A very chocoholic Easter: Sensational chocolate recipes
Chantal Coady, chocolate guru and founder of Rococo Chocolates (see our top 10 chocolate shops), features some stunning desserts, such as dark chocolate and cherry crème brûlée, and drinks (how about a chocolate martini?) in her book “Real Chocolate”, but for Ask Mario she takes the chocolate experience forward into an intriguing savoury dimension.
For an Easter treat, Brian Cutler, Executive Chef of Fredrick’s Hotel in Berkshire, has created a luxurious chocolate dessert that will provide a special finale to any festive meal.
Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar
I have found this invention totally invaluable. As well as the obvious uses, in salad dressings and in deglazing pans to make gravies and sauces, it delivers the chocolate element in lots of my savoury recipes. It is also wonderful over fresh strawberries.
For a more piquant version to use with red meat and cheese dishes, such as Welsh rarebit, add 100ml of Worcestershire sauce.
Once made, it keeps almost indefinitely.
Ingredients (to make about 225ml):
- 100g white caster sugar
- 100ml vinegar (I use equal parts of Balsamic and cider vinegar)
- 30g good dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
Gently heat the sugar and vinegar in a small deep pan until all the sugar has dissolved, then let it bubble gently for 5 minutes.
Take off the heat, whisk in the chocolate well and leave to cool. When cool, stir again quickly. Pour into a small, clean jam jar to store until needed. Use a Magimix or similar food processor, even a liquidiser, to make a really good emulsion of the chocolate and the warm vinegar mixture.
Quick pan-roasted chicken with chocolate balsamic vinegar.
One of my ‘black beasts’ is fast food, meaning the kind of stuff peddled to children on every shopping street in the developed world. It makes me angry on many counts, the cynical exploitation of children as a target audience, the apparent inability of parents to resist ‘pester power’, the nutritional paucity of the offering, and then the exploitation of cheap labour and cheaply raised factory farmed animals*. This is my attempt to win small children over with my version of fast food, and to pander to their love of vinegar.
Firstly, find a happily raised chicken, preferably organic or free range, jointed. Blast the chicken for 5 minutes on each side, in a non-stick pan, until well browned. Pour off any fat and season with salt, pepper and some fines herbes and garlic if wished. Cover with a lid and continue to cook until the pieces are thoroughly cooked (about 10 more minutes, i.e. 20 minutes in all). Remove the chicken pieces and allow them to rest for a few minutes. Collect any juices that have run from them (these should be clear – if pink the chicken is not cooked through). Deglaze the pan with chocolate balsamic vinegar and the juices. Pour this sauce over the chicken. Serve with rice and a salad.
*I heartily recommend anyone interested in these issues to read Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (Houghton Mifflin, 2001: ISBN 0713996021), which is a compelling read and very scary.
Recipes by Chantal Coady from “Real Chocolate” (Quadrille, 2003: ISBN 1844000818)
Brian Cutler, Executive Chef de Cuisine at Fredricks', Maidenhead, has created this wonderful chocolate dessert as a special Easter treat.
Chocolate vacherin, white chocolate and Grand Marnier mousse with bitter chocolate granita (serves 6)
- Chocolate Vacherin (meringue)
5 egg whites
150g caster sugar
130g icing sugar
20g cocoa powder
Preheat the oven to 120C
1. Place 12 x 8cm circular ring moulds on silicone paper on a baking tray.
2. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then whisk in the caster sugar. With a metal spoon, fold in the icing sugar and cocoa powder.
3. Pipe the mixture into the ring moulds and smooth the top to form 'discs'.
4. Cook the meringues in the oven until dry, approx 40-60 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
- White chocolate & Grand Marnier mousse
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 and a half leaves of gelatine
250g melted white chocolate
500g whipped cream
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
Grated zest of half an orange
 1. Prepare 6 clear, flexible cake band strips each 4.5cm wide by 30 cm long. (They can be cut from transparent film or thin flexible plastic).
2. Whip the egg and yolk in a large bowl over simmering water in a pan or bain-marie until thick and creamy.
3. Take off the heat and mix in the melted white chocolate and orange zest.
4. Gently melt the gelatine in the Grand Marnier over a low heat until dissolved. Cool.
5. Add the gelatine and whipped cream to the egg and chocolate mixture.
6. Place 6 of the meringue discs on a tray. Pipe some of the mousse mixture on to each one and top with a second meringue disc.
7. Prepare the 6 cake band strips by spreading each with some melted dark chocolate.
8. With the chocolate on the inside, wrap the cake bands around each meringue. Place in the fridge and leave to set.
- Chocolate granita
400ml water
400ml milk
60g caster sugar
100g melted dark chocolate
20g cocoa powder
1. Place the water, milk and caster sugar in a saucepan and dissolve over low heat.
2. Add the melted dark chocolate and cocoa powder and pour into a tray to freeze for approximately 4 hours.
3. Remove from the freezer and roughly whisk the mixture to break it up.
To serve: Place each dessert on a plate and gently remove the cake band to leave the chocolate band around the dessert. Put a spoonful of chocolate granita in a glass and serve topped with coffee crystals. These are made by freezing a layer of sweetened black coffee on a tray, then gently breaking it up into slivers.
Cook's tips
For the chocolate meringue, ensure the bowl used for whisking the egg whites is squeaky clean. The egg whites should form stiff peaks.
When whipping egg and egg yolk for the mousse, make sure the water in the pan is not too hot - otherwise you will end up cooking the eggs.
For the chocolate granita, use good quality dark chocolate - one with 70% cocoa is best.
Garnish with fresh strawberries - they work really well with this rich chocolate dessert.
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