Valrhona Milk Chocolate Sphere - Chef Recipe by Sam Moore

Ingredients

Raspberry Jelly

4 sheets gold leaf gelatine
500 ml boiron purée

Pliable Chocolate

1 sheet gold leaf gelatine
300 g valrohna milk chocolate
350 g cream
30 g water
30 g glucose
1 g salt
3 g agar agar

Hazelnut Ice Cream

80 g sugar
3 egg yolks
150 ml full fat milk
150 ml full fat cream
50 g hazelnut valrohna praline

Chocolate Soil

100 g caster sugar
100 g ground almonds
60 g plain flour
50 g cocoa powder
70 g butter

Method

Raspberry Jelly

Soak gelatine sheets in iced cold water. Bring purée up to the boil and add in soaked gelatine and whisk until dissolved. Set in flat tray 2cm by 2cm put in fridge and set. Once set cut into 2cm cubes.

Pliable Chocolate

Soak gelatine in iced water. Bring all ingredients up to boil add in gelatine and whisk until dissolved set in flat tray in fridge until needed.

Hazelnut Ice Cream

Whisk sugar and egg yolks together until pale and doubled in size. Bring milk, cream and hazelnut praline up to boil then pour over egg and sugar mixture. Put into a container and set in freezer. Once set, put ice cream in paco jet and blend. Then put back in freezer until needed.

Chocolate Soil

Mix all ingredients together, spread on flat tray and dehydrate for one hour.

Chocolate Shell

Chocolate is tempered to 45 degrees and then cooled down to
26 degrees, then re heated to 30 degrees and poured into two semi sphere moulds to form the chocolate shell.

Then slightly melt the rim of one sphere to make a clean and accurate circle using a plate to shave down any excess chocolate. The sphere is then turned upright and sticks easily to the plate.

Chocolate soil is then arranged around the base of the sphere as a representation of earth, and a number of dots using raspberry gel are placed precariously around the plate.

Assembly of the sphere (inside):
1. Add soil
2. Add raspberry liquid gel
3. Add hazelnut granola
4. Add dehydrated milk chocolate sponge
5. Add raspberry jelly
6. Add crushed hazelnuts
7. Add hazelnut praline ice cream

Then melt the edge of the top chocolate sphere, and match it to the bottom to seal the sphere. Using a blow torch to heat up a small metal pipe, melt a hole in the top of the sphere.

Liquid nitrogen is poured at the table, and then smashed open by the guests.

Credits: Flavours of Queensland is available for $80 from Smudge Eats Bookshop