Deconstructed Mississippi Dessert

By Emma Hawkins | April 18, 2018 | Comments 0 Comment

Back in November I made a Mississippi mud pie for thanksgiving, which if I say so myself was pretty darn good. So for a while now, being the massive chocoholic I am, I’ve been thinking how I could re-interpret it, and with a little refinement make it into an awesome dessert. With Masterchef just finished I’ve been going through a bit of withdrawal, but I’ve been super inspired by all the incredible cooking on the show, and so I decided now would be the time to make a more delicate dish, like this delish deconstructed mud pie.

Whilst being predominantly chocolate based, each element here contributes a unique texture and flavour to the dish so it doesn’t come across too rich. Almost like an ombre there’s a crumbly, very rich chocolate crumb, a lighter but fudgy brownie, a creamy sweet chocolate custard, and then a light whipped cream, all served with chocolate shards and a sharp raspberry coulis to cleanse the palette. (As you can probably tell from how pretentious that sounds, I’m pretty proud of how this one has turned out). Unlike my other fancier dishes this one is also fairly easy. There are a lot of elements but each one doesn’t require too much knowhow to make, so it’s worth giving a go!

Recipe

Serves 5

Time 2 hours, plus cooling time

Ingredients

For the Chocolate brownie

110g Butter
140g Dark chocolate
2 Medium eggs
140g Caster sugar
30g Plain flour
100g White chocolate, roughly chopped

For the Chocolate custard

100g Dark chocolate
290ml Whole milk
3 Egg yolks
60g Caster sugar
15g Plain flour
1 tbsp Cocoa powder
20g Cornflour
160ml Double cream

For the Chocolate crumble

100g Plain flour, plus extra for dusting
150g Unsalted butter
55g Cocoa powder
40g Caster sugar
5g Sea salt

For the Cream

300ml Double cream
1 tsp Vanilla bean paste

For the Coulis

150g Raspberries
100g Caster sugar

To Decorate

50g White chocolate
100g Dark chocolate
5 Fresh raspberries
A few sprigs of fresh mint

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Grease and line a 15×15 cm loose tin with butter and baking paper.
To make the brownies put the butter and chocolate into a bowl over a pan of simmering water and leave to melt.
Take another bowl and whisk the eggs until pale and fluffy with an electric whisk. Add the sugar and continue to whisk until it leaves a trail when the whisk is taken out.
Fold the chocolate into the eggs, sieve in the flour and add the white chocolate. Fold everything again until combined.
Pour the mixture into the lined tin and bake for around 20 minutes until a crust has formed on top and it feel slightly firm. Set aside to cool.
Now make the chocolate filling. Put the chocolate into a heat-proof bowl and melt over a pan of simmering water. Then put the milk into a pan and heat until just boiling.
In another bowl whisk the egg yolks, sugar, plain flour, cocoa powder and cornflour until smooth. Pour in the milk whilst whisking until smooth. Pour the mixture back into the pan and cook gently, whilst whisking, until just starting to thicken. Take off the heat, stir in the melted chocolate and then leave in the fridge to cool completely.
Take the filling out of the fridge and whisk to break up. In another bowl whisk the double cream to soft peaks. Fold the cream into the chocolate mix and then pour this into a pipping bag. Put this into the fridge to chill for 2 hours.
Now make the chocolate crumble. Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until a smooth dough forms. Roll this out on a lightly floured surface to make a thin sheet. Put this onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Take out of the oven and crumble with your fingers to make a crumble/crumb-like texture. Then put it back into the oven to bake for another 10 minutes until crisp. Set to one side to cool.
Next whip up the double cream and vanilla into soft peaks (when it just holds its shape). Spoon this into a pipping bag with a round nozzle and leave in the fridge to chill until needed.
Then make the chocolate shards. Put the white and dark chocolates into separate heatproof bowls over pans of gently simmering water. When melted transfer the white chocolate to a piping bag with a small, round nozzle. Take a sheet of baking paper or acetate and drizzle the white chocolate in a squiggle pattern over it. Leave to set completely at room temperature.
When set, take the dark chocolate and spread over the white chocolate in a thin layer, making it smooth with a palette knife. Leave to set.
Finally make the raspberry coulis. Put the raspberries and sugar into a pan and heat gently until the raspberries mush and gently simmer.
Pour the mixture into a sieve and press through with the back of a spoon to get the juice and pulp but to remove the seeds. Pour this into a pipping bottle with a small, round nozzle and leave in the fridge until needed.
When ready to plate up begin by cutting 3 small circles out of the brownie. Place these in a semi-circle around the edge of the plate. Take the chocolate custard and pipe blobs of it around the brownies. Then take the fresh raspberries and arrange them in a crescent around the other elements. Then take the cream and fill in the gaps. Then sprinkle the crumble in the gaps to make a crescent shape and then break the chocolate sheet into shards and place them around the plate. Take the coulis and pipe spots of it around the plate, and then put the rest into a jug to serve with the dessert. Garnish with the fresh mint and serve!