Chocolate Delice with Salted Caramel

       This smashing multi-layered dessert was created by Eamon Sullivan, an Australian Olympic swimmer who won “Celebrity Masterchef” in 2009. The recipe has been in the “top 5” on the culinary show official website for more than a year bur I never bothered to try it – the main reason for it was that the “Celebrity” series were not broadcast in India and, since I didn’t watch the episode where the dish was cooked (and scored, by the way, the highest marks by the judges), I didn’t feel an urge to cook it. Only recently when Eamon Sullivan appeared in this year’s Masterchef series and brought his stunning dish again – for the challenge where a contestant fought for the immunity pin – I realized that the time for trying the popular recipe from the official website has come. As George Calombaris cut through the Chocolate Delice (with a nice crack that makes you instantly salivate) and revealed all the layers of this pure chocolate indulgence I knew exactly what will be the next dessert I’m gonna cook in my home kitchen!

The original recipe by Eamon Sullivan (www.masterchef.com.au)

  

Ingredients

Crème brulee

375g thickened cream

135ml milk

1 tsp vanilla essence

7 egg yolks

1 whole egg

60g castor sugar

Biscuit Base

250g plain flour

150g butter

100g caster sugar

Large pinch salt

1 egg

Choco cream

190g thickened cream

60g dark cocoa powder

190g water

150g castor sugar

125g dark chocolate, chopped

15g gelatin

350g thickened cream, whipped

Chocolate glaze

230ml thickened cream

165g liquid glucose

80ml water

340g dark chocolate, chopped

Salted caramel

250g caster sugar

50ml water

150ml thickened cream

150g unsalted butter

5 pinches salt

Toasted almonds

50g almonds, toasted

White chocolate stripes

150g white chocolate, melted

Method:

   

1. For  crème brulee, preheat the oven to 140C. Line a tin with baking paper or foil. Combine cream, milk and vanilla in a saucepan over a medium heat, bring to the boil and remove from heat. Whisk egg yolks, whole egg and sugar together, slowly whisk in hot cream and strain. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin to a depth of 6-8mm. Place in a bain marie and bake for 30 - 40 minutes or until firm and set in the centre.                                           

 

2. Chill the cooked crème brulee, then freeze it. Once it is solid, cut 16 discs with 8 cm cookie cutters (they should be a little smaller than the cake rings in which you will assemble the dessert. Return the discs to the freezer until ready to assemble.

 

 

3. For  biscuit base, place flour, butter, sugar and salt in a food processor and process to a fine breadcrumb. Add egg and process until mixture starts to come together. Tip mixture onto a clean chopping board and press into a smooth dough, wrap in cling film and rest for 10 minutes in the fridge. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line and grease a baking tray. Roll the pastry to 2-3mm thick. Use the same cutter as for crème brulee discs to cut 16 circles. Place them on a prepared baking tray and bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool.

 

4. For  choco cream, soak the gelatin in 100 ml water. Pour the remaining water, cream, cocoa, and sugar into a saucepan over a medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring regularly. Add chocolate and stir until melted. Melt the gelatin over low heat and add to the chocolate mixture. Sieve and refrigerate until it just starts to set. Whip cream to soft peaks and gently fold through the chocolate cream.

 

 

 

5. To start assembling, line cake rings with foil. Place the biscuit bases in the centre of the rings, then place the frozen crème brulee on top of the biscuit. Spread the choco cream on top of the stack so that it fills the gaps down the sides. Put in the freezer till completely frozen.

  

  

6. For  chocolate glaze, pour cream, glucose and water into a saucepan over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Pour over chocolate and stir until melted and mixture is smooth. Unmould the chocolate delices, put them on a wire rack set over a baking tray and pour the glaze over them. Drizzle with white chocolate in stripes. Arrange toasted almonds around the edges. Return to the freezer till ready to serve.

 

 

7. For  salted caramel, put the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Raise the heat and cook without stirring until the sugar mix becomes a rich, deep golden brown (if any crystals of sugar start to form on the sides of the pan, wash them away with a pastry brush dipped in water). Take it off the heat, pour in the cream and whisk well. Then whisk in the butter, a few pieces at a time. Start adding the salt, tasting after each addition – you should end up having a rather salty, but not unpalatable sauce! To serve, spoon salted caramel sauce on a serving plate. Use a spatula to carefully transfer the delice to the middle of the caramel.

 

Note:

1. Since there were a lot of comments on the Masterchef website about the measurements being imprecise, I checked Eamon Sullivan’s food blog to get the amount of the ingredients right. And his instructions are definitely more detailed and easy to follow!
2. You can make this dish a few days ahead – even the sauce keeps well in the fridge, you will just have to reheat it gently before serving.