SHE chocolate workshop: video and recipe

Imagine a day tasting, drinking, learning about - and even creating - chocolate... well, the lucky readers who joined us for October's SHE Loves Chocolate event don't have to, because that's exactly what we did for a whole day at My Chocolate's workshop in London. We teamed up with Divine & Tate and Lyle to offer 30 readers a day of total chocolate indulgence.

Starting with a baking demonstration, chocolate expert Linda Collister revealed how to make the perfect chocolate mousse and a mouthwatering chocolate torte (see recipe below), both taken from her book Divine Heavenly Chocolate Recipes with a Heart (Absolute Press, £19.99). Then, after the all-important tasting of Linda's creations, the founder of My Chocolate, Hannah Saxton, talked the readers through the history of chocolate before leading a chocolate tasting session. After a sumptuous lunch it was time for our guests to try their hand at creating their own chocolates - dipping and decorating with fudge, nuts and sprinkles. The day of indulgence was rounded off with a fabulous ‘choctail', created by a master mixologist from FAIR Vodka.

Linda's delicious Divine Chocolate Torte

Makes 1 large torte - about 12 servings

Ingredients

100g blanched hazelnuts

100g blanched almonds

200g plain crisp butter biscuits - such as Petit Beurre

2 x 100g bars Divine Dark Chocolate

2 large free-range eggs, at room temperature

2 large free-range egg yolks, at room temperature

6tbsp caster sugar

10g unsalted butter

Divine Cocoa powder, for dusting

23cm spring-clip tin, lightly oiled and base-lined

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4.

2. Roast the hazelnuts and almonds in the oven, and then chop them coarsely. Smash the biscuits to coarse crumbs.

3. Break up the chocolate, melt it gently in a heatproof bowl and leave it to cool until needed. Whisk the whole eggs and egg yolks until combined, then add the sugar and whisk vigorously for 5 minutes until the mixture is pale, thick and mousse-like.

4. Heat the butter until hot and bubbling, then pour it into the egg mixture while still whisking at full speed. Whisk in the melted chocolate. Fold in the chopped nuts and biscuit crumbs with a large metal spoon. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared tin; cover the top with plastic film and chill for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.

5. When ready to serve, unclip the tin and set the torte on a serving plate. Dust with the cocoa and serve chilled. Store in the fridge and eat within 3 days.