CHOCOLATE MOUSSE for LOVERS

SERVES 2 / PREPARATION & COOKING: 4 HOURS

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE 100g 60–70% dark chocolate,

2 green cardamom pods, seeds ground 1,25ml (¼t) ground cinnamon small pinch of ground chilli small pinch of fine sea salt

10g unsalted butter 3 eggs, at room temperature BLACK PEPPER PRALINE

75g castor sugar 30g toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

15ml (1T) cocoa nibs 2,5ml (½t) black peppercorns, cracked CHANTILLY CREAM

100ml whipping cream

7,5ml (1½t) castor sugar

Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and keep handy. 1 Mousse Crack the chocolate into squares and place in a large heatproof bowl. Add the spices. Place the bowl above a pan of simmering water to melt.

Once largely melted, remove from the heat and stir often to melt fully. Melt in the salt and butter. Remove the bowl from the pan and allow to cool. Separate the eggs, and whisk the whites until stiff peaks form

4 Stir the egg yolks one at a time into the lukewarm chocolate until smooth. Mix in a third of the egg whites to lighten the mixture, then very gently fold in the rest, keeping in all the precious air bubbles.

5 Divide the mixture between two dishes, or one sharing bowl, and chill for at least 4 hours.

Praline Heat the sugar in a heavybased pan over medium heat without stirring. It will melt to form a deep amber caramel – if it starts browning before fully melting, lower the heat and swirl a little until it all catches up.

Stir in the hazelnuts, nibs and pepper and pour onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread it out slightly. Once set, chop into a mixture of chunks and smaller crumbs.

Chantilly cream Whisk the cream and sugar together until soft peaks form. Chill until serving.

To serve Serve the praline and cream in separate bowls alongside the mousse so you can delve into each as you eat. There will probably more praline and cream than you’ll need, but now is not the time to be restrained.

CAKE

300g marzipan 250g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing 100g castor sugar 2,5ml (½t) fine sea salt

15–20 green cardamom pods, seeds ground

6 eggs, at room temperature 5ml (1t) almond extract

150g plain flour, plus extra for dusting 10ml (2t) baking powder

100g maraschino, amarena or cocktail cherries

ICING (OPTIONAL) 200g icing sugar 30ml (2T) cherry liqueur, amaretto or water

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C fan and grease a 1,5-litre bundt tin with melted butter or oil and dust with flour.

Tip out any the excess. 1 Cake Cut the marzipan and butter into chunks and put in a food processor. Add the sugar, salt and cardamom and process until smooth. Stop to agitate and scrape as needed. Add the eggs, almond extract, flour and baking powder and blitz again to an even batter. Drain the cherries and pat dry with paper towel. Dust with a little flour and toss – this will prevent them from sinking.

4 Scrape about threequarters of the batter into the tin, sprinkle the cherries over and top with the remaining batter. Tap on the work top a few times to knock out any air holes and level the surface.

5 Bake for 45–55