The world is always finding excuses to eat chocolate. But when it comes to a dessert like this, we don’t think any excuse is necessary. Nonetheless, in honor of this beloved holiday celebrating all the goodness of chocolate, here’s the recipe for triple Michelin-starred chef Eric Frechon’s Peruvian chocolate dessert.
As head chef of Épicure at Le Bristol Paris, the incredibly talented chef Eric Frechon has long earned international acclaim and recognition for offering only the most magnificent and refined gastronomical experience to all his patrons. It is with great excitement that we now present his Peruvian chocolate recipe in honor of National Chocolate Day.
Lemongrass Ganache for Beans |
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| Ingredients 750g UHT cream 30 lemongrass stalks 150g Jivara chocolate (Valrhona) 200g Manjari chocolate (Valrhona) |
Instructions Finely chop the lemongrass stalks, set aside. Bring the UHT cream to a boil, remove from the heat, and add the lemongrass. Cover with cling film and leave to infuse for 12 hours. When the lemongrass has finished infusing, pass the cream through a very fine sieve. Heat the cream, and pour it in several batches over the chocolate; mix to obtain a smooth, shiny ganache. Pour onto a sheet to a thickness of 1.5cm, cover and place in the refrigerator. Then cut into cubes and roll these in the cocoa into bean shapes. |
Lemongrass Ganache for the Garnish |
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| Ingredients 750g UHT cream 30 lemongrass stalks 150g Jivara chocolate (Valrhona) 200g Manjari chocolate (Valrhona) |
Instructions For the ganache garnish, which should be softer, it is the same recipe as for the beans, but when the lemongrass has finished infusing, add a little more cream to bring the total quantity back to the original 750g. Finish the same way, heating the cream and gradually pouring it over the chocolate to make the ganache. Place in the refrigerator. |
Cocoa Streusel |
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| Ingredients 100g butter 100g flour type 55 100g caster sugar 10g cocoa powder 70g ground almonds 1g powdered cinnamon |
Instructions Sift together the flour, cocoa powder and cinnamon. Then, using the beater attachment, combine all the ingredients to obtain a crumby mixture. = Stop, spread out, and then freeze. Before each service, bake the required quantity in a fan oven for fifteen minutes at 175ºC (347°F). When cool, store in an airtight container until required. |
Lemongrass Jelly |
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| Ingredients 1 litre water 125g caster sugar 18 lemongrass stalks 16 sheets of gelatine |
Instructions Finely chop the lemongrass stalks, set aside. Bring the sugar and water to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the lemongrass. Leave to infuse for 12 hours covered with cling film. Then add the sheets of gelatine, previously softened in cold water, by heating a small quantity of the infusion. Pour onto a sheet with sides and place in the refrigerator. At the time of the service, cut small 1cm cubes to garnish the cocoa pods. |
Lemongrass Sorbet |
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| Ingredients 2 litres water 250g caster sugar 20 lemongrass stalks 30g Sevagel stabilizer from Sevarome |
Instructions Finely chop the lemongrass stalks and bring the water to a boil. Add the lemongrass and infuse for 24 hours. The next day, pass through a very fine sieve. Heat one third of the infusion and add the sugar mixed with the stabilizer. Recombine the liquids and place in an ice-cream maker, store in the ice-box at -10°C (-50°F). |
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds |
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| Ingredients 50g pumpkin seeds Olive oil Salt |
Instructions Preheat the oven to 150ºC (300ºF). Place the pumpkin seeds in a mixing bowl and dress lightly with olive oil. Season the seeds with salt and toss to combine. Spread the dressed seeds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in a single even layer. Toast the pumpkin seeds in the oven until lightly browned and aromatic, about 12 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. |
Illanka Chocolate Mousse |
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| Ingredients 200g whipping cream 15g cocoa powder 140g Peruvian Illanka chocolate 200g mascarpone 3 eggs 30g caster sugar |
Instructions In a bowl, whisk the eggs into the mascarpone one by one. Bring the cream to a boil with the caster sugar and cocoa powder. Pour the warm cream in several batches over the chocolate and then combine with the mascarpone. Sieve and then place in a siphon. Gas three times, taking care to mix thoroughly before adding each gas crtrdige. Keep cool at 10°C (50°F) for at least two hours before use. (20g used for each pod) Using the tempered Illanak couverture chocolate, lightly fill the chocolate pod moulds and refrigerate. Unmold the pods and scratch them with a wire brush before brushing them with a mixture powder of gold dust and cocoa powder. Set aside and then use the same chocolate to make the leaves and stalks. Use a brush to apply a mixture of gold and metallic green powder to the leaves. |
Plating:
In the bottom of each pod, pipe 15g of lemongrass ganache, add 5g of streusel piece, and 6g of the cubes of lemongrass jelly. Then pipe 12g of lemongrass sorbet and cover with 20g of Illanaka chocolate mousse. Lightly sprinkle with cocoa powder and add the 5 lemongrass ganache bars before covering with the top of the pod for service. Serve quickly before the lemongrass sorbet starts to melt.
Peruvian chocolate with crunchy, iced chocolate sorbet infused with lemongrass by chef Eric Frechon. © FOUR Magazine
Recipe and photo courtesy of FOUR Magazine.