Chocolate and Ginger Mousse with Honey Roast Pears (gf)

This classic flavour combination sings of autumn! Feel free to serve with a dollop of mascarpone or vanilla bean ice cream.

250 grams dark chocolate, 50–70% cocoa solids, chopped into small chunks

25 grams butter 1¼ cups cream 2 large eggs, size 7, separated

1 large egg yolk, extra 4 tablespoons caster sugar 1 tablespoon stem ginger syrup

TO SERVE

Honey Roast Pears (see recipe below)

Bring a pot of water to a simmer then melt the chocolate and butter with ¼ cup of the cream in a big bowl positioned on top of the pot (you need this bowl to be big because everything else will be added to it at the end). Don’t let the base of the bowl touch the water. Whisk until the mixture is melted and smooth, then set aside.

Whisk the egg yolks and 3 tablespoons of the sugar in another bowl until pale and the sugar is dissolved. In a third bowl, whisk the egg whites with the remaining tablespoon of sugar until soft peaks form. In a separate bowl whip the remaining cream to soft peaks.

You should now have four bowls in front of you. Stir the egg yolk mix into the chocolate mix along with the stem ginger syrup. Add in a couple of tablespoons of the whipped cream and whisk in so that it loosens slightly. Add the remaining cream and fold in, then add the egg whites and fold in so it is well combined and smooth, if possible without knocking too much air out of it.

Pour into a serving bowl and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Remove from the fridge 15 minutes before serving and serve with roast pears. SERVES 6-8