Intro:
For this dessert I took all my inspiration from the winter season. I wanted the dish to almost look like a winter’s day. The aim when creating this dish was that it had a balance between the texture, richness and temperature of the desert. For the texture element, I created a crispy coconut chocolate soil that would resemble the winter floor. For the richness, I wanted to make the chocolate lighter by creating a balance with a simple coconut and lime ice cream. The temperature element simply combines the cold ice cream with a hot desert. After a few trials with this recipe, I finally got it to a point where it tasted delicious and had the correct balance! There are plenty of mini recipes here so take what you please. Let’s get to it…
Method:
- Start by making the ice cream, you want to start making this to allow at least 6 hours before serving so that the ice cream has time to set. Simply add 150mls of whipping cream to a chilled bowl and whisk until the cream becomes thick. Now add 70mls of condensed milk, 20g desiccated coconut, 50mls coconut milk the zest of 1 lime and a pinch of salt. Whisk again to ensure that all the ingredients have combined and the ice cream becomes smooth. When ready place the ice cream into either a disk silicon mould or lay evenly into a tin. Clingfilm and place into the freezer to allow the ice cream to set.
2. Now onto the crunchy element of the dish, the soil. To make the soil simply in a large mixing bowl add 80g plain flour, 50g sugar, 20g brown sugar, 55g unsalted butter, 30g desiccated coconut and 30g of dark cocoa powder. Mix all of the ingredients well so that the soft butter gets incorporated into the mix.
3. Now add the soil to a baking tray and evenly flatten out until roughly 1cm thick. Bake in a hot oven set at 180°c for 8-10 minutes. When ready allow the chocolate soil to cool then place into a bowl and set to one side.
4. When the ice cream is set we can finish off the desert. To make the fondant begin by chopping 125g of milk cooking chocolate and 125g of unsalted butter to a bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of boiling water and melt the chocolate and butter. When melted, mix together using a spatula until the chocolate and butter has emulsified and is silky smooth. Remove the bowl from the indirect heat, add a pinch of salt and allow to slightly cool.
5. Now in a separate bowl add 3 whole medium eggs and whisk until light and fluffy. Now add 80g of caster sugar and whisk again until all of the sugar has dissolved. Gradually add the melted chocolate and butter constantly mixing until the mix becomes smooth again.
6. To make the batter slightly thicker add 45g of plain flour and 20g of desicated coconut and sieve into the chocolate. Fold the flour and coconut into the chocolate batter until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. (There will be lumps at this stage from the desiccated coconut).
7. To finish the fondants lightly grease the inside of 4 ramekins with a touch of soft butter then carefully add the batter until the batter fills approximately just over 3/4 of the ramekins. Ensure that the rest of ramekins are clean and no excess batter is on them. When ready lightly tap the ramekins on the work surface to realise any unwanted air pockets.
8. To cook, preheat an oven to 200°c then add the fondants onto a baking tray. Cook for 12 minutes. When cooked remove from the oven and allow to rest for 2 minutes. To remove the fondants from the ramekins place upside down onto a plate and gently tap the bottom of the ramekins. (Take care as the ramekins will be hot, also you can gently shake the plate with the ramekin to loosen the bottom.) For a simple garnish on top of the fondants add the zest of 2 limes, 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp of desiccated coconut to a bowl and mix. (This can be used to dust over the top of the fondants).
9. Now to plate the dish, begin by adding the chocolate soil into the centre of the plate and scatter some of the sugar, lime and coconut over the top. Now place the fondant into the middle of the soil. Finally either add the disks of coconut ice cream or simply 1 large quenelle of the ice cream on top. Add a few small leaves of mint around the soil then pierce open the fondant to allow all that molten goodness to sauce the desert…hope you have fun with this one!
Additional notes
Instead of using dark chocolate, you could also try this fondant with white cooking chocolate. Instead of coconut you could either leave it out or replace it with orange zest, crushed hazelnut, or even alcohol. I was thinking to add a separate set of ganache into the centre of the ramekins to create a different molten filling but that may be for another day…Try out this recipe though, I really feel that the elements all work really well together for this dish! Have fun.
Ingredients
To serve 4:
Chocolate Fondant:
125g milk cooking chocolate
125g unsalted butter
3 whole medium eggs
60g caster sugar
45g plain flour
20g desiccated coconut
pinch of salt
Coconut Lime Ice Cream:
150ml whipping cream
70ml condensed milk
50ml coconut milk or cream
15g desiccated coconut
zest of 1 lime
pinch of salt
Chocolate Coconut Soil:
80g plain flour
50g sugar
20g brown sugar
30g desiccated coconut
55g unsalted butter
30g dark cocoa powder
Garnish:
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp desiccated coconut
zest of 2 limes
mint
