How To Make Great Plains Mara Plains Camp’s Chocolate Melting Moment

Staying in this Valentine’s Day? Chef Joel’s Chocolate Melting Moment from the Maasai Mara is the ultimate romantic pudding

 “It is bold, mysterious, and romantically explosive it bonds well with various sauces and compotes, my approach was to have it with silky homemade butterscotch and chocolate ganache to marry the crunchy oats cookie crumble, well executed this is a literally explosive delicacy treat for your tastebuds.” Fredrick Joel Ndungu, Dessert Extraordinaire, Mara Plains Camp

PSST: leave enough time for the various cooling elements of the recipe. 

Ingredients

For the spheres and caramel sauce:

• 400g dark chocolate 
• 110g milk chocolate 
• 300ml of cream 
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 216g caster sugar
• ¼ cup water 
• 100g unsalted roasted peanuts 
• 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
• 8 raspberries
• 75g butter 
• 1/3 cup cream
• 100g brown sugar 

To finish:

• Cocoa powder for dusting 

Equipment: 
Silicon Mould
Whisk
Pan

Method

For the chocolate spheres:

1. Melt the chocolate over double boiler or in the microwave for 30seconds until completely melted.
2. Pour the chocolate over the silicon moulds, put the silicon mould int the freezer until fully sets. (leave a little for decoration)
3. Meanwhile whisk together milk chocolate, 220ml cream, yolks, sugar and water over double boiler until thick and glossy, set aside to cool.
4. Gently toss the peanuts on a pan until flavourful and crunchy. Remove from heat and let cool. Roughly chop the nuts.

For the caramel sauce:

1. Caramelize brown sugar and then add warmed 80ml cream to avoid crystallisation and whisk together and remove from heat.
2. Put the cold butter in and continue whisking until all the butter infuses into the caramel and set aside.

To assemble:

1. Remove half of the already set chocolate moulds and start by filling it with peanut butter, caramel sauce then a sprinkle the chopped nuts. (leave a few nuts for decoration)
2. Take the already set but empty chocolate moulds by slowly removing from the silicon and use a hot surface to melt the edges so as to glue the half cups into one filled Melting Moment Dome.

To finish:

1 A good melting moment should live up to its name thus the temperature to serve has to be appropriate to execute its effect when tasted. Dust the sphere with cocoa powder and drizzle over the remaining melted chocolate, caramel sauce and sprinkle with the chopped nuts.
2 Present with fresh raspberries and enjoy the surprise of the Melting Moment. 

Recipe courtesy of chef Fredrick Joel Ndungu of Mara Plains Camp