This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Dumped.
And on the first line of chapter one as well. Unsticky by Sarra Manning begins with a very big shock for Grace.
And it wasn’t even a kind dumping. Oh no. It was brutal. Grace knew Liam wasn’t the love of her life. But, even so, it was her birthday and they were in Liberty standing right next to the new season Marc Jacobs’ bags. He could have chosen a better time and location.
Once she’d hissed and sworn at Liam, then been left standing in the middle of her favourite store, something very odd happened. An arm grabbed her and ushered her out the store. Was she being abducted?
Bizarrely she was whisked off for cakes by this complete stranger to a rather upmarket place that served afternoon tea. As Grace was offered champagne her abductor introduced himself as Vaughn. Soon they had four different types of chocolate cake set down in front of them including a milk chocolate tart.
The whole episode happened in minutes. One second she was pitying herself for being dumped and being rueful about no-one buying cakes to celebrate her birthday – the next she’d been taken for cakes by a man completely different to any man she’d come across before.
But, like the milk chocolate tart that looked deadly, there was something about Vaughn. And soon she upped and left having not even tried any of the sweet temptations.
Was it the milk chocolate tart that looked deadly? Or was it Vaughn?
Makes one standard sized tart.
FOR THE
PASTRY (or use a bought one)
85g butter, room temperature
2 tbsp icing sugar
125g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
1 egg yolk
2-4 tbsp water [or milk], if required.
FOR THE FILLING
250g milk chocolate
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
150ml double cream
100ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Equipment
23cm tart case, greased, sieve, heavy bottomed pan
Method
- For the dough – cream the butter and icing sugar in a mixer.
- Beat in the yolk and the flour which has been sifted with the cocoa powder. You may need to add little milk.
- When it all comes together into a dough wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least half an hour.
- Once chilled remove from fridge.
- Heat oven to 200C/180fan.
- Remove dough from clingfilm and roll onto a floured surface until large enough to cover your greased tin.
- Bake in oven for ten minutes.
- Remove and allow to cool slightly.
- Bring down temperature of the oven to 150C/160fan.
- Melt the chocolate in a bowl.
- Pour the milk and cream into a heavy bottomed pan and bring to boil.
- Whisk the eggs in another bowl and pour in the hot milk and cream, whisking all the while.
- Now pour the milky eggs over the chocolate through a sieve and whisk. Add the vanilla.
- Pour into tart case and bake in oven for twelve minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool.