Chocolate gateau with mint, cream and sliced pears

With a suggestion for a coffee with a difference, added free of charge!

What you need

• 200 g dark chocolate
• 100 g butter
• 150 g sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 4 egg whites, whisked
• 1 handful of finely chopped fresh mint (less if you can only get the dried variety), ideally Moroccan mint
• 80-100 ml of williams (pear) schnapps (or amaretto; see Remarks)
• 300 g thinly sliced pears, peeled and blanched in a hot syrup made with water, sugar, a hint of cinnamon and white wine (see remarks).
• 200 ml whipped cream

What you do

 

1. Melt the dark chocolate and the butter in a bain marine. (If you don’t have one, a metal bowl hanging over boiling water, but not in it, will do very well.)
2. Add the sugar (you can take a little more or less, depending on the sweetness of your sweet tooth) and the schnapps (see Remarks) and allow to cool.
3. Whisk the egg yolks and mix in with the chocolate mixture, which must not be hot anymore at this stage to prevent the yolks from curdling.
4. Add the finely chopped mint and mix well to ensure even distribution.
5. Whisk the egg whites so they form peaks when you lift the whisk out of the eggs. You can add a pinch of salt as some people seem to think this adds stiffness.
6. Fold the whisked egg whites into chocolate/egg mixture, trying to keep it as fluffy as possible.
7. Line three round baking tins (about 20cm across) with greaseproof paper and distribute the creamy mixture evenly between them.
8. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 35 minutes or for 55 minutes for a crispier gateau.
9. In the meantime, peel the pears, slice them finely and blanch dip them in a syrup made of sugar and water, a generous measure of white wine and a bit of cinammon for a few seconds if you like them crisp, for a bit longer if you prefer them softer.
10. Whip the cream and a put on the freshly baked, but cooled gateau layers. Add the fruit   to the whipped cream before piling on the next layer.

Remarks

This is a very easy dessert, but it tastes so delicious and moist that most people assume it has to be quite a complicated dish. I first had a version of this many years ago in what was then a very prestigious gourmet restaurant, Chrüter Oski’s Moospinte. I found a similar version is in Oskar Marti’s cook book Chez Oskar (lovingly illustrated by Oska Weiss), but he told me when I went back some years later and found to my delight that in his seasonally changing menu I had managed to be there when the same gateau was served that he would bake it longer now. I still like the shorter baking time as it leaves the gateau moist and soft, but the crispier version that results from the extended baking period is lovely too. You may want to experiment with the three layers done at different lengths, the crispiest one at the bottom, the softest at the top.

This may not seem to be the most seasonal recipe, but whatever fruit is put between the layers, smothered in whipped cream, obviously makes it seasonal: berries and cherries in summer, blanched pears or halved, depipped grapes in autumn, (caramelised) filleted oranges in winter, can be made to taste very seasonal.

Clearly, whatever fruit you use should determine what kind of schnapps or liqueur goes into the chocolate, Kirsch or a Himbeergeist with berries and cherries, Williams with pears, Marc or Cognac with grapes and Grand Marnier or Cointreau with Oranges. If you want to do this without fruit, slices of almonds are nice and add a different (brittle) texture. In any case, either without fruit or with almond slices, Amaretto di Sarronno goes very well with chocolate.

By the way, based on the harmonious combination between coffee, chocolate and Amaretto (no, I am not a shareholder), here is

Oltigen Velvet Coffee

As a quick aside, here’s a suggestion for a coffee, which in our family is sometimes referred to as Orgasm Coffee by at least one of our daughters:

• 1 medium-sized cup of strong espresso,
• 1 row of cremant or high cacao black chocolate,
• a generous dash of Amaretto (and sugar if you like it sweet)

are warmed, without being allowed to boil until the chocolate has disolved. Serve immediately with a dollop of whipped cream and drink immediately/in moderation…