it's not white you think

theo

Nov 29

It's actually called blonde chocolate. No wait, gold..

Whatever term you'd like to give it, the chocolate is just caramelised white chocolate.

You'll be shocked to hear then, that it tastes very much like caramel. And, it's delicious.

Have a look below for how to make sablé biscuit, topped with a gold chocolate & early grey ganache, served with crème fraîche lemon ice cream, and parsnip sugar crisps.

I would recommend tempering the ganache. It sounds scarier than it is, but you'll get a smoother, and more velvety finish to it.

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Shopping list (serves 6)
Ganache:
Gold/blonde chocolate (callets or broken into small pieces) x 300g
Single cream x 300ml
Earl grey tea leaves x 5g

Sablé base:
Unsalted butter (room temp) x 230g
Golden caster sugar x 50g
Icing sugar x 50g
Plain flour x 250g
Large egg yolks x 2
Pinch of salt

Ice cream:
Double cream x 600ml
Crème fraîche x 600ml
Zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 1 lemon
Golden caster sugar x 150g

Parsnip crisps:
Large parsnip (peeled, very thinly sliced) x 1
Unsalted butter (softened) x 1 tbsp
Golden caster sugar x 1 tbsp

Equipment:
Round metal moulds/rings x 6
Sugar thermometer
Plastic bowl
Ice cream maker (ideally)
Mandolin (ideal for parsnip crisps).

Start with the infusion of the ganache. Add the cream and earl grey into a saucepan, and slowly bring the temperature up to around 55°C, but no higher than 60°C. This will stop too many of the tannins being present after infusion.

Keep the cream/tea mixture covered and refrigerated for at least 24 hours. you can then sieve it and store chilled, ready to be used later.

Turn your oven to 160°C (fan)/180°C.

For the sablé bases, cream together the butter and caster sugar, until pale and smooth. Add the egg yolks and continue to beat constantly with a whisk.

Add the other ingredients and work into a dough, using your hands. A lightly floured work surface will make this much easier. Work the dough for no more than five minutes, until smooth.

Brush some neutral oil, or soft butter on the inside of the rings.

On a baking tray, lined with baking parchment, fill each of the rings with around 60-70g of the dough. Press the dough into the rings to keep the shape of the base tight. Bake in your hot oven for 15 minutes, they should just be turning golden brown on top when you take them out.

Leave the bases to cool on a wire rack.

In the meantime you can make the ganache. In the plastic bowl, add the chocolate. Heat in your microwave for around 90 seconds. You will need to keep removing the chocolate every 20 seconds, to mix.

The mixture should not go beyond 35°C at any point. For the tempered finish, the last bits of chocolate need to be visible, and they must continue to melt outside of the microwave, when you come to stir it into its final smooth texture. Add the earl grey-infused cream, and continue to mix. Leave to cool slightly.

Pour the mixture evenly into the rings, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Make the ice cream by heating all the ingredients up to just below the boil, mixing well. Leave the mixture to cool completely. Pour into your ice cream maker, and churn for around 20-30 minutes. Or, just pop in the freezer for a few hours until frozen.

About 20 minutes before serving, turn your oven up to 180°C (fan)/200°C, and remove the filled rings from the fridge. Carefully push the dessert out of the ring, from the bottom.

Coat the parsnip slices in the sugar and butter, and bake on a flat tray, for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 more minutes.

Serve the sablé and earl grey chocolate ganache, with a scoop of ice cream and the sweet parsnip crisps.