Venison Spring Rolls

8oz ground venison

A teaspoon of garlic

A teaspoon of ginger

Two teaspoons of sesame oil

A cup of cooked rice noodle

2oz oyster sauce

1oz salt

1oz sugar

Half a cup of shredded carrot

Half a cup of white onion sliced into matchstick shapes

Mix all the ingredients together and wrap into a spring roll pastry. They are easy to get at most Chinese markets or the ethnic ailse of grovery stores.

Deep fry until golden brown, approx. 2 minutes.

Serve with chilli garlic or plum sauce.

Chipotle Rubbed Moose Steak Rub

2 tablespoons of steak spice

1 teaspoon of sweet paprika

1 teaspoon of chilli powder

1 teaspoon of ground chipotle pepper

Mix all the ingedients together. Rub on a mosse steak and let stand for fifteen minutes to one hour, depending on how strong you want the flavour.

Cook the steaks to your taste and enjoy.

This can be a rub for any steak, try it with your favourite meat.

Thanks to Chef Scott from the Fireside Bistro for the above recipes.

 

December 9

A four course Christmas Day feast

Champagne Classic

Three drops of Angostura bitters

Don’t know what that is? Well it was formulated by a German surgeon during the battle of Waterloo against Britain and France. It is made from a special blend of barks, root and rum and was given to the troops to aid digestion.

Now you would think the only place you would find this very alcoholic 90 percent proof drink is Saskatchewan’s liquor stores. I have actually found this in most well-known grocery stores. I don’t think people realise it is alcoholic. But it is available, just don’t necessarily look for it in liquor stores. Like I said it is quite potent at 90% proof.

So you have the angostura bitters, you also need:

One white sugar cube

21ml or 3/4 of ounce of brandy

Champagne or sparking wine

Now for the method:

Drip the bitters onto the sugar cube.

Place the cube inside a champagne flute.

Pour in the brandy and top with champagne.

Garnish with a lose orange twist.

Pea and Ham Soup

4oz or 125 grams of butter

1½ pound or 750 grams of fresh or green peas

2 oz or 50 grams of flour

1 litre or 2 pints of ham stock - you have this left over from the ham you boiled earlier

salt and pepper

a small sprig of mint

150 ml of heavy cream

Melt the butter in a pan.

Add the peas and cover, cooking gently for five minutes.

Blend in the flour and gradually stir in the stock.

Season with salt and pepper and add the sprig of mint.

Bring to the boil and simmer for ten minutes or until the peas are tender.

Remove from heat.

Cool for a few minutes and blend in a liquidiser.

Return the soup to the heat and add more seasoning if you need to.

Stir in the cream, but do not let the soup reach boiling point

You can make this on the day and serve straight away or for a little ease, prepare a couple of days in advance, take from the freezer and reheat before serving.

Either way, when you serve, garnish with a couple of thin strips from the ham in the fridge.

Turkey Recap

You of course need, one turkey and two to three strips of bacon.

Lay the bacon over the turkey breast and roast in a preheated hot oven at 425F or or 220C for 15-20 minutes.

Then reduce the heat to a moderate 350F or 180C, basting frequently, that of course is scooping up the fat and juices in the bottom of the roaster and pouring them over the turkey, when I say frequently I tend to go every 20-25 minutes, depending on the size of the bird of course.

The cooking time will vary according to the size and quality of the bird. As a general guide, allow 15 minutes per pound for a turkey under 14 pound in weight and 12 minutes per pound if over 14 pounds in weight.

20 minutes before ready remove the bacon and allow the breast to brown.

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Chestnuts

All you need are brussel sprouts, chopped bacon and chestnuts.

The trick to preparing Brussel sprouts is to trim the small stalk off the bottom and peel off the two of three of the outer, tougher green leaves.

Score the stalk in a cross shape, this allows the boiling water into the middle of the sprout, thus speeding up the cooking time.

Bring a pot of water or steamer to the boil.

Heavily salt and add your sprouts.

Cook until the sprouts are firm or just tender, depending on how you like them.

Remove from the water or steamer and set aside.

In a roasting tray, place some chopped raw bacon and cook under the grill, still frequently to stop from sticking.

Once the bacon is cooked and almost crispy, add in the sprouts.

Now for the chestnuts. Peel them. A good way of doing this is to make a small incision into the skin on one side and roast the chestnuts in the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes at about 350F or 180C.

Glazed Carrots

You need 1 1/2 pounds of baby carrots.

2oz of butter

Three teaspoons of sugar

Quarter teaspoon of salt

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the carrots, sugar and salt and enough water to come halfway up the carrots.

Cook gently without a lid, shaking the pan occasionally until they are tender.

Remove the carrots and keep them hot.

Boil the liquid rapidly, until reduced to a rich glaze.

Replace the carrots, two or three at a time, turn them until both sides are covered in glaze.

Place into a dish and sprinkle with a fresh herb of your choice.

Anna Potatoes

2 pound of even sized red skin potatoes

Salt and pepper

Melted clarified butter or margarine

(Clarified butter, also called drawn butter, is unsalted that has been slowly melted, thereby evaporating most of the butter and separating most of the milk solids, which have now sunk to the bottom of the pan away from the golden liquid on the surface).

Skim off any foam you may find sitting on the top of your butter and use the clear, golden butter in your cooking. It can be easily drained through a tight sieve to get rid of the milky solids mentioned above.

Grease a thick cake tin and line the bottom with baking parchment/paper.

Peel and trim the potatoes so they will give you equal size slices.

Slice the potatoes very finely and arrange a layer of slightly overlapping slices in the cake tin.

Sprinkle with the clarified butter and seasoning.

Make a second layer and repeat until the cake tin is full pressing each layer well into the tin.

Cover with more paper and a lid and bake in a fairly hot oven 375F or 190C for about one hour.

Look at the spuds from time to time and add more clarified butter if they become dry and turn out into a hot dish and serve at once.

Apricot and Walnut Stuffing

4oz or 125 grams of dried apricots

1oz or 25 grams of sultanas, if you can’t find sultanas, try raisins, currants or even dried Saskatoon berries.

3oz or 75 grams of fresh breadcrumbs

2oz or 50 grams of shelled and finely chopped walnuts

A 1/4 teaspoon of mixed spice

A 1/4 teaspoon of salt

A 1/4 teaspoon of pepper

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

2 teaspoons of grated lemon rind

1oz or 25 grams of melted butter

1 egg beaten

Soak the apricots overnight, drain and chop finely.

Mix together with remaining ingredients and bind with the egg.

This is an all-purpose stuffing, the quantities I’ve given are for a good sized chicken or a small turkey, you can multiply the ingredients for larger birds. Stuff this into the bird.

Banana Tarte Tatin

This is filled with lots of potassium and high glycemic index to keep you going playing family games for the rest of Christmas Day!

Tarte Tatin was created by two French sisters who lived in the Loire Valley and earned their living making it. The full name of Tarte Tatin in French, and I won’t attempt the full name because my French is terrible, but the translation actually means "the tart of two unmarried women named Tatin".

150 grams or 5oz of puff pastry

75 grams or 3oz of granulated sugar

2 tablespoons of water

25 grams or 1oz of butter

1 kilo of 2.2 pounds of bananas

50 grams or 2oz of light brown sugar

50 grams or 2oz of butter

250 ml or 9floz of heavy cream

Pre-heat the oven to 375F or 190C

Roll out the pastry to a 25 cm or 10 inch circle. A Chef Malcolm handy hint is to use a dinner plate as a guide.

Place on a lightly floured baking sheet, prick well with a fork and chill until required.

In a small pan, combine the granulated sugar and water. Cook gently to dissolve the sugar.

Use a clean pastry brush, dipped in water, to clear any sugar off the side of the pan

Increase the heat and cook without stirring to a golden caramel.

Turn off the heat and blend in the butter

Pour into the base of a 23 cm or 9 inch round fixed bottom cake tin.

Peel the bananas and cut each one in half vertically.

Arrange these, tightly packed, over the caramel.

Sprinkle with the light brown sugar and dot with the butter.

Place the disk of puff pastry over the bananas, tucking the edges to hide the fruit. Don’t worry if it is slightly larger than the tin, this allows for any shrinking in the cooking process.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden brown.

Leave to cool in the tin for 30 minutes, before turning out, so the caramel is on the top and serving with whipped cream.

 

So there you have it - a Chef Malcolm four course Christmas Day feast - an apertif when your guests first arrive or after the family has cleared away the presents, a warm and inviting soup, a traditional turkey dinner with some Chef Malcolm twists and a dessert.

Now all you have to do is sit back and rest!

 

November 24

Grasshopper Coffee

This drink is named for the creme de menthe flavour suggestive of a green grasshopper colour.

It serves two and you will need.

Dark and white chocolate "after-dinner" style chocolate mints

A quarter cup green creme de menthe, that is 50 ml

A quarter cup, again 50 ml, of coffee liqueur, like Tia Maria, Kahlua or Sangster’s

One and a half cups of hot strong coffee, that’s about, 350 ml

And finally, a quarter cup or 50 mls of whipping cream

So now you have the ingredients, what to do with them!

Cut the dark and the white chocolate mints in half.

Divide the two liqueurs equally between two tall, latte glass and combine well.

Fill each glass with the hot coffee and top them with whipped cream.

Decorate with the chocolate mint triangles.

Here’s a tip, use coffee strong enough so as not to taste watery or be too diluted by the liqueurs, though weaker than your typical espresso.

Tiramisu

Tiramisu translates as ‘pick me up’, which is said to derive from the fact that it is so good that it literally makes you swoon when you eat it - and it truly will.

This recipe serves four and here are the ingredients.

One cup of marscapone, for those who don’t know what it is, it is like an Italian version of cream cheese - it is available in stores here.

A quarter cup of sifted icing sugar, that’s about 25g

Two thirds a cup or 150mls/half a pint of strong brewed coffee, chilled

One and a quarter cups of 355ml or heavy cream

Three tablespoons of coffee liqueur like Kahlua or Tia Maria

4oz or 155g of sponge finger biscuits, I think they’re called lady fingers here

50g or 2 oz of bittersweet or plain chocolate, coarsely grated

Cocoa powder, for dusting

Now for the method.

Lightly grease and line a loaf tin with saran wrap.

Put the marscapone and icing sugar in a bowl and beat for one minute.

Stir in two tablespoons of the chilled coffee - mix thoroughly.

Whip the cream with one tablespoon of the liqueur until it forms soft peaks.

Stir a spoonful into the marscapone mixture, then fold in the rest.

Spoon half the marscapone mixture into the loaf tin and smooth the top.

Put the remaining strong brewed coffee and liqueur in a shallow dish just wider than the biscuits.

Using half the biscuits, dip one side of each biscuit into the coffee mixture, then arrange on top of the marscapone mixture in a single layer.

Spoon the rest of the marscapone mixture over the biscuit layer and smooth the top.

Dip the remaining biscuits in the coffee and liqueur mixture and arrange on top - you’re basically layering here.

Drizzle any remaining coffee/liqueur mixture over the top.

Cover the dish with saran wrap and chill for at least four hours.

Carefully turn the tiramisu out of the loaf tin when you come to serve it, sprinkle with the grated chocolate and cocoa powder and cut into slices.

Black Russian Cookies

The ingredients of the famous cocktail - coffee and vodka - flavour these fabulous cookies - not for the kids!

They make sixteen and here are the ingredients you need

2 tablespoons of ground espresso or other strong flavoured coffee

4 tablespoons of near-boiling milk

8 tablespoons of butter

Half a cup of soft light brown sugar

1 egg

2 cups of all-purpose flour

A pinch of salt

One tablespoon of baking powder

There is icing on these cookies, for which you need:

1 cup of icing sugar

One a half tablespoons of vodka

Now you have the ingredients, here is the method:

Preheat the oven to 180C or 350F.

Put the coffee in a small bowl and pour the hot milk over.

Leave to infuse for four minutes, then strain through a fine sieve and leave to cool.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Gradually beat in the egg.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and fold in with the coffee-flavoured milk to make a fairly stiff mixture.

Place dessert spoonfuls of the mixture on greased baking sheets, spacing them slightly apart to allow room for spreading.

Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned.

Cool on a wire rack.

Now onto the icing: mix the icing sugar and enough vodka together to make a thick icing.

Spoon into a small greaseproof paper piping bag.

Snip off the end of the piping bag and lightly drizzle over the top of each cookie.

Allow the icing to set before serving.

If you don’t have a piping bag just drizzle on with a spoon, although I may not be as neat.

Now just enjoy the cookies alongside your favourite cup of coffee!

 

November 18

Christmas Pudding

This recipe is the fruitarian version, which doesn’t feature suet, because suet can be a little difficult to get hold of in Canada, and plus this recipe can be enjoyed by vegetarians.

8oz or 250 grams of figs

8oz or 250 grams of peeled almonds

4oz or 125 grams of shelled Brazil nuts

4oz or 125 grams of pine nuts

4 oz or 125 grams of currants

8oz or 250 grams of raisins

4oz or 125 grams of sultanas

2 small apples

1 teaspoon of all-spice

4oz or 125 grams of brown sugar

8oz or 250 grams of breadcrumbs

4oz or 125 grams of candied peel

A pinch of salt

The rind a juice of one large lemon

4oz or 125 grams of butter or margarine

4oz or 125 grams of honey

3 eggs

It is a lot of ingredients but the recipe is very simple.

Now you have all the ingredients of Christmas pudding, here's what to do with it all.

You want two pudding basins, these are the deep dome shaped dishes and are the best to steam with. If you don’t have one they are very handy for many recipes, is good to have one in your cupboard.

So you want to grease them both.

Wash and chop the figs.

Core, peel and chop the apples.

Prepare the dried fruit by checking all the stalks are gone.

Mix together the fruit, nuts, spice, sugar, breadcrumbs, candied peel, salt and grated lemon rind.

Warm the butter and honey together.

Beat the eggs and add them to the honey and butter.

Stir into the dry ingredients.

Add the lemon juice and stir well to thoroughly mix the ingredients.

Put the mixture into the basins. Cover with muslin cloth or cheesecloth.

Boil for three hours.

Take it out and allow to cool down. Cover with saran wrap and store in a cool cupboard or refrigerator until you warm it up on Christmas day. Warm it up the same way you cooked it or in a microwave.

Delicious and serve it with custard or brandy sauce.

Smoked Salmon Pate

6oz smoked salmon, that’s about 200 grams

4 tablespoons of softened butter

Half a cup of creme fraich or heavy cream

The juice of half a lemon (lime or orange if you prefer)

Cayenne pepper

Salt and freshly ground pepper

With all those ingredients, now for the method.

Place the salmon in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.

Transfer to another bowl and beat in the butter and cream a little at a time.

Season with some cayenne and black pepper.

Taste, and add a little salt if necessary.

Portion into small cups and freeze or just freeze in a freezer-proof container until needed.

I have a lot of great variations to this recipe as it is just a basic mix.

Try a little whiskey instead of juice and may be fresh dill instead of cayenne pepper, that will give it a twist!

Pecan Pie

1 cup of sugar

Half a cup of syrup

3 eggs

A quarter cup of butter

1 cup of pecans

Also a regular pie shell, either store bought, or homemade

Now for the method.

Beat the eggs and sugar together.

Now add the syrup, melted butter and pecans.

Put the mix in the pie shell and cook at 350F or 180C.

Bake for one hour or until done and done means when it is a dark brown colour and when you put a knife in the middle it comes out clean.

Duck Terrine

Terrine is just a form of pate, and can be covered and refrigerated until needed.

12oz or 350 grams of diced duck breast, diced, duck s available at Superstore and other fine grocery stores or check some out from your local Chinese market

12oz or 350 grams of minced pork

8oz or 250 grams of minced bacon

4oz or 125 grams of bread crumbs

Half a teaspoon of oregano

Half a teaspoon of sage

Two eggs slightly beaten

4 oranges, zested and peeled

Salt and pepper to taste

On to the method.

Mix all the ingredients together except the orange flesh.

Season well.

Line the terrine tins you are using with grease-proof paper.

Place the slices of orange in the bottom.

Place seasoned mixture on top of the oranges.

Cook in water tray for 350F or 180C for two and a half hours.

Once cooled it can be frozen until you are ready to serve it or make a couple of days before and refrigerate.

 

November 11

Chocolate Pasta

This serves 4.

For the past you will need.

250g or 8oz of all-purpose flour

100g or 3oz of cocoa powder

25g or 1/2oz of extra fine sugar

pinch of Cinnamon

4 eggs

Half a teaspoon of vanilla essence

For the sauce you need.

6 teaspoons of good quality, clear honey. You should be able to find one to your liking in any of the regular grocery stores in Saskatchewan.

6 tablespoons of chopped pistachio nuts

Now for the method.

Sift the flour with the cocoa powder and stir in the sugar and cinnamon.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.

Add the eggs and the vanilla essence and mix into a smooth dough.

Roll out the dough onto a floured surface about 3mm or 1/8 of an inch thick. Now really this is, again to what your liking is, if you want it a little thicker do so but you may need to add time on the boiling process. Too thin and you may find the dough just breaks.

Now once the dough is rolled and to your desired thickness, cut it with a pasta roller, or pizza slicer. You want it in strips about 2cm wide, that is about three quarters of an inch and about seven inches wide, that is about 18cm long.

If you have a pasta machine, you can just use it to roll the dough out into the ribbons. If you don't have a pasta machine, us a pizza cutter, it just waon't be as neat!

Now all that preparation work is done, cook the pasta in unsalted, boiling water for 3 minutes.

Drain and divide between the four warmed plates.

Drizzle a generous teaspoon of honey and sprinkle one tablespoon of pistachio nuts over each serving.

Vanilla Bean and White Chocolate Ice Cream

500 ml, or 2 cups, of milk

2 vanilla pods, split

6 egg yolks

125 grams or 4oz extra fine sugar

250 ml, or one cup, heavy cream

100 grams or 3oz of chopped white chocolate

So onto the fun part. Although not as much fun as the eating of this little gem!

Pour the milk into a small pan with the split vanilla pods.

Place over heat and bring to the boil.

In a separate bowl whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until thick and pale.

Pour a little of the boiling milk onto the yolks, stir to blend, then return the whole lot to the milk pan.

Now you add that little bit of a milk to the egg yolks in order to bring them up to temperature. This is so we don’t scrambled eggs with our mixture.

Turn the heat down and place your pan back on it whilst continually stirring until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon.

Do not allow it to boil or it will curdle.

Transfer to a bowl to cool.

Remove the vanilla pods, squeezing or scrapping out the little black seeds into the custard as you go.

Whip the cream to soft peaks.

Transfer the custard to an ice cream machine, churn until semi-frozen, now you can

Add the white chocolate.

Now stay tuned because I will provide details on what to do if you don’t have an ice cream machine.

So you have added the mixture to the machine, now add the cream and continue churning until frozen.

Transfer to a freezer proof container and freeze until required.

If you don't have an ice cream machine?

Once you have whipped the cream to soft peaks, add in .

Transfer to a freezer proof container, cover with foil and put in the coldest part of your freezer for 2-3 hours.

By this time the outside of the mixture should be frozen and the center still liquid.

Remove the tub from the freezer and using an electric whisk beat the mixture until it becomes a smooth slush.

This where you add in the white chocolate and the cream.

Return to freezer and leave for another two hours.

Repeat the beating and the freezing process until the ice cream is fully frozen.

This method takes a little more time than the ice cream machine, but the results are the same.

It is hard to be precise on timings because every freezer is different. Until you have made ice cream this way a few times you may need to check it fairly regularly.

Remember to transfer your ice cream, whichever method you use, to the fridge about thirty minutes before serving so it is soft enough to make scooping easier.

Mexican Mole

Mole is the Mexican word for concoction and believe me this recipe is!

The most famous mole is one made with Wild Turkey - the bird, not the booze, is a special complex dish carefully woven together using dried chiles, nuts, seeds, vegetables, spices and chocolate.

The wild turkey version is what I am providing you, but with chicken instead, if you check out some Mexican recipes online you’ll find many moles, so try them and have fun with them, they are quite delicious.

So the ingredients you need are and this serves four people:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

4 good size chicken pieces cut into fours

Half a large white onion, half it again and slice thinly

4 finely chopped garlic cloves

A large tin of crushed tomatoes

Half a cup of chicken broth

A tablespoon of cocoa powder

Two teaspoons of honey

Two teaspoons of cinnamon

Sea salt to taste, if you don’t have sea salt then make sure you have some coarse salt, rather the usual stuff in your salt mill

Ground pepper to taste

Half to a teaspoon of chipotle chili powder and this available in grocery stores, try and get it if you are trying this recipe because it is a great flavour and has that extra kick the usual chilli powders out there. Chipotles are smoked jalepeno peppers and usually come dried some stores do carry tinned chipotles which come in a smokey flavoured sauce

If you can only find dried chipotles, don’t panic

Split one of the peppers in half and just use a half pepper

So those are the ingredients, now to the method.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.

Add chicken and cook 2 minutes per side until golden brown. Remove to a plate.

Add onion and garlic and cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until onion is tender.

Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, cocoa powder, honey, vinegar and cinnamon.

Bring to a boil.

Return chicken to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook about 15 minutes.

Uncover and cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is completely cooked through and sauce is lightly thickened.

It is a rich and flavourful dish, that has that authentic Mexican taste.

If you are looking for a richer taste and want to enhance the flavour, then add in a couple of blocks of Ibarro chocolate, which is a traditional Mexican chocolate, available here. It makes the sauce thicker and gives more of a chocolate taste.

Irish Hot Chocolate

It serves four people and the ingredients are:

1 cup or 250ml of heavy cream

1 and two thirds a cup or 400ml of milk

40oz or 1125grams of milk chocolate, chopped into small pieces

2 tablespoons of cocoa powder

4 tablespoons of Irish whiskey

Whipped cream for topping

Chocolate curls for topping which you get from just grating a chocolate bar

I told you it was decadent!

So with an electric whisk , whip half the cream in a bowl, until it is thick enough to hold its shape

Place the milk and chocolate in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring, until the chocolate

is melted

Whisk in the cocoa, the bring to the boil

Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining cream and the Irish whiskey

Pour quickly into four warmed heat proof mugs or glasses and top each with a generous portion of the whipped cream you prepared earlier, with the chocolate shavings on top.

For extra indulgence serve with peppermint sticks

Chocolate Cake

This my Nan’s chocolate cake recipe. As a kid, whenever I would visit, she would always offer us a slice, and it was delicious.

It was only when I got older when I became a chef that I wanted know the recipe but out of respect I never asked Nan.

It was only a few years back when she passed away that the recipe was handed down to my Mum who then after some persuasion and promise of a free meal at the resaurant I was running, passed it on to me.

This is a wartime recipe, Novemver 11 being Remembrance Day, so I wanted to share this recipe with you.

Now these are all ingredients in pounds and ounces, as most British recipes are, especially from fifty years ago, so you are going to need the scales and not cups, or at least convert from you recipe books or internet, for weights in kilograms if that is all your scale has.

You need:

2oz of butter or margarine

3oz of extra fine sugar

1 egg

6oz of all-purpose flour

Half a teaspoon of baking powder

2 tablespoons of golden syrup - Lyle’s is the best, Roger’s also has it.

3 tablespoons of water

A pinch of salt

A few drops of vanilla essence

1 tablespoon of cocoa powder

1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda dissolved in quarter a pint of milkNow here’s what you should do with all these ingredients.

By hand or with an electric whisk cream the butter and sugar.

Beat in the egg then add the flour and baking powder.

Mix in your golden syrup, water, salt, and milk with the bicarbonate of soda in it.

Fold in your tablespoon of cocoa powder and vanilla essence.

Now grease a cake tin, a six inch one is good enough.

Dust it lightly with a teaspoon of flour.

Add the mixture to the tin and bake in an preheated oven at 335F or 170C

Bake it for forty five minutes.

When its cooked you should be able to stick a knife into the center and pull it out clean.

Served warm is good, but if you can wrap it in saran wrap and keep it for a day, that is better because it keeps the cake nice and moist.

Serve it with whipped cream or jam or even a good quality chocolate sauce.

Cocoa powder and a mix of golden syrup and sugar is used in this recipe because chocolate was rationed in Britain, both during and for a small time after the war, so was difficult to get hold of.