Chefs Garth Stroebel and Paul Hartmann give us a taste of life in the kitchen at the South African Chefs Academy in Cape Town. This chocolate box filled with strawberry mousse served with Cape fruits is a delicious example of their creativity and flair for food construction. Create this world-class dessert in your own kitchen!
Chocolate box filled with strawberry mousse served with Cape fruits
Ingredients
- 150ml milk
- 150ml fresh cream
- 15g gelatine powder and 60ml (¼ cup) water, for blooming gelatine
- 600g white chocolate
- 250g (1 punnet) strawberries, blended
- 1 vanilla pod
- 800ml fresh cream, whipped
Chocolate box
- 100g white chocolate
- 250g milk chocolate
Chocolate truffles
- 50ml fresh cream
- 100g dark chocolate
- 10ml (2 tsp) crème de cassis
- 100g chocolate, melted, for dipping
- gold dust, for garnish
Berries
- 200g berry selection
- 10ml (2 tsp) icing sugar
- 10ml (2 tsp) crème de cassis
Instructions
For the mousse, bring the milk and the cream to the boil and add the gelatine. Add the chocolate and blend to form a smooth mass. Mix in the strawberries, vanilla and cream and place in a mould to set.
For the chocolate box, melt the white and dark chocolate in separate pots. Spread the white, then the dark, chocolate onto a transparency sheet and leave to cool. Cut into 4 x 4cm disks and assemble a box using the melted chocolate.
For the truffles, bring the cream to the boil, remove from heat and add the chocolate and crème de cassis. Allow to harden and scoop out into small balls. Melt the chocolate, dip in the truffles and decorate with the gold dust.
Combine the berries, icing sugar and crème de cassis and leave to macerate. Serve next to the chocolate box, which has been topped with the mousse. Serve with Cape fruits.
