For a non pacific dinner when I say that every dinner was a special occasion, dinner was at 7pm every night and the officers had to wear their best uniform i.e No 1's which included chain mail and spurs and once dinner commenced they were unable to leave the table or they would be fined 1 bottle of Champagne at quite a hefty price but to be honest money was no object to these guys they were all born with silver spoons in their mouths.
That,s enough of that this is a wonderfully light summery dish and refreshing so here it is.
Ingredients
Chocolate orange truffle cake
200g 70% dark chocolate
250g unsalted butter, softened
350g light brown sugar
5 free range medium eggs, lightly beaten
140g plain flour, sieved
5ml vanilla extract
5ml Cointreau (optional)
Zest of 1 large orange
Vanilla ice cream
1 vanilla pod
500ml Jersey milk
300ml double cream
5 large egg yolks
140g golden caster sugar
Orange coulis
30g granulated sugar
120ml smooth orange juice
Icing sugar, for dusting
Zest of 1 orange, to garnish
Instructions
Cake
Preheat the oven to 140°C and line two 10cm sandwich tins.
Break the chocolate into even pieces, then melt over a bain Marie and then set aside to cool.
In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
Slowly add the lightly beaten eggs and combine well.
Gradually pour in the cooled chocolate, mixing continuously.
Once the chocolate is incorporated, slowly fold in the sifted flour.
Add the vanilla extract, Cointreau and orange zest and mix through.
Pour equal amounts of the cake mix into the prepared sandwich tins and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
Remove the cakes from the oven and leave to cool in their tins for 5 minutes.
Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack.
Ice cream
Split the vanilla pod down its length with a small knife and scrape out the tiny black seeds.
Add the seeds and split pod to a pan with the milk and cream and gently heat until almost boiling, stirring only occasionally.
Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 30 minutes.
Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl. Gradually pour in the cooled milk mixture, whisking continuously until well combined.
Return to the pan and heat gently for 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly, until the custard has thickened and coats the back of the spoon (make sure it doesn’t boil or you will end up scrambling the eggs).
Pour the custard through a fine sieve into a bowl and then cool over a large bowl of iced water. Stir occasionally to stop a skin forming.
Pour into an ice cream machine and churn until frozen.
Orange coulis
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar with one tablespoon of water.
Melt the sugar over a medium heat and leave until it turns to an amber caramel (this should take approximately 5 minutes).
Meanwhile, in a second pan, gently heat the orange juice with the zest.
Once the sugar has turned, remove from the heat and slowly add the warmed orange juice until well combined.
Return to a low heat and gently cook until slightly thickened.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
To serve
Place one cake onto the centre of the plate. Drizzle the coulis around the sides and garnish the cake with orange zest. Add a scoop of ice cream in a ramekin.
Chocolate facts
It is widely believed that chocolate consumption releases a chemical into your body very similar to what is produced when you are in love. That’s why we turn to chocolate to mend a broken heart.
