Combinations of food are very important to me. I don’t mean I go in for ‘food combining’ but rather, once I have found foods or food and drinks that go well together, I can’t seem to bring myself to eat any of the component parts in a different configuration.

At this point, I wish I could cite original wine and food pairings but I have to admit there was a time when I decided that the perfect drink to go with salt & vinegar rice cakes was Lemon Diet Coke and I wouldn’t eat sweet cinema popcorn without Vanilla Diet Coke.  During a detox/healthy eating phase, I decided that plain cashew nuts were best partnered with raisins and pecan nuts and dried cherries were another match made in heaven. More recently, I had an outrageously good croissant in a most unlikely place, where there happened to be a jam I had never tried before made from quetsches (a type of plum from the Alsace region) and now it seems criminal to eat a croissant without it.

(I’m getting to the relevant part now. Bear with me!)

Keeping with a breakfast theme, over Christmas I made a lot of cranberry jam. I first made it to go in a festive variation of a Bakewell Tart and ended up with left overs. And so it came about that I dolloped some on the white chocolate spread I was eating on brioche and found that the fruity sharpness of the cranberry jam was the ideal foil to the creamy sweetness of the spread. It was such a great combination that I suddenly couldn’t imagine Sunday breakfast without them. I made another batch of the jam for this very purpose and then when I ran out of white chocolate spread, mild panic set in.

I had bought the white chocolate spread from Le Pain Quotidien. Many, many years ago, I had tried what they called their ‘confiture de lait’ in one of their cafes and was hooked. When I went back a while ago, they had discontinued it and started selling a white chocolate spread instead. It wasn’t quite as good as the one of my memory but I bought it anyway and then happened upon the winning combination with cranberry jam and it had gone from being a disappointment to must-have.

And so to the internet to find my nearest LPQ (as my American friend tells me they call Le Pain Quotidien stateside, to avoid pronunciation issues), or, even better, a delivery service, to stock up. Sadly there was no online shop to be had, and all the cafes were on the wrong side of Paris – this wouldn’t have been an issue pre-toddler but experience has taught me that a 60 minute roundtrip on the metro is not a happy experience for anyone, least of all our fellow travellers. Could I find a different white chocolate spread available online? Perhaps even one that more closely approximated the ‘confiture de lait’ of my memory (I don’t easily let go of a food obsession).

In short, no. What popped up instead were lots of ‘recipes’ for white chocolate spread. Hmmmmm. Making one from scratch? I hadn’t even considered that. Most involved a combination of white chocolate, butter and condensed milk basically melted and mixed together. That shouldn’t be too difficult. Some had ground almonds or desiccated coconut to thicken them up.

I started with a good quality white chocolate, added some tasty butter and just a little condensed milk. The result was far richer than the LPQ version with, unsurprisingly, a very pronounced taste of white chocolate and it set hard in the fridge. Obviously, you could take it out to soften up overnight but, really, a spread should be spreadable. Also, there was something to be said for the slightly plainer original, making an ideal partner to my cranberry jam. More condensed milk, less white chocolate and an extra pinch of salt et voilà! The perfect white chocolate spread for lazy mornings.

Luxurious white chocolate spread for lazy mornings

Ingredients

100g white chocolate

100g unsalted butter

150g sweetened condensed milk

2 good pinches of sea salt flakes

Method

Break up the white chocolate. (I really hate chopping chocolate so Jamie Oliver’s approach of banging the bar of chocolate against the edge of the kitchen counter whilst it’s still in its wrapper has changed my life. I encourage you to try it.)

Pop it in a small saucepan with the butter, condensed milk and a pinch of salt and stir over a very low heat until it’s all melted. At this point, I found I needed to stir it pretty vigorously to bring it together and used a whisk to ensure all the butter was well incorporated.

Have a taste and see whether you want more salt, chocolate or condensed milk, bearing in mind that more chocolate may mean it firms up in the fridge. Now is also the time for a dash of vanilla extract or any other flavouring you fancy. I think next time I might try some pink boudoir biscuit crumbs for a little texture and colour. 

Once you’re happy with the flavour, pour the molten deliciousness into a jam jar and leave to cool before storing in the fridge. (And do try it on brioche with cranberry jam, if you can!)