Cusine de Jardin - Featured Confections from the Cooking with Herbs Seminar

Craving a little sweetness is not unfamiliar to any of us and for those of you who were fortunate enough to grab a seat at last weekend’s Outdoor Show seminar with Chef Manu, Cooking with Herbs, we promised we’d share his recipes for Moelleux au Chocolat and Pot de Crème a la Lavande. From a decadent, gooey, melting in the middle chocolate pudding to a creamy, mouth-watering custard infused with lavender, these two treats are sure to thrill anyone with a sweet tooth.

Cuisine de Jardin with Chef Manu - “Moelleux au Chocolat”

Ingredients:

• 4.5 oz. chocolate (ideally about 70% cocoa solids)
• 3.5 oz. unsalted butter
• 4.5 oz. sugar icing
• 1/2 c. flour
• 3 eggs
• 2 eggs yolk
• 3 thyme branches

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 360 degrees.
2. Melt the chocolate, thyme and butter in a double boiler.
3. Mix together the sugar icing and flour in a separate bowl.
4. Next add the eggs and mix well.
5. Butter two ramekin dishes.
6. Once chocolate and butter are melted, pour the mixture into the bowl with flour, sugar icing and eggs and mix completely.
7. Pour mixture into the ramekins to about ¾ full.
8. Cook for approximately 7 minutes.
9. Set a fine sieve over a large wide jug or bowl and pour the hot mixture through to strain, encouraging any stray vanilla seeds through.
10. Using a big spoon, scoop off all the pale foam that is sitting on the top of the liquid (there will be several spoonfuls) and discard. Give the mixture a stir.
11. Pour in enough hot water (from the tap is fine) into the roasting tin to come about 1.5cm up the sides of the ramekins.
12. Pour the hot cream into the ramekins to the top (it’s easier to spoon in the last little bit).

Cuisine de Jardin with Chef Manu - 'Pot de Crème a la Lavande'

Ingredients:

• 1 carton of heavy cream (500 ml)
• 1 vanilla pod
• 5 large egg yolk
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 lavender branches

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to fan 230 degrees.
2. Place four, 175ml ramekins in a deep roasting tin at least 7.5cm deep (or a large deep cake tin), one that will enable a baking tray to sit well above the ramekins when laid across the top of the tin.
3. Pour the cream into a medium pan. Lay the vanilla pod on a board and slice lengthways through the middle with a sharp knife to split it in two.
4. Use the tip of the knife to scrape out all the tiny seeds into the cream mixture. Drop the vanilla pod in and set aside. Add the lavender to the pan.
5. Put the egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk for 1 minute with an electric hand mixer until paler in color and a bit fluffy.
6. Put the pan with the cream on medium heat and bring almost to the boil. As soon as you see bubbles appear at the edges, remove the pan from heat.
7. Pour the hot cream into the beaten egg yolks, stirring with a wire whisk as you do so, and scraping out the seeds from the pan.
8. Set a fine sieve over a large wide jug or bowl and pour the hot mixture through to strain, encouraging any stray vanilla seeds through.
9. Using a big spoon, scoop off all the pale foam that is sitting on the top of the liquid (there will be several spoonfuls) and discard. Give the mixture a stir.
10. Pour in enough hot water (from the tap is fine) into the roasting tin to come about 1.5cm up the sides of the ramekins.
11. Pour the hot cream into the ramekins to the top (it’s easier to spoon in the last little bit).