Gü Chocolate Cookbook

A well-made chocolate sauce or custard can be the pièce de résistance for any pud. Here we’ve given you recipes for three of our faves, they’re simple, secret weapons to glam up any dessert.

Creamy Chocolate Custard

First up, an enriched and thickened chocolate custard, that is brilliant as a filling for pastries and perfect as a dessert on its own, served chilled in pretty glasses.

MAKES ABOUT 600ML

4 egg yolks

75g caster sugar

200ml whole milk

200ml whipping cream

175g dark chocolate (about 70 % cocoa solids), chopped

1. Put the egg yolks and sugar into a heatproof bowl and lightly whisk them together.

2. Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan, bring to the boil, then quickly whisk two thirds of the mixture into the egg and sugar, and mix well.

3. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over a very low heat for 5–10 minutes, stirring constantly with a spatula, until it starts to thicken and coats the spatula. You will need to stand with this and stir patiently as it needs to thicken slightly, but watch that the base doesn’t get too hot, which will cause it to curdle (see cooking a custard).

4. Put the chocolate into another heatproof bowl. Remove the pan from the heat and pour it over the chocolate and stir with the spatula until the chocolate has melted and become smooth.

5. Pour the custard directly into serving glasses or dishes. Lay cling film or baking parchment on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Leave to cool and then chill for at least 4 hours.

♦ GÜ WAYS TO USE THIS RECIPE To serve, crack some Sesame Nougatine or crumble a couple of cookies (see here, here, here or here) over the top, or, for something extra special, sprinkle over a little Citrus Dust.

Salted Caramel Sauce

Next is this delicious caramel sauce to serve as a topping for ice cream or drizzle over waffles or even over whipped cream, topping a hot chocolate.

MAKES ABOUT 325ML

2 tsp liquid glucose or runny honey

125g caster sugar

200ml whipping cream

Pinch of sea salt

1. Put the glucose or honey in a saucepan with high sides and warm through over a low heat. Stir in the sugar and 2 teaspoons of water, and simmer gently until is has caramelised and turned a golden brown colour.

2. Warm the cream in another saucepan and set aside. Remove the pan of caramel from the heat and, protecting your hands as it may splutter, gradually and very carefully stir one third of the warm cream into the caramel. Mix together and then stir in the remaining cream.

3. Bring the sauce back to the boil then remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the salt, let the sauce cool down, then transfer it to a bowl and place it in the fridge to chill.

♦ GÜ WAYS TO USE THIS RECIPE We have included this recipe in our White Chocolate Parfait with Salted Caramel and also the Chocolate Salted Caramel and Peanut Tart.

Salted Caramel Custard

Finally, a custard that is also perfect as a filling for éclairs, profiteroles or other pastries. For a touch of class, the French name for this type of custard is cremeaux.

MAKES ABOUT 650ML

4 egg yolks

2 tbsp cornflour

325ml milk

2g gelatine (about 1 leaf)

150g caster sugar

¼ tsp sea salt

200g unsalted butter, softened and diced into small cubes

EQUIPMENT

Stick blender (optional)

1. Put the egg yolks and cornflour together with 4 tablespoons of the milk into a large bowl. Then pour the rest of the milk into a saucepan and gently warm it. Soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes to soften.

2. Tip the sugar and salt into another saucepan, this time with high sides, and add 1 tablespoon of water. Heat gently for 3–4 minutes without stirring until the sugar has dissolved and turned a golden brown colour. Remove the pan from the heat and, protecting your hands as it may splutter, gradually and very carefully stir one third of the warm milk into the caramel. Mix together and then stir in the remaining milk.

3. Bring the mixture to the boil, then pour it over the egg yolks and sugar, whisking all the time. Return the custard to the pan and bring back to the boil. Boil for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until it has thickened and become smooth. Squeeze out the soaked gelatine and beat it into the custard until it has melted.

4. Leave the custard for about 10 minutes, then add the butter, piece by piece, beating well after each addition, until it has melted and the mixture is smooth. If you’ve got a stick blender, use it here to blitz the mixture and make it extra smooth.

5. Transfer the custard to a bowl and lay cling film or baking parchment on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Leave to cool and then chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.

♦ GÜ TIP You can use powdered gelatine rather than leaf gelatine. Put the powder in a bowl, add 1½ tablespoons of cold water, mix well and then let it soak for 10–15 minutes.

♦ GÜ WAYS TO USE THIS RECIPE Use this custard to fill the Chocolate Eclairs instead of the creamy chocolate custard. It is also delicious just as a cream and as a dessert in its own right. Served over roasted or caramelised pineapple and sprinkled with the Chocolate Pecan Crumble it would be perfect for a brunch dessert.

Chocolate Sweetcrust Pastry

Here’s our recipe for a classic light and crisp pastry, but with chocolate added – of course! You will find that the pastry is used in various recipes throughout the book, which is why we’ve given you a choice of quantities here. The instructions also describe how to ‘blind bake’ a pastry case. This means to pre-cook a tart pastry base to give it a good start before you add a wet filling, so it will be nice and crisp once baked with its filling inside.

SMALL QUANTITY

MAKES 24 MINI TARTLET CASES

75g plain flour