Coffee and Chocolate Delice
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 15 portions
- Category: Desserts
- Cuisine: French
Description
A textured, layered slice with bitter and sweet flavours – perfect for a special dinner party. A challenge for the adventurous home chef.
Ingredients
Hazelnut & Feuilletine Biscuit Base
4 Tbsp (60 ml) dark chocolate broken into pieces (we used Valrohna Noir 55%)
4 ½ Tbsp (67.5 ml) cocoa butter
¾ C (180 ml) hazelnut paste
2 C (500 ml) feuilletine*
3 Tbsp (45 ml) roasted hazelnuts, finely chopped
Coffee and Chocolate Ganache
1 C (250 ml) cream
2 Tbsp (30 ml) roasted coffee beans
1 Tbsp (15 ml) honey
½ C (125 ml) chopped dark chocolate (we used Valrohna Noir 55%)
Hazelnut Dacquoise
1¼ C (310 ml) hazelnuts
¾ C (180 ml ) castor sugar
1 Tbsp (15 ml) cornflour
3 egg whites
Coffee Mousse
3 gelatine leaves
2 Tbsp (30 ml) strong espresso
2 Tbsp (30 ml) glucose
1½ C (375 ml) chopped white chocolate
1½ C (375 ml) cream, whipped to soft peaks
Chocolate and Coffee Glaze
3 gelatine leaves
1 ¾ C (430 ml) white sugar
½ C (125 ml) condensed milk
¾ C (180 ml) water
1 tsp (5 ml) coffee essence
2½ C (625 ml) chopped dark chocolate
Coffee Syrup
1½ C (375 ml) water
½ C (125 ml) sugar
1 Tbsp (15 ml) instant coffee granules
Coffee Chantilly Cream
1 tsp (5 ml) instant coffee granules
¼ C (60 ml) cream
2 tsp (10 ml) icing sugar
To Assemble
1 fresh pear, peeled and cubed, for garnish
Instructions
Hazelnut & Feuilletine Biscuit Base
Line a 30×30 cm baking tray with greaseproof paper. Ensure to take the paper slightly over the edges of the tray.
Place the chocolate, cocoa butter and hazelnut paste into a bowl over a warm water bath.
Melt over gentle heat (don’t overheat). Once melted, add the feuilletine and hazelnuts by hand and mix to coat. Spread an even layer over the bottom of the tray and place in the fridge to set.
Coffee and Chocolate Ganache
Place the cream, coffee beans and honey in a saucepan and bring to a simmer and infuse.
Strain out the coffee beans and then pour the warm cream over the chocolate and stir until melted. Bring to room temperature. Set a quarter cup of the mixture aside for plating later.
Spread the remainder of the mixture over the feuilletine base. Leave out of the fridge to set at room temperature.
Hazelnut Dacquoise
Preheat the oven to 140 °C.
Line a second 30×30 cm baking tray with silicon paper and spray with baking spray.
Place the hazelnuts and castor sugar into a blender and blend until fine, add the cornflour. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold the nut mix into the egg white.
Spread evenly over the baking tray and bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown (should be slightly crispy). Allow to cool and then remove from the baking tray and place on top of the ganache in the first tray. Push down slightly in order for the daquise to stick to the ganache.
Coffee Mousse
Place the gelatine into ice water to bloom.
Place the coffee, glucose and bloomed gelatine (removed from the water) into a bowl over a warm water bath (double boiler) and allow to melt and dissolve together. Stir to mix completely.
Add the chocolate and allow to melt. Once the chocolate has melted, remove from the heat and bring the temperature down to 32 °C.
Whip the cream to soft peaks and fold into the chocolate mix.
Pour onto the dacquoise and spread evenly. Freeze for one hour.
Chocolate & Coffee Glaze
Place the gelatine into ice water to bloom.
Place the sugar, condensed milk and water into a saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring every few minutes so that it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the saucepan, until the mixture starts to bubble (about 4 minutes). Add the gelatine and dissolve.
Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until the chocolate has completely dissolved.
Allow to cool, mixing every few minutes to stop a skin from forming, until it has cooled to about 32 °C. Pour over the frozen mousse and leave to set.
Coffee Syrup
Boil the water and sugar together for about 5-10 minutes or until the mixture reaches a syrup consistency. Remove from the heat and add the instant coffee.
Allow to cool completely before use.
Coffee Chantilly Cream
Place the coffee into the cream and leave for 2 minutes until the coffee has dissolved slightly.
Add the icing sugar and whisk to stiff peaks. Use a warmed spoon to scoop onto the serving plate.
To Assemble
Using a palette knife, spread the ganache onto a serving plate in a pretty shape.
Using a hot knife, slice the delice to your preferred size and place on top of the ganache.
Using a spoon, quenelle the cream with a teaspoon and plate. Drizzle a little coffee syrup around the plate. Add fresh pear cubes to finish.
Notes
Feuilletine is a pasty crumb made using crushed crêpes dentelles, which has a similar texture to a very thin tuile. You can make your own very thin tuile biscuits and then crush them up, or substitute with a finely crumbled cereal such as rice crispies or cornflakes.
