Assorted Fudge By Buttermilk

Who doesn’t love Cornwall? It’s a beachy county full of ice cream, scones and fudge, and it is the county’s remarkably delicious fudge that The Amazing Blog turns its attention to today.  Buttermilk is a brilliant family run Cornish company that has been creating remarkable artisanal confectionary since 1964. Their award winning treats are lovingly handmade using traditional methods, including copper pans over open flames. As such, they make a host of delicious and mouth-watering confectionary that you should share with the whole family, but won’t want to.

We were spoiled for choice when buttermilk sent over four exciting products, all traditional treats with a tantalising Buttermilk twist. We tried their Caramel Sea Salt Fudge, Cookies and Cream Fudge, Chocolate Almond Brittle and Chocolate Honeycomb. The Cornish honeycomb was marvellous, light and airy it had a bitter sweet juxtaposition in its flavour, as the dark toffee of the honeycomb clashes with the sweet and creamy milk chocolate it’s covered with. The nutty and sweet taste of the chocolate covered and hand broken almond brittle is infused with sea salt that adds a burst of sophistication to a loveable childhood favourite.  Similarly the buttery caramel sea salt fudge crumbles and melts as the opposing flavours of sweet and salty melt together - it’s no surprise this fudge has won awards, its moreish-ness is nearly unparalleled, that is until you try Buttermilk’s new cookie and cream fudge of course. This fudge contains delectable pieces of real chocolate cookies in the perfect, smooth and creamy fudge. For a 150g box of fudge  it starts from £3.75 and the honeycomb and brittles from £3.99. Or if you have a sweet tooth, why not spoil yourself with a 'Taste Them All' mixed pack of 10 varieties for just £38. 

Gourmet Hot Chocolate and Signature Thins by Paxton Chocolates

All of us at The Amazing Blog are self-proclaimed chocoholics, so it's a real treat when we get to review some indulgent and delicious chocolate for you. This week we were lucky enough to review a brand we've previously featured, Paxton Chocolate. All of their chocolates are handmade in Brighton, and they source the chocolate couverture from a company in Belgium that has been producing the finest chocolate for over 100 years from sustainably grown cocoa beans. This week we tried Paxton's Gourmet Hot Chocolate and their Signature Thins. 

The Gourmet Hot Chocolate was decadent and luxurious. Available in five distinctly delicious flavours, we tried the Hazelnut and Pistachio and Earl Grey and Orange flavours. These were rich and decadent drinks which are the perfect accompaniment for a cosy evening in. We can think of nothing better than curling up with a warming mug of the Gourmet Hot Chocolate, putting on a face mask and watching our favourite film! If you’re feeling really cheeky, we found adding a splash of amaretto to the Hazelnut and Pistachio Hot Chocolate was a great way to jazz up the drink and our evening.

The Signature Thins were both delicious and beautiful. Looking at them left us feeling conflicted, we didn’t want to ruin how stunning they were, but they were just too tempting. The box contains six tantalising flavours: White Chocolate Raspberry and Rose, Milk Chocolate Orange and Earl Grey Tea, Milk Chocolate Chestnut and Vanilla, Dark Chocolate and Candied Chilli and our personal favourite, Dark Chocolate and Lavender. Despite the fact that you won’t want to share these with anyone, we think they would make a great gift.

You can purchase the Gourmet Hot Chocolates here for £8.50 and the Signature Thins here for £25.00

The London Evening Standard Food Month - Night Market

If you want to sample a diverse and exciting range of London’s favourite restaurants and street food the London Evening Standard Food Month's Night Market is a must-see. Located at Perks Field, Kensington, the Night Market runs from Wednesday, June 7 to Sunday, June 18. Delicious food in an iconic London location is certainly not an opportunity we here at The Amazing Blog would miss. Pop over after work and spend a lovely evening exploring London's food, or visit on the weekend in the day or the evening.

There is an exciting array of cuisines on offer, from Turkish to Taiwanese, to African, to Japanese, to Texan BBQ and of course the best of British. The market even caters for vegans, with indulgent vegan churros and ice-cream on offer. This is your opportunity to sample food from some of London’s favourite restaurants, such as Asia de Cuba, Patty & Bun, Mews of Mayfair and The Ivy. The opportunity to sample food from Britain’s best chefs, such as Angela Hartnett, Fergus Henderson and Claude Bosi, along with top international chefs including Dan Hunter, Ana Ros and David Thompson, is one that doesn’t come around very often. Browse the mouth-watering line-up here.

Not only does the Night Market showcase intriguing food, but you can also explore art installations and entertainment, such as DJs, live music, Westfield Open-Air Cinema and themed pop-up bars from Ketel One Vodka and Cobra Beer. You can take part in a Q&A by creative director Grace Dent discussing important topics such as fighting food waste and supporting social inclusion. You will be served some serious food for thought here. While Londoners and visitors indulge in the delicious food, Massimo Bottura, the founder of Food for Soul has partnered with London Food Month and is launching a community soup kitchen. This is a cause everyone can learn more about, and help support.

You are bound to have a fun-filled (and food-filled!) night. As Grace Dent puts it, ‘We’ll be eating the entire world, in one city’. We’re in.

Purchase tickets here for £15 for adults, £8 for children and £35 for a family pass. These allow access to the food stalls, bars and entertainment. You can add on tickets to Westfield Open-Air Cinema at checkout, for £4 for adults and £2 for children. See timings of the Night Market here.

Passionfruit , Chocolate Orange and Sour Cherry Curds - Thursday Cottage

What we really miss during the Winter months at The Amazing Blog, is the vibrancy of summer tastes, we have always found that just as everything looks brighter in the summer so too are the flavours stronger. While it might be hard to believe it's June by looking out the window, you can certainly tell it is as you stroll through the supermarket aisles. As big fans of summer flavours we couldn’t wait to get our (oven) mitts on Thursday Cottage’s delicious jams, curds and marmalades. We love the twist that they put on traditional flavours to create unique and mouth-wateringly good products. We decided that we had to try their Sour Cherry Curd, Passionfruit Curd and Chocolate Orange Curd to really get us in the summer spirit.

Thursday Cottage takes great care in choosing the best ingredients for their products and combines a variety of traditional and unusual fruits to recreate your favourite summer flavours. It’s, therefore, no real surprise that they’ve won so many awards including the 2010 AND 2012 Great Taste Awards. We loved the Passion Fruit Curd, which had a delectably moreish sweet and tart flavour that was fantastic at jazzing up some plain vanilla ice cream or adding a zing to a Pavlova. In fact, it was this curd that won the much sought after award in 2012.The other two curds we tried are relatively new to Thursday Cottage as they only came out in 2016. The Sour Cherry Curd is bursting with a vibrant taste and sent us back to our childhoods – just as it promised it would. The Chocolate Orange seemed like something entirely different and unusual. With a smooth and creamy texture, the curd had chocolatey overtones with subtle hints of Orange coming through; this flavour is so good it was awarded one gold star at the 2016 Great Taste Awards. We found that the chocolate orange was a great addition to cakes, acting as a moist and flavoursome filling. What’s more, these curds are vegetarian. Thursday Cottage uses pectin instead of gelatin so everyone can enjoy these delicious table favourites.

You can purchase all of these curds here on Thursday Cottage’s website for as little as £2.65. While you’re there, we seriously recommend checking out their other items as well as the recipes they suggest for their products. With this brand by your side, you’ll have the best desserts all summer!

Lentil Bites - Fairfields Farm Crisps

It's all too easy to mindlessly munch on snacks without noticing just how much you're eating. We've all had that moment, where without looking we reach into a packet of sweets, thinking you have a few left only to discover you have already eaten all of them without realising. It's a problem that all of us at The Amazing Blog have encountered, which is why we always try our best only to consume healthy and filling snacks. As the year has flown by, and summer is knocking at our door, fitting into that killer summer outfit or being beach ready is becoming less theoretical. So, if you're not already familiar with them, let us introduce to Fairfield Farm and their healthier and tastier Lentil Bite crisps. 

Fairfield's Farm produces artisanal crisps, and are always researching and looking for new ways to make our favourite savoury snack healthier. By moving away from the traditional potato and instead using lentils and pulses, the crisps are a healthier option as they are higher in protein, gluten-free, lower in fat and calories! Meaning even if you accidentally end up mindlessly snacking - which with these delicious flavours seems unlikely - it's a guilt free mistake! We tried all three flavours (Fresh Tomato and Herb, Jalapeno and Lime, and Blue Cheese) and can tell you that despite being a much healthier food, no taste whatsoever was lost. In fact, all three are so delicious that it's impossible for us to pick a favourite. 

The story behind Fairfield's Farm is wonderful, a family run farm that has been farming in East Anglia for three generations. In 2016 they were voted East of England Co-operative’s best producer supplier and scooped up a great taste award. This family run company has no gone global, supplying to around 20 countries. What's more, as of this year all their energy will be directed at making the farm use sustainable technologies, such as anaerobic digestion and solar power. With each 20g packet coming in at under 100kcal, means that when you get the mid-day munchies you don't have to worry about not fitting into that new outfit! You can purchase the crisps here for £13.00 for a box of 18 packets.