Every South African should have a bottle of brandy in the cupboard – whether it’s leftovers from the festive season trifle making or a weekend drink of choice. And who doesn’t have a slab of chocolate or two stashed away for lockdown, right?
What should also feature in everyone’s pantry is a bottle of Angostura aromatic bitters.
Brandy and chocolate go well together because of the natural fruity aromas within the base wine used to distill brandy. The different fruity or spicy aromas pair incredibly well with various chocolate. As a general rule, a younger lighter brandy pairs well with white chocolate, medium-aged ten to twelve-year-old brandies pair well with citrus or fruit-infused milk chocolate, and older brandies of fifteen to twenty years old pairs well with dark chocolate.
Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate… yes, please!
Angostura Deep Chocolate Sauce
Ingredients
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 cup sweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons Angostura aromatic bitters
Method
- Combine milk, bitters and brandy in a measuring jug or microwaveable bowl. Microwave until very warm.
- Gradually add sweetened cocoa powder, whisking after each addition until smooth.
- Drizzle in additional milk if needed. Pour over your favourite ice-cream flavour when chilled.
Angostura Bitters Mousse
Ingredients
- 2 egg yolks
- ½ tablespoon Angostura aromatic bitters
- 250ml cream
- 150g chocolate
Method
- Whisk 2 egg yolks and bitters together and set aside.
- Whisk cream until thick peaks form and place in the fridge.
- Melt 150g white or milk chocolate.
- Fold the egg yolk mixture into the melted chocolate and then fold in the cream. Do this one the day before as it will need to be refrigerated overnight.
Bittered Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- 200g dark chocolate
- 100g butter
- 4 eggs
- 250g castor sugar
- 100g flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 30g cocoa
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1 pinch salt
- 400g glazed cherries
- 1 tablespoon Angostura aromatic bitters
Method
- Soak the cherries in bitters for two hours and set aside.
- Melt the chocolate and butter together and let cool. Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla essence until light and fluffy.
- Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Then sift in flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Fold this into mixture. Spoon in soaked cherries and a little of the juice from the cherries.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes at 180ºC. Let brownie cool completely before turning out.
For more bittered food and drink recipes visit www.angosturabitters.com.
