The dust may have just about settled after the first supper club a few weeks ago, but current affairs have got me feeling that the dust is anything but settled…
For those looking for something to pull their attention away from images on the news, then a slightly more intricate dessert in the form of a chocolate mousse and cashew cream with pickled blackberries, along with a new rap album to listen to, might just do the trick.
(It’s actually not that intricate, you just need to source six 6cm rings, silicone or metal).
Fast becoming one of my favourite rappers, Benny The Butcher, dropped his album Tana Talk 4 last week on Griselda Records. For anyone that has been following his steady rise to universal acclaim, another fine collection of crisp beats accompanied with slick story-telling will come as no surprise. Two standout tracks from the album are Johnny P’s Caddy and Thowy’s Revenge, but the whole album is well worth a listen.
Shopping list (serves 6):
Choc mousse:
Dark chocolate x 120g
Unsalted butter x 50g
Large eggs x 2
Sugar x 100g
Cashew cream:
Cashew nuts x 200g
Sugar x 50g
Double cream x 150ml
Natural yogurt x 150g
Lemon juice x 1 tbsp
Gelatine leaves x 1 & 1/2
Pickled blackberries:
Blackberries (roughly chopped) x 100g
White wine vinegar x 2 tbsp
Cocoa powder to finish
Start by toasting the cashew nuts in a dry pan until browned all over. Remove, place in a bowl, and cover with boiled water. Leave for at least four hours. Drain the nuts, and blitz to a paste with a hand blender. Add this paste to the weighed yogurt and cream portions. Leave them both overnight to infuse, or for at least eight hours.
To make the bottom layer of chocolate mousse, set your oven to 160°C (fan)/180°C.
Brush the inside of the 6cm rings with oil or butter. Make the mousse mixture by melting the butter and chocolate in a pyrex bowl, over a pan of simmering hot water. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until thick.
Leave the choc/butter mixture to cool for 10 minutes. Gradually fold it into the eggs and sugar, until fully incorporated. Line a baking tray with baking parchment, and place the rings on it, brushing the parchment with more oil, or butter, inside of the rings. Using a scale, add 50g of mousse mixture to the rings. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool, before placing in the freezer. After two hours, it’ll now be much easier to remove the mousses from the rings. Place them in the fridge until later.
Add the blackberries to a bowl with the white wine vinegar. Leave in the fridge until needed.
Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water.
Sieve both the cream and yogurt, discarding the cashew paste. In a small saucepan, bring the cream and sugar to the boil, before removing from the heat. Add the yogurt, drained gelatine leaves and lemon juice, and mix well.
In the same (cleaned and re-greased) rings, on another tray, add 50g of the cream mixture. Store in the freezer until needed.
When ready to serve, simply assemble the dessert by pressing the frozen cream gently on top of the mousse. Remove the blackberries from the vinegar, and place on a piece of kitchen roll to absorb any excess vinegar, before serving on top of the dessert.
Dust with cocoa powder, if you like.
Enjoy!x
Food and Tunes 