Crystal Restaurant, Nunsmere Hall - Craig Malone - Chocolate crème brulee

By Cheshire Life on January 20th 2010

Nunsmere Hall's award winning Crystal Restaurant cuts a dash. It is a former Cheshire Life Food and Wine Awards winner and has twice been voted County Restaurant of the Year by the Good Food Guide.

Its chef, Craig Malone, has attracted just as many credits for his masterstrokes in the kitchen. For the past year he has been cooking traditional English with a modern twist using all of the best local ingredients.

He has prepared a classic dessert with a rich, luxurious taste and texture. Sink your teeth into this decadent chocolate crème brulee. It might take a bit longer to make than you average sticky toffee pudding, but you won't be disappointed

Chocolate crème brulee with financier and cherry sorbet

(Serves 8)

Ingredients

For the chocolate crème brulee
16 egg yolks
132g caster sugar
2 tsp cocoa powder
170 ml milk
1 litre cream
1 vanilla pod
200g dark chocolate

For the base
120g dark chocolate
1 tsp praline
140g Pailletté Feuilletine flakes
For the financier
250g caster sugar
100g hazelnuts
100g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
150g butter
8 egg whites
70g cherries

For the cherry sorbet
1 ltr Morello cherry puree
450g caster sugar
1 pt water
Zest of 1 lemon

Method

For the chocolate crème brulee
Whisk egg yolks and sugar together until light and thick, then add cocoa powder
Heat milk, cream and vanilla pod
Pour cream mixture over the egg yolks and whisk until combined
Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a low heat for about 5 minutes
Remove from the heat and pour over chopped dark chocolate
Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and pour into a square, shallow tray
Once brulee has cooled - turn out onto the base

For the base
Melt the chocolate and praline When melted mix in Pailletté Feuilletine flakes Spoon onto a sheet of greaseproof paper
Place a further sheet of greaseproof paper on top and roll out until approximately 3mm thick. Refrigerate

For the financier
Heat butter in a pan until nutty brown, pour into a container and cool to room temperature
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl, add egg whites and butter and then leave in the fridge to rest overnight
Cook on 200C for 15 minutes

For the cherry sorbet
Boil sugar, water and lemon until all the sugar has dissolved. Pour the sugar solution over cherry purée and pass through a fine sieve. Chill.
Once completely chilled, churn your sorbet.

Members Comments

There are no comments for this article.

Add a Comment

Please log in to post a comment.