This is in my opinion, the best way to cook a chocolate fondant. The egg proteins are cooked long enough and slow enough as to set but not offer that stiff and tough mouth feel some fondants offer, the next key point is that the amount of fat and flout is greatly reduced due to the cooking process and this then leads to a more pure chocolate flavour on the palate. The parsnip is paired with the fondant due to the `maltiness` employed by the parsnips which combines to an almost `malteser` sensation on the palate
Components
Chocolate fondant
Parsnip ice cream
Parsnip purée
Chocolate oil
Grue de cacao (cocoa nibs)
Chocolate tuile
Slow Cooked Chocolate Fondant
320g chocolate
50g butter
50g egg whites
70g castor sugar
150g egg whites
20g corn flour
1. Melt the chocolate and the butter in a bowl over warm water.
2. Whisk the 50g egg white with the sugar until incorporated but not aerated.
3. Slowly whisk in the 150g of egg white until combined.
4. Fold in the melted chocolate and butter.
5. Fold in the flour and then pipe into the small buttered rings (2” high and 3” wide) immediately.
6. Cook in a fan forced oven for 1 hour at 72 ºC, remove and allow to set in the fridge overnight.
7. To re-heat, place on a microwaveable plate and re-heat on full power for 8-10 seconds then serve (note that the fondant once out of the microwave is not moveable).
Parsnip ice cream
450g parsnips, peeled and chopped
300ml milk
5 egg yolks
60g sugar
50g glucose syrup
125g crème fraiche
Place the chopped parsnips and milk in a saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until soft. Drain, reserving 125ml of the milk. Spread the parsnips out on a tray so that the excess moisture evaporates.
When dry, purée the parsnips until smooth, then place in a kitchen towel or piece of muslin and squeeze out any remaining moisture.
Place the reserved milk in a saucepan and bring to the boil, taking care not to let it boil over. In a mixing bow, beat together the egg yolks, sugar and glucose. When the milk has boiled, pour it immediately over the yolk mixture and stir to combine.
Place the crème fraiche in a large stainless steel bowl and set aside.
Return the custard mixture to a clean saucepan and cook slowly over a low heat until it thickens slightly. Do not let the mixture boil or simmer or it will separate, in which case you will have to start over again.
When the custard has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, pour it over the crème fraiche and mix well. Add the parsnip purée, stir until combined, then churn the mixture in an ice cream machine until firm enough to scoop. Transfer to a clean container and store in the freezer.
Parsnip purée
200g parsnip, chopped
300ml milk
1 vanilla pod, scraped
60g sugar
Bring all the ingredients to the boil and gently simmer until the parsnip is completely cooked. Allow to cool. Pick out the vanilla pod and purée until smooth, adding more milk if necessary. Pass through a chinois.
Chocolate oil
100ml Arachide oil
75g Valrhona manjari chocolate
Heat the oil to 40 ºC. Melt the chocolate gently over a bain marie. Combine the two ingredients and strain. Use warm.
Chocolate tuile mix
100g butter
80g glucose
160g water
300g sugar
5g yellow pectin
100g Valrhona 100% cacao
Bring the butter, glucose and water to the boil. Mix the pectin and sugar well, add to the boiling liquid and whisk until the mix comes to the boil again. Add the 100% chocolate and cocoa powder off the heat and allow to firm up in the fridge overnight. Spread thinly onto a silpat or baking paper and bake at 180 ºC for 8-10 minutes. Tuile should harden upon cooling!
The Vineyard at Stockcross
Stockcross
Newbury
Berkshire
RG20 8JU
England
