Chocolate fondant with pistachio ice-cream

For a showstopping dessert, try these decadent chocolate fondants (with a secret salted caramel centre!) served with a scoop of homemade pistachio ice-cream. This recipe comes from Alan Stuart.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  15

• prep

  50 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Ace

Stream free On Demand

The Cook Up with Adam Liaw

series • 

Cooking

PG

series • 

Cooking

PG

Ingredients

• 625 g milk
• 203 g thin cream
• 168 g egg yolks
• 98 g caster sugar, plus 20 g for dusting
• 0.6 g salt
• 2.5 g xanthan gum
• 78 g pistachio liqueur
• 100 g pistachio paste
• 20 g butter, for greasing
• 100 g blanched, roughly chopped pistachios, plus extra to serve
• Icing sugar, to serve

For the chocolate sabayon

• 6 eggs
• 6 egg yolks
• 360 g caster sugar
• 300 g butter
• 300 g dark chocolate (70%)
• 150 g plain flour sifted with 3 tbsp cocoa powder

For the salted caramel

• 230 g caster sugar
• 16 g thin cream
• 30 g butter, diced
• 3 g salt

Chilling and freezing time: about 5 hours

Instructions

1. Start by making the pistachio ice cream – heat the milk and cream in a medium saucepan until just simmering. In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks and sugar until pale. Temper the egg mixture by gradually whisking in ¼ of the hot milk mixture, then, while whisking, pour back into the saucepan and cook to 83°C, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat, then use a stick mixer to blend in the salt and xanthan gum.
2. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl set over ice water. Stir until chilled, then whisk in the pistachio liqueur and pistachio paste. Refrigerate the mixture until chilled, then use an ice cream machine to churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once churned, spoon the pistachio ice cream into a container, cover with a layer of plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours.
3. To prepare the ramekins, grease with butter, then dust with 20 g caster sugar and set aside until needed.
4. To make the chocolate sabayon, in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs, yolks and sugar on high speed, until the mixture reaches soft-medium peaks – it should take around 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the butter and chocolate in a heatproof medium bowl and set over a saucepan of gently simmering water to melt. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, then gently fold the chocolate butter mixture into the beaten eggs. Gently fold in the sifted flour and cocoa mixture, then transfer to a piping bag and set aside in a cool place.
5. To make the salted caramel, heat the sugar in a medium saucepan until it melts into a dry caramel. Heat the cream in a second small saucepan to a simmer. Remove the dry caramel from the heat and whisk in the butter, followed by the hot cream and salt, until it forms a smooth caramel. Spread onto a large baking tray and freeze until firm. Roll into 10 g balls and reserve until ready to use.
6. Preheat the oven to 170°C fan-forced. Pipe the chocolate sabayon mixture into the prepared ramekins, then press a caramel ball into the centre, pressing halfway down. (These can be prepared to this stage and refrigerated until ready to bake.) Bake for 15 minutes.
7. Fifteen minutes before serving, remove the ice cream from the freezer to make it easier to scoop. Fold the pistachios through the ice cream.
8. Remove the chocolate fondants from the oven, allow to rest briefly, then transfer to serving plates. Dust with icing sugar, sprinkle with extra pistachios and serve with a quenelle of pistachio ice cream.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.