Salted Caramel Chocolate Crémeux with Toasted Hazelnuts, Bourbon Oranges, and Bourbon Cream
Luke created this dish for Masterchef UK Professionals Season 18. This elegant set dessert sits between mousse and ganache in texture, with a salted caramel chocolate crémeux that Tom Parker Bowles praised for its beautiful caramelisation and bold salt, set over a crunchy toasted hazelnut base he called gorgeous. Marcus Wareing described the bourbon cream as absolutely sensational and the dish overall as clean, precise, and executed to perfection. Chef's Notes: Addressing the Judge and Critic Feedback Marcus Wareing — "Crémeux is almost like in between a chocolate mousse and a ganache. So one's firm, one's soft — it sort of sits in the middle." This is the essential character of the dessert, and it's controlled by two factors: the ratio of chocolate to cream, and the presence of egg yolks. A ganache (just chocolate and cream) sets firmly because cocoa butter crystallises as it cools. A mousse is lightened with whipped cream or meringue, making it airy. A crémeux uses egg yolks cooked…
- Time: 45 min
Source: Relaxed Recipes
Ingredients
- TOAST THE HAZELNUT BASE
- Preheat oven to 350°F . Spread hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast for 8–10 mi
- Let cool for 5 minutes, then roughly chop — a mixture of fine crumbs and larger
- Divide the hazelnut mixture among four serving vessels , pressing gently to crea
- MAKE THE SALTED CARAMEL
- Place the ⅓ cup sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Do not stir
- Immediately remove from heat and carefully pour in about half the cream — the mi
- MAKE THE CRÉMEUX
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the 2 tablespoons custard sugar unt
- TEMPER THE EGGS: Pour about a third of the hot caramel-cream mixture into the yo
- COOK THE CUSTARD: Return to medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly with a
- EMULSIFY WITH CHOCOLATE: Immediately strain the hot custard through a fine-mesh
- SEASON BOLDLY: Stir in the flaky sea salt. Taste — the salt should be clearly pr
- SET THE CRÉMEUX: Pour warm crémeux over the hazelnut bases, filling to about thr
- PREPARE THE BOURBON ORANGES
- SEGMENT THE ORANGES: Cut top and bottom off each orange. Stand on a cut end and
- MAKE THE BOURBON SYRUP: Squeeze remaining juice from membranes into a small sauc
- Pour warm syrup over orange segments. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minu
- MAKE THE BOURBON CREAM
- In a chilled bowl, whip cold cream and icing sugar to soft peaks — billowy, not
- Keep refrigerated until plating. Can be made up to 2 hours ahead
- PLATE AND SERVE
- Remove crémeux from the fridge 5–10 minutes before serving to take the sharp chi
- Spoon or quenelle a generous portion of bourbon cream on top of or alongside the
- Serve immediately. The crémeux will slowly soften at room temperature, which is