Chocolate Bavarian pie

A rich cocoa crumb base holding chocolate bavarois and vanilla crème fraîche.

MAKES ONE 24CM PIE INGREDIENTS

Cooking oil spray or neutral oil

For the cocoa cookie crumb

100g plain flour

70g caster sugar

40g unsweetened cocoa powder ¼ tsp fine sea salt

90g unsalted butter

For the filling

370ml whole milk

80g dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa solids), chopped

90g caster sugar

3 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder 1 heaped tsp gelatin powder

1 tsp cornflour

½ tsp vanilla bean paste

¼ tsp fine sea salt

80g egg yolk (from approx 4 eggs) 300ml whipping cream

For the topping

250g crème fraîche

½ tsp vanilla bean paste Shards of chocolate, to decorate

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 150C/130C fan/Gas 2. Lightly oil a baking tray and line with baking paper.

To make the cocoa cookie crumb, put the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a bowl. Melt the butter and pour it into the dry ingredients, then mix with your fingers to make what feels like cocoa sand.

Scatter the crumb over the tray and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until dry and crumbly. Chocolate doughs and crumbs are tricky, as they won’t show signs of burning. They are done when the dough turns from shiny raw to matt dry.

Around halfway through the cocoa crumb baking, start the filling. Bring the milk to the boil in a small saucepan until there is a small ring of bubbles around the edge. Turn the heat off. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside. You will pour the hot custard into this bowl to melt the chocolate, so choose a bowl large enough.

In a small bowl, mix the sugar, cocoa powder, gelatin, cornflour, vanilla and salt. Then weigh in the egg yolks and whisk until smooth. Pour in half the hot milk and whisk well to combine, then whisk in the remainder. Return the mix to the pan and whisk constantly over a mediumhigh heat for two minutes until the custard is thick and starts to bubble. Although the rules about gelatin state that it should never be boiled, it can be for this brief time.

Scrape the custard mix into the chocolate bowl and whisk to release the steam and melt the chocolate. Set the custard base aside to cool (40 to 60 minutes). Whisk occasionally and scrape down the side of the bowl from time to time. It will look mottled but that won’t be noticeable when it has set.

Meanwhile, whip the cream to semi-stiff peaks and keep chilled. Crush the cocoa crumb in a processor or mortar and pestle.

Lightly spray a fluted 24cm, 4cm deep, loosebased tart tin with cooking oil spray. Line the base with baking paper. Rest the tin on a heavy baking tray (to slide in and out of the fridge without disrupting the loose bottom). Lightly press the crumb into the base only. Don’t compact the crumb too much – it needs to be “break-apart-able” when cold.

To complete the filling, fold half of the whipped cream into the custard base until almost fully incorporated. Fold in the remaining cream and fold until the mix is a uniform chocolate brown colour.

One of the best baking techniques to understand is bringing together two components at an “agreeable” temperature and consistency. If we were to add the cream while the custard was too hot, the cold cream would melt and thin out the mix. If the custard was too firm before we added the cream, the two would not bind together – the mix would be chunky and streaky. So, the goal is to have both custard and cream at very much the same temperature.

Scrape on to the prepared crumb base – the filling should come to just under the top of the tin (if it does end up a bit deflated, add some extra crème fraîche on top). Smooth the top lightly and spray with a little cooking oil spray. Lightly press a piece of cling film on top of the filling, to prevent a rubbery skin forming. Chill to set overnight.

To make the topping, whip the crème fraîche and vanilla to floppy peaks. Remove the cling film and smooth the crème fraîche on top to completely fill the tin. Sprinkle with chocolate shards. Remove from the tin and serve chilled. the meringue off the tray while it’s hot makes the sheet prone to breaking.

To roll, lay two overlapping pieces of cling film on the work surface to make a sheet slightly larger than the meringue sheet. Dust lightly with half of the extra cocoa. Carefully flip the meringue sheet off the tray, with the shortest side closest to you, and peel off the baking paper. The meringue should be crunchy side down and the underside, now exposed, should feel soft and a little sticky. That’s good. Shave a little off each of the long sides (you can use a pizza wheel to do this), as it will make for a neater roll. Snack on the offcuts.

To make the toffeed figs, slice the figs into fat coins, sprinkle with a generous amount of sugar and caramelise with a blowtorch or under the grill.

Keeping the short side of the meringue closest to you, evenly spread the whipped mascarpone over the meringue, but only smooth a light smear of mascarpone over the 2cm strip at the top of the sheet. This will become the seal, so it’s best not to overload it with cream.

Scatter the toffeed figs evenly over the mascarpone (except for the strip along the top). Tear the figs up a little if the pieces are too big, as they will impede the tightness of the roll.

Take a firm hold of the cling film closest to you and use a repetitive “lift and roll” motion to gradually roll the meringue, until you do a final full roll to reach the end, with the seam underneath. Lift carefully on to a platter and dust with the remaining cocoa before serving.

When filled, this keeps for two days refrigerated (well covered or in an air tight container).

Recipes from Beatrix Bakes by Natalie Paull (Hardie Grant, £22)