Chocolate crémeux with cacao nib salsa

CHOCOLATE CRÉMEUX WITH CACAO NIB SALSA

From Bubala: Middle-Eastern Inspired Vegetarian Recipes to Share by Marc Summers Photography © Patricia Niven  

A crémeux is rich, velvety chocolate set cream. We use a mixture of 100 per cent and 55 per cent

chocolate and have spent lots of time searching for the best chocolate we can find to use here. The use of olive oil in the salsa adds some lovely floral notes, and the cacao nibs bring a satisfying crunch.

SERVES 12

90g (3¼oz) egg yolks (from 5 large eggs)

360ml (12½fl oz) whole milk

360ml (12½fl oz) double (heavy) cream

130g (4½oz) caster (superfine) sugar

375g (13oz) chocolate, 55% cocoa

60g (2¼oz) chocolate, 100% cocoa

pinch of flaky salt, to serve

For the cacao nib salsa

35g (1¼oz) cacao nibs

5 tbsp Honest Toil olive oil

2 tsp date syrup

pinch of flaky salt

For the crémeux, first make a custard. Put the egg yolks in a mixing bowl. Put the milk, cream and sugar in a large heavy-based pan on a medium heat and whisk occasionally until the mixture just comes to the boil. Once the milk and cream mixture has reached boiling point, pour about one-third of the mixture onto the egg yolks. Whisk continuously to prevent the yolks from scrambling.

Once well combined, pour the custard back into the pan with the remaining milk mixture and put over a medium heat. It’s really important to stir continuously to prevent the eggs from scrambling. If you have a digital probe thermometer, watch for the temperature to hit 84ºC (183ºF) and promptly take off the heat as soon as this temperature is reached. If you don’t have a thermometer, the custard is ready when it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Put both types of chocolate in a large mixing bowl and set a sieve (sifter) on top. Pour the hot custard through the sieve, directly onto the chocolate.

Discard the contents of the sieve, then whisk the mixture thoroughly in the bowl. Once the chocolate has melted and the mixture combined, pour into a 24 x 20cm (9½ x 8in) baking tray and use a spatula to smooth out and push into the edges of the tray. Cover with cling film (plastic wrap) and chill in the fridge until cool.

For the cacao nib salsa, combine all the ingredients thoroughly in a mixing bowl.

To serve, use a warm spoon to scoop out a generous dollop of crémeux and garnish with a spoonful of the cacao nib salsa and a sprinkling of flaky salt. Any leftover salsa can be kept in an airtight container for up to 1 week.