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Chocolate Ethereal
Recipe by Peter Gilmore
- Steps
- Ingredients
Ingredients
Milk skin
Oloroso Nougat
Salted Almonds
Soaked Muscatels
Oloroso Whip
Custard Cream Base
Pulled Chocolate
Butter toffee
Starch sheets
Tempered Chocolate
Amedei sheet and Amedei Muscatel Praline
Soft Ganache
To assemble Oloroso Cream
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Steps
- Preheat one oven to 50C one oven to 160C and one to 190C.
- To make milk skins, over a medium heat, bring milk to the boil, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Once boiled, pass the milk through a fine sieve into a large shallow saucepan. Place pan over the lowest heat possible until the milk begins to form a skin, about 10 minutes.
- Run a knife around the edge of the pan to free the skin from the edges. Spray a sheet of baking paper with spray oil and place on top of the milk skin, so that it sticks to the paper. Lift paper off the milk and place with the skin facing upwards, onto a cake rack. Transfer cake rack to the 50C oven, leaving the door slightly ajar, and allow to dry out until crispy, about 1 hour.
- Proceed to remove skins every 5 minutes and repeat process.
- Remove milk skins from oven and break into long shards roughly 10 cm long and 2-3cm wide, discarding any small pieces. Set aside in an airtight container to prevent turning soft.
- To make the sugar syrup for the starch sheets, place the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, over medium heat. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool in the fridge until cold, around 30 minutes.
- To make the nougat, roast almonds at 160C until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Set almonds aside.
- Increase oven to 180C.
- Place egg whites into an electric mixer bowl with whisk attachment. Place wild thyme honey in a high sided saucepan and sugar, Oloroso and glucose in another saucepan. Place honey over medium heat, when the honey reaches 150C, start whisking the egg whites on a medium speed. Take the honey further up to 160C then slowly add to the whisking egg whites just before soft peak. Immediately set the sugar mix over medium heat and heat up to 160C. Once temperature has reached 160C add that to already whisking egg whites and honey. Whisk for a further five minutes then slowly add melted cocoa butter. The mixture may split, but will eventually re emulsify. Add the roasted almonds and fold into the meringue. Roll the nougat between 2 sheets of baking paper using a rolling pin. Transfer onto a flat tray and freeze for around 30 minutes or until set hard.
- To make the starch sheets, line a tray with a silpat and lightly spray with oil spray. Take a Korean starch sheet one at a time and very carefully dip into the sugar syrup for 2 seconds. Using the edge of the bowl, scrape off any excess syrup and place onto the tray, keeping a square shape. Once on the tray, crinkle the starch sheet by moving all the corners towards the centre of the starch sheet, causing it to crease in the centre.
- Repeat the dipping process, each time slightly overlapping the previous sheet, until all the sheets are on the tray. Bake starch sheets at 190C until they are a medium caramel, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once cool, using a palate knife, break starch sheets into long shards roughly 10 cm long and 2-3cm wide, discarding any small pieces. Set aside, in an airtight container until plating up.
- Reduce oven to 180C.
- To make the salted almonds. Mix the egg white, salt and nuts together. Spread evenly across a baking tray lined with baking paper and roast the almonds at 180C until golden brown inside, about 10-12 minutes. Once cooled, cut almonds in ½.
- Place sugar and oloroso in a saucepan and set over medium heat. Heat until a caramel colour or 170C. Add roasted nuts and mix well to coat. Pour nut caramel on to a lightly oiled cake rack, sitting on a tray, to quickly drain of some of the excess caramel, for around 20 seconds. Remove from rack and spread on to a silpat to cool. Break into pieces roughly the size of ½ an almond and set aside.
- To soak muscatels, place muscatels into a small bowl. Bring sugar, water and oloroso to the boil. Pour over muscatels and then wrap the bowl tightly in plastic wrap. Allow to infuse for 1 hour. Set aside in fridge until plating up.
- To make the oloroso whip, place sugar into a saucepan with 75ml of water. Stir sugar until diluted. Brush the sides of the pan with water to avoid crystallisation. Put pan onto a medium heat and bring the sugar up to 180C. Take off the heat and slowly whisk in oloroso sherry and salt, being careful as the oloroso will spatter when whisked in. Once all oloroso is added, deglaze further with cream. Cool caramel over an ice bath down to 30-40 C then with a whisk emulsify in soft butter and salt. Place in fridge to cool for 1 hour.
- To make the custard cream, set up a bain-marie. In a bowl whisk together sugar and eggs until pale. In a saucepan bring cream to the boil and pour over egg mixture. Whisk vigorously and cook over bain-marie on medium heat, whisk continuously until 85 degrees, cool over iced water and pass through a fine sieve and set aside in the fridge until needed.
- To make the pulled chocolate base, in a pan place trimoline and glucose. Over a medium heat bring sugars to 170̊C. Remove from heat and add chocolate. With a wooden spoon mix very well for 3 minutes. Spread out pulled chocolate base onto a silpat. Place a sheet of baking paper on top and using a rolling pin spread out to 1 cm thickness. Allow to cool for 20 minutes at room temperature.
- To make the pulled butter toffee base, in a pan place trimoline, glucose, butter, salt and vanilla. Over a medium heat bring to 170C, whisking frequently. Remove from heat. Spread out butter toffee base onto a silpat. Place a sheet of baking paper on top and using a rolling pin spread out to 1 cm thickness. Allow to cool for 20 minutes at room temperature.
- To finish the nougat, cut pieces into 3cm x 3cm chunks and divide into two parts. Return part one to the freezer.
- For part two, cut into small pieces 1cm x 1cm ready for assembling. Set aside in freezer until plating up.
- To temper the chocolate for praline, chocolate sheet, and to coat nougat, place 500 grams chocolate in a bowl and set over a water bath, melt chocolate until it reaches 50C, stirring the whole time. Take the chocolate off the heat and add remaining 100 grams chocolate. Stir until cooled to 27C. Once it has reached this temperature bring chocolate back up to 31C. Separate the chocolate into 3 bowls, 200 grams in each.
- In one bowl of tempered chocolate, remove part one of nougat from the freezer and dip in tempered chocolate. Set in freezer for 15 minutes before cutting into pieces roughly 1cm x 1cm. Set aside in freezer until plating up.
- In second bowl of tempered chocolate, add praline paste and muscatels and stir vigorously. As the chocolate begins to cool you may need to stir again over the water bath to bring it back up to 31C. Once at temperature, spread on to a sheet of acetate so that it is roughly 2-3 mm thick. Place onto a tray then when set to touch, line the top of the sheet with baking paper. Place a second tray on top of the chocolate. This should stop the chocolate from retracting as it cools. Place in the fridge to set . Once set and chilled, break into small pieces the size of a 5c coin and set aside for plating up.
- With the third bowl of tempered chocolate, spread on to a sheet of acetate so that it is 2mm thick. Place onto a tray then when set to touch, line the top of the sheet with greaseproof paper. Place a second tray on top of the chocolate. This should stop the chocolate from retracting as it cools. Place in the fridge to set. Once set, break into sheets that are 10cm x 5-6 cm. Set aside for plating up.
- To make the soft chocolate ganache, in a bowl place Amedei and Valrhona chocolate together. Over a medium heat bring cream to the boil and pour over combined chocolate. Whisk together until well combined. Allow chocolate to cool down until it reaches between 30-40oC. Once at this temperature begin emulsifying butter in to chocolate by adding 1/3 at a time and whisking until combined. Set aside.
- To pull chocolate, lightly spray a silpat with oil spray. Place pulled chocolate base onto the tray and bake in oven at 160C until melted, about 6 minutes. Take out of the oven and onto the bench but still on the tray.
- Tear a sheet of baking paper the same size as the tray. Lightly spray the paper with spray oil and place on top of the chocolate. Using a rolling pin, spread the hot chocolate out to 4mm thick. Allow to cool until you are able to remove the baking paper. Put tray of chocolate back into the 160C oven for 1 minute to warm the chocolate slightly. Take out of the oven and then cool the chocolate until you are able to lift it off the silpat.
- Once at temperature, lift the edge of the chocolate and pull gently so that you stretch the chocolate. Stretch into sheets that are 8cm x 5 cm. to separate pulled chocolate from the base cut with scissors. Allow pieces of pulled chocolate to cool on the bench then break into long shards. Set aside in the freezer storing in an air tight container, between layers of baking paper until plating up.
- To pull butter toffee, place the butter toffee base onto a silpat lined tray. Bake in oven at 160C until melted, about 6 minutes. Take out of the oven and onto the bench but still on the tray.
- Tear a sheet of baking paper the same size as the tray and place on top of the butter toffee. Using a rolling pin, spread the hot toffee out to 4mm thick. allow to cool until you are able to remove the baking paper. Put tray of toffee back into the 160C oven for 1 minute to warm the toffee slightly. Take out of the oven and then cool the butter toffee until you are able to lift it off the silpat.
- Oear a sheet of baking paper the same size as the tray and place on top of the butter toffee. Using a rolling pin, spread the hot toffee out to 4mm thick. allow to cool until you are able to remove the baking paper. Put tray of toffee back into the 160C oven for 1 minute to warm the toffee slightly. Take out of the oven and then cool the butter toffee until you are able to lift it off the silpat.
- To make the Oloroso cream, place all ingredients into a electric mixer bowl and whisk until soft peaks. Set aside in the fridge until plating up.
- To assemble, place the left over Oloroso whip in the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat on high speed for 30 seconds. Once whipped place into a piping bag.
- Pipe a 7cm long x 1cm wide line of oloroso whip in the centre of the serving plate.
- In a small bowl place 4 Oloroso nougat pieces, 4 chocolate coated Oloroso nougat pieces, 4 salted almonds, 5 soaked muscatels, 8 Amedei muscatel praline Pieces and 1 ½ tablespoons soft ganache. Mix together until all ingredients are well coated. Place a large quenelle of all of the ingredients so that it sits directly on top of the Oloroso whip, it should be an elliptical shape.
- Using a hand held whisk, whisk cream to semi-firm peaks. Place one large roscher of Oloroso cream directly on top of the chocolate mix.
- Stick shards of each of the tempered Amedei, milk skin, pulled chocolate, pulled butter toffee and starch sheet into the Oloroso cream. Keep the sheets standing up, but at all different angles so that it looks natural.
- Clean plate and serve.
