Mixed Nuts and Chocolate Marquise
This is one of those super tasty chocolate deliriums that you can’t resist, just can’t believe how tasty it was, but wish you never ate it.
Even on passover after brushing the matzah crumbs from the table cloth, a meal isn’t complete without its dolce (sweet). In days gone by, traditional sweets were fresh fruit, dates, figs, maybe some nuts with honey or a bad cake, but with more recent trade and commerce, chocolate has become available to the world and alleviated the dearth of tasty ingredients available to those Kosher-observant for Passover amongst us.
The dessert at Seder night has to be a good one, as the traditional Passover Seder (feast) is usually a drawn out and some times tedious affair consisting of the retelling of the story of the “great escape”, badgering the bored kids to behave, drinking a compulsory four glasses of wine and eating less than tasty food while slouching or reclining. One needs a good pick me up at the end of it all, something memorable to entice you back to the Seder table for the coming year.
The chocolate marquise comes in many shapes and forms, traditionally made from dark chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs and cream. Its origins are in Venezuela, although I am sure that after twenty years of socialism under Chavez and Maduro, its availability there is pretty scarce.
My recipe is more of a fudgy version, without the eggs and substituting hazelnut butter for the cream. I top off this marquise with a nice glaze of jelly cocoa, not necessary for the taste, but more for presentation and charm. If you don’t like the shiny jelly topping you can do a ganache or simply go au naturel and smooth the top at the time of making using baking paper and a metal spatula.
Mixed Nuts and Chocolate Marquise . The BFD
Ingredients:
“A” 1st layer
- Butter (or margarine) x 450 gram
- Honey x 360 gram
- Sugar x 210 gram
- Cocoa x 72 gram
- Hazelnut butter x 270 gram
- Walnut x 600 gram
- Pecan x 150 gram
- Pistachio x 150 gram
- Cashew x 90 gram
- Chinese pecan (sweetened) x 60 gram
Ingredients:
“B” 2nd layer
- Bitter dark chocolate x 240 gram
- White milk or Parve chocolate x 240 gram
- Hazelnut butter x 48 gram
Method:
Place ingredients “A” – butter (or margarine), honey, sugar, sifted cocoa powder – in a pot. On medium-low heat bring to a boil, remove from heat and mix in hazelnut butter. In an aluminium oven tray, line bottom with baking paper and tip the mixed nuts in, making them level. Pour mixture “A” on top of the nuts, place baking paper on top and compact down while ensuring it remains level. Remove baking paper.
Place dark and milk chocolate from ingredients “B” in bowl on bain-marie. When melted, fold in hazelnut butter, then while still hot, pour over the nut and cocoa mixture. Using a metal spatula, level. Move to freezer to harden.
Jelly Cocoa Topping (optional)
Ingredients:
- Water x 200 gram
- Sugar x 270 gram
- Cocoa x 90 gram
- Gelatine x 10 gram
- Water x 30 gram
- Cream x 160 gram
Method:
With gelatine you have to first hydrate/activate it by first adding cold water to the dry gelatine, mix and leave to set. Then once set, in a bowl on a bain-marie let it melt into liquid form, before adding to the hot or warm mixture.
Mix water and sugar, bring to boil, turn heat off, add cocoa powder, mix well with a whisk. Pour in the melted gelatine while mixing, then add the cream.
Leave to sit for 10 minutes, then pour evenly over the top of the cold marquise. You will only use about two-thirds of the jelly cocoa, the rest can be frozen and used another time.
Next week: Sephardi fish patties in tomato sauce. Another local Mediterranean recipe for your cook book: easy, tasty and well worth a go.
Happy Passover.
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