(Makes 6-8)
Cheesecake Base
225g digestive biscuits
55g butter
55g Chocolate
Method
- Preheat the oven 140°C.
- Crush the digestive biscuits up in a cloth or sandwich bag using a rolling pin
- Melt the butter and chocolate. Mix through the crushed biscuits and press onto the bottom of an 85cm ring mould and refrigerate.
Chocolate Mousse
325g dark chocolate, finely chopped
500ml double cream
4 egg yolks
75g caster sugar
½ vanilla bean, split and scraped, save bean for another use
3 egg whites
Method
- Place chocolate in a metal bowl, melt it over a double boiler and keep warm.
- Using an electric mixer whip the cream until soft peaks form.
- Make a sabayon by combining the egg yolks, 50g of the sugar and vanilla seeds. Cook over a double boiler, whisking continuously until the egg yolks become glossy. Remove from heat. Have the whipped cream to hand.
- Pour melted chocolate into the warm sabayon and with a large hand whisk, whisk as fast as you can to incorporate all the chocolate in the sabayon. The chocolate will begin to seize, at that point you will need to add 1 large kitchen spoonful of whipped cream. Continue to whisk, the cream will begin to soften the mixture.
- Add another large spoonful of cream and whisk vigorously for 1 minute. The mixture will now be more workable and relatively stable. You should have half the whipped cream left.
- Immediately whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Whisk in the remaining 25g sugar until dissolved. Place the egg whites and remaining cream on top of the chocolate mixture and gently fold through until well incorporated.
- Refrigerate until required.
Salted Caramel
200g granulated sugar
90g salted butter, cut into 6 pieces
120ml double cream
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
Method
- Heat the granulated sugar in a medium saucepan with some water over a medium heat.
- Once the sugar is completely melted and turned into a dark caramel add the butter. Be careful in this step because the caramel will bubble rapidly when the butter is added.
- Very slowly, drizzle in the cream. Since the cream is colder than the caramel, the mixture will rapidly bubble and may splatter when added.
- Allow the mixture to boil for 1 minute. It will rise in the pan as it boils.
- Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon of salt. Allow to cool down before using.
- Cover the caramel tightly and store for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Dark Chocolate Top Disc
200g dark chocolate, very finely chopped
Method
- Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie
- Pour the melted chocolate into a baking tray
- Refrigerate until almost set, remove and use an 8.5cm round pastry cutter to cut four discs. Wipe cutter between cuts.
- Return to refrigerator until fully set.
Hot Chocolate Sauce
75-90ml milk
125g dark chocolate, very finely chopped
Method
- Place milk in a saucepan and heat to a strong simmer. Remove from heat.
- Place chocolate in a Pyrex bowl, pour over milk and whisk until chocolate is melted and incorporated. Transfer to a small copper pot for serving.
To Assemble:
- Add 1 large tablespoon of chocolate mousse onto each base.
- Using a teaspoon, spread mousse out over the biscuit base, also up the sides of the metal ring and to the top edge to an even thickness of about 1cm
- Using a teaspoon, add a small amount of salted caramel to the middle of the chocolate mousse.
- Carefully move each cake from the tray to the centre of a serving plate, using a wide palette knife.
- Use a kitchen blowtorch to briefly heat the outside metal edge of the cake rings. Do this one at a time. Wait a couple of seconds and slide the metal ring up from the base. Now top each dessert with a dark chocolate top disc, discs should sit flush with the edge of the cake. Flash the top of the chocolate with blowtorch to ensure an even sheen.
- Place the hot chocolate sauce into a small saucepan, ensuring the sauce is between 50-60°C.
- If sauce thickens too much before serving add more warm milk to reach the desired consistency. Serve the cake and pour a spoonful of the hot chocolate sauce directly to the middle of each cake.
