More Than Sweet

dark chocolate

Mi-Cuit with red kampot pepper & apple brandy

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Paid partnership with Xoco Gourmet Cocoa & Couverture

Mi-cuit with red kampot pepper & apple brandy

Makes 4 cakes

225g 70% Mayan Red chocolate, finely chopped
220g butter
120g granulated sugar
100g cake flour
2 tsp. freshly ground red kampot peppercorns
6 M/L eggs
60ml apple brandy
Generous pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 190C fan and coat the inside of four 8cm diameter, 5cm tall ring moulds with butter and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

Melt the butter and add the chopped chocolate, stirring to dissolve. Add to a bowl and set aside until cooled to room temperature. Whisk together sugar, flour, ground pepper, eggs and apple brandy, then fold in the cooled chocolate mixture until a smooth batter. Season to taste with salt.

Pour into the prepared ring moulds and bake for 8 minutes for very soft and runny interior and 9-10 for a firmer interior.

Leave to cool for 5-10 minutes, before transferring the cakes in the ring moulds to serving plates. Remove the ring moulds and serve immediately.

Mayan Red Chocolate Gelato

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Paid partnership with Xoco Gourmet Cocoa & Couverture

Mayan Red Chocolate Gelato

about 1l

575g whole milk
50g heavy cream
30g skimmed milk powder
100g caster sugar
40g glucose syrup
2g ice cream stabiliser, preferably Cremodan Coldline S500 (can be substituted with 3 egg yolks, see notes*)
200g Xoco 70% Mayan Red chocolate, coarsely chopped
Generous pinch of salt

Mix the sugar with the stabiliser and put in a large saucepan with the whole milk, heavy cream, skimmed milk powder and dextrose. Warm up to 85C while stirring continuously, remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Stir to dissolve then emulsify with a hand blender. Season to taste with salt and cool. Chill the ice cream mixture overnight in the refrigerator and reemulsify with a hand blender before churning in an ice cream maker.

*Notes: If using egg yolks instead of stabiliser, mix the egg yolks with the sugar in a heat proof bowl. Warm the remaining ingredients to steaming hot, then pour 1/3 over the egg mixture while whisking. Return to the saucepan and warm to 85C while stirring continuously to prevent the yolks from coagulating.

Chocolate tart with plum & rose

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CHOCOLATE TART WITH ROASTED PLUM COMPOTE & TOASTED ROSE PETALS
PATE SABLÉ

75 g butter at room temperature 
50g confectioners sugar
1/2 egg 
15g almond flour
125g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

ALMOND FRANGIPANE

50g butter at room temperature
50g sugar 
1 medium egg at room temperature (about 50g) 
65g almond flour 
Generous pinch of salt 

SLOW ROASTED PLUM COMPOTE

500g fresh or frozen plums, halved, pits removed 
100g sugar 

THE PLUM, I SUPPOSE GANACHE FILLING

180g fruity 70% dark chocolate (I used Xoco Gourmet‘s Mayan Red)
200g heavy cream 
2 Tbsp. Empirical Spirits “The plum, I suppose” (substitute with Slivovitz, plum or sloe gin)
Pinch of salt

Dried rose petals

Slow roasted plum compote: Preheat the oven to 140C. Mix the plums with the sugar and place in a single layer an ovenproof dish and bake for 1,5 hours until the plums are tender and starting to caramelise. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Tart shells: Cream together butter and confectioners sugar. Beat in the egg, then gently stir in flour, almond flour and salt. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 

Roll out the dough and line six 7,5cm tart rings with the pastry. Trim excess dough along the edges and rest the tart shells for 15-30 minutes in the fridge. Use a fork to prick holes in the bottom of the tart shells. 

Preheat the oven to 175C and prebake the tart shells for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

Almond frangipane: Beat the butter and sugar together until light and airy, add the egg and beat until combined. Stir in the almond flour and salt and spread a thin layer of frangipane into the cooled tart shells.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the frangipane is golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.

Chocolate ganache: Finely chop the chocolate and add to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until it is very hot, but not boiling, and pour over the chocolate. Leave for a minute or two, then slowly stir from the center out to emulsify. Add the spirit and season to taste with a pinch of salt.

To assemble: Add a thin layer of plum compote on top of the frangipane and pour over the chocolate ganache. Leave to set.

Toast the rose petals on a hot pan until fragrant, then crush and sprinkle over the set chocolate ganache.