My business partner MeMe giggles girlishly every time I refer to a dessert as “sexy,” but in truth I think all dessert should have some sex appeal. When we brought this together in the kitchen, I knew we had a great flavor combination, but I felt stumped by the visuals, until MeMe suggested adding the hazelnut spears. Her idea brought the dessert from sleepy to sexy in one simple step.
Ingredients
- 10 tsp (50 g) cocoa nibs
- Bittersweet Flourless Chocolate Cake
- 1 recipe Dark Chocolate Crémeux
- 1 recipe Vanilla Bean Chantilly
- 10 Hazelnut Spears
- 10 dark chocolate half-moon decorations
- 1 sheet of gold leaf (optional)
How to Make It
- In a medium sauté pan, cook the cocoa nibs over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until a distinct nutty scent develops. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Use a 2-in (5-cm) ring mold or round cookie cutter to cut ten disks out of the chocolate cake.
- Set out ten stemless wineglasses or decorative parfait glasses. Fit a pastry bag with a plain, #3 piping tip, and use a binder clip to secure the bag closed where it meets the piping tip. Fill the bag with the crémeux, remove the binder clip, and pipe 2 tbsp into each glass, covering the bottom. Put the cake rounds on top of the crémeux, and then pipe another 2 tbsp of crémeux to cover the cake. Use a tablespoon to put a large dollop of chantilly on top of the crémeux, and then sprinkle each with 5 g/1 tsp roasted cocoa nibs. Gently place 1 hazelnut spear, pointed-side up, into the chantilly; use a twisting motion so that it sits securely in the chantilly. Put a chocolate half-moon decoration on the edge of each glass. If desired, put a small bit of gold leaf onto each chocolate half-moon for a bit more glitz. Serve and enjoy.
