Darkest Chocolate Mousse

Components:
150g first-rate dark chocolate (85% cocoa fat), broken into pieces
15g unsalted cultured butter
1 free-range egg
30ml amaretto, brandy, cognac, rum etc or other liqueur
or espresso coffee (freshly brewed)
2 free-range egg whites
50g authentic vanilla sugar (or caster sugar)
250ml cream (35% fat)


Process:
Over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter in the bowl you intend to serve the mousse. Do not allow the bowl to touch the hot water- chocolate is a very sensitive product and will burn if it becomes too warm.
Remove the bowl from the heat and blend in the egg and chosen liqueur or coffee.
In a separate bowl, pound the egg whites with a whisk until they form soft peaks.
Continue to whisk the egg whites, adding the vanilla sugar 1 tsp at a time, until all the sugar has been incorporated. The egg whites should be thick and glossy (i.e. meringue).
Fold a few spoonfuls of the meringue into the chocolate to soften the mixture, and then fold in the rest of the meringue using a large metal spoon.
Whip the cream in a separate bowl.
Fold the whipped cream very, very tenderly into the chocolate meringue. Do not overwork the mixture- the cream will turn to butter, if combined too aggressively.
Make even the surface of the mousse using a spoon or spatula, and wipe the edges of the bowl with a tissue.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Decorate the chocolate mousse as you wish. I like to adorn mine with excellent cocoa powder and rosettes of whipped cream. Serves four people.

Kangaroo with Chocolate & Chilli

This is an unusual, but luxurious dish. It is not a dish for everyday, but rather something you would take time out to prepare for a special occasion. Do not be alarmed by the use of chocolate here (I was very inspired by the film Chocolat) Bitter chocolate combines well with dark game meats (like hare and venison), so it is perfect with kangaroo. In fact the Spanish and Mexicans add chocolate to many meat dishes. I have seen recipes for beef, turkey, and duck.
Kangaroo is the leanest meat available (so my personal trainer tells me) and is popular amongst body builders, for the obvious reasons. Because of the lack of fat, this meat needs to be cooked rare. If you do not like your meat cooked this way, I would not bother with this dish. It is a crime to cook kangaroo “well done”. Kangaroo cooked this way will be tough. This native animal is relatively inexpensive (compared to other game) and a little goes a long way. Less than 400g will suffice for two people (unless you are a body builder, of course). Kangaroo is available from game suppliers and supermarkets.
Just a note on ingredients- you do need a rich French style stock for this. Add something gelatinous to the stock (like chicken feet or a pork trotter), to give it body And if you are up for it, clarify your stock with egg whites. Most restaurant cookbooks have instructions for this.
To cook the baby beetroots, simply put them into a covered dish and bake at 180c for 40 minutes or until tender. Allow them to cool and wearing latex gloves, top, tail and peel them. The latex gloves will provide protection from the “I’ve just killed someone” look. And if you would like to make this dish a bit easier, you can use tinned baby beetroots. However do realize that their flavour will be completely different to cooking your own.

Ingredients
1 litre of fresh stock ( I used a combination of beef and chicken)
1 small cinnamon stick
1 dried chilli, broken in two pieces
1 fresh bayleaf
400 g kangaroo fillets
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
10g fine dark chocolate (85% cocoa fat)
10 baby beetroots, cooked as described above
15g butter
Rosemary or mint sprig, for garnishing

Method
In a wide pan, heat the stock with the cinnamon, chilli and bayleaf.. Reduce it until you have a brown, shiny glaze. Remove the aromatics and set the glaze aside. Make sure the kangaroo is at room temperature. Rub with a few drops of oil and season well with salt. Heat another pan until hot and sear the kangaroo for 1 minute each side. Immediately wrap the meat in 2 layers of foil and leave to rest for 20 minutes on a wooden board. While the meat is resting, add the beetroots to the pan and reheat them gently. Turn off the heat and add the chocolate, broken into pieces. Season with salt and plenty of pepper (chocolate loves pepper) If the sauce is too thick, thin with some hot water-the sauce is chocolately, but it is not supposed to be fudge. Keep warm, while you finish the kangaroo. Heat a pan with the butter. Unwrap the meat and cook again 1 minute each side to reheat the meat and complete the cooking. The meat should now be perfectly rare. Slice thinly and arrange the meat and glistening beetroots on individual plates, drizzled with the sauce. Finish with a sprig of rosemary or mint.
Note- if the beetroots you purchased came attached with the leaves, even better.They make a perfect side dish. Discard any leaves that are wilted or unhealthy looking. Soak the remaining leaves in water to loosen any dirt. Toss them in a pan with butter to just wilt and season with salt and pepper.

Chocolate Croissant & Honey Pudding

I would not usually cook food like this during late spring. But it has been so cold (and still is right now), that I think it is perfectly justified. Also the fact I have a bag of chocolate croissants in the freezer, waiting for a moment like this (I am the type of person who will start collecting foods, like panettones at Christmas, so I can turn them into desserts later in the following year, when it takes my fancy. Yes, I am obsessed).
This dessert is really just a variation of bread and butter pudding. It will have a soft and liquid belly with a light upper crust. If you prefer a more solid pudding, double the amount of croissants. I though, prefer soft custard, rather than stodgyness. But I leave the choice up to you. You can eat this warm, cold or chilled. However I would not attempt, serving this hot straight from the oven, even in the coldest weather. It does need some time to set.

Ingredients
2 or more stale chocolate croissants
400ml full fat milk, organic and unhomogenized
600 ml cream (35% milk fat)
4 eggs (free range)
120g honey
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
Butter, to dot
Icing sugar, to dust
Extra honey, for drizzling

Method
Tear the croissants into pieces. Use the croissant pieces to completely cover the base of a baking dish. Mine is 28cm by 19cm, and 5cm high.

In a large bowl, mix together the eggs and honey.

Add the milk, cream and cinnamon. Mix to just combine.

Pour this mixture over the croissant pieces. Make sure all the croissant pieces are well saturated. Leave it to sit for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 150c.

Dot some butter over the surface of the pudding and bake for 50-60 minutes or until just set.

Leave to cool for a while and serve dusted with icing sugar and drizzled with a little honey.

Enough for 6 serves.

Rich and Decadent

Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), the French gastronome, once said “Chocolate is one of the most powerful restoratives. Let any man who has spent working a considerable portion of the time that should be spent sleeping, let any man of wit who feels himself temporarily become stupid, let any man who finds the air damp, the time long, and the atmosphere difficult to tolerate, let any man who is tormented by an obsession that prevents him from thinking clearly, let all those men dose themselves with a good half litre of amber-coloured chocolate…and they will see a miracle”. Well, that’s a rather dramatic statement. If only chocolate was the answer to mankinds problems! What I do know is, hot chocolate is divine. And when I say hot chocolate, I mean real hot chocolate- made with fine dark chocolate (no cooking chocolate please), milk and aromatics. You should think of this as liquid chocolate dessert, rather than chocolate flavoured milk. It is rich, subtly sweet and aromatic and best served in espresso cups with little spoons. This is the only chocolate dessert I make. It is by far, easier to make than any mousse or cake and far more satisfying.

Rich and Decadent Hot Chocolate

Ingredients
500ml milk (I use organic and unhomogenized)
100 g dark chocolate (85% cocoa fat)
2 tbsp of good honey
½ vanilla pod (or a cinnamon stick or both)
1 tbsp of port (or brandy, or rum)

Method
Bring the milk and the vanilla (or cinnamon) to scalding point. Turn of the heat.
Add the chocolate (in pieces) and the honey, and leave it alone. The vanilla will do its job and the chocolate will melt. Traditionally hot chocolate is supposed to be prepared up to this point and then left to sit overnight. However proceed as you wish.
Remove the vanilla pod (or cinnamon), scrape out the seeds and add them to the chocolate. Discard the vanilla pod.
Reheat the chocolate gently (do not boil, or else you will burn the chocolate and the milk).
Add the port (or other spirit). Now, either pour this into the blender or use a stick blender. Process for about a minute, until the mixture has thickened slightly and you have a foam (like cappuccino).

Serve immediately in espresso cups. This amount is enough for 4 espresso cups, with enough for a few second helpings. In my experience, even though this is rich and best served in dainty cups, people always want more. It is rather addictive.