The only thing remotely scary about this spooktacular cocktail is the fangtastic ease with which it goes down. Consider yourself warned. This is a grown-up milkshake with a bit of I scream, plenty of boos and one hell of a bite. One too many and you’ll find yourself a fully fledged member of the walking dead. And it’s as frighteningly easy to make as it is to drink…even with that bootiful chocolate web on the glass.
To make the web melt several ounces of chocolate and put it into a small ziplock bag. Snip a tiny little piece off one corner of the bag to pipe through. Holding the martini glass in one hand, tilted slightly, pipe a spiral onto the side. It can feel pretty awkward at first and if you are not used to piping try practicing on a flat surface. Give it five minutes and you’ll be a dab hand.
Once you’ve piped the spiral, take a toothpick or sharp knife and drag it several times through the chocolate starting at the centre and moving to the outside. I found that the web looked better if I kept the circles and lines pretty close together, but I promise, even a clumsy attempt looks pretty good and has the desired effect. Once you’ve finished, place the glass in the freezer for a few minutes until the chocolate has set.
For the cocktail I used one scoop of vanilla ice cream, one shot of coffee liqueur, one shot of Irish cream and half a shot of vodka per serving. Whiz it all together in a blender and Bob’s your uncle.
Over here we’re drinking these with cheese and roasted grapes. To make, put a bunch of grapes on a roasting sheet and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss on a few sprigs of thyme. Roast at 450˚F for 15 minutes and this:
becomes this:
which I served with Cotswold cheese and Stilton from Trader Joe’s.
And let me tell you, nothing pairs as well with the pungency of blue cheese than the soft, sweet jamminess of a roasted grape. The crackers are these ( the salty date and almond are my fave) readily available at a variety of supermarkets.
Time to eat, drink and be scary.
