February Editor's Picks
Kew’s Festival of Orchids
28th February-8th March
Wild florals might not be braving the chill just yet, but Kew Gardens is as blooming as ever with the return of their annual Orchid Festival. The Princess of Wales conservatory will be filled with over 5000 species of vibrant orchid displays in a spectacular celebration of Indonesia’s kaleidoscopic plant population. Bookings can be added to the usual day ticket, but we’d be inclined towards ‘Orchids: After hours’, where the botanicals are enjoyed alongside traditional Indonesian dancing and cuisine.
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Wakefield Rhubarb Festival
17th - 23rd February
If you’re trying to eat a little more fruit and vegetables, think pink and book in a visit to Wakefield for their ever-popular Rhubarb Festival. With Yorkshire’s Rhubarb Triangle having been awarded protected status, it’s safe to say that locals take the rose-tinted vegetable very seriously, and you won’t taste better anywhere else. This year will include free cookery demonstrations, farmers markets, and – of course - the chance to try crumbles, pies and other delicious delicacies. Dig in.
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Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience
15th -19th April
While many museums and galleries offer the chance to immerse yourself in art, nothing quite compares to Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience. Offering a unique insight into the life and artwork of Vincent Van Gogh, the travelling exhibition will transform the historic York St Mary’s church, using virtual reality, optical illusions and projections to showcase the artist’s paintings in an extraordinary new light. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to step into a painting, book those tickets and see for yourself.
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Salted Chocolate and Caramel Tart
With January’s best intentions over and done with, let your sweet tooth run wild with a slice of Salted Chocolate and Caramel tart. Taken from Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver’s new recipe book, The Book of St. John, this rich, sweet-meets-salty pudding is an instant showstopper. Whether you’re making something for someone special this Valentine’s or simply indulging after a month of restraint, we recommend you put this mouth-watering dessert top of your ‘to-bake’ list.
Ingredients
Base:
200g plain flour
45g cocoa powder
7g bicarbonate of soda
180g demerara sugar
25g caster sugar
5g Maldon sea salt
225g unsalted butter, softened
225g dark chocolate, chopped finely – the pieces should be smaller than a chocolate chip
Caramel: 225g caster sugar
70g unsalted butter, cut into chunks
80ml double cream
Chocolate filling: 500g double cream
40g glucose
400g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
40g butter
Sea salt, for sprinkling
First make the tart case. It is easiest by far to use a machine for this. Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, both sugars and the salt, place in a food processor with the butter, and whizz until a loose dough forms. At this point add the chocolate and mix again. Wrap in cling film and allow to rest for half an hour or so.
If you are making the pastry any further in advance, take it out of the fridge in good time – you need the softness of room-temperature dough for it to work. When ready, butter and flour a tart case and roll the pastry between two sheets of baking parchment – the shards of chocolate would tear cling film, but the dough is too sticky to be rolled loose. Line the case with the pastry, rolled to around 4mm thick, line the pastry with foil or cling film, fill with baking beans and bake in a medium oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
When you remove the case from the oven, wait 10 minutes before removing the beans, otherwise the hot, soft pastry may tear. Once you have done so, press the base and sides all over with the back of a spoon while it is still warm – the aim here is to smooth the interior ready for the caramel, pushing down the inside corners which may have risen and rounded a little in the baking.
Once the case is cool, make your caramel. It is essential to move quickly when the caramel is ready, so ensure that all your ducks are in a row before you start. Place the sugar in a scrupulously dry pan and melt over a medium high heat. Do not stir! Stirring will result in a crystallised disaster. Swirling the pan a little is allowed. By the time the sugar has dissolved you should have a good colour, trusting that it can be quite dark and still be comfortable. Throw the butterin first and follow with the cream, whisk them together quickly and, at the very moment that they are smoothly incorporated, pour it into the case immediately. With speed, pick up your tart case and move it around, tilting it to ensure that the caramel covers the entire base. Leave aside to cool.
Finally, heat the cream with the glucose and take it just shy of a simmer. Place the chocolate and butter in a bowl and pour the hot cream over the chunks in three stages, stirring gently to incorporate – the first will melt the chocolate, the second will loosen the mixture and the third will make the smooth ganache. Then pour the chocolate mixture into the tart and leave to cool and solidify. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and serve with crème fraiche.
