Springtime is the time for weddings and this being the last month of Spring, I do realise that I’m a little late to offer up any suggestions for wedding favours or bombonierre for a special touch for a bride so please excuse my tardiness-let’s call it fashionably late if you will.

This is Bride’s Honey or Miel de la Mariée, prepared in Moroccan custom for engagements and weddings where guests are offered honey before the wedding. Honey plays a significant part in many cultures during weddings, its innate sweetness and seductiveness is not lost on many. It is a common sign of fruitfulness and fertility and along with Moroccan culture, Jewish, Croation, Balkan, Indian and German cultures also use honey in their rituals.The history is long with ancient Babylonian families including a standard 32-pound gift of honey in bridal dowries.

If you didn’t know about the origins of the word Honeymoon, one of the most often repeated stories is one where mead, which is a mixture of honey and water, was drunk before the Champagne toast. Also after the wedding a married couple were said to drink a cup of mead every night for one month. As time was recorded by the cycles of the moon, this period became known as the “honeymoon”. Whether this is truly the origin of the word is unclear but it’s great folklore nevertheless.

Taking this further, you could offer this in little pots to give as bombonierre (although honey is not offered during the ceremony in Moroccan custom as it is reserved for the cult of the dead and is associated with death in Egyptian and Russian culture). But the idea of a flavoured honey is no doubt a sweet, yet practical notion. Guests can use the honey with their tea and think of the bride and groom. This spiced honey imparts a Chai like spice to the tea. I love it so much that I’ve made it over and over again (it’s fantastic on toast with peanut butter, over natural yogurt and in cakes). I confess I’ve even microwaved it successfully on very low heat (30% of the power) for 2-3 minutes when I was feeling particularly lazy.

Almonds are the usual accompaniment with the Bride’s Honey and in the styling I’ve taken a few cross cultural liberties and used some Greek sugared almonds which are traditionally given as bombonierre. The heart shaped tea strainer shown was actually the wedding favour that we gave our wedding guests (and yes I spent hours tying the personalised ribbon just so so that our names and  the dates would show correctly). I wanted people to think back to our wedding with some fond memories at a time where they would be cherishing a cup of sweet tea.

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An invite to the launch of the Allrecipes Australian website is exciting especially as it’s paired up with fellow food bloggers, friendly industry people, lovely journalists and food in a lovely setting. This evening, we’re led up several flights of stairs to a softly decorated room, much like someone’s living room, decorated with sparkling fairy lights dotting the sky with a long table strewn with chilis. I meet Ian Hemphill and his lovely wife Liz. Ian is the face of Herbies who provided us with 2 Spice Kits for our competition. He is just as affable and friendly as he is on TV and passionately devoted to food and he is scheduled to give a little speech tonight.

My fellow food bloggers tonight are Suze from ChocolateSuze; Christie from Fig & Cherry; Helen from Grab Your Fork; Kathryn from Limes & Lycopene; Anna from Morsels and Musings and Lisa from Spicy Icecream.

Jamaican Prawns

Kangaroo Tostada

We’re served a selection of food made from recipes on the website. There’s Grilled Kangaroo and Cactus Tostada and Jamaican Prawns but my pick is most definitely the Chili Chocolate Brownies, the Brownies crunchy on top and the inside gooey and gorgeous. It’s so soft that taking your fork and transporting it to your mouth is a hard task and it’s fall-apart gorgeous. I usually sample a dessert but this time I’m finishing this baby myself and not giving up an inch of it.

When I get home I know what my mission is: it’s to make these Brownies again as I know my husband, one of those men that loves eating “foods that may kill you or at least make you look brave or crazy eg Durian or 75% dark chocolate”, loves Chili Chocolate. The chili in this brownie is not a subtle afterkick, it is present during every step of the way so if you prefer a more subtle aftertaste, you may want to adjust the quantities (start with 1/4 teaspoon and taste the batter but the chili taste will be milder when the batter is uncooked).

I didn’t find that I got the crunchy top with my brownies, although the gooey chocolateyness was definitely there as was the chili hit as promised. As mentioned, the chili flavour does deepen on cooking so just be aware when you make your brownies that when you taste the raw batter it’s milder.

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Inspired by the moistness of the Middle Eastern Blood Orange cake that eschewed flour in favour of almond meal, I combined a recipe of Nigella’s for Flourless Chocolate Brownies and an idea from Tessa Kiros’s Apples from Jam . With strawberries being plentiful now, I had two punnets of gorgeously huge and sweet berries. I love strawberries and whipped cream, in fact it’s my favourite way of eating them, but this can really only be improved with the addition of chocolate in its gooeyest form.

Brownies are never going to qualify as a health food, the number of eggs and weight of sugar and butter would effectively muzzle any such claims but there is nothing quite like that gorgeous moistness and quivering inner. And this brownie recipe is the Queen of Quiver. That is to mean that it is also a little more delicate than a sturdier less quiver-prone brownie but the reward is in the texture. Yes it is a downright pain to arrange into place but the grateful glances and moans of appreciation will help ease any plating traumas past.

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