PIURA CHOCOLATE MOUSSE WITH TERRI MERCIECA, HAPPY ENDINGS

It’s no accident, with Terri totally committed to sourcing only the best ingredients for her firecracker recipes. A seasoned chocolatier, she exclusively uses Original Beans which she dubs ‘ethical, life-changing, delicious’.

It’s the Piura 75% Original Beans Chocolate that gives Terri’s Chocolate Mousse its fruity flavour. Bright, with hints of lime, raspberry and pecan, the Original Beans team discovered the exceptionally rare white cacao bean along Peru’s coastal desert. Now, they work with local growers and organisations to preserve this variety and the people and habitats that make cultivation possible.

Piura Chocolate Mousse with Honeycomb

Ingredients

500g crème anglaise (see below)
350g 75% Original Beans Piura Chocolate
500g whipped cream

For the crème anglaise (500g):

250g milk
210g double cream
150g caster sugar
100g egg yolks (about 5 egg yolks)

For the honeycomb:

130g caster sugar
75g honey
½ tbsp bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt

Method

1. Weigh out all your ingredients. It is quite a fast recipe and you want to be ready.

For the honeycomb:

2. Butter the base and sides of a 20cm non-stick square cake tin, or line with baking parchment.

3. Heat the sugar, honey and salt, stirring with a spatula to ensure even caramelisation until the mixture is a deep golden colour, or around 145 degrees.

4. Turn off the heat and immediately add the bicarbonate of soda, mixing vigorously until it’s all absorbed and the mixture is foaming.

5. Quickly pour into the tin, taking care as the mixture will be very hot.

6. Leave to cool for 1-1.5 hours until the honeycomb sets hard. It will continue to bubble in the tin as it cools. When cool, break into chunks.

Crème anglaise

7. To make the Crème Anglaise, add the milk and cream to a medium saucepan.

8. In a separate bowl place the egg yolks, and caster sugar, and mix with a whisk straight away.

9. Heat the cream and milk to just before the boil, then pour a little onto the egg/ sugar mix, before adding it all.

10. Whisk together and pour the combined mixture back into the pan over a low-ish heat to cook the custard out. Stir continuously (do not leave and do not boil) until it thickens (coats the back of the spoon) or reaches 80 degrees.

11. Remove from heat and pass through a sieve and whisk to help remove some of the residual heat, as this will prevent the eggs from overcooking.

To finish:

12. Pour the hot custard onto the chopped up chocolate and let sit for about a minute to help the chocolate melt, before stirring to combine, then whisk the whipping cream to soft peaks.

13. Fold this gently into the chocolate custard using a whisk, until it is gloriously chocolatey and smooth and silky. Don't be alarmed that it will be quite runny at this stage - it will set I promise!

14. Pour into your chosen serving dish (either small pots or a few sharing bowls) and allow to cool to room temperature. It works better if you allow it to set slowly, first at room temp then in the fridge overnight or for at least 4 hours.

15. Once set, decorate with the honeycomb, whipped double cream and cocoa nibs.