Sherry wine and chocolates

It originally started life as a drink, imported to Europe from South America. In London in the 1700s, for example, the richest areas of St James and Mayfair were awash with chocolate shops that would sell it in the form of a hot drink, but only for those who could afford it.

Thankfully, today we can buy bars of chocolate for not much more than the price of a bus ticket and can pick it up at airports, petrol stations and street corners. Gone is the glamour, but the love of the taste still remains.

As a result, chocolate is found on pretty much every menu in the final act, the dessert or pudding section. It could be in the form of an ice cream, a tart, a mousse or even just as a simple cake. Chocolate is one the most enduring sweet food items in the world.

Because of its wonderfully delicious nature, chocolate in all forms (white, dark, milk) is just brilliant with PX sherry and I would urge you try the following with a nice small glass of Spain’s forgotten hero.

Take two large bars of milk chocolate and melt them in a double boiler. Once the chocolate is fully melted, pour in a small measure of PX sherry (50ml). Take cream that equals the amount of the chocolate-sherry mixture. While the chocolate mixture cools on the side, whip up half the amount of the cream until it’s fluffy. Add the rest of the cream and the chocolate-sherry mixture and keep mixing until peaks form. Once you have a good consistency, spoon into small dishes and place in the fridge until they are chilled and ready to serve. For some added zing, you can use dark cherries in the mix as well or dust the mix with some cinnamon powder at the end.