7 hours ago
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At this time of year, I’m always drawn to desserts that feel a little more luxurious. Something rich and chocolatey with lots of texture and contrast. This recipe brings together silky chocolate custard with crisp filo pastry in a creamy, crunchy combination.
While you will need to start at least four hours ahead of time to allow the chocolate custard to set, it doesn’t demand hours of effort, and making the filo pastry in advance as well means assembly is quick and stress-free when it’s time to serve. The custard can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days, while the cooled pieces of filo pastry can be kept in an airtight container for up to five days.
I use an ice-cream scoop to create the tall mound pictured when serving, but a heaped tablespoon will also work. For a cleaner finish, warm the spoon in warm water and wipe away any moisture before scooping.
Serves 8
For the honey butter filo pastry
50g honey
50g unsalted butter
4 sheets filo pastry, from the fridge
For the chocolate custard
40g egg yolk, approximately 2 eggs’ worth
40g caster sugar
15g cornflour
290ml full cream milk
60g fresh cream with 35% fat
180g good-quality dark chocolate
30g unsalted butter, room temperature
To assemble
Icing sugar, to dust
To make the honey butter filo pastry, preheat the oven to 195C/175C fan.
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the honey and butter and gently stir to combine.
Line a baking tray with baking paper. Lie down a sheet of filo pastry, and brush with honey butter. Repeat with the remaining sheets of filo, brushing each with honey butter, to create a stack.
Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 13 minutes, until the pastry is golden-brown in colour.
Remove and allow to cool at room temperature. Once cooled, break into pieces approximately eight to 10cm in size.
To make the chocolate custard, in a large heatproof bowl, add the egg yolks and sugar and whisk by hand to combine. Add the cornflour and whisk to create a slurry.
In a saucepan, add the milk and cream and bring to a boil.
Carefully pour the hot milk-cream mixture over the egg slurry while whisking to combine.
Return the mixture to the saucepan and whisk continuously over medium heat until boiling and thickened. Remove from the heat and transfer into a clean bowl.
Add the dark chocolate and emulsify with a stick blender until the chocolate is completely melted and incorporated. This can also be done by hand with a whisk.
Add the butter and continue to whisk or stick-blend to emulsify until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and fully incorporated, and the custard is smooth and uniform throughout. The custard will continue to thicken as it cools and the chocolate begins to set.
Cover the surface of the chocolate custard with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least four hours.
To assemble, adhere one piece of honey butter filo pastry on to a serving plate with a small amount of chocolate custard. Place a generous spoonful of chocolate custard on top and sandwich it with another piece of pastry. Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.
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Kirsten Tibballs appears as a guest judge on MasterChef Australia on Wednesday 24 June at 7.30pm. MasterChef Australia season 18 airs on Sundays at 7pm and Monday to Wednesday at 7.30pm, and is available to watch and stream on 10 .
