Chocolate Cadeaux

Recipe (serves 8):

Contents
1. Dark chocolate mousse
2. Crème brulee
3. Rum soaked sultanas
4. Flourless chocolate sponge
5. Orange compote
6. Tempering chocolate

Crème Brulee
250 g whipping cream
½ vanilla pod – spilt and scraped
60 g egg yolks
50 g caster sugar

Method
Boil together the whipping cream and vanilla, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar, mix until light in color. Add the cream onto the egg mixture, mix until smooth, then pass through a fine sieve. Pour the crème brulee into the fleximat moulds and bake on low oven at 140°C in a water bain marie, for 15-20 minutes or until the custard has set. Allow to cool and place into a freezer.

Rum soaked raisins
150 g raisins
125 g dark rum

Method
Wash the raisins under warm running wate rto soften the skin, place into a container with the dark rum, marinate overnight.

Flourless chocolate sponge
makes a 30x 40 cm baking sheet
100 g egg white
90 g caster sugar
130 g egg yolks
30 g cocoa powder-sifted

Method
Whisk egg whites, gradually adding sugar to form a stiff meringue, add egg yolks, finally add cocoa powder. Place sponge onto a non-stick baking pan and spread evenly using a palette knife. Place into pre-heated oven and cook for 12-14 minutes. Cool on wire cooling rack. Once cooled, cut into 8 x4.5cm discs and 8 x6 cm discs

Orange compote
150 g orange juice
½ vanilla pod, split and scraped
20 g sugar
2 g pectin
2 oranges

Method
Boil the orange juice and vanilla pod, mix together sugar and pectin. Add orange juice and bring back to the boil and cook for 1 minute.

Take off the heat and allow to cool. Cut oranges and place into the orange sauce.

Tempering chocolate
500g dark chocolate - 60% cocoa

Fresh Patisserie
Place two-thirds of the chopped chocolate into the porringer pot, or bowl over a bain-marie. Stir regularly until chocolate has completely melted and has reached 45-50°C.

Gradually add the remaining chocolate. Stir vigorously and continue to stir until all of the chocolate has fully melted and the chocolate cools and thickens to 31-32°C. If the temperature drops below this, simply warm it up over the bain-marie again.

Lining the cake
Place 8 acetate forms on a flat board or marble, place approximately 2 tbps of tempered chocolate onto one of the pieces of acetate and spread across the acetate evenly with a small palette knife.

As the chocolate begins to set, carefully lift the acetate by one edge and place the acetate into the con emould with the chocolate facing inwards. Repeat for all of the acetate forms.

Chocolate decorations
On another board place a 20 x 20cm acetate sheet, with your finger dip into the melted chocolate and then place it onto the acetate a push up gently to create a flick of chocolate repeat until you have 8.

Dark chocolate mousse & building the dish
75 g whipping cream
75 g milk
40 g egg yolks
20 g caster sugar
205 g whipping cream
165 g 66% dark chocolate finely chopped

Method
Boil the milk and the whipping cream (75g), place the egg yolk and sugar in a bowl and whisk until smooth and light in color, pour half the milk and cream over the egg mixture and mix thoroughly, place all back into the pan and cook over a low heat stirring continuously until the mixture thickens and should coat the back of a spoon. Pass through a fine sieve over the chocolate, mix until it is a smooth consistency. Whisk the whipping cream (205 g) until soft peaks form, fold into the chocolate base.

Place a table spoon of mousse into the bottom of each of the 8 prepared cadeux moulds. Spread the mousse up the sides so that all the chocolate shell is covered. Take the crème brulee from the freezer and place into the chocolate mousse in the cake. Place the small disc 4.5 cm onto the top of the crème brulee and then top with a tablespoon of the marinated sultanas. Place a small spoon of mousse on the sultanas and then the large chocolate sponge flatten with a small palette knife and a little mousse and place into the fridge to set for 30 minutes

To decorate the cake
Carefully demould the cake from the cone moulds and level the surface of the top. Dust the top with cocoa powder and then with a small palette knife move onto the serving plate. Carefully remove the acetate sheet and decorate the chocolate flick and a garnish of gold.

This recipe comes to us courtesy of patissier and chocolatier William Curley from the William Curley Boutique in London.