Recipe: mince pie chocolate slab and spiced pear gin

Mince pie chocolate slab

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Serves 6

150g dark chocolate

50g white chocolate

6 glacé cherries, halved

1 tbsp mixed peel

1 tbsp pecans (or any nut), roughly crushed

1 tsp edible gold stars

edible gold glitter

In separate bowls, melt the dark chocolate and white chocolate in a microwave for 1 min to 1 min and 30 seconds for the dark chocolate and 1 min for the white chocolate. Mix them both until smooth. Pour the dark chocolate onto a piece of baking paper, then spread it out to around 20cm by 15cm. Drizzle the white chocolate onto top and swirl it around with a skewer, to create a pattern. Sprinkle the cherries, peel, nuts and stars on top and then spray with gold apart. Allow to set at room temperature, then crack into pieces when completely hardened.

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Spice pear gin

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Makes 700ml

400g pears, cored and sliced 

4 star anise 

1 cinnamon stick 

1 tsp cloves 

1 tsp juniper berries 

200g caster sugar

700ml gin

a litre fermenting jar 

Place the pears, star anise, cinnamon stick, cloves and juniper berries in the fermenting jar and add the sugar. Place the lid on the jar and shake until the pears are covered in sugar. Pour in the gin and secure the lid tightly. Shake again. Leave at room temperature for 1 day, then transfer to the fridge. 

Shake every day for a week (or at the very least 3 days), then strain the gin into a sterilised bottle and seal. Keep in the fridge once opened and drink within two weeks.