The Radovljica Chocolate Festival – magic it up at home this year!

Chocolate has no limits when it comes to seasons, pandemics and crises of one kind or another, in fact, in the most stressful situations it hits the spot even more!

Before you set about making any of the recipes, equip yourself with a supply of quality chocolate, which you can buy from the chocolatiers who feature at our Chocolate Festival every year. The majority of their products can be bought online via webstores. The full list can be found here.

Then, once armed with plenty of chocolate, you can treat yourself to chocolate treats in the comfort of your own home, thanks to the recipes prepared for you by Taste Radol'ca. This is also a great idea for keeping children occupied at this time – they are bound to be interested in chocolate! For added encouragement we have also come up with a prize game.

CHOCOLATE HERB DRINK and CHOCOLATE CREME BRULEE

Restavracija Tabor in Podbrezje recommends a chocolate herb drink and chocolate creme brulee, made based on a recipe by the chef Maks Pogacnik. Maks's idea for a drink is relatively simple, so you can quickly quench your thirst for something sweet.

Chocolate herb drink

Ingredients: 40g dark chocolate (78%), 250ml water, a few leaves each of mint, sage and thyme, 10g cocoa powder

Method: Chop the chocolate with a knife and place it in a bowl over simmering water until it melts. Pour 250ml of boiling water into a separate bowl and add the herbs. Cover the bowl and leave to rest for 10 mins. After 10 mins pour the melting chocolate over the water and herb mixture, add the powdered cocoa and mix with a stick blender for 2 mins. The drink can be sweetened to taste with sugar or honey.

Chocolate Creme Brulee

Ingredients: 120g dark chocolate (78%), 250ml cream, 250ml milk, 4 egg yolks, 40g sugar, chocolate shavings to decorate

Method: Preheat the oven to 100°C. Chop the chocolate with a knife and place it on a bowl over simmering water until it melts. Bring the milk and cream to the boil in a pan. Place the sugar and egg yolks in a bowl and whip until foamy using a hand mixer. Add a little of the cream and milk mixture to the egg yolks to warm them slightly, mixing well at all times. Then pour over the remaining mixture and mix well. Transfer the mixture to a pan and heat to 82°C mixing at all times until it thickens. Pour the heated mixture over the chocolate and mix using a stick blender until an emulsion is formed.

Place the mixture into six small ceramic ramekins then put the ramekins into a deep baking tray. Pour water into the baking tray (up to at least one-third of the depth) then place it into an oven and bake for 20 minutes at 100°C. Allow the creme brulee to cook then sprinkle over the chocolate shavings.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

Chef Uroš Štefelin from Vila Podvin has created a recipe for a delicious chocolate cake. It requires a bit more preparation, but once you get started it's not that difficult. The photo alone looks delicious, so, how about giving his recipe a go?

Sponge

Ingredients: 120g egg whites, 125g sugar, 80g egg whites, 35g cocoa powder

Method: Beat together the egg whites and sugar until firm then add the beaten egg yolks. Add the sifted cocoa powder then place in an oven for 165°C for 15-20 mins. The ingredients are suitable for a 20cm baking tin.

Bitter chocolate mousse

Ingredients: 100g sugar, 35g water, 150g eggs, 140g dark chocolate (90%), 55g butter, 3g leaf gelatine, 250g whipped cream

Method: Heat the water and sugar to 121°C. Beat the eggs and slowly add the sugar syrup. Continue beating until the egg mixture cools. Melt the chocolate, butter and gelatine, allow to cool then add to the whipped cream. Mix both mixtures together.

Chocolate glaze

Ingredients: 250g cream, 200g sugar syrup, 50g glucose, 100g dark chocolate

Method: Bring the cream to the boil then add the sugar syrup, glucose and dark chocolate. Mix together well then use to glaze the cake.

Strawberry sorbet

Ingredients: 500g strawberries, 100g honey, 100g sugar, salt

Method: Blitz the strawberries then add the honey, sugar and a pinch of salt and freeze in a pacojet. Add the desired amount of sorbet to the cake prior to serving.

CHOCOLATE 'SALAMI'

Gostišče Draga is known for its excellent homemade specialities, among them delicious dried meats. So, since this blog is about chocolate, why not try this recipe for chocolate 'salami'!

Ingredients: 200g dark chocolate, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, 100g butter, 50g hazelnuts, 60g butter biscuits, 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 egg whites, 1 tablespoon rum, 1 tablespoon almond liqueur, 1 tablespoon candied orange peel, 1 teaspoon salt, icing sugar

Method: Lightly toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan until they begin to release their aroma. Break the biscuits into small pieces. Finely slice the orange peel. Break the chocolate and place into a small pan. Cube the butter and add to the pan and heat slowly, mixing occasionally, until the butter and chocolate melt. Roughly chop the hazelnuts. Mix together the egg whites, rum and almond liqueur. Remove the melted chocolate from the heat and immediately mix in the egg white mixture. Add the hazelnuts, biscuits, sugar, cocoa powder, orange peel and salt. Mix well then place in the fridge to chill and set. Spread the cooled mixture onto a piece of aluminum foil and shape by hand into a 'salami'; the chocolate quickly comes to room temperature which makes shaping it easier. Wrap the 'salami' in foil and place in the refrigerator to set. Once set remove from the fridge, unwrap and sprinkle liberally with icing sugar.

CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKE

This recipe for a chocolate orange cake has been revealed to us by Gostilna pr'Tavčar in Begunje na Gorenjskem. This delicious cake does not require a lot of preparation and makes a great dessert. Thanks to its simple preparation, children will also enjoy being involved.

Ingredients for a 12-portion cake (20cm baking tin): 5 eggs, 100g sugar, 100g flour, 40g cocoa powder, 600ml cream, 300g dark chocolate, 50g orange jam or marmalade, 2 oranges, 20ml rum

Method: whisk the eggs and sugar until foamy. Add the cocoa powder to the flour, sift, then lightly fold into the egg mixture. Pour into a greased and floured baking tin and bake for 20 mins at 170°C. Remove from the oven and spread over the orange jam/marmalade then leave to cool. Peel the oranges and cut into segments. Melt the chocolate over simmering water. Whip the cream until firm then quickly add the melted chocolate and rum. Spread the cream mixture over the cooled cake and decorate with orange segments. Allow the cake to chill in the fridge for at least one hour prior to serving.

It is a known fact that chocolate improves mood, while dark chocolate also has a beneficial effect on our health. We hope these chocolate recipes will make it easier for you to wait until the next Radovljica Chocolate Festival, which will take place from 16-18 April 2021.

Now to the prize game…

Try our recipes at home or even set about making other chocolate-based recipes. Publish photos of your chocolate creations on Instagram with the tag @festivalcokolade or email them to us on: blanka.grasic@radolca.si. On Monday 20 April we will reward some of the best with chocolate from Radovljica.

The general terms of the prize game can be found here.

Should you have any questions related to the recipes, feel free to contact us on blanka.grasic@radolca.si and our chefs will be delighted to help you, and/or they might even try out some of your recipes!

Written by: Blanka Grašič, April 2020