My famous Death by Chocolate Platter featuring spiced ras el hanout brownie and chocolate roof

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VANILLA ZULU’S FAMOUS DEATH BY CHOCOLATE ‘BLINGED’ BROWNIE

This is truly the dessert of love.  It will surely make your loved one know how you feel about them.  It’s dead easy too, may look like a million bucks but it’s easy, can be made in advance AND best of all it WILL get you a round of applause.

This recipe is inspired by the wonderful French Bistro I worked in based in Durban South Africa.  Le Troquet ran for 21 years before the wonderful owners retired.  I am still friends with them to this day, and all of us still keep in touch.  Back in those days the very famous Andrew Draper was the dessert chef, and this was created by him, I have simply blinged it up!

INGREDIENTS

  • 250g unsalted butter
  • 200g dark chocolate
  • 4 eggs (room temperature)
  • 360g castor sugar
  • 65 g plain or gluten free flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 5g Ras el hanout
  • 85g Dutch cocoa

 

METHOD

Melt the butter and chocolate together, either over a double boiler or in the microwave for about a minute. You will need to break the chocolate intopieces to help it melt easier. Once melted stir through until smooth and allow to cool slightly.

Beat eggs and castor sugar together with a whisk on your machine untilpale and fluffy.

Sift plain flour and baking powder, Ras el Hanout and Dutch cocoa powder together. Mix all of these together to make a smooth batter. Spoon into agreased baking dish and then it’s time to bling this brownie …

After blinging, bake in a moderate oven (180°C) for 20-25 minutes until firm on the outside but still very gooey on the inside…do not be temptedto overcook these, they are best when extremely gooey.

BLING OPTIONS
ROAST STRAWBERRY AND RAS EL HANOUT:

Simply top the batter with 1 cup sliced strawberries (the Ras el Hanout is already in the batter)

ROAST PEAR AND SPICE:

Add some more spices (like cinnamon and cloves and nutmeg) and then sliced fresh pear!

N O T E : 1g cinnamon, 1g nutmeg and 1g cloves can be substituted for the Ras el Hanout

To make the chocolate bark

Chocolate Bark on blue silicone sheet

Get your ‘bling’ ready for the chocolate bark.  I used flaked almonds, dried blueberries and edible petals, but the flaked almonds, or chopped up honey comb or that kind of bling will be just as good.  Even small choc buttons of a different type will look pretty.

Melt one cup compound/cooking chocolate of your choice for one minute and then stir through with a small spatula until the chocolate is super smooth.  Pour out onto a piece of greased greaseproof paper, or a silicone mat (put this on a tray so it’s easy to carry to the fridge or freezer), and ‘paint’ out nice an evenly to about an A4 size.  Make sure there are no thick or thin bits, aim to have this as even as possible.

White chocolate bark with fresh figs and petals

While the chocolate is still wet sprinkle with the bling and then let it set in the fridge or the freezer. Once set you can cut into squares and then they are ready to use to make your chocolate house!

To assemble

Place a square of the fabulous brownie onto a gorgeous plate.  Take about a tablespoon of fresh cream and make a sexy swirl on the plate.  Then add a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream on top of the brownie and the close or top with the two chocolate tiles, if they break just use the sexy broken chocolate shards.  Serve and enjoy your round of applause!

Wonderful!

Happy Cooking xxx

Chef Mel

 

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