Honey and Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate Ganache with Gold-dusted Chocolate Leaves and Poho Berry Sauce
This rich-as-Croesus dessert combines the melting texture and taste of honey ganache with bittersweet chocolate frills garnished with gold leaf. The Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate is the only chocolate grown in the U.S. The slightly tart sauce provides counterpoint for the richness of the chocolate. It can, of course, be made without the touch of gold; just sprinkle a little confectioner’s sugar on each frill if you prefer. Or look for edible gold leaf at confectionery suppliers.
Ingredients
- Kiawe Honey Ganache
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 1/4 cup
- Polynesian or other fine vanilla bean - 1/2, split
- Kiawe or other fragrant honey - 2 tablespoons
- Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate or other fine-quality bittersweet chocolate - 2 ounces
- Unsalted Butter - 2 tablespoons
- Poho Berry Sauce
- Milk - 1 cup
- Polynesian or other fine vanilla bean - 1/2, split
- Egg Yolks - 3
- Sugar - 1/4 cup
- Fresh Poho Berries - 1 cup (alt. Cape gooseberries, raspberries, or cranberries)
- Chocolate Leaves
- Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate or other high-quality bittersweet chocolate - 9 ounces
- Canola or other light vegetable oil - 2 tablespoons
- Edible gold leaf (optional) - 2 sheets, or confectioner’s sugar for dusting
Instructions
To make the ganache: In a heavy saucepan, bring the cream to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the vanilla bean and honey. Set side for 15 minutes to infuse the flavors. Remove the vanilla bean and add the chocolate, stirring until the chocolate has melted and the ganache is smooth. Pour into a small bowl and stir in the butter. Set aside and let cool.
To make the sauce: In a medium saucepan, bring the milk to a boil over medium-high heat and add the vanilla bean. Set aside for 15 minutes to infuse the flavors. Remove the vanilla bean. In a medium bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk until smooth. Slowly pour a little of the hot milk over the mixture, stirring constantly as you pour, to temper the eggs, then slowly pour in the rest of the hot milk while continuing to whisk. Pour the mixture into a pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Be careful not to let it boil. Place the berries or raspberries in a medium bowl and strain the sauce through a fine-meshed sieve into the berries. With a mixer, blend until smooth. Place the bowl in a bowl of ice to chill the sauce quickly. Cover and refrigerate.
To make the chocolate frills: In a double boiler over barely simmering water, melt the chocolate and heat to 100 F. Add the oil to the chocolate and blend well. Let cool to 90 F. Using 2 ungreased jelly roll pans, pour half of the melted chocolate evenly over the surface of each pan, spread it out, and let cool completely. With a spatula or putty knife, scrape the chocolate off the pan in 1-1/2-inch frilled strips and pinch the loose pieces together at one end to make a flower-like frill. Make 6 for each plate. Using the point of a knife, with very light strokes, brush off the gold from the back half of a gold sheet until the gold attaches to the chocolate. Set aside; keep very cool.
To serve: Use 4 chilled dessert plates. Fill a pastry bag with the ganache and pipe 5 dots about 1 inch in diameter near the edge of a plate and one in the center. While the dots are still liquid, attach one chocolate frill to each. Repeat with the other plates. If using confectioner’s sugar instead of gold, dust the chocolate at this time. Divide the sauce among the plates and pour a border of sauce around each frill.
