Steamed chocolate sponge, baked white chocolate, white chocolate aero and sugar snap salad

Not yet rated

Michael Wignall's stunning dessert is a flurry of complex elements, making use of liquid nitrogen, espuma guns and a vacuum container to delicately balance flavours of chocolate, olive oil, sugar snap peas and orange. Truly a dish for the molecular mastermind.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Mint ice cream

  • 1.1kg milk
  • 50g of sugar
  • 250g of milk powder
  • 5g of ice cream stabiliser
  • 10g of glucose powder
  • 2 gelatine leaves, softened in iced water
  • 200g of fresh mint, leaves only

Nitro orange segments

White choclate aero

Chocolate sponge

Orange rocks

  • 400ml of milk
  • 100ml of orange juice
  • 50g of sugar
  • 30g of pro espuma

Olive oil jam

  • 50g of glucose
  • 50g of trimoline
  • 50g of sugar
  • 185g of extra virgin olive oil
  • 2g of salt
  • 3 egg yolks

Sugar snap gel

Baked white chocolate

Orange gel

Sugar snap peas

To plate

  • 30g of freeze-dried mandarin

Equipment

  • Pacojet or ice cream maker
  • Sugar thermometer
  • Liquid nitrogen
  • Espuma gun
  • Vacuum container
  • Steamer
  • Blender
  • Juicer
  • 20cm cake tin

Method

1
To begin, make the mint ice cream. Bring the milk and sugar to the boil and add the milk powder and stabiliser. Bring to 85°C and cook for 1 minute
  • 50g of sugar
  • 250g of milk powder
  • 5g of ice cream stabiliser
  • 10g of glucose powder
  • 1.1kg milk
2
Add the gelatine and mint and leave to infuse for 2 hours. Pass through a fine sieve into Pacojet containers and transfer to the freezer
  • 2 gelatine leaves, softened in iced water
  • 200g of fresh mint, leaves only
3
For the nitro orange segments, place the orange segments into the freezer until solid then dip into liquid nitrogen. Break into shards with a rolling pin or other heavy object and return to the freezer
4
To make the white chocolate aero, melt the chocolate to 50°C then mix with the olive oil. Transfer to a gas canister and charge 3 times. Siphon into a vacuum box and vacuum until doubled in size. Transfer to the fridge and allow to set for 4 hours
5
For the sponge, melt the chocolate over a bain marie of simmering water. Whisk the yolks and sugar until pale. Whisk the whites to soft peaks, then mix the melted chocolate into the yolk and sugar mixture. Mix in the egg whites in 2 stages, then steam at 100°C for 35–40 minutes
6
For the orange rocks, blitz all of the ingredients together in a blender and transfer to a gas canister. Charge with 2 canisters and syphon into liquid nitrogen, continuously stirring to break into pieces
  • 400ml of milk
  • 100ml of orange juice
  • 50g of sugar
  • 30g of pro espuma
7
To make the olive oil jam, boil the glucose and trimoline and transfer to a blender. Allow to cool, then slowly add the yolks followed by the olive oil. Season to taste with salt
  • 50g of trimoline
  • 50g of sugar
  • 185g of extra virgin olive oil
  • 2g of salt
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 50g of glucose
8
For the sugar snap gel, juice the sugar snaps and bring the juice to the boil with the agar for 1 minute. Set in a tray in the fridge. Once completely set transfer to a blender and blitz until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve
9
Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 3. Line a tray with baking paper and sprinkle over the white chocolate. Bake for 6–8 minutes or until caramelised
10
To make the orange gel, boil all of the ingredients for one minute then transfer to a tray to set. Blitz in a blender until smooth then pass through a fine sieve. Drop from a pipette into liquid nitrogen and store in the freezer
11
Slice the sugar snaps thinly and dress with olive oil
12
To plate, place the chocolate sponge on the plate with a piece of aero and freeze dried mandarin on top. Dot the sugar snap gel and the olive oil jam around the sponge
13
Scatter around the baked white chocolate, sugar snaps and orange segments. Finish with the frozen orange gel, orange rocks, and a quenelle of the sorbet
First published in 2015

Michael Wignall could have been a professional BMX biker. It was a fortunate day for foodies everywhere when he decided instead to work under legendary Northern chef Paul Heathcote.

Get in touch

Please sign in or register to send a comment to Great British Chefs.

You may also like

Load more