' BLACK TRUFFLE TARTUFO .'

Tartufo of Chocolate & Vanilla gelato incased in a White truffle oil infused Dark chocolate shell , Chocolate fudge sauce , Cookie crumble Dirt & Sand , Shaved Black summer truffle & bee pollen granules.

                This is a dessert of pure indulgence and is a perfect way to see out the last summer days as we enter our first days of autumn here in the land of oz. As the heat is still around here in Brisbane, we are destined to see a prolonged late summer and the overlap of seasonal offerings but this also means a perfect scenario for raising autumn seedlings, giving them a strong start and establishment before the temperatures drop and day light decreases hindering photosynthesis. Anyway enough in the garden and more about this little stella. This dish isn't about showcasing expensive ingredients rather a dish with a perfect flavour pairing. What I noticed the most with this sweet, earthy flavoured pairing is the truffle gives the dark chocolate flavour the ability to last on the palate for ever, kind of like a fixative in soap holds the fragrance of a soap, truffle fixes the taste of the dark chocolate to the palate.

                This plate was fairly simple to put together, having said that I cheated with the gelato and opted for a store bought split flavoured gelato. This removed the a huge amount of time from the overall planning but in hindsight, next time I do this dish I intend to make my own vanilla flavoured gelato. As I found the store bought version didn't stand up to the plating and had melted inside the shell. With making my own I can adjust the gums and thickeners to my needs and produce a more durable gelato. The preparation of this dish started with the cookie crumbles, the first being the 'sand' or shortbread crumble of which I made a simple butter, flour and sugar dough, rolling out to 3-4 mm thick and cutting into cookie shapes before being baked in a 170 deg. oven for 15 minutes until golden in colour, the tray was then removed from the oven and allowed to cool before the cookies were pulverised to a crumb consistency. For the 'dirt' crumble I did a house-made Oreo cookie dough by mixing flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, a little baking soda, salt and sugar with an egg and unsalted butter, this was then rolled out to 3-4 mm thick, cut into cookie rounds and baked at 180-190 deg.c for 10 minutes before being removed and allowed to cool. I then placed the cookies in to a plastic bag and pulverised them to a crumb consistency. The trick to a good crumble is to shape the dough into cookies before baking rather than cooking as a flat sheet of dough, the biscuit shape is what gives a hardened crumb. I made the tartufo ( truffle ) next by melting some good quality ( 70% ) dark chocolate and adding to this a little white summer truffle oil. Using a melon baller I scooped balls of the gelato and with the truffle infused chocolate I coated the gelato balls, working fast to get them onto a parchment lined tray and into the freezer to set. While the tartufo were setting a began making the fudge sauce by bringing some cream, golden syrup, brown sugar, cocoa powder, salt and dark chocolate to the boil over a medium heat in a saucepan. I then reduced the heat to a low simmer and while stirring I cooked the fudge sauce out for about 5 minutes before removing from the stove and adding unsalted butter, vanilla extract and some more dark chocolate. This was then stirred until smooth in consistency and set aside to cool. The fudge sauce was then reheated in the microwave for 30 seconds to serve. And for the finishing touches I carefully shaved slithers of black summer truffle to accompany and garnished the tartufo with some delicate bee pollen granules.

' INCA TRUFFLES .'

Inca Truffles (clockwise from front left)- Inca berry & milk chocolate , Pure cacao & kola nut , 85% Dark chocolate & bee pollen , White chocolate & pistachio nut.

            I have a deep passion for peru and especially the times of the Incas, Their complex management of crops, the growing, storage and distribution were systems well before their time. They had an ability to store large amounts of crops (maize, quinoa and potatoes) mainly in storage facilities which took 5 years in the making, these were built throughout their empire. The crops were then distributed from the centre of the city. Crops and meat were dried to ensure there was enough food all year round. They were different from the mayans and aztecs as they were the first of their kind to farm animals (lama, alpacas and guinea pig) to eat. The incas innovative growing systems of terraced garden beds gave them micro climates within the one area allowing themselves to grow crops of a broad spectrum almost all year round. Many of their foods introduced to the new world by the Spaniards have been the foods of our tables for many centuries, for example the humble potato and more recently quinoa. To make these truffles I've used some of the foods that were the staple diet of the incas including the Peruvian ground cherry ( inca berries), cacao (chocolate), kola nut and pistachio nuts. These truffles don't have the delicate mouth feels of your more modern day chocolatiers, but a more natural taste and feel of the raw ingredients used to make them.                                                                                                          
              To make these truffles I first prepared all the ingredients starting by grinding separately pistachio nuts and inca berries in a coffee grinder and set aside to be used as coatings. Next I placed in a blender sultanas, pistachio, apricots, inca berries, honey, salt and vanilla essence and blended to form a paste. This was then divided into portions and rolled in to balls using the palms of my hands, the balls were then dipped in melted milk chocolate and then rolled in the ground inca berries before being placed on a tray and into the fridge to harden. In a small saucepan I brought full cream to a gentle boil, this was then divided into two bowls. In one bowl I mixed the cream with melted white chocolate and in the other bowl I mixed the cream with melted 85% dark chocolate. Both bowls of genache were then placed into the fridge to harden before being rolled into balls. The white chocolate balls were then rolled in the ground pistachio nuts and the dark chocolate genache balls were dipped in melted 85% dark chocolate and topped with bee pollen. The last truffle was made from homemade chocolate using pure 100% peruvian cacao, melted cocoa butter, sugar and a little soy lecithin to emulsify. These were mixed into a paste and rolled into balls before being placed in the fridge to set. Once set I rolled the balls of cacao in a mix of cocoa powder and ground kola nuts. Kola nuts are high in caffeine and were once used in the original recipe for coca cola, it can be very hard to obtain, my kola nut was sourced from a herbal shop.                                                                                                                                          

Inca berry and milk chocolate.

85% Dark chocolate and bee pollen.

Pure peruvian cacao and kola nut.

White chocolate and pistachio nut.