Dark Chocolate Fondant, Strawberry Mille Feuille and Blueberry Caviar (serves 8) This recipe is not for the faint hearted as the process is quite involved. However, in my personal opinion, the end result is well worth all the effort.
…..for the chocolate fondant
Ingredients
200g 70% Dark Chocolate
4 eggs separated
150g castor sugar
180g unsalted farm butter
1 TBSP corn flour
1 tot brandy
8 chocolate truffles (see recipe below)
Butter for buttering ramekins 50g grated dark chocolate for dusting ramekins 8x 125ml ramekins
Method
Melt the chocolate and butter over a double boiler. Cream together the egg yolks and half the sugar. Whisk the egg whites with remaining half of the sugar until stiff. Mix together the brandy and corn flour until ingredients are incorporated. Butter the ramekins and sprinkle them with the grated chocolate and leave them in the freezer for 5 minutes. Add the melted chocolate to the egg yolk and mix thoroughly, then add in the brandy mixture (it may seem at this point that the mixture looks like it wants to seize, however do not stress yet). Add 1/3 of the stiff egg whites and whisk it into this mixture until all incorporated (you will see the mixture loosen up again) Add in the rest of the whisked egg whites and soft fold them into the mixture until it is all incorporated. Spoon mixture into ramekins until they are just under half full, then place one chocolate truffle (see recipe below) in the middle and top up the ramekin until full. Place the ready made desserts in the fridge for 30mins to and hour Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 (very important that the oven is at this temperature before you put the fondants in), place dessert in oven and drop the temperature to Gas Mark 3 and bake for 12 minutes. The mixture will rise like a soufflé over the top of the ramekin; this is what you are looking for, however once you take them out of the oven serve immediately as they will drop.
…..for the chocolate truffles
Ingredients
400g 70% Dark Chocolate
1 cup Cream or Crème Fraisch
Cocoa powder for dusting
100g melted chocolate for dusting
Method
Heat the cream until just below boiling and pour it over the chocolate, mix together thoroughly. Leave it to cool down either on the counter or in the fridge, now take a melon baller and scoop out balls of chocolate. Dip into the melted chocolate and roll in cocoa powder to coat. Place on grease proof paper and leave in the fridge until ready to use.
…..for the Strawberry Mille Feuille
Ingredients
500g frozen strawberries
125g castor sugar
50ml brandy
500g Puff pastry
250ml cream
Icing sugar for dusting
Method
In a small pot, put strawberries, castor sugar and brandy, over a very low heat (the sugar must melt but it should not be bubbling), leave for about 45min (this process is called macerating the strawberries). Roll out the puff pastry and cut into strips about 3cm x 6cm, it is important that the pastry is not rolled out to thin. Cut out 16 strips, place them onto a baking tray and dust the top with icing sugar and bake in a pre-heated oven at Gas Mark 6 for 8-10 minutes until golden on the top. Remove from oven and let cool before using it further. Whip the cream until soft peaks appear and add half of the strawberries, blend it further until the cream is stiff and the strawberries are puréed into the cream (it goes a beautiful soft pink colour). Cut the baked puff pastry in half horizontally, as if to open them to be stuffed, spread the bottom piece with the cream, place 3 macerated strawberries on top, place another piece of pastry on top and repeat the process, place the piece dusted with icing sugar right on top of the last layer of strawberries.
…..for the Blueberry Caviar
Ingredients
400g blueberries
1 cup of white sugar
½ cup good dry white wine
1g Sodium Alginate
¼ tsp sodium nitrate
6,5g Calcium Chloride
1lt of water
Method
In a small pot, place blueberries, white sugar and white wine, over a very low heat and “cook” for and hour (this process is called macerating the blueberries) Remove from heat and puree, and drain over a container in a muslin cloth over night so that all the juice extracts. Place juice in freezer until frozen, Remove ice block from container and place on a muslin cloth again over a clean container and let “defrost” in the fridge, you will be left with a block of clear ice on the muslin cloth and half the amount of juice in the container. Take this juice and add in the sodium nitrate, mix it in with a stick blender, once that is mixed in add the sodium alginate and blend thoroughly with a stick blender leave this mixture for an hour at room temperature to let all the bubbles settle, Add the calcium chloride to the water and stir until it has dissolved. With a surgical syringe, suck up the berry juice and drop it in small drops into the calcium chloride bath and leave them for about 2 minutes. Gently spoon them out and rinse with fresh water and serve immediately as the longer they stand the more they will form into gel balls and loose liquid and flavour.
Enjoy the fruits of your hard labour
No comments:
Post a Comment