About eight of Tried and Supplied founder, Domini Hogg’s delightful university chums came to Sardinia. Producing meals for 12 twice a day single-handed wouldn’t have given me time to enjoy them so I divided them into pairs, and got them to take turns.

Simon Rowbotham entered into the spirit of this with true gusto…I can’t remember now who his allocated partner was, mostly because, in practice, he always seemed to have at least two or three helpers.

When it came to alcohol his philosophy was to be generous-hearted. Noticing my raised eyebrow looking at the puddling golden liquid added to the melted chocolate, he explained apologetically, “my hand slipped”….

And when it came to the eating the unanimous verdict was that it was a very good thing that it had!

The terrine will keep well in the freezer, but it won’t freeze hard thanks to the alcohol content. This is also not a dish for lunch outside on a hot day. Because it is soft, and very rich, it pairs well with the tuiles which offer a textural contrast.

The tuiles use the egg whites not needed in the terrine, so you need to take care when you separate the eggs, not to let any yolk get into the whites.

NB: the terrine needs to be firmed up in the freezer overnight (or, for at least three hours).

Simon Rowbotham’s slipped-hand chocolate whisky terrine with curly tuiles

Serves about 16 (you may well have some tuiles left over)

Ingredients for the terrine

• 250g/9 oz good quality dark chocolate
• 50g/2 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 egg yolks
• 320 ml/1⅓ cups double cream
• 2 tsps vanilla paste
• 4 tbsps whisky – not your best

Ingredients for the tuiles

• 100g/4 oz butter
• 4 egg whites
• 200g/1 generous cup golden caster sugar
• 100g/¾ cup plain flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground allspice

Method

1. Line a small loaf tin with cling film, leaving enough extra cling film to fold over the top.
2. Melt the chocolate in a bain marie (or in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water – the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water). Allow to cool.
3. Mix in the butter. Then mix in the egg yolks. Stir in the whisky.
4. Put the cream and vanilla paste into a large mixing bowl. Whisk until thick, but not stiff as a board! Using a metal spoon fold in the chocolate mixture.
5. Pour into the lined loaf tin, cover with the extra cling film, and freeze overnight.
6. Then make the tuiles. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Melt the butter and leave to cool a little.
7. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then fold in the sugar, the butter, the flour, and the spices.
8. Grease a dressing bottle, or a small rolling pin. Line baking trays with silicone paper. Put a tablespoon of the mixture onto the surface, allow to thin out and spread. Bake in batches – about five minutes each batch – they should be golden, just turning a little darker around the edges. WARNING – these can burn easily so watch them… take a look after three or four minutes.
9. Take the tuiles out of the oven, and immediately wrap around the greased bottle or rolling pin. When they’ve cooled a little take then off whatever mould you’re using and put them on a wire rack.
10. If some of the tuiles have cooled before you’ve had a chance to mould them, return to the oven for a moment or so. Store in an airtight container until you are ready to serve with the terrine.

This post is, of course, dedicated to Simon Robotham.