Chocolate Fondants with Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream

This versatile fondant is a staple of the Claridge’s pastry section and makes appearances on both the events menu and our dessert menu. We make ripple ice cream using many variations on the same principle: layers of vanilla ice cream alternating with a sorbet of some kind. We make our bases and churn them in-house, so it is easy for us to switch up…not to mention  our large freezers and cold-storage space. If you wish to save time and buy a good-quality vanilla ice cream and fruit sorbet of your choice, you have our blessing. Ignore the ice cream recipes herein and skip straight to the layering method for the ripple.

MAKES 6 INDIVIDUAL FONDANTS

NOTE :

The ice cream and sorbet stabilizers may seem superfluous, but they do noticeably improve the texture of the final product.  You can order these speciality ingredients and the mousse moulds from suppliers  such as MSK Ingredients and Amazon.

YOU WILL NEED :

instant-read digital thermometer

fine-mesh sieve over a large mixing bowl set over ice

ice cream maker, with (ideally) an extra freezer bowl

900g (2lb) loaf tin (23 x 13cm/9 x 5 inches) stand mixer, with whisk attachment and paddle attachment

6 x 6cm (2½ inch) mousse rings

baking tray, lined with baking paper

six 10 x 20cm (4 x 8 inch) strips of baking paper disposable piping bag (no tip needed, just cut the bag)

FOR THE VANILLA ICE CREAM:

500ml (18fl oz) milk

150ml (5fl oz) whipping cream

1 vanilla pod, split lengthways and seeds scraped

30g (1oz) glucose powder

15g (½oz) skimmed milk powder

¾ tsp ice cream stabilizer

140g (5oz) caster sugar

pinch of sea salt

95g (3¼oz) egg yolks (about 5–6 yolks)

You can start this recipe way in advance as the ice cream will keep frozen for up to 2 months.

First, make the vanilla ice cream. In a medium or large saucepan, combine the milk, cream and vanilla pod and seeds, then bring to the boil. Meanwhile, mix together the glucose powder, milk powder, ice cream stabilizer, sugar and salt in a heatproof bowl, then whisk

in the egg yolks. If the mix is too dry, add a ladle of the milk mixture to loosen the yolk mix. Mix well until there are no remaining dry ingredients and it is lump-free. When the milk

has come to the boil, remove from the heat and pour one-third into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Return the pan of milk to a medium heat and add the yolk mixture. Cook the ice cream base, stirring constantly with a spatula, until it reaches 84°C (183°F), about 5–7 minutes. Pour the mixture through the sieve into a bowl set over ice. Cool completely or overnight in the refrigerator. Pour into an ice cream maker and churn, following the manufacturer’s instructions.

To make the raspberry sorbet, mix the glucose powder, sugar and super neutrose together. Pour the measured water into a medium pan, then whisk in the dry ingredients and bring

to the boil, stirring often. Remove from the heat and pour into the raspberry purée in a heatproof bowl. Whisk well. Cool completely or overnight in the refrigerator. Pour into an ice cream maker and churn, following the manufacturer’s instructions.

If you were able to churn both the vanilla and the raspberry mixtures simultaneously, you can start layering now, to prepare for the ripple effect. Spread one-quarter of the freshly churned (and not yet frozen) vanilla ice cream in the bottom of the loaf tin and freeze for 20 minutes. Store the remaining vanilla ice cream and raspberry sorbet in the refrigerator

during this time. Next, spread one-third of the freshly churned raspberry sorbet on top of the vanilla ice cream. Freeze for 20 minutes. Repeat this layering twice more. Top the final raspberry layer with the rest of the vanilla ice cream. Freeze until needed. (If you don’t have 2 freezer bowls for your ice cream maker, make the vanilla ice cream, then spread one-

quarter of it into the loaf tin. Freeze the loaf tin, the remaining ice cream and the (cleaned) ice cream bowl for a few hours, before churning the sorbet. As the sorbet is churning, remove the ice cream from the freezer to soften, and proceed as outlined above.)

Now make the chocolate fondants. In the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment,  mix the egg yolks, whole eggs and sugar at medium speed until tripled in volume, about

6 minutes (you may want to increase the speed to high in the last 2 minutes).

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water or in the microwave.

When the egg mixture is thick, pale and very fluffy, remove from the mixer. By hand, slowly stir in the warm melted chocolate. When all the chocolate is incorporated, gently fold in the flour. Transfer the chocolate mixture to a clean bowl and chill until firm, about 2 hours.

This recipe is from Claridge’s: The Cookbook