Southwesterly 4 or 5, increasing 6 or 7 at times.
Slight or moderate.
Occasional rain, fog patches at first.
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.
If you like “Messino “biscuits aka “Jaffa cakes”,
this is for you.
If you like oranges, this is for you.
If you like chocolate, this is for you.
And if it is your Birthday today, this is
for you too.
But this is mainly for a wonderful
person.
Another single gourmet by the sea.
Just on a different continent, by a
different sea.
Rich and sumptuous orange-chocolate pud
For once, serves two. So I eat mine and I
eat yours.
BTW, the idea for that recipe came from a
little free booklet I picked up in France. You know, when you go on holiday and
the local tourist office has a leaflet or booklet with recipes from the area?
That recipe is from one of them. From the Cognac region.
Of course it has Cognac (French Brandy)
in it. But I bet it also tastes nice with Grand Marnier.
I did not like the original recipe which
had mousse au chocolate on it. I found that the mousse was too light for the
orange jelly. So I created a chocolate topping more like the chocolate pud
known as Petit Pot au Chocolate. It`s a heavy dessert and a little goes a long
way. But because it is heavy, it is important that the orange jelly is very
firm and completely set. This can be achieved if you use tad more gelatine than
usual and prepare the first setting in advance. I cant give the amount of
gelatine. It depends if you use leaf or powder, just look at the back of the
package and go for the amount to set 200ml of liquid. And then add a bit more
of gelatine. Just a smidgen. And don’t forget to buy an extra orange just in
case. First of all you never know how much juice they yield and second the
juice is sometimes boring. And you want garnish.
If you really want to recreate a full “jaffa
cake”, add at the bottom of your glass a soft biscuit, like Savoiardi
biscuits (sponge finger or Lady finger biscuits), the one you would use
for making Tiramisu
Ingredients:
180ml of freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2-3 oranges)
2 tablespoons of French Brandy or Grand Marnier
1 tablespoon of sugar
enough gelatine to set 200ml and a bit more
50gr dark (70%) chocolate
30gr unsalted butter
1 egg, separated in yolk and white
Prepare the gelatine according to package. If you use a leaf, soften it
first in a bit of water.
Heat the cognac and the sugar, just so the sugar melts. Let cool for a
bit, then add to the orange juice. If you use a leaf put it in a cup (without
the soaking water!) and set the microwave for 30 seconds. Add the liquid
gelatine to the orange juice/cognac mixture, fill into two glasses and let it
set in the fridge for several hours (you
can even do it the night before). Once it has set, you can break it up a bit to
get a compote like consistency.
Add the chocolate and butter to a cup and let it melt twice for 30
seconds in the microwave, stir in between the two heating sessions.
Whisk the egg white to the stiff peak stage (this is a bit difficult
with one egg white, but give your best. A sprinkle of salt might help). Add the
yolk to the now coldish, but still liquid chocolate, stir and then gently fold
the egg white in.
Top the orange jelly with the chocolate cream and chill for another
hour or so. Remove from the fridge once you serve your main course and let it
warm a bit (the chocolate will be quite hard if you take it out from the
fridge). Decorate and serve.