Chocolate Petit Gâteau, White Chocolate Cup, Cocoa Crumble, Macerated Raspberries

Introduction

Chocolate is passion, indulgence, comfort, luxury, emotion, tenderness, love. This petit gâteau recipe brings the best of chocolate and Valentine’s Day together—a cake obscenely creamy inside, macerated raspberries with freshness and bite, an intense cocoa crumble, and a white chocolate cup that can win hearts again and again.

Instructions

For the macerated raspberries:

1. In a bowl, combine the wine, orange juice and honey. Stir.

2. Add the raspberries and coat them in the syrup. Leave to macerate while you prepare the rest.

For the petit gâteau:

1. Preheat the oven to 230°C. Chop the chocolate finely with a large serrated knife.

2. Melt the chocolate with the butter in a bain-marie. When melted, turn off the heat and cool slightly.

3. In another bowl, whisk the eggs and yolks with the sugar and flour.

4. When light and creamy, pour in the melted chocolate, whisking constantly. Stop as soon as combined.

5. Butter the ramekins and dust with cocoa. Cut baking paper circles for the bases, butter them and dust with cocoa too.

6. Fill the ramekins two-thirds full and bake for 8 minutes.

7. Remove from the oven and cool 10 minutes. The cakes will pull away from the sides.

8. For the mint garnish: whisk the egg white. Brush each mint leaf with egg white, dust with sugar and rest on a rack.

For the cocoa crumble:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Mix flour, sugar and cocoa.

2. Rub in the cold butter until sandy.

3. Spread on a lined shallow tray.

4. Bake 12–15 minutes, stirring halfway.

5. Cool until crisp.

For the white chocolate cup:

1. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie, stirring gently.

2. At 45°C, turn off the heat.

3. Remove from the heat and add 1–2 squares of unmelted white chocolate, stirring.

4. At 25°C, discard any unmelted pieces and return the bowl to the bain-marie with the heat off.

5. When it reaches 28°C, remove from the bain-marie.

6. Pour into a bowl and tie a small balloon over it.

7. Dip the top of the balloon three times into the chocolate to form three “petals”. Rest upside down on a tray. Chill 10 minutes until set.

To serve:

1. Remove from the fridge and pop the balloon with a needle—the chocolate forms a petal-like cup. Transfer to a plate.

2. Unmould the petit gâteau into the white chocolate cup.

3. Add macerated raspberries and a spoonful of crumble alongside.

4. Top with a sugared mint leaf.

5. When you cut in, the centre should be liquid and creamy.