Violet Crumble - Chef Recipe by Ben Shewry

Ingredients

Violet sorbet

350mL milk
50g caster (superfine) sugar
100g liquid glucose
100g candied violets
50g unsprayed fresh violet petals
30mL lemon juice
500g sour cream

Frozen chocolate

320mL water
90mL pouring (single) cream (35% fat content)
25g caster (superfine) sugar
120g ethically produced dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)*, chopped
60g alted butter, chopped

Method

Violet sorbet:

In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, sugar and glucose to a simmer. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. Place in an upright blender, add the candied and fresh violets, then blend until smooth.

Pass through a fine sieve.

Whisk the lemon juice into the sour cream, then whisk in the violet mixture until smooth.

Pour into a Pacojet* canister and place in the blast freezer* at -25 C (-13 F) for 6 hours or until completely frozen.

Twenty minutes before serving, churn the frozen sorbet in the Pacojet, then return to the blast freezer at -18 C (0 F) to firm up a little.

Frozen chocolate:

Set the blast freezer* to -40 C (-40 F).

In a small saucepan, heat the water, cream and sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and check the temperature. When it has reached 49 °C (120 F), add the chocolate and butter and whisk until smooth.

While still hot, pour into a Pacojet* canister and place in the blast freezer for 5 hours or until the contents are frozen solid.

When ready to serve, churn the frozen chocolate in the Pacojet, one portion at a time. Remove the churned portion from the canister and store in an airtight container in the freezer while you churn the next portion. Store in the freezer until needed.

Please note: while I’m happy to punish the Pacojet at Attica in the name of a tasty dessert, freezing liquids to -40 C and then churning them is probably not what Pacojet had in mind when they invented the machine.

This process is exceptionally hard on it. In fact, initially the machine will scream as it tries to break through the hard exterior crust of the frozen chocolate. Attempt this in your machines at your own peril! This method is, however, necessary to achieve the correct dry texture.

Recipe provided by Attica

Photo Credits: 'Origin: The Food of Ben Shewry' Published by Murdoch Books