'Prints' – chocolate and coffee dessert

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This unusual chocolate and coffee dessert recipe is a true test of skill, using liquid nitrogen to create a popcorn-like accompaniment to the host of chocolate and coffee elements on the plate.

First published in 2016

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

White chocolate cream with coffee

  • 500g of cream, 45% fat
  • 30g of coffee beans
  • 25g of egg yolk
  • 5g of sugar
  • 200g of white chocolate
  • 4g of coffee, finely blended
  • 6g of gelatine, soaked in cold water

White popcorn with coffee

  • 200g of whole milk
  • 200g of cream, 40% fat
  • 20g of sugar
  • 50g of coffee beans

Prints

  • 100g of white chocolate
  • 60g of hazelnut paste, 100%
  • 5g of coffee, finely blended

Dark chocolate and coffee cream

Coffee and buckwheat crumble

  • 100g of butter
  • 100g of brown sugar
  • 1g of salt
  • 70g of plain flour, weak
  • 65g of cornflour
  • 40g of roasted buckwheat flour
  • 100g of almond flour
  • 25g of cocoa powder, bitter
  • 25g of coffee, finely blended

Caramelised hazelnuts

  • 75g of sugar
  • 30g of water
  • 125g of hazelnuts, toasted

Equipment

  • Sugar thermometer
  • Siphon bottle or cream whipper
  • N2O cartridge 2
  • Food processor
  • Food mixer fitted with a dough hook
  • Liquid nitrogen

Method

1
To make the white chocolate cream, add 100g of the cream to a pan, bring to 40°C and add the coffee beans. Leave to rest at 4°C for 24 hours
2
Pass the cream through a sieve into a pan and bring to 40°C. Meanwhile, whisk the egg and sugar together in a bowl
3
Melt the chocolate over a bain marie to 40°C, then add to the coffee-infused cream. Half whip the remaining cream to soft peaks
  • 200g of white chocolate
  • 400g of cream, 45% fat
4
Dissolve the gelatine over a bain marie, then add the chocolate emulsion, whisked egg yolk and the semi-whipped cream (in this order). Stir until combined then refrigerate before using
  • 6g of gelatine, soaked in cold water
5
To make the white 'popcorn' with coffee, add the milk, cream and sugar to a pan and bring to 45°C. Add the coffee beans, cover with cling film and leave to rest at 4°C for 24 hours
  • 200g of whole milk
  • 200g of cream, 40% fat
  • 20g of sugar
  • 50g of coffee beans
6
After this time, pass through a sieve and pour into a siphon charged with 2 N20 cartridges. Place in the fridge to chill overnight
7
To make the 'prints', melt the chocolate in a bain marie to 35°C. Add the remaining ingredients and temper to 26°C
  • 5g of coffee, finely blended
  • 100g of white chocolate
  • 60g of hazelnut paste, 100%
8
Pour into the moulds and leave to crystallise at 16°C for 6 hours
9
For the dark chocolate and coffee cream, bring the coffee and cream to the boil in a pan. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg yolk, sugar, corn flour and coffee powder
10
Pour the egg yolk mixture into the the coffee cream and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Add to a food processor with the milk chocolate, dark chocolate and butter and blend until you obtain a smooth and consistent cream. Leave to rest for 12 hours at 4°C before using
11
For the buckwheat crumble, add the butter, brown sugar and salt to a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on a medium speed until well combined and creamy in texture
  • 1g of salt
  • 100g of butter
  • 100g of brown sugar
12
Combine all of the different flours, cocoa powder and coffee and add to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix on a low speed until just combined, but do not over-mix. The mix should resemble large breadcrumbs
  • 25g of coffee, finely blended
  • 70g of plain flour, weak
  • 65g of cornflour
  • 40g of roasted buckwheat flour
  • 100g of almond flour
  • 25g of cocoa powder, bitter
13
Preheat the oven to 140°C/gas mark 1
14
Spread onto a baking tray and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove, allow to cool then pulse lightly in a food mixer to achieve a medium to small crumble. Store in an airtight container until required
15
For the caramelised hazelnuts, add the sugar and water to a pan and bring to 121°C
  • 30g of water
  • 75g of sugar
16
Add the hazelnuts – the sugar will crystallise, becoming opaque and granular. Melt again until caramelised and place on a tray lined with parchment paper to set
  • 125g of hazelnuts, toasted
17
Just before serving, prepare the 'popcorn'. Siphon the white popcorn mixture into a bowl and pour over 2L of liquid nitrogen and mix to form light frozen granita like pieces
18
Start plating by piping on the dark chocolate cream in a spiral shape, followed by a spoonful of the buckwheat crumble. De-mould the footprints and arrange 4 over each plate
19
Lastly, add a large spoonful of the white popcorn, some caramelised hazelnuts and piped dots of the white coffee cream
First published in 2016

By only using ingredients grown and produced in the nearby Dolomite mountains, Norbert Niederkofler gave birth to a cooking philosophy famous across Italy.

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