Chocolate macadamia nut timbale with Nova Scotia berries and lemon verbena ice cream

Difficulty:
1/5

Preparation time is 30 minutes.

Ease of preparation is moderate.

Heat oven to 350ºF.

Yield: 6 servings

Chef makes his own ice cream at the restaurant. For this recipe we thought we’d save you the step and suggest a good store bought lemon (or any citrus flavour) ice cream.

Ingredients

Timbale:

  • 3 ounces macadamia nuts, toasted
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, soft
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 4 eggs
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

Ganche:

  • 1 litre whipping cream
  • 1 ¼ kilogram chocolate
  • 1 splash of brandy, cognac or other liqueur of your choice

Berries:

  • ½ cup each gooseberries, blackberries, raspberries, red currants, black grapes

Lemon Syrup:

  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ cup water
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • citrus ice cream
  • mint sprigs & tuile for garnish

Directions

Timbale:

Grind half of the nuts and coarsely chop the remaining half. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, flour and ground nuts. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the cocoa and stir until fully incorporated. Place 6 buttered ring moulds on the sheet pan. Fill the moulds 2/3 full with the batter and sprinkle with the remaining nuts. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Ganache:

Over a bain-marie, heat the cream and add chopped chocolate and whisk till incorporated. Add the liqueur and turn the heat off, leaving the mix in the cool.

Berries & Lemon syrup:

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water and lemon juice and bring to a gentle simmer over medium high heat until the sugar has dissolved. Turn the heat off and add the berries.

Assembly:

Place 1/6th of the berries the center of the plate. Place one of the macadamia nut timbales on top. Pour the ganache over top and add a scoop of ice cream

Garnish with a fresh mint sprig and a store bought tuile.