Edible flowers (or fruits like berries) 45ml water 10ml powdered gelatine 45ml sugar 150ml hot water 75ml sparkling wine
Prepare your moulds/cups by lining them with plastic wrap. Place the flowers inside the moulds and set aside. Pour 45ml cold water into a small mixing bowl and sprinkle the gelatine over. Set aside to bloom for 5 minutes. Add the sugar to the gelatine and pour in the hot water. Stir to dissolve. Add the sparkling wine and mix well. Allow the liquid to cool to the point where it is cold but still completely runny. Pour into the moulds and refrigerate until set.
This is one of my favourite French desserts and really easy to make. Make the crêpes the day before you need them and simply reheat them in the orange-caramel-syrup before serving.
Crêpes: 750ml cake flour 2,5ml baking powder 5ml salt 500ml milk 250ml water 125ml sunflower oil 4 eggs
Orange sauce: 45ml caster sugar 250ml orange juice the zest of one orange 5ml lemon juice 15ml brandy 50g butter, cubed
For the crêpes: Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitter with the whisk attachment. Whisk the milk, water, oil and eggs together in a separate wide-mouthed jug. Turn the mixer on to a low speed and add the liquid ingredients in a very thin stream. Keep whisking and pouring until all the liquid has been added. Turn the mixer on to a higher speed and whisk for at least two minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer, cover with plastic wrap and allow to stand for 1 hour. Heat a crêpe pan/frying pan until hot. Add a small amount of vegetable oil and swirl it around the pan. Pour the oil out and put the pan back onto a medium-high heat. Spoon a ladle-full of the batter into the pan and cook until small holes appear over the entire surface of the crêpe. Flip the crêpe and cook for 1 minute on the other side. Slide the cooked crêpe onto a plate and continue baking the rest.
For the orange sauce: Tip the caster sugar into a non-stick frying pan on medium to low heat. Allow the sugar to melt without stirring it. You want the sugar to turn a caramel colour without burning it – watch it like a hawk and do not walk away from it! Take the pan from the heat when the sugar is brown enough and add the orange juice, orange zest, lemon juice and brandy. Return the pan to a very low heat. Do not panic if the sugar has seized, continue heating over a low heat and stir lightly until the sugar has dissolved completely. Now start adding the butter, one or two cubes at a time while stirring constantly. Keep going until you have incorporated all the butter. Bring the mixture to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly and has a lovely gloss to it.
Fold each crêpe into half, and then fold it again so that you have a more-or-less triangular shape. Gently slide the folded crêpe into the pan and spoon the sauce over it. Serve immediately.
These cakes are like little jewels of chocolate and orange that explode in your mouth. This is an easy dessert when you are entertaining friends and want to impress.
Orange syrup: 200ml sugar 200ml water zest from one orange
For the cake: 320g De Villiers Chocolate: orange and vanilla, 70% dark or any other dark chocolate 250g butter, cubed 300g brown sugar 5 eggs 100g cake flour 100g self-raising flour 30ml orange liqueur or brandy
For the orange syrup: Strip the zest from the orange with a vegetable peeler. Put the strip of zest flat onto a chopping board and slice into needle-wide strips with a sharp knife. Cut all of the zest into these needle strips. Put aside. Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan and place on a high heat. Stir the mixture until all the sugar has dissolved. DO NOT stir again. Add the zest-needles to the mixture and bring the mixture to a boil, FOR ONE MINUTE. Take the saucepan from the heat and set aside to cool.
For the cake: Preheat your oven to 160℃. Grease 12 small baking moulds or a 12-hole standard muffin tin. Chop the chocolate. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. Stir every now and then until all the chocolate has melted and the mixture is completely smooth. Remove from the heat and put aside. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer down to a medium speed and add the eggs one at a time, waiting for each to be incorporated. Turn the mixer to its lowest speed and add the slightly cooled chocolate, liqueur and flour. Scoop the batter into the prepared mould and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven. Cut the cakes flush with the moulds you baked them in while still very warm. This will leave you with a flat surface to stand the cakes once you plate them. Spoon about 20ml of the cold syrup onto the cut-side of the warm cakes. Remove each cake from the mould (stand them up – the way you will serve them) and spoon the rest of the orange syrup over. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
My Whisk and I 