Chocolate Unwrapped 2011

You can download the recipes from Will's "Ordinary Cakes with Extraordinary Flavours" demo at Chocolate Unwrapped ("Dark Chocolate and Golden Ale Cake", a "Hot And Healthy Chocolate Cake" and "Tabasco Red Pepper Chocolate Truffles") HERE.

White Chocolate and Summer Berry "Baked Alaska" Trifle

This simple yet, eye catching dessert takes inspiration from the classic Baked Alaska dessert but here we have simplified it by making a white chocolate parfait which is an un-churned ice cream and some fantastic Nielsen Massey Vanilla bean paste.

 

Ingredients (makes 4 small glasses)

1 small madeira cake
1 punnet fresh raspberries
1 punnet fresh blackberries
1 punnet fresh strawberries
1 punnet fresh blueberries
20ml port
25g sugar
1 punnet frozen berries
2 leaves of gelatine
250g White Chocolate
500g Fresh Custard
2 tsp Nielsen Massey vanilla bean paste
200g caster sugar
50ml water
6 egg whites

Method

01.
Begin by slicing the Madeira cake and then using a round cutter, cut discs, placing them in the bottom of the glasses.
02.
Carefully place some fruit on top of the sponge pushing the fruit to the sides so that you can see them through the glass.
03.
In a saucepan, bring to the boil the port, sugar and frozen berries, whilst soaking the gelatine in cold water in a separate bowl.
04.
Once the port, sugar and berry mixture has boiled, leave to send through a sieve over a bowl, leaving you with a glossy berry syrup.
05.
Reheat the syrup gently to melt the gelatine in to.
06.
Using a spoon, pour the berry syrup with gelatine over the fresh fruit. Place into the fridge to set.
07.
To make the white chocolate custard, melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.
08.
Gently fold the custard into the melted chocolate adding a teaspoon of Nielsen Massey vanilla bean paste.
09.
Spoon the custard over the set jelly and then place in the fridge to set.
10.
To make the meringue, begin by whisking the egg whites on a medium to high speed.
11.
Place the water and sugar in a sauce pan and using a thermometer heat till it reaches 121ºC before carefully adding to the egg whites in a steady stream.
12.
Keep whisking till the sides of the bowl cools.
13.
You should be left with a tight, very glossy meringue.
14.
Place the meringue into a piping bag with a plain nozzle.
15.
Pipe bulbs of the glossy meringue on top of the custard.
16.
Using a blowtorch, flame the meringue giving you a lovely caramelised texture and flavour.
17.
Decorate with some of the remaining fresh fruit and enjoy.