The chocolate coconut mousse
1 litre of good quality thick coconut cream (We use the Kara brand)
165g water
165g sugar
375g dark chocolate
Method
Put the sugar and the water together in a pan and bring to the boil, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and sit it on a pan of simmering water (bain marie). Pour the warm sugar mixture over the chocolate.
Add the coconut cream and keep stirring until the chocolate has fully dissolved in the mixture.
Pour the mix into tubs and let it set for 6 hours or overnight.
Poached cherries
Pit and halve 300g of cherries, mix with 30ml of orange liqueur and 1 cup sugar
Put on the heat and poach until just cooked, about 5min. Allow to cool
Nutella
640g chocolate 70%
25g oil
270 hazelnuts roasted and skin rubbed off
26g vegetable oil
70g powdered sugar
5g vanilla extract
10g salt
15g cocoa powder
Method
Blend everything except chocolate
Heat chocolate over a bain marie or in the microwave until melted then add to mix and blend a bit more
Put in a tub then freeze overnight
Microplane the frozen Nutella into a tub.
This recipe will make heaps but there are plenty of uses for it. Keep it in the fridge or freezer.
To serve
Spoon the chocolate mousse into a metal ring and on to a serving plate. Run a blowtorch around the metal ring and carefully remove the ring from the mousse. Spoon over the cherries, cover with the Nutella. Then spoon on coconut ice cream. (We make this at Kika using a Pacojet/ice cream machine but for home just buy a good quality coconut ice cream.) Finish with freeze-dried cherries.
Recipe provided by Kika Wanaka
Recipe requested by Kat Anderson
If you have enjoyed a dish at an Otago cafe or restaurant and would like the recipe, write to Ask a Chef, Features, Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, Dunedin, fax 474-7422, or email odt.features@odt.co.nz, including your name, address and a daytime telephone number, and we will request it.
