Pudding. Sumptuous orange and chocolate dessert.

Southwesterly 4 or 5, increasing 6 or 7 at times.

Slight or moderate.

Occasional rain, fog patches at first.

Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.

 

 

 

If you like “Messino “biscuits aka “Jaffa cakes”, this is for you.

If you like oranges, this is for you.

If you like chocolate, this is for you.

And if it is your Birthday today, this is for you too.

But this is mainly for a wonderful person.

Another single gourmet by the sea.

Just on a different continent, by a different sea.

Rich and sumptuous orange-chocolate pud

For once, serves two. So I eat mine and I eat yours.

BTW, the idea for that recipe came from a little free booklet I picked up in France. You know, when you go on holiday and the local tourist office has a leaflet or booklet with recipes from the area? That recipe is from one of them. From the Cognac region. 

Of course it has Cognac (French Brandy) in it. But I bet it also tastes nice with Grand Marnier.

I did not like the original recipe which had mousse au chocolate on it. I found that the mousse was too light for the orange jelly. So I created a chocolate topping more like the chocolate pud known as Petit Pot au Chocolate. It`s a heavy dessert and a little goes a long way. But because it is heavy, it is important that the orange jelly is very firm and completely set. This can be achieved if you use tad more gelatine than usual and prepare the first setting in advance. I cant give the amount of gelatine. It depends if you use leaf or powder, just look at the back of the package and go for the amount to set 200ml of liquid. And then add a bit more of gelatine. Just a smidgen. And don’t forget to buy an extra orange just in case. First of all you never know how much juice they yield and second the juice is sometimes boring. And you want garnish.

If you really want to recreate a full “jaffa cake”, add at the bottom of your glass a soft biscuit, like Savoiardi biscuits (sponge finger or Lady finger biscuits), the one you would use for making Tiramisu 

Ingredients:

180ml of freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2-3 oranges)

2 tablespoons of French Brandy or Grand Marnier

1 tablespoon of sugar

enough gelatine to set 200ml and a bit more

50gr dark (70%) chocolate

30gr unsalted butter

1 egg, separated in yolk and white

Prepare the gelatine according to package. If you use a leaf, soften it first in a bit of water.

Heat the cognac and the sugar, just so the sugar melts. Let cool for a bit, then add to the orange juice. If you use a leaf put it in a cup (without the soaking water!) and set the microwave for 30 seconds. Add the liquid gelatine to the orange juice/cognac mixture, fill into two glasses and let it set in the fridge for several hours (you can even do it the night before). Once it has set, you can break it up a bit to get a compote like consistency.

Add the chocolate and butter to a cup and let it melt twice for 30 seconds in the microwave, stir in between the two heating sessions.

Whisk the egg white to the stiff peak stage (this is a bit difficult with one egg white, but give your best. A sprinkle of salt might help). Add the yolk to the now coldish, but still liquid chocolate, stir and then gently fold the egg white in.

Top the orange jelly with the chocolate cream and chill for another hour or so. Remove from the fridge once you serve your main course and let it warm a bit (the chocolate will be quite hard if you take it out from the fridge). Decorate and serve.