Smoked Dark Chocolate Cremoso...Smoked Dark Chocolate Cremoso with Bergamot Gel and Olive Oil Snow

An avant-garde Michelin-caliber dessert featuring rich applewood-smoked dark chocolate cremoso balanced by bright bergamot fluid gel, crisp buckwheat tuiles, and powdery extra virgin olive oil snow.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   Cold-smoke the heavy cream and milk using a food smoker with applewood chips for 15 minutes, then set aside.

2. 02

   Bloom the gelatin sheet in ice water for 5 minutes. Whisk egg yolks and caster sugar together in a medium bowl until pale.

3. 03

   Warm the smoked dairy in a saucepan until scalding, then temper into the egg yolks. Return to heat and cook gently to 82°C (180°F) to form a crème anglaise. Stir in squeezed gelatin.

4. 04

   Pour the hot crème anglaise over chopped dark chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute, then emulsify with an immersion blender until ultra-glossy. Pipe into silicone quenelle molds and chill for 4 hours until set.

5. 05

   For the bergamot gel: Whisk bergamot juice, 40g additional sugar, and agar-agar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil for 1 full minute. Pour into a shallow tray and chill until completely set. Blend the set gel in a high-speed blender until silky smooth, strain, and transfer to a squeeze bottle.

6. 06

   For the buckwheat tuile: Whisk buckwheat flour, powdered sugar, melted butter, and egg white until smooth. Spread paper-thin patterns onto a silicone baking mat. Bake at 160°C (320°F) for 8-10 minutes until golden and crisp.

7. 07

   For the olive oil snow: Whisk tapioca maltodextrin with extra virgin olive oil and a small pinch of fine sea salt in a bowl until it transforms into a light, fluffy powder.

8. 08

   To plate: Place a smoked chocolate cremoso quenelle in the center of chilled dark plates. Pipe delicate dots of bergamot fluid gel around the cremoso. Rest shards of buckwheat tuile against the chocolate, and dust generously with the olive oil snow and flaky Maldon salt.