Jacob's Orange Club biscuit is one of the rare milk chocolate treats that I crave. When I was a kid in Hong Kong, receiving a box of this gold ingot during Chinese New Year was one of the reasons I looked forward to the yearly celebration. Fast forward to present, the classic combination of chocolate and orange still evoke memories of those delicious biscuits. For the March dessert special at Linda, I decided to make a layered dessert which highlights the contrast of sweet and tart, smooth and crunchy.
This Coupe de Chocolat et Agrumes (more pictures available here) consists of a layer of orange Grand Marnier gelee filled with pomelo segments and a layer of smooth deep chocolate cream. A candied kumquat garnish topped off the dessert with another dimension of the citrus theme.
Ingredients
Orange Grand Marnier Gelee
- 200mL pulpless orange juice (I used Tropicana)
- 22g powder gelatin
- 950mL pulpless orange juice
- 50mL Grand Marnier
- 1 pomelo
Deep Chocolate Cream
- 270g dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 415g whole milk
- 375g heavy cream
- 5 egg yolks
- 140g sugar
- zest from 1 orange, grated
Candied Kumquats
- 20 kumquats, washed, halved width-wise, and remove all the seeds
- 200g sugar
- 200g water
Method
Orange Grand Marnier Gelee
- Bloom the gelatin with about 125g of water for five minutes. Heat in microwave using 10 second intervals until it becomes a clear liquid.
- Heat the first portion of orange juice to lukewarm using the microwave. Stir the melted gelatin into the orange juice.
- In a large bowl, mix together the remaining orange juice with Grand Marnier. Stir the gelatin orange juice into this mixture and strain with a fine sieve.
- Divide the pomelo segments into 21 champagne flutes. Divide the orange juice mixture into the flute. Chill until set.
Deep Chocolate Cream
- Make a creme anglaise. In a heavy mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Scald the milk and cream in a heavy saucepan. Temper the yolks with the heated cream. Cook until the custard reaches 180F. Strain the custard.
- Place the chocolate in a large mixing bowl. Pour the creme anglaise over the chocolate and stir slowly until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Cool in an ice bath until the mixture is about room temperature. Pour over the chilled orange gelee. Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Candied Kumquat
- In a heavy saucepan, make a simple syrup using the water and sugar and heat to a boil for about 5 minutes.
- Put kumquats into the boiling syrup and reduce to a simmer. Simmer until the kumquats are somewhat transparent and glossy.
- Chill in refrigerator until ready to use.
When ready to serve, garnish each flute of dessert with a candied kumquat half. Enjoy!
