This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Chloe Lyon has a small business making chocolates and selling them as Chocolate Wishes. She also does typing for her grandfather, Gregory Warlock, who is into magic in a rather big way (proper magic, that is, not conjuring). She doesn't quite believe in magic herself, but when she creates the chocolates she still recites an old Mayan charm her grandfather translated for her as she stirs the chocolate. This, for some reason, appears to make the chocolate taste better and has also increased her sales.
Chocolate Wishes by Trisha Ashley is, as you might expect, a very chocolatey book. From the proper hot chocolate, which Chloe serves for herself with raw honey, or for her friend Poppy and brother Jake with marshmallows, to the truffles which she makes with a combination of vanilla and cinnamon – the smells are just oozing off the page.
They waft over you as you follow Chloe's life and that of her friends Poppy and Felix. Then, as we find out more about her grandfather and Zillah, her Granny's cousin who is of Gypsy descent and reads tarot cards, we lick our lips over the chocolate. We watch, too, as Chloe stirs the chocolate pot, recites the charm, and adds angel card readings into each individual one.
Then the new vicar arrives in the village. Raffy Sinclair is the ex-front man of a rock band now taking an altogether different path. He is also the man that broke Chloe's heart at university. And as we discover more about their relationship, we continue to salivate over the chocolate.
So, I hear you ask, if the chocolate is so enticing why have I chosen a lemon syllabub to make from the novel? Well, quite frankly, because it stood out. Amongst all the descriptions of the chocolate, the lemon syllabub, which is, incidentally, Chloe's favourite ever pudding, just cuts through, refreshing and zesty, amongst the wonderful chocolate aroma. And it grabbed me, so I just had to make it.
It really is just lemon flavoured cream, so very easy to make and extremely delicious to eat. 
Equipment
Electric mixer and small bowls to serve
Ingredients
- 300ml tub whipping cream
- 50g caster sugar
- 50ml white wine
- zest and juice from ½ lemon
Method
- Pour the cream into a bowl and add the sugar.
- Whisk with an electric whisk until you get lovely soft peaks.
- Stir in the wine, zest and lemon juice.
- Serve in small glasses or bowls.