minutes on the melt position II. After preheating I set my timer for a further 10 minutes and can confirm that the chocolate melts perfectly and is ready for use. You may need another 2 minutes or so, depending on the type of chocolate you are using. Total time – 22 minutes.

I then made another batch of chocolate discs as good as the previous day.

The 200g of chocolate will give you 25 chocolate discs – you may get more or less depending on the thickness of chocolate disc you prefer.

In conclusion not a bad piece of kit for the money – poor instructions but I'm glad I invested.

After all that hard work I think I need to retire for a rest – with chocolate of course!

Not a bad effort!

As soon as you've completed your circles release (as I know I'm fond of saying) your inner Jackson Pollock and scatter your fruit and nuts where you may – it doesn't matter at all if they spill – they'll land on the tray.

Here they are :

Now for the difficult bit – resist the urge to prod and place the baking sheet in a cool dry place for 2 – 3 hours – NOT in a fridge. The chocolate discs will lift easily from the parchment :

If there are any left – of course you need to sample – place in a box with a tightly fitting lid and keep in a cool, dark place – NOT the fridge. They'll keep a week – tee hee.

A really useful sweet morsel – I hope you'll agree.

Here goes nothing!

The instructions are straight forward and the base unit easy to understand. You preheat the base unit with a melting pot inside for 10 minutes, then add the chocolate, stirring occasionally until melted :

  

Remove the melting pot from the base and pour a small blob of melted chocolate onto each circle on the parchment :

Using the back of a spoon – I used a dessert spoon – in a circular motion gently ease the melted chocolate out to fill the circle :

Do not panic if you overrun the circle – it's not the end of the world – practice makes perfect, it's like using a piping bag for the first time – give yourself a break.

The end product!

It's always a good idea to decide on an end product when road testing kit and my advice would definitely be don't choose anything too complicated – it will only end in tears with you covered head to toe in chocolate – a slight exaggeration may be! It should be a fun exercise with something to show for it.

I thought I'd have a shot at what we used to call “petit fours” they could be used with a dessert or, as they were originally served, a sweet hit with an after dinner coffee and/or liqueur – very 1970s. You know you've always wanted to produce your own version of an After Eight Mint!

So, have a look in your store cupboard/pantry and grab a handful of whatever takes your fancy – in the fruit and nut line that is … I chose my usual favourites because they are staples in my pantry – tart cherries, apricots and pistachios. Chop them, finely – you can mix them if you wish or leave them in individual heaps, ready to scatter later.

A final tip – don't experiment with new pieces of kit, or recipes for that matter, if you haven't got the time – if you put yourself under pressure you'll rush and chances are you won't be happy with the result.

My new piece of kit.

Those of you who follow the blog regularly will know that I'm not one for spending dosh on kit for it to gather dust. With that in mind I thought I'd treat myself to a chocolate melting machine.

I melt chocolate frequently and I'm an old fashioned kinda gal and always use the steam method – saucepan with the bowl on top – never a microwave, personally I don't think you can control the chocolate and microwaves vary. The only downside to the old fashioned method is that it creates washing up. When I saw the Chocolate Melting Pot in Lakeland, I thought it looked neat and, reasonably priced at £19.99, it wouldn't break the bank.

Here it is :

Never let it be said that I don't have your best interests at heart - for the purpose of its inaugural outing I'm keeping it simple.

The plan :

You'll need :

a baking sheet measuring 30x30 cms

a piece of baking parchment measuring 29x29 cms

- slightly narrower than your baking sheet

4 large paper clips

the chocolate melting pot base and one melting pot

Before you begin

Secure your parchment to the baking sheet with the four paperclips

Draw circles on the parchment measuring approximately

6 cms in diameter – I used a straight sided pastry cutter – anything

circular will do

As a guide you'll get approximately 9 circles on the parchment.

Leave space between each circle.

When you've drawn your circles turn the parchment over

so that the pencil side is face down, then secure again with

the paperclips

Off we jolly well go!

Sides and asides!

Sides

You don't have to serve the fishcakes with the slaw.

Asparagus is in season and would make an excellent companion. If you wanted to serve a mixture of veggies – how about a stir fry – you can buy punnets of small sweet peppers - orange, yellow and red. De-seed and slice the peppers – blanch and refresh your asparagus and stir fry for 2/3 minutes in a drop of rapeseed oil, add salt and black pepper and a pinch of sumac would work really well. Use anything that you like – a sliced sweet onion, courgettes.

Samphire is just coming into season. For those who are wondering, samphire is classed as a sea vegetable – I think of it as a type of seaweed. It's salty if you use it raw. It needs to be either boiled or steamed for a minute or two.

Try it mixed with baby asparagus – steam them both together for a couple of minutes and serve with the fishcakes and a sauce.

Two notes :

Don't forget to snap your asparagus – any woody inedible ends will snap naturally – discard them or, if feeling virtuous you can turn them into soup.

To save your aching feet – samphire is usually found on the fish counter.

Asides

Here's what the girls said about the class :

“The most amazing Coronation Slaw and Fishcakes. Pudding delicious!”

“The mushrooms were so flavoursome and would make a fantastic dinner party starter.”

“A totally wonderful meal. Mushrooms so tasty, fishcakes and coleslaw a delight, sweet – unusual mixture and terrific.”

“Wonderful food and ideas!”

The recipes for both the Champignon au tartines and the Hazelnut Hodgepodge are posted on the blog.

Went down well I thought!

A fishcake post script

Here's my variation on The Ivy's fishcake recipe.

Stuff it!

In this case with a cheese that will melt, for example, taleggio – an Italian soft cheese with a crust. It smells strong but is quite mild and has a fruity tang to it. I use taleggio in arancini instead of mozzarella - it's personal taste.

Cut a slice of cheese 2x3 cms and squidge it into a square. This is easy to do provided you do this straight from the fridge – if you leave it lying around it won't work, as fast as you try to cut it it will stick to your knife.

Divide the mixture into 8 round cakes as per the recipe and stuff the middle of the fishcake with the square of cheese, seal and mould, then fridge to chill.

When you're ready to serve pre-heat the oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6. Lightly flour the fishcakes and fry them until they are coloured on both sides. Bake for 10/15 minutes.

The finished fishcake looks like this :

You might even convert the fish sceptics!