Method

Chocolate Bavarian Mousse

Place the 3 tablespoons of water (45 ml) and half of the sugar (90 ml) in a saucepan and bring up to a boil. Continue to boil until soft ball stage (121 ºC). Tip: to make sure temperature is right, place the tip of a spoon into the sugar, let it cool and if it is sticky to the touch, it’s ready).

Separate the eggs, yolks in one bowl and whites in another.

Once the sugar has reached the correct temperature, remove from the stove and pour slowly onto the yolks and whisk constantly while pouring to stop the eggs from scrambling. Whisk until the mixture doubles in size and looks pale, this is called a sabayon.

Bloom the gelatine leaves in the ¼ cup of ice cold water. Remove the soft gelatine and add to the sabayon and whisk to incorporate.

Whisk the egg whites with the remainder of the sugar to stiff peak stage (meringue texture).

Melt the chocolate slowly in a microwave or in a double boiler.

Fold the melted chocolate in to the sabayon mix.

Lastly fold in the egg whites (make sure you don’t over mix otherwise the mousse will be heavy rather than light in texture).

Coffee Cremeaux

Place the milk, cream and whole coffee beans in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Once it reaches a boil, remove from the heat and infuse for 15 minutes.

Bloom the gelatine leaf in the ice cold water until soft.

Place the sugar and egg yolks in a glass bowl and whisk together.

Reheat the cream mixture, gently. Then slowly pour over the yolks and sugar to form an anglaise (custard) while whisking continually to stop the eggs from scrambling.

Use a sieve to strain the anglaise back into a clean saucepan and discard the coffee beans. Return the saucepan to the heat and continue to stir and cook the anglaise until it coats the back

of a spoon (tip: cook the anglaise slowly over a low heat to prevent scrambling).

Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the softened gelatine and mix.

Add the melted chocolate and blend until well combined.

Pour the mixture into small dome moulds and freeze.

Hazelnut Choc Brownie Biscuit

Preheat the oven to 150 °C.

Grease and line a brownie, or rectangular tin.

Place the chocolate and butter in a double boiler to melt. (Tip: if you don’t have a double boiler, use a glass bowl which fits snugly on top of a saucepan of water. Heat over medium heat on the stovetop, so that the bowl gets indirect heat from the simmering water below).

Place the eggs and sugar in a stand mixer and beat until pale in colour, this is known as a sabayon.

Combine the flour, baking powder and chopped roasted hazelnuts together.

Fold the sabayon into the chocolate mix, and then lastly add the dry ingredients.

Place the mixture into the greased baking tin and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until firm to the touch.

Chocolate Glaze

Place the cream and sugar into a saucepan and bring up to the boil.

Place the chopped chocolate in a glass bowl.

Once the cream has reached a boil, remove from the heat and pour over the dark chocolate. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine (tip: don’t use a whisk as this causes air bubbles and the glaze will not be smooth and shiny). Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.

Add the butter slowly using a hand held blender to incorporate (tip: make sure the blender stays below the surface to stop air bubbles forming).

To Assemble

Spoon the chocolate mousse into the moulds, filling half way.

De-mould the coffee cremeaux dome and insert it into the centre of the larger, mousse-filled dome.

Cut out discs of the chocolate brownie biscuit to the size of the base of the dome and place it so that it forms a seal and is flush with the mould. Place the moulds into the freezer to harden and set.

Place a wire cooling rack over a plate or dish (to catch the excess glaze).

Push out the frozen domes and place onto the cooling rack and place back into the freezer again for 10 minutes (if you don’t place back into the freezer the glaze might not set correctly and will sllide off).

Pour the glaze over each dome completely covering all of it.

Finish off with a garnish of your choice (i.e. chocolate drops or gold leaf).