More Than Sweet

pastry chef dessert

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.

Floral Apple Tart with Nyetimber Sorbet

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Paid partnership with Mette Ravn Vanilje

FLORAL APPLE TART WITH NYETIMBER SORBET
NYETIMBER SORBET

375ml Nyetimber sparkling wine
225g apple sauce
100 ml water
130g glucose 
85g sugar  
4g sorbet stabiliser 
Pinch of salt 

Add Nyetimber, apple sauce, water and glucose to a pan and warm up to 36C. Mix the sugar with the sorbet stabiliser, add to the mixture and bring up to 85C. Season to taste with salt and emulsify using an immersion blender. Add to a bowl, cover and rest overnight in the fridge. Before churning, blend with an immersion blender and churn in an ice cream maker. Freeze for at least an hour or two before scooping.

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 SPONGE 

60g almond flour
50g + 25g cane sugar
20g egg yolk
75g egg whites
50g butter, melted
35g all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 generous pinch of salt 

JASMINE APPLE COMPOTE

500g apples, peeled, cored and cut in chunks
100ml jasmine tea
1 Tbsp. sugar
1-2 tsp. lemon juice

TAHITI VANILLA BEAN CREMEUX 

125ml heavy cream
125ml whole milk 
4 egg yolks
35g sugar 
1 Mette Ravn Vanilla Tahiti vanilla bean
3 leaves gelatine
Pinch of salt 

TO ASSEMBLE

6-8 fragrant apples, like gravenstein or aroma
Lemon balm
Lemon juice
Simple syrup

Directions

Preheat the oven to 175C and bake the tart shells until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

Almond sponge: Preheat oven to 175C and line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Mix together the almond flour, 50g of cane sugar and egg yolk in a bowl and whisk in the melted butter. 

Sieve together flour, baking powder and salt and mix into the batter. Whisk the egg whites with the remaining 25g of sugar to soft peaks and fold into the batter until the batter falls from the spatula. 

Pour the batter onto the prepared baking sheet and spread out to about 1/2 cm thickness. Bake for 4-5 minutes and leave to cool on a wire rack. Cut out 6 rounds of cake that fit inside the cooled tart shells.

Jasmine apple compote: Place apples and jasmine tea in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for a few minutes. Reduce heat and cover the saucepan with a lid. Cook until the apples are starting to cook down, add sugar and lemon juice and cook for another few minutes. Remove from heat and leave to fully cool.

Vanilla cremeux: Soak gelatine leaves in cold water for 10-15 minutes. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and mix with the sugar, beat with egg yolks until pale and very airy. Bring milk and cream to just below boiling with the empty vanilla bean, remove from heat and pour 1/2 into the egg mix while whisking rigourously. 

Return to heat and warm up to 85C while whisking continuously. Remove from heat, squeeze excess water from the gelatine and stir into the hot custard, until it is fully dissolved. 

Season with a pinch of salt. Strain into a clean bowl and press a piece of clingfilm directly against the surface to prevent a skin forming. Chill until fully set.

To assemble and serve: Add the sponge discs to the tart shells and spread a thin layer of apple compote on top. Whisk the cremeux until light and airy, transfer to a piping bag and pipe on top of the apple sauce leaving a few mm to the edge. Slice the apples thinly, brush them with a mixture of 2:1 lemon juice and simple syrup and arrange in rosettes on top of the cremeux. Garnish with lemon balm and serve with Nyetimber sorbet.


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.

Pear tart with Pastis and bergamot

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Pear tart with pastis and bergamot
Pear tart with Pastis and bergamot

Makes 6 tarts

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

Hazelnut sponge

60g hazelnuts
50g + 25g cane sugar
20g egg yolk
75g egg whites
50g butter, melted
35g all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 generous pinch of salt 

Bergamot olive oil ganache

160g citrusy, fruity dark chocolate, chopped
20g glucose syrup  
75ml heavy cream
100ml bergamot olive oil (I recommend this)
Pinch of salt 

Pastis poached pear

4 ripe, but firm pears
500ml water
125ml Pastis
125g sugar

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 bake the tart shells until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

Hazelnut sponge: Preheat oven to 175C and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Toast the hazelnuts until golden brown, about 15 minutes, and leave to cool before grinding to nut flour.

Mix together the hazelnut flour, 50g of cane sugar and egg yolk in a bowl and whisk in the melted butter. 

Sieve together flour, baking powder and salt and mix into the batter. Whisk the egg whites with the remaining 25g of sugar to soft peaks and fold into the batter until the batter falls from the spatula. 

Pour the batter onto the prepared baking sheet and spread out to about 1cm thickness. Bake for 5-6 minutes and leave to cool on a wire rack. Cut out 6 rounds of cake that fit inside the cooled tart shells.

Bergamot olive oil ganache: Add the chopped chocolate to a heat proof bowl. Bring cream and glucose to a boil over medium heat and pour over the chocolate. Stir with a spatula in the centre until the chocolate is melted, and continue to stir while slowly drizzling in the olive oil. If mixture begins to split, emulsify using an immersion blender. Season with salt to taste. Pour the ganache into a piping bag and pour over the hazelnut sponges in the tart shells. Leave to set.

Poached pear: Heat the water, Pastis and sugar in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved and remove from heat. Slice the pears thinly on a mandolin and add to the warm liquid and cook until just tender, 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain excess liquid from the pears. Cut out discs of pear and arrange on the ganache tarts.

Serve immediately.

Sloe & Sour Cherry Apple Tart with Sour Cherry Sorbet

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Sour cherry sorbet

Makes 1 liter

500g sour cherries
200g water 
200g sugar
80g glucose
20g lemon juice
4g ice cream stabiliser, preferably Cremodan Coldline
Pinch of salt 

Mix 20g of sugar with stabiliser and set aside. Add sour cherries, water, 180g sugar, glucose and lemon juice to a pot. Warm up to 35C, add stabiliser mix and bring the sorbet mixture up to 82C. Remove from heat, season with a pinch of salt and blend with an immersion blender. Strain through a sieve, transfer to a bowl and rest overnight in the fridge. Blend a second time with an immersion blender and churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Sloe & Sour Cherry Apple Tart

Makes eight 5cm tarts

Almond biscuit

85g almond flour
80g of melted butter
75g sugar
20g confectioners sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
20g egg yolk
20g egg white
40g cake flour 
1 tsp. baking powder
95g egg whites
15g sugar

Preheat oven to 160C. 

Sieve together flour and baking powder, set aside. 

Whisk together almond flour, sugar, icing sugar, salt, egg yolk and 20g egg white. Drizzle in melted butter while whisking, then gently fold in the flour. 

Whip 95g egg whites with the remaining sugar to a stiff, glossy meringue. Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the batter, then gently fold in the remaining meringue. 

Pour the batter onto a baking tray lined with parchment and spread out to about 1/2cm thickness. 

Bake the biscuit in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes, until sponge springs back when touched. Leave to cool at room temperature. 

Pâte sucrée

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

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 eight 5,5cm tart rings with the pastry. Insert a 2cm round cookie cutter in the center of the tart ring and line with pastry to make a tart wreath. Trim the edges and rest for another 15-30 minutes in the fridge. Preheat the oven to 175C and bake the tarts for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Almond namelaka

150g Valrhona almond inspiration
1/2 gelatin leaf
85g whole milk
170g heavy cream
Pinch of salt

Add almond inspiration chocolate to a heat proof bowl and melt chocolate over a water bath.

Soak the gelatin leaf in cold water for 10 minutes. Bring the milk to a boil, squeeze excess water from the gelatin leaf and add to the warm milk. Remove from heat and pour over the melted chocolate. Emulsify using an immersion blender and pour in the cold cream while blending. Transfer to the fridge to set.

To assemble and serve

8 apples
150ml sour cherry juice
Sloe gin syrup (Bring 75ml water and 25g sugar to a boil, cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and stir in 50ml sloe gin. Cool completely.)

Slice apples 2mm thick then cut out small leaves. Add half the apple leaves to the sour cherry juice and the other half to the sloe gin syrup. Leave to macerate for 15 minutes in the fridge.

Cut out 8 circles of cake that fit in the cooled tart rings. Brush with sloe gin syrup and pipe almond namelaka on top. Alternate sour cherry and sloe gin macerated apple leaves on top and serve with quenelles of sour cherry sorbet.