Dessert Me Not

Give me any excuse and I'll be in the kitchen making a dessert. Give me any occasion and I'll be in there trying to make a fancy one.
The funny thing about this one is I literally dreamed this dessert to life. I woke up and just had to make it.
Now I have to admit, many of my self-made recipes do not pan out, or need plenty of reworking before they are edible. I remember as a small child, occasionally my mum would allow me to have free range of the kitchen ingredients and let me cook what I wanted. I remember my first ever creation...a sponge-like slice, involving many eggs and coloured sprinkles. She was so brave to let me experiment. And I am sure she took a bite and smiled as if it was wonderful, but to this day I wonder how much of it ended up in the bin.
But this one is so simple, it just cant go wrong. It is gorgeous, easy, effective and would make a great addition to the Christmas banquet table. I know it will be on mine.

FESTIVE CHOCOLATE BASKETS WITH WHITE GANACHE AND TIA MARIA COCONUT

100ml cream
200g white chocolate buttons
1/4 cup desiccated coconut
1-2 tbsp. Tia Maria Liqueur 
250g Dark chocolate buttons


Melt the white chocolate in the microwave, stirring often until  buttons have melted and the chocolate is smooth. Sit to cool.
When cool, add the cream and stir to combine until smooth. Sit to thicken.
Meanwhile, take the dark chocolate and melt. Stir until smooth. Take some plastic wrap and brush on the dark chocolate in a circular shape. Make sure the chocolate is a thick layer, then arrange inside the hollows of a muffin tin. Refrigerate until set before peeling from the plastic.
Place the coconut and Tia Maria together in a small bowl and combine. Spoon desiered amont into the bottom of the chocolate cups.
Spoon or pipe the white ganache over the top of the coconut. Decorate with chocolate curls or leaves. Serve with a dollop of cream.


NOTE: If your ganache becomes too hard, you can microwave it to return it to its liquid state.