FOOD WITH MIGUEL MAESTRE Miguel meets Kirsten Tibballs, The Queen of Chocolate, and lends her a hand to make a simple chocolate cake with some out of this world garnishes. Kirsten has some great tips for making simple but impressive chocolate desserts at home. KIRSTEN TIBBALLS Kirsten Tibballs, proclaimed by MasterChef Australia as the ‘Queen of Chocolate’ is one of Australia’s most celebrated pastry chefs and chocolatiers. Kirsten has published cookbooks and she regularly contributes recipes and articles to some of the world’s leading pastry publications. She has also made regular TV appearances on MasterChef and Everyday Gourmet with Justine Schofield. To share her skills and knowledge Kirsten opened Savour Chocolate & Patisserie School in 2002 in Brunswick, Melbourne. It has a state of the art kitchen and hosts a number of internationally renowned chefs each year. It is currently the only cooking school in the country solely dedicated to teaching the art of chocolate and patisserie. Her second book, Chocolate has just been released and features over 80 recipes from biscuits to cakes. Kirsten has represented Australia at the World Pastry Team Championships in Las Vegas where she was recognized as the best in the world for her handmade chocolates. She also won gold and bronze for her patisserie and chocolate artistry in Germany’s Pastry Olympics. She has judged the World Chocolate Masters in Paris, The Patisserie Grand Prix in Japan and the World Chocolate Masters selections in London. CHOCOLATE FACTS: • In Mayan time chocolate was used as currency. • White chocolate isn’t classified as real chocolate as it doesn’t contain cocoa solids, only cocoa butter. • According to the International Cocoa Organisation Europeans account for almost half the world’s chocolate consumption. COFFEE MILK CHOCOLATE CAKE Prep time – 1hr 45m plus 2 hours freezing time Cooking time – 45 minutes Makes - 1 x 180mm cake Ingredients Coffee Sponge 5 Eggs 140g Caster sugar 30g Instant coffee 140g Plain flour 30g Unsalted butter Pinch Salt Icing sugar for dusting Milk chocolate mousse 6g Gold gelatine sheets or 9g of gelatine powder 200ml Fresh cream 5 Egg yolks 160g Caster sugar 350g Good quality milk chocolate 300ml Fresh cream Mirror Glaze 200ml water 475ml Fresh cream 35% fat 780g Caster sugar 270g Dutch cocoa powder 35g Gelatine sheets Garnish 300g Good quality dark chocolate Red fruits for garnishing Icing sugar for dusting Method Coffee Sponge 1. Pre-heat the oven to 165°C. Grease 4 x 180mm sponge tins. If you don't have the sponge tins prepare two trays with sides that will fit 2 x 180mm discs per tray. Spray them with vegetable spray and line them with baking paper. 2. Whisk the eggs, caster sugar and coffee with a mixer until it becomes light, creamy and well aerated. Fold through sifted flour and salt gently by hand with a flexible spatula. 3. Melt the butter and add a little bit of the sponge mixture to the butter and combine before folding it back into the sponge mixture. 4. Divide the sponge into four portions and fill each sponge tin or divide it in half and fill the two lined trays. Dust lightly with icing sugar. 5. Bake at 165°C for 10 – 12 minutes. Cool at room temperature. Milk Chocolate Mousse 1. Pre-soak the gelatine sheets in a bowl of really cold water and, once pliable, gently squeeze the sheets to remove any excess water. Set the sheets aside and leave at room temperature. If using the powder, sprinkle the weighed gelatine powder over a bowl of 30ml of cold water. Leave at room temperature until needed. 2. Boil the cream in a saucepan. In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks and sugar together. Once the cream boils pour it over the egg yolk mixture while continuing to whisk. 3. Pour everything directly back into the saucepan over a low heat stirring with a heat proof spatula. Heat to 82°C to create an anglaise. If you don't have a thermometer stir with a wooden spoon and to test when it is ready dip the spoon into the mixture and wipe a line across with your finger. If the mixture runs over that line it's not ready, as soon as the line holds it's ready. 4. Add in the pre-soaked gelatine and combine. Strain the mixture immediately over the chopped milk chocolate placed in a bowl and whisk by hand until all the chocolate is melted. 5. Semi-whip the fresh cream using a mixer with a whisk attachment (so it still collapses but has some body). Fold the cream through the chocolate base with a flexible spatula. Once it's combined stop mixing. Place the mousse in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes until it has more body for the layers to hold on the cake. Glaze and Assembly 1. Remove the sponges from the tins and rub the top surface of each sponge with a serrated edged knife to remove any loose crust. If working with sponge sheets cut 4 x 180mm discs. 2. Place one of the sponge discs on a flat tray, turntable or display plate. Place one quarter of the milk chocolate mousse on the sponge and spread it evenly. Place the second sponge on top and ensure that it is level. Place another quarter of the mousse onto the sponge and spread it evenly. Repeat the process. With a metal palette knife spread the remaining mousse over the outside of the prepared cake. This process is easier with a cake turntable. Spread the mousse as evenly as possible around the sides. Place the cake in the freezer for approximately 2 hours. 3. Pre-soak the gelatine sheets in a bowl of really cold water and, once pliable, gently squeeze the sheets to remove any excess water. Set the sheets aside and leave at room temperature. If using the powder, sprinkle the weighed gelatine powder over a bowl of 30ml of cold water. Leave at room temperature until needed. 4. Mix water, cream and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and add the sieved cocoa powder. Boil again. Remove from the heat and add in the pre-soaked gelatine. Strain the mixture into a bowl. Combine the whole mixture with a hand blender until the glaze is completely combined. (If using a microwave to re-heat the glaze use a plastic bowl if necessary). 5. Place plastic wrap on the glaze touching the surface. If using the glaze the same day leave it at room temperature and re-heat if required. 6. Use this glaze at 35°C maximum. Place the frozen cake onto a cooling rack with a tray underneath. Pour the glaze over the frozen surface of the cake and scrape off the excess with a straight blade palette knife. Leave the cake to sit for 5 minutes before lifting it off the rack and scraping the excess glaze off the base and lifting it onto a plate. Garnish 1. Tempering chocolate is an essential step to make a smooth, glossy chocolate. It produces a crisp satisfying snap when you bite into it. Once chocolate is melted, the fatty acid crystals separate, tempering prevents the full grayish colour and waxy texture when the cocoa fat separates out. It is known to be a very technical skill, requiring the melted chocolate to reach and then drop to a specific temperature. Kirsten has her own ‘cheats’ way of tempering, using just a microwave – making it easy to make glossy chocolate at home. 2. Temper the dark chocolate. (If using a block of chocolate finely chop it first). Place the chocolate in a plastic bowl and heat it in the microwave 30 seconds at a time. Stir in between each application of heat. Stop heating once you have 50% solid chocolate and 50% liquid. 3. Cut strips of baking paper and spoon dots of the tempered chocolate onto the edge. Using a teaspoon scoop through the chocolate with the tip of the teaspoon to the opposite edge of the paper. Once you have completed a row place it into a curved jug and set in the fridge for 3-5 minutes. 4. Place the prepared curls on top of the cake just prior to serving, garnish with red fruits and dust with sieved icing sugar. This recipe appears in Kirsten Tibball’s book, Chocolate. WEBLINKS For further information on – Kirsten Tibballs and Savour Chocolate School take a look at the following website: www.savourschool.com.au .