I love contrasting tastes and textures in my desserts and this one fits the bill. The chocolate silk adds a dreamy, smooth texture while the naturally bittersweet kumquats balance beautifully with the sweet tones of the Late Harvest Riesling. The Château des Charmes 1999 Late Harvest Riesling works very well in this recipe. To top off the dish, you can garnish with fresh currants and/or champagne grapes or any favourite fruit.
ingredients
Drunken Kumquats
Chocolate Silk
Assembly
directions
Slice the ends off the kumquats and discard. Slice each kumquat, crosswise, into 4 equal slices. Combine the sliced kumquats with the cinnamon, cloves, ginger, lemon zest, sugar and late harvest Riesling in a small saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, about 20 minutes, or until the kumquats have become translucent and the liquid has thickened. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Over high heat, bring ½ cup whipping cream to a boil. Remove from heat. Place chopped chocolate in medium bowl and pour hot cream over. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Let cool 10 minutes. Whip the remaining 1 ½ cups of whipping cream to soft peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture gently. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.
For each individual plate, spoon 3 to 4 ounces of chocolate silk in the centre of the plate or using a piping bag fitted with a round tip, pipe 3 to 4 ounces of chocolate silk in the centre of the plate. Spoon the kumquats and liquid evenly around. If you like, garnish with the tiny clusters of currants and/or champagne grapes and a leaf lemon balm or sprig of mint. Serve immediately.
For a more dramatic presentation, I mould the chocolate silk in a square or a rectangular form and use a torch to warm the sides of the mould to release the chocolate silk seamlessly but you can easily pipe or spoon the chocolate silk on the plate.