NoMU Recipe Cards Vol.76 For the Love of Chocolate, February

As is our February tradition, yet again we are 

selfishly dedicating an entire set of cards to 

Chocolate - YUM! In fact we have even tapped 

our team, getting them to divulge their sentimental 

favourites. So with a decadent spread of 

childhood chocolate memories, these Recipes Cards 

are a mix of absolute essentials, chocolatey quickfixes 

and even a special, hidden tribute to my late 

Grandmother Margaret and the one very special 

cookbook that she left me that started it all! 

76 

recipe 

c a r d s

01 

basics 

Chocolate ganache 

Bring ½ cup cream to the boil, pour over 250g NoMU Hot Chocolate and whisk 

until smooth. Serve warm with desserts, pour over cakes or chill in the fridge 

and once set roll into truffles. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for 

several days. Variation: add 1 tablespoon orange or coffee liqueur to the ganache. 

Chocolate icing 

Cream 250g butter for 5 minutes until very pale and fluffy. Sift in 400g icing 

sugar and 5 tablespoons NoMU Cocoa and beat to incorporate. Add a tablespoon 

of milk and beat again until smooth and creamy. Spread over cooled chocolate 

or vanilla cake or cupcakes. Makes enough for 1 cake or 12 cupcakes. 

Choc fudge sundae 

Combine 150g NoMU Hot Chocolate, 5 tablespoons soft brown sugar and 

1 cup single cream in a saucepan. Whisk over a low heat until smooth and 

glossy then stir in 1 teaspoon NoMU Vanilla Extract. Scoop vanilla ice-cream 

into glasses, layering with chocolate fudge sauce, drizzle with caramel sauce 

(Recipe Mailer #70) and sprinkle with roughly chopped toasted hazelnuts. 

Espresso Chocolate Sauce 

In a saucepan, bring 1 cup (250ml) cream and 1 shot of espresso to scalding 

point. Add 150g NoMU Hot Chocolate and stir until the chocolate has melted 

and the sauce is smooth and glossy. Pour over home-made vanilla ice-cream as 

a delicious dessert or place ice-cream, chocolate sauce and a splash of milk in 

a blender and whizz up to make a refreshing chocolate mocha milkshake. For a 

boozier option, replace the espresso with coffee liqueur or Coffee Patron.

double chocolate 

02 florentines 

100g unsalted butter 

1 cup double cream 

250g caster sugar 

50g dried cranberries, chopped 

50g candied orange peel, finely chopped 

400g flaked almonds 

2 pumps NoMU Vanilla Paste 

100g plain flour 

1 tsp NoMU Cocoa 

150g NoMU Hot Chocolate 

Preheat your oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with foil. Grease well. 

Place the butter, cream and sugar in a saucepan and stir over a low heat 

until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil then remove from the heat 

and stir in the cranberries, orange peel, almonds and NoMU Vanilla Paste. 

Sift in the flour and NoMU cocoa and stir to combine. 

Drop generous teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the prepared tray ensuring 

that they are spaced apart and flatten each one lightly with a fork. Bake for 

6-8 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully lift off the tray with a palette 

knife and transfer to a cooling rack. 

Melt the NoMU Hot Chocolate in the microwave and dip one half of each 

florentine into the chocolate to coat. Place on greaseproof paper to set. 

Tip: 

. Replace the cranberries with glace cherries and try hazelnuts or brazil 

nuts instead of almonds. 

. Dip the florentines in white chocolate instead of dark. 

. Make spiced florentines by adding 1 tsp NoMU Sweet Rub to the flour. 

WINE PAIRING On tasting Van Ryn 10 Year Old Vintage Brandy, first 

smoky caramel, then dried fruit, citrus and almonds came to mind. So it’s 

a natural choice for these chocolate-dipped discs lit up with cranberry and 

orange peel. Clean but with the requisite complexity and a very civilized 

end to a meal, French-style.

WINE PAIRING Rosetta Roastery’s Ethiopian Sidamo - filter brewed and 

served black - offers sparkling fruity acidity for offsetting the caster sugar 

and ganache, refreshing citrus notes and a complexity to compliment a 

classic chocolate doughnut. 

03 

½ cup cream 


250g plain flour 

½ tsp salt 


3.5g instant yeast 

½ cup warm milk 

oven baked 

chocolate doughnuts 

1 tsp NoMU Vanilla Extract 

1 large egg, lightly beaten 

20g unsalted butter, melted 

Extra butter for coating 

1 cup caster sugar 

1 tbsp NoMU Sweet Rub 

Preheat your oven to 180°C. 

To make the filling bring the cream to the boil, then pour over the NoMU 

Hot Chocolate. Whisk until smooth then set aside to cool and thicken. 

Sift the flour and salt into a warm bowl. Add the sugar and yeast and mix well. 

Whisk the milk, NoMU Vanilla Extract, egg and butter together. Make a well 

in the centre of the flour and add the liquid. Stir until the mixture comes 

together, then tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes 

until the dough is soft and smooth. Add a bit more flour if the dough is too 

sticky. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with cling film and leave in a warm 

place until doubled in size. 

Divide the dough into 14 equal pieces and roll into smooth balls. Place the 

balls on a floured tray, cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm 

place until once again doubled in size. 

Place the tray in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the doughnuts 

are lightly golden. (Take care not to overbake the doughnuts or they will dry 

out.) Remove from the oven and brush each doughnut with melted butter. 

In a bowl, combine the caster sugar and NoMU Sweet Rub. Roll the doughnuts 

in the sugar until well coated and set aside to cool. 

Using a sharp knife make a small incision in the side of each doughnut. 

Fill a piping bag with the cooled ganache and pipe into the doughnuts 

before serving. 

Makes 14

04 

1 cup seedless raisins 

½ cup bourbon whiskey 


½ cup unsalted butter, diced 

6 large eggs, separated 

1 cup caster sugar 

200g ground almonds 

1 tbsp cake flour 

Pinch salt 

jane raphaely’s famous 

chocolate bourbon raisin cake 

Chocolate glaze: 

½ cup pouring cream 


Preheat your oven to 180°C and line a 23cm cake tin with baking paper. 

Soak the raisins in the bourbon whiskey for at least an hour, longer if possible. 

In a double boiler (or gently in the microwave) carefully melt the NoMU Hot 

Chocolate and butter and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool. 

In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks until pale and creamy. Add the caster 

sugar gradually and beat until thick. On low speed, add the chocolate mixture 

then using a wooden spoon stir in the ground almonds, flour, raisins and the 

remaining bourbon. 

In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites and salt until soft peak stage, 

then fold into the chocolate mixture until combined and smooth. 

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for 40 – 45 minutes. 

The edges of the cake should be firm to the touch while the middle will be soft. 

Allow to cool completely before turning out of the tin. 

To make the glaze bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from 

the heat and whisk in the NoMU Hot Chocolate until smooth. Allow to cool 

slightly before pouring over the cooled cake. Allow the glaze to set before 

serving. Delicious as is any time of the day or serve with whipped cream and 

clementine preserve. 

WINE PAIRING The raisiny sweetness of Rietvallei Red Muscadel 2008 

could do well to extend the flavours of bourbon-soaked raisins immersed 

in this almond-enriched chocolate cake.

WINE PAIRING For something so über chocolatey, the name of this wine 

says it all, Vrede en Lust’s Mocholate Malbec 2011 

teresa’s flourless 

05 chocolate tart 




Pinch of salt 


1 tsp NoMU Vanilla Extract 

Preheat your oven to 180°C. Line a 22cm cake tin with baking paper and 

grease well. 

Place the butter and NoMU Hot Chocolate in a saucepan and melt over a 

low heat. Set aside to cool slightly. 

Whisk the egg whites to soft peak stage. Add the salt then gradually add 

the sugar and whisk to stiff peak stage. 

Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate mixture one at a time, whisking 

well between each addition. Stir in the NoMU Vanilla Extract. 

Using a large metal spoon, add half of the egg whites to the mixture and 

fold in carefully, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites. 

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 25 minutes or until 

a crust has formed on the surface of the tart. Take care not to over-bake, 

the centre should have a mousse-like texture. 

Cool before removing from the tin and serving. 

Serves 10-12 

Tips: 

. Flourless chocolate tarts will by their nature sink in the middle. You can 

serve the tart as is or fill the top with whipped cream and berries. 

. Add 50g ground almonds to the mixture before baking. 

. Delicious served with mascarpone blended with a teaspoon of brown sugar. 

. Add 1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind to the mixture before baking. 

. For extra decadence, coat with chocolate ganache before serving.

06 ashley’s rocky road (cover image) 



3 tbsp golden syrup 

200g Marie biscuits 

100g mini marshmallows 

Icing sugar for dusting 

Line a 24cm square cake tin with baking paper. 

Melt the NoMU Hot Chocolate, butter and syrup in a saucepan over a low heat, 

whisking until smooth. Set aside ½ cup of the chocolate mixture. 

Use a rolling pin to crush the Marie biscuits (you should have a mixture of 

bigger pieces and crumbs) and stir into the chocolate mixture with the mini 

marshmallows until everything is coated with chocolate. 

Tip the mixture into the prepared cake tin. Pour the reserved chocolate mixture 

over the top and smooth with a spatula. 

Refrigerate the mixture for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. 

Cut into squares or bars, dust with icing sugar and serve. 

Tips: 

. To make an adult version of this recipe (image on right) replace the Marie 

biscuits and mini marshmallows with 200g blanched hazelnuts (toasted and 

roughly chopped), 50g candied citrus peel and 80g chopped ginger preserve. 

. Also delicious with glace cherries, chopped Turkish Delight, ginger biscuits 

or chopped brazil nuts. 

. Pack rocky road squares into a tin, wrap with petersham ribbon and give 

to a friend as a delicious gift. 

Makes: 24 squares 

WINE PAIRING There’s no way I could imagine holding a glass of wine 

in hand while eating a slab of rocky road. So I’ll take my cue from the 

people who know Rocky Road best – American children – and make it a 

tall glass of cold, full-cream milk.

07 

magda’s frozen 

chocolate mousse 



200g chocolate wafer biscuits 

1 tbsp NoMU Cocoa 

1½ tbsp good quality instant 

coffee granules 

170ml boiling water 

½ cup caster sugar 



875ml cream 

1ml fine salt 

1ml cream of tartar 

Grease a 22cm springform tin. 

To make the base place the butter, 50g NoMU Hot Chocolate, chocolate 

wafer biscuits and NoMU Cocoa in a food processor and whizz until 

combined. Press into the tin. 

Place the coffee, water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil 

whilst stirring. Pour the hot coffee mixture over the 500g NoMU Hot 

Chocolate and whisk until smooth. Add the egg yolks to the hot mixture 

and mix well. 

Whisk the cream in a separate bowl till soft peaks form and set aside. 

In another bowl whisk the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar to soft 

peak stage. 

Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture, then carefully fold 

the egg whites into the mixture, taking care not to over mix. Tip the 

mixture into the tin, cover with clingfilm and freeze overnight. 

Carefully remove from the tin, allow to rest for 15 minutes and serve. 

WINE PAIRING There’s a lot of hype around chocolate Pinotage, but 

here the chocolate is all in this iced dessert and the berry-abundant 

(fortified) Pinotage, Pineau de Laborie, is served chilled alongside. 

Tips: 

. Top with chocolate curls and dust with NoMU Cocoa before serving. 

. This dessert can also be made in individual ramekins rather than one large tin. 

. Make an adult version of this dessert by adding a few tablespoons of orange 

liqueur to the mixture before chilling. 

Serves 10-12

08 quick fixes 

Cheat’s chocolate pasties de nata 

Preheat your oven to 200°C. Roll a sheet of puff pastry to ½ cm thickness and use a 10cm cookie cutter 

to cut out 12 circles. Press each one into a greased muffin tray. Combine 180ml cream with 1 teaspoon 

NoMU Vanilla Paste. Using measuring spoons, place exactly 1 tablespoon cream into each pastry shell, 

followed by 1 level teaspoon light brown or demerara sugar, followed by 1 teaspoon NoMU Hot Chocolate. 

An optional extra would be a generous pinch of NoMU Sweet Rub and/or a sprinkling of orange zest. 

Bake for 20 - 30 minutes or until puffed up and very golden brown. If you take it out too soon, the 

pastry will not be crispy. Allow to cool before serving. 

WINE PAIRING As with milktart, my choice for chocolate-spiked pasteis de nata would be a natural sweet 

with natural acidity, like Glen Carlou’s ‘The Welder’ Natural Sweet Chenin Blanc 2011. 

Pear and chocolate tart 

Preheat oven to 200°C and grease a baking tray well. Using a saucer as a guide, cut four small circles 

out of a sheet of puff pastry. Place the rounds on the baking tray and score a smaller circle on each one, 

1 cm from the edge. Prick the inner circle with a fork and sprinkle with ½ tablespoon NoMU Hot 

Chocolate. Peel and thinly slice 4 pears, then fan the pear slices over the chocolate. Whisk an egg with 

1 tablespoon milk and brush around the pastries taking care that excess egg wash doesn’t spill over the 

edges of the tarts. Split 2 cinnamon sticks lengthways and arrange these in the centre of the tarts. Dust 

each tart with caster sugar and bake for 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Serve with fresh 

cream whipped to a soft peak with 5 pumps of NoMU Vanilla Paste. 

Tip: You could also make 1 large tart instead of 4 smaller ones and use apples instead of pears and 

sprinkle with NoMU Sweet Rub before baking. 

WINE PAIRING Working on the ‘pear drops’ aspect of Viognier, the richness of wooded Chenin and the buttery 

quality of puff pastry, these tarts would be a great opportunity to uncork an old favourite: the Vondeling Babiana 

2008, a blend of Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier and Grenache Blanc.

NoMU Recipe Cards Vol.76 For the Love of Chocolate, February

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