KITCHEN NOTES

MELTING CHOCOLATE: Place chopped chocolate in a stainless steel or glass bowl over simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water, otherwise the chocolate will burn and seize.

WHIP EGG WHITES: Have egg whites at room temperature and ensure the bowl and beater are clean and dry. There are three stages that the eggs will go through: foam; soft peaks; and stiff peaks. The peaks are indicated by pulling the whisk out of the whites: at the soft peak stage the whites will not hold their points and will droop over. Stiff peaks will hold their form.

VANILLA BEANS: The cured pods from the vanilla orchid. These can be used whole or split, with seeds scraped into the mixture.

VANILLA EXTRACT: Made by infusing vanilla beans into a thick syrup made of sugar, water and a natural thickener with the vanilla seeds scraped into the paste.