Buckwheat holds cultural significance in Ukraine. Chef Eugene Korolev takes this ingredient and embeds it into every aspect of this dessert. He makes a cake with Ukrainian buckwheat honey and grinds buckwheat chocolate – the key ingredients of which are cocoa butter, tabucha (a fermented buckwheat tea), toasted buckwheat grouts, almonds and cashews. The chocolate is ground down over a 48-hour period in a chocolate grinder, resulting in a deeply nutty and slightly savoury chocolate with a distinctive buckwheat character. The cake is layered with a cream made from cultured cream and soured cream, for tangy notes, and a fermented buckwheat tea espuma sauce for lightness.
Start the buckwheat chocolate at least 2 days before you want to serve the dish. Place the cocoa butter in a pan and melt it gently, keeping the temperature below 45°C
Meanwhile, place the tabucha, almonds, cashews and toasted buckwheat into a food processor and blitz to a fine crumb. Transfer to a large bowl with the remaining dry ingredients
Gradually incorporate the melted cocoa butter into the dry ingredients with a spatula, then transfer the mixture to a chocolate grinder machine. Allow the machine to process the chocolate for 48 hours – it will develop a smooth texture and rounded flavour
Strain the chocolate through a fine mesh sieve and weigh out 200g – this will make more than you need; store the rest in an airtight container for up to 1 month
For the buckwheat tea sauce, place the cream, sugar and tabucha in a pan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and allow it to infuse for 1 hour
For the honey cake, place the eggs and caster sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk until pale and aerated and the mixture has formed a light stable foam (you can use an electric hand-whisk and a heatproof bowl if you prefer)
Place the bowl over a gentle bain-marie and whisk in the bicarbonate of soda and baking powder. Whisk in the buckwheat honey until fully dissolved
Gradually add the butter, and continue whisking until fully emulsified and smooth
Fold in half of the flour by hand and allow the mixture to rest briefly. Remove from the heat and fold in the remaining flour – it should be a soft, pliable dough. Cool quickly, then chill thoroughly until firm
Strain the tea through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl, then whisk in the stabiliser. Transfer to a siphon and charge once. Place in a warm water bath to maintain a light, airy texture
For the cream, in a large bowl and using a balloon whisk, whip the double cream with the icing sugar and vanilla seeds to soft peaks, then carefully whisk in with the stabiliser
Gently fold in the soured cream using a spatula, maintaining as much air as possible. The final texture should be light, slightly tangy and spreadable. Rest in the fridge briefly to firm up before use
Once the cake is chilled, preheat the oven to 180°C. Portion the dough into 90g pieces and roll each portion between 2 non-stick baking mats into thin, even sheets about 3mm thick, working in batches if needed
Bake in the oven for 4-5 minutes (again, working in batches if needed), until lightly caramelised and cooked through, then wrap in cling film and cool completely
To assemble the cake, layer the baked honey cake sheets in a deep tray (around 32.5cm x 26.5cm) with the cream, building a structured cake of 4 layers of cake
Evenly cover the top of the cake with the 200g of buckwheat chocolate, smoothing the surface with an offset spatula. Once cool, place the cake in the fridge to rest so the layers soften and absorb the cream and the chocolate sets
When ready to serve, cut the cake into 12 small pieces using a warm ring cutter or knife
To plate, place a piece in the centre of a serving bowl (you can warm the cake very lightly with a blow torch so the chocolate gets a glossy finish). Finish with the warm buckwheat tea espuma around the edge of the cake to add lightness and aroma to the plate. Garnish with cornflowers and serve
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