A cacao-inspired Platinum Jubilee menu
25 May 2022
Try-at-home British recipes with a cacao twist.
These recipes, favourites at our Rabot restaurant in London’s Borough Market, will be the talk of the town at your Jubilee get-together. Revel in made-to-share British classics given a cacao twist.
From centrepieces to desserts, canapès to cocktails, finger food to fun for the whole family, why not try them all for a unique Jubilee menu. Bound to impress the Joneses. Just add bunting.
Read on for:
Cocktails and Mocktails
Canapès & Finger Food
Main Plates
Puddings
Cocktails and Mocktails
Since there is absolutely no chance of a double bank holiday, in June, in Britain, being spoilt by the weather, we’re planning for unadulterated blue skies, glorious sunshine and long, warm evenings. Naturally, you’ll need some ultra-refreshing drinks for guests of all ages.
Rabot Breeze
A tart variation on the Sea Breeze, with a cherry & raspberry gin kick.
It’s the summertime, and the living is breezy…
An ice-cold Rabot Breeze levels up any summer evening. Two parts refreshment, one part gin-spiration and garnished with summer vibes. It’s our extra dry and extra fragrant paean to World Gin Day.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ shots Cherry & Raspberry Gin Liqueur
- 3 Shots cranberry juice
- 2 shots freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
Glass
Collins
Garnish
Lavender sprig, 3 raspberries, and a grapefruit skin twist
Method
Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into ice-filled glass. Unwind.
Hotel Chocolat Martini
Shaken, or stirred, this British classic takes very kindly to being Velvetised. The addition of our cult favourite Velvetised Cream elevates a classic to new, chocolatey heights.
Ingredients
- 75ml Velvetised Cream
- 25ml Chairmans reserve rum
- 25ml water
Garnish
Shaken over ice
Method
- Add ingredients to your cocktail shaker with 3 ice cubes.
- Shake… or stir.
- Strain into a chilled martini glass..
- Liberally sprinkle chocolate on top
Dark Mint Soother
The Queen herself is commonly believed to be a fan of high-quality dark chocolate, particularly mint flavours. So it seems highly likely Her Majesty would be partial to this minty, refreshing summer cocktail.
Ingredients
25ml Mint Velvetised Cream,
25ml Absolut vodka,
25ml Crème de menthe or other mint liqueur
35ml coconut milk
10ml hot water
35g dark chocolate flakes
Garnish
Fresh mint
Method
- Velvetise your chocolate mint flakes and add to an espresso-sized cup.
- Add coconut milk while continuously stirring.
- Add the remaining coconut milk until completely dissolved. Keep any remaining coconut milk.
- Mix the alcohol, pour into a cocktail shaker then add the chocolate mixture.
- Add ice, shake and strain over 4 ice cubes.
Mocktails & Soft Drinks
Dark Mint Iced Chocolate
The creator of many of the drinking chocolates in your Inventing Room box is David Demaison, our Group Development Chef. “I like drinking chocolate all year round,” he says. “It’s probably my favourite indulgence.” So David makes sure they’re just as delicious chilled as well as hot, to be enjoyed as the months get warmer. Our Dark Mint Hot Chocolate, for example, is fabulous over ice on a sunny afternoon. Here’s David’s guide on how to prepare a perfect chilled chocolate in your Velvetiser. Velvet-smooth drinking chocolate at the touch of a button in two and a half minutes, with zero fuss or mess.
Ingredients
- 1l Milk (plant or dairy)
- 2 sachets Dark Mint Hot Chocolate
- Ice
Method
1. Fill your Velvetiser with your chosen dairy or plant-based milk (up to the line).
2. Velvetise the milk, then pour into a tall glass over ice, leaving just enough milk in the Velvetiser to cover the whisk. Leave to chill.
3. Add your Dark Mint chocolate flakes to the Velvetiser and press the button.
4. When your warm chocolate is Velvetised, pour it over the chilled milk and watch it mingle
Optional: take to the next level, perhaps with a shot of your favourite Velvetised Cream or a scoop of ice cream for the ultimate cocktail or milkshake.
Cacao Iced Tea
Steeped cacao nibs bring a little spice to a traditional iced tea.
This variant on Iced Tea adds richness and a little kick to this summer favourite
Ingredients
- 1l cold water
- 6 English breakfast teabags
- 100g cocoa nibs
Method:
- Add all ingredients to a bowl or jug
- Cover with clingfilm and leave it in the fridge for 24H
- Strain, then serve over ice.
Canapès & Finger Food
Buffet-friendly delights to enjoy underneath the bunting. If you need an extra canapè, you can very easily turn our ‘Main Course’ – Cacao Gin-cured Salmon (further down), into a delightfully ergonomic canapè. Or, keep it in the Main Course section if you need a full plate option for your menu.
Braised Featherblade of Beef on White Chocolate Mash
Slightly more challenging than some canapè recipes, this dish requires a little skill. It can easily be extended into a main course, or you can stick to the canapè option for an oozy, unctuous treat.
You’ll need some large pans and a large baking tray, and a 12-hour window to marinade the beef before cooking.
Ingredients
2kg x Featherblade of Beef. Substitute with Pork Shoulder or any other shoulder cut of meat if desired.
1kg x White Potatoes
800g x White Onions
400g x Carrots
200g x Leeks
150g x Cacao Nibs
100g x Unsalted Butter
15g x Table Salt
1 x tablespoon Black Peppercorns
Method
Marinading the beef:
- Rub the featherblade with 100g cocoa nibs, a handful of salt, and marinade in the fridge for at least 12 hours. (Keep the nibs.)
- Slice the carrots, leeks, black peppercorns and 300g white onions.
- Bring to the boil in approx 2 litres of water, well-seasoned
- Add in the marinaded beef and the cocoa nibs, cover the pan and simmer on a low heat for up to 12 hours – perhaps overnight.
- Alternatively, you can use a slow cooker.
- Ensure you have enough water in the pan, so it does not dry out while simmering.
Making the jus:
- After braising, remove the beef from the pot, cool and refrigerate
- Add the 70% chocolate flakes to the pot and reduce until it has a shiny, medium-thick consistency
Making the white chocolate mash:
- Peel, slice and boil the white potatoes
- Add the table salt
- Meanwhile, heat the butter in a pan and add in the white chocolate flakes
- When the potatoes are soft and cooked through, drain thoroughly
- Mash the mixture, then add the chocolate butter until creamy smooth
Plating:
- Reheat the beef by gently cooking in the chocolate jus
- Lay a small bed of white chocolate mash per serving and cover with beef
- Ramekins, shot glasses or any other small dish work brilliantly
Afternoon Tea finger food highlights
A quintessentially British tradition, afternoon tea has long been enjoyed by nobility, including of course at Buckingham Palace.
Our take on this classic British tradition is a staunch favourite at our Rabot restaurant in London’s Borough Market. Naturally, we give the menu a cacao twist, adding some surprising new flavour profiles into the mix. For example, swapping the jam traditionally served with scones for home-made chocolate hazelnut spread, or adding a white chocolate flourish to horseradish sauce.
These finger-food recipes, inspired by our Afternoon Tea of The Gods menu, make for a sumptuously cacao-powered buffet offering.
Beef and White Chocolate Horseradish
Ingredients:
½ sachet Vanilla White Chocolate Hot Chocolate Flakes
Thinly sliced beef
Horseeradish sauce
Method
Velvetise some white chocolate flakes and stir into horseradish sauce before making a traditional beef and horseradish sauce sandwich. Remove crusts and slice into grabbable oblongs.
Egg and Cacao Mayonnaise Brioche Sandwich
Ingredients:
2 eggs
Mayonnaise
Handful cocoa nibs
Handful chives
(Adjust amounts to match number of sandwiches)
Method:
Blitz a handful of chives with the same amount of cocoa nibs, then fold through mayonnaise. Boil two eggs, smash and mix with the mayonnaise, and spread on soft brioche.
Scones with Chocolate Hazelnut spread.
(Makes 300g)
A chocolatey version of a classic cream tea – simply replace the jam with home-made chocolate and hazelnut spread
Ingredients
- 150g hazelnut paste
- 50g icing sugar
- 80g dark chocolate
- 25ml sunflower oil
Method
1. In a mixing bowl, mix the hazelnut paste and sugar until smooth.
2. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 10-second bursts on medium power for 40-50 seconds. Alternatively, melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water for 2 minutes. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t actually touch the hot water and stir the chocolate occasionally.
3. Slowly add the oil to the chocolate in a trickle, beating the chocolate all the time to create a smooth emulsion. Now beat in the mixed nut paste and ensure everything is thoroughly combined. Chill in an airtight container for about 1 hour until set.
4. This can be kept for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. Soften at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.
Add some British-recipe selectors
Serve your Afternoon Tea highlights with some of our classic British desserts, reimagined as chocolates. Eton Mess, Strawberries & Cream, Rhubarb & Custard and Treacle Tart.
Main Course
Whether you need a main plate dish or an additional canapè for your cacao-inspired menu, this dish is tangy, satisfying… and versatile.
Cacao Gin-cured Salmon
Use high-quality salmon and cure for 12 hours in our award-winning Cacao Gin. Tender, silky, with a burst of juniper and malty cacao depth, this dish can be served as a main plate – just add asparagus, pickled cucumber and yellow courgette ribbons. Or, serve with bread or crackers on a sharing platter.
Ingredients (serves 4 as a main dish)
4 large salmon fillets
500g Maldon salt flakes
250g caster sugar
100g dill
75ml Cacao Gin
¼ cup coriander seeds
2 tbsp juniper berries
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 x lemons
2 x limes
Method
- Peel the lemons and limes
- Toast the spices
- Blitz the zest with the toasted spices and half the salt
- Fold the blended mixture with the remaining dry ingredients and gin
- Score the salmon skin to allow curing
- Place the salmon fillet skin side down onto a baking tray coated with the salt mixture
- Cover the top of the salmon with the remaining mix
- Wrap in cling film and cure foir 12 hours
- Once cured, rinse salmon in water and allow to dry
- Remove the skin and slice across the fillet into 2mm thick slices.
- Serve with fresh dill, squeezed lemon over your choice of bread or cracker.
Puddings
No party menu is complete without pudding. From a platter-friendly ‘Crownie’ to our take on a ‘Brit-pud’ classic, round off your cacao-inspired Jubilee menu with these platinum-standard people-pleasers.
The Crownie
Not quite a cookie, not quite a brownie – it’s the aptly-named Crownie: a chocolatey, soft-yet-crunchy biscuit packed with hazelnuts. A perfect Platinum party-platter pleaser.
Ingredients
200g butter, at room temperature
100g soft light brown sugar
50g golden caster sugar
275g plain flour
25g cacao powder
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon baking powder
250g Classic 70% dark hot chocolate flakes
100g whole or chopped roasted.
Method
1. Preheat oven to 160°C/gas mark 3 and line two baking trays with baking parchment.
2. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars together until pale and fluffy, then beat in the egg.
3. Add the flour, cacao powder and baking powder and stir until combined.
4. Add the chocolate and hazelnuts, then use your hands to bring everything together into a dough and refrigerate for around 2 hours.
5. Once chilled, shape the dough into 16 balls and place them evenly on the prepared baking trays before pressing them down to a thickness of approximately 1.5cm.
6. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes on the middle shelf of the oven; your Crownies should be cooked but slightly soft in the middle.
7. Serve warm (they’re even more delicious with ice cream and chocolate sauce).
Bread and Chocolate Pudding
A new take on a classic, elevated with your favourite dark and milk chocolate. Any combination of chocolate will taste delicious.
Ingredients
200g of dark or milk chocolate, or a mix of both
2 egg yolks
600ml milk
55g caster sugar
1 day-old baguette, thickly sliced
Butter, for greasing
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas Mark 3 and grease an ovenproof dish with butter.
2. Bring the milk to a boil in a pan, then remove from the heat and set aside. Put the chocolate, egg yolks and sugar into a food processor with a little cold milk. Blitze the mixture into a paste and remove from the food processor.
3. Add the hot milk to the mixture, leave to stand for a minute, then whisk.
4. Arrange bread slices in the ovenproof dish, creating 2 – 3 layers. Pour the chocolate mixture over the bread and bake for 20 – 25 minutes. The top should look crisp and lightly browned.
5. Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then serve on its own or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
