Ingredients
Baked brownie:
- 125ml water
- 40g cocoa powder
- 15ml coffee granules
- 150g milk chocolate
- 375ml whipping cream
- 150g dark chocolate
- 5ml vanilla paste
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg whites
- 80ml castor sugar
- pinch salt
- 125ml pecan nuts, chopped
Blackberry and chocolate mousse:
- 7g powdered gelatine
- 20ml water
- 250g blackberries, frozen
- 55g castor sugar
- 125ml heavy cream
- 4 egg yolks
- 200g milk chocolate
- 85g icing sugar
- 300ml heavy cream
Lemon grass mousse:
- 14g powdered gelatine
- 40ml water
- 400g white chocolate
- 250ml heavy cream
- 6 stalks lemon grass
- 10ml lemon grass essence
- 160g icing sugar
- 600ml heavy cream
Blackberry gel:
- 5g powdered gelatine
- 50ml water
- 100g blackberries
- 30g sugar
Patterned layer:
- 1 egg white
- 20g cocoa powder
- 20g flour
- 20g sugar
- 30g butter, room temperature
- 4 eggs
- 120g flour
- 120g castor sugar
- salt
Mirror glaze:
- 5g powdered gelatine
- 40ml water, cold
- 225ml whipping cream
- 275g white chocolate
- 30ml oil
- 5ml lemon grass essence
- food colouring, white
Rice paper orchid:
- 3 sheets rice paper
- floral wire
- lustre dust, pearl
- food colouring, pink
- food colouring, orange
Preparation method
Baked brownie:
- Pre-heat oven to 180 C
- Heat water, cocoa, coffee and chocolate
- Add in vanilla paste and chopped pecan nuts
- Whisk egg whites, eggs, sugar and salt over heat
- Remove mixture from heat and transfer to a bowl
- Whisk until mixture reaches ribbon stage
- Fold egg mixture into chocolate mixture
- Whip cream to soft peaks
- Fold into chocolate batter
- Grease a 20cm round tin with spray and bake, line with wax paper and dust with flour
- Bake for 27-30 minutes
- Allow to cool to room temperature
- Place in freezer for 20 minutes
Blackberry and chocolate mousse:
- Bloom gelatine in water
- Set aside
- Thaw blackberries and blend until pureed
- Strain puree well
- Heat eggs, sugar and cream and beat until thick and double in volume
- Add gelatine to hot egg mixture
- Melt chocolate
- Fold chocolate and blackberry puree into egg mixture
- Beat 300ml cream and icing sugar to stiff peaks
- Fold into mixture and chill
Lemon grass mousse:
- Bloom gelatine in water
- Heat cream and lemon grass stalks
- Melt chocolate
- Add gelatine to hot cream mixture
- Remove lemon grass stalks
- Add lemon grass essence
- Mix chocolate and cream mixture
- Whip cream and icing sugar to soft peaks
- Fold into mixture
- Place mousse into the 20cm silicone mould
- Freeze until ready to use
Blackberry gel:
- Bloom gelatine in water
- Heat blackberries and sugar
- Blend blackberries until pureed
- Strain puree well
- Add gelatine to puree
- Allow to cool to room temperature
- Once set, cut out a 16cm circle
Patterned layer:
- Cream butter and sugar
- Add cocoa powder and flour, then add egg white and mix well
- Place into a piping bag
- Position pattern under a piece of wax paper and pipe out the pattern with the chocolate batter
- Freeze for 15 minutes
- Beat eggs and sugar until double in volume
- Add sifted flour and salt and fold in well
- Pour batter over the pattern and bake at 160 C for 10 minutes
- Allow to cool
- Cut out the 3cm pattern into a long strip and set aside
Mirror glaze:
- Bloom gelatine in water
- Heat cream
- Add gelatine to cream
- Pour cream over chocolate
- Whisk oil, essence and white food colouring into cream
- Allow to cool to 32 C before pouring over the lemon grass mousse
Rice paper orchid:
- Cut out the shapes of the orchid using a cutter or template
- Use a paintbrush and dip into water and gently brush over petals. Allow to dry
- Attach the floral wire to the largest petal using edible glue
- Cut out a small circle of rice paper and position over the wire
- Attach the second large petal with some water
- Attach the centre petal with some water
Assembly:
- Place the baked brownie mousse onto a cake board
- Place a cake ring over the baked mousse
- Pipe a generous layer of blackberry mousse on top of the baked mousse
- Insert the blackberry gel onto the mousse
- Cover the blackberry gel with the remaining mousse
- Freeze until ready to use
- Remove the lemongrass mousse from its mould
- Place the lemongrass mousse onto a wire rack and drizzle the mirror glaze over it
- Allow to set
- Place the lemongrass mousse on top of the blackberry mousse
- Place patterned sponge around the baked mousse layer
- Decorate with the rice paper orchids