Bitter Chocolate Recipe

This lavish chocolate dessert from Paul Foster manages to be both extravagant and natural at the same time. It features a few nifty components but all add up to a harmonious dessert bursting with bitter chocolate flavours and textures a chocoholic will love.

Ingredients

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8 tbsp of buttermilk

Bitter ganache

250g of 85% chocolate pistoles
450g of double cream

Chocolate chantilly

450g of 55% chocolate pistoles
400ml of water
ice cubes

Chocolate soil

200g of caster sugar
200g of ground almonds
120g of plain flour
100g of cocoa powder
135g of butter, melted

Malt ice cream

6 egg yolks
20g of sugar
40g of malt extract
200ml of buttermilk

To serve

10 cacao nibs
4 sprigs of mint

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Paco jet

For the ice cream, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and malt extract until thoroughly combined

6 egg yolks
20g of sugar
40g of malt extract
200ml of buttermilk

Bring the milk to the boil and slowly whisk into the egg mixture. Pour back into a pan and heat to 80°C, stirring continuously. Pass through a chinois (or a fine strainer) straight into a bowl set over ice

Once chilled, pour into a paco jet container and freeze until hard. Use the paco jet to process just before serving. Alternatively, use a traditional ice cream maker and follow the manufacturers instructions

For the bitter ganache, boil the double cream and pour over the chocolate pistoles. Stir gently until completely melted and emulsified. Place in the fridge to set

250g of 85% chocolate pistoles
450g of double cream

For the chantilly, bring the 400ml of water to the boil and pour over the 450g of chocolate in a large metal bowl. Stir until completely melted. Place the bowl on top of a bowl of ice and whisk until thick and aerated. Spoon into a container and keep in the fridge until needed

400ml of water
450g of 55% chocolate pistoles
ice cubes

Mix all of the ingredients for the chocolate soil together well and spread evenly onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake at 160°C/gas mark 3 for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Once cooked, leave to cool then store in an airtight container

200g of caster sugar
200g of ground almonds
120g of plain flour
100g of cocoa powder
135g of butter, melted

Remove the ganache from the fridge and allow to come up to room temperature. Spoon onto the bottom of each bowl, followed by the soil. Quenelle the Chantilly into the bowls and sprinkle it with cocoa nibs, Add a quenelle of ice cream onto each bowl. Add a spoonful of buttermilk and scatter some torn mint leaves over the plate

10 cacao nibs
4 sprigs of mint

First published in 2015

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Paul Foster

Focused, skilled and intelligent, Paul Foster works with the materials he has around him to create extraordinary dishes which sing with a vibrancy perfectly in tune with their surroundings.

Bitter chocolate textures

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