Chef Loretta Fanella
Chocolate Logs
200g dark chocolate, melted
5g cocoa powder
5g green tea powder
Chocolate Ice Cream
375g milk
25g glucose
50g sugar
1.8g ice cream stabiliser
45g 70% dark chocolate, chopped
20g cocoa powder
Soft Green Tea Biscuit
80g egg yolks
125g egg whites
80g hazelnuts, roasted
80g sugar
2.5g flour
7.5g green tea powder
Chocolate Gelatine
200g milk
18g sugar
0.8g agar-agar
25g chocolate
2 gelatine sheets, soaked
Blueberry Compote
200g fresh blueberries
80g sugar
Meringue Mushrooms
50g sugar
25g egg whites
10g cocoa powder
Chocolate Biscuit
115g soft butter
95g raw cane sugar
35g granulated sugar
135g flour, sifted
22g cocoa powder
3g bicarbonate
1.5g salt
115g 70% dark chocolate, broken into pieces
Puffed Chocolate
300g milk chocolate
100ml sunflower oil
Greek yoghurt, eucalyptus sweets and fresh sprouts, for garnishing
For the chocolate logs: Spread the melted dark chocolate onto squares of greaseproof paper and dip it in an ice bath. Immediately roll the dipped chocolate squares into cylinders, of different sizes, to form the logs and branches. Dry the chocolate logs and branches with kitchen towels and dust with the cocoa powder and green tea powder.
For the chocolate ice cream: Heat the milk and glucose in a saucepan to 30°C. Add in the sugar and ice cream stabiliser and bring mixture to 80°C. Add in the chocolate and cocoa powder. Mix well. Remove saucepan from the heat and chill the chocolate mixture in the refrigerator for about 12 hours. Pour the chilled chocolate ice cream into an ice cream machine and store at -18°C until ready to be served.
For the soft green tea biscuit: Place the egg yolks, egg whites, roasted hazelnuts, sugar, flour and green tea powder into an electric mixer and pulse for about 10 minutes. Chill the mixture overnight and then pulse again. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve and then transfer into a siphon with a cartridge attached. Pipe the mixture into plastic cups and cook the biscuits in the microwave oven for a minute. Remove soft green tea biscuits from the plastic cups and chill until needed.
For the chocolate gelatine: Bring the milk, sugar and agar-agar to a boil in a saucepan. Remove saucepan from the heat and add in the chocolate. Mix well. Add in the gelatine sheets and stir until gelatine has melted. Pour the mixture onto a flat surface to a thickness of 0.5-cm and chill.
For the blueberry compote: Heat the fresh blueberries and sugar in a saucepan on a low heat and cook until the mixture becomes dense. Remove saucepan from the heat and set aside the blueberry compote to cool to room temperature.
For the meringue mushrooms: Place the sugar and egg whites into a mixing bowl and whisk in a bain marie to a temperature of 50°C. Transfer the mixture to an electric mixer and whisk for about 10 minutes. Mix one-third of the meringue mixture with the cocoa powder and transfer to a piping bag with a nozzle attached. Transfer the remaining meringue mixture into another piping bag with a nozzle attached. Pipe the meringue mixtures onto a lined baking tray to make the top and stem of the mushrooms. Bake in a preheated oven at 50°C for about 4 hours.
For the chocolate biscuit: Whisk the butter and both sugar in a mixing bowl until creamy. Add in the sifted flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate, salt and chocolate pieces. Mix well. Pour the mixture into a greaseproof paper lined baking tray to a thickness of 1-cm. Cover the mixture with another greaseproof paper and chill for about 2 hours. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 9 to 10 minutes.
For the puffed chocolate: Heat the milk chocolate and sunflower oil in a saucepan to a temperature of 45°C. Remove saucepan from the heat and cool to a temperature of 32°C. Transfer the mixture into a siphon with a gas cartridge attached. Place the siphon into an ice bath to cool thoroughly. Pipe the mixture into ramekins and set aside to cool for an hour. Remove puffed chocolate from the ramekins once the chocolate has set.
Place the yoghurt and eucalyptus sweets at the bottom of each serving plate and arrange all the elements to depict the undergrowth. Garnish with the fresh sprouts.
Serves 4