Chocolate and blackberry Monte Carlos

Ingredients

Chocolate coconut biscuits

• ¾ cup self-raising flour
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• ½ cup good quality cocoa powder
• ¾ cup caster sugar
• ½ tsp salt flakes
• 100g butter, melted and cooled
• 1 free-range egg, lightly whisked
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla bean extract

Blackberry jam (see Note)

• 200g blackberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ cup caster sugar

Blueberry cream

• 300ml thickened cream
• 2 tbsp blueberry powder (optional)
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla bean extract

Garnish

• 8 fresh blackberries
• Icing sugar
• Edible flower petals (e.g. dianthus)

Cooling time: 30-45 minutes

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease and line two baking trays.
2. To make the biscuits, place flour, coconut, cocoa, sugar and salt in a bowl and stir to combine. Add melted butter, egg and vanilla and mix well. Place 16 even spoonfuls of mixture onto prepared trays and place in the oven to bake for 7-8 minutes. Remove from the oven. Set aside to cool on trays.
3. Meanwhile, to make the jam, place blackberries, lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until blackberries begin to break down. Add a splash of water if the jam is catching on the bottom of the saucepan. Continue cooking until mixture has reduced. Transfer jam to a bowl and set aside to cool.
4. To make the blueberry cream, place cream in a bowl and whisk to form soft peaks. Add blueberry powder and vanilla. Stir until just combined.
5. To construct the Monte Carlos, spread a small amount of jam on half of the cooled biscuits. Top with a dollop of blueberry cream. Sandwich the filling with the remaining biscuits. Garnish by securing a blackberry to the top of the Monte Carlo with a small amount of cream. Add an edible flower petal and a dusting of icing sugar to serve.

Note

You could also use a store-bought jam for this recipe.