Irish Moss Mint Pudding With Chocolate Crunch

Made with rich and velvety Butlers 88% dark chocolate, this minty moss pudding is easy to whip up, yet looks and tastes seriously impressive.

Prep time: 15 minutes (plus chilling time)

Cook time: 5 minutes

Serves: 4-6

For the mint pudding

2 tbsp gelatine powder

1 tbsp water

900ml milk

1 vanilla pod

30g SpinneysFOOD Fresh Mint

2 large eggs

2 tbsp SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

A few drops peppermint extract, optional

A few drops of green food colouring

For the chocolate crunch

110g Butlers 88% Dark Chocolate

90ml SpinneysFOOD Bottled Drinking Water

240g SpinneysFOOD Fine Grain White Sugar

To serve

5g SpinneysFOOD Fresh Mint

Process

1 Soak the gelatine powder in the water until spongey, approx. 5 minutes.

2 Place the milk, split vanilla pod and mint leaves in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer for 5 minutes.

3 Remove the pot from the heat, stir Photography, Food Styling & Recipes Katelyn Allegra; Assistant Food Stylist Cassandra Upton in the soaked gelatine.

4 Separate the yolks from the egg whites.

5 Whisk the egg yolks and 1 tbsp of sugar together then pour the hot milk through a sieve onto the egg yolk mixture, whisking continuously.

6 Add a few drops of the peppermint extract and green colouring.

7 Whisk the egg white and 1 tbsp of sugar until stiff peaks form then fold it into the egg yolk milk mixture. It will rise to make a fluffy top.

8 Pour the mixture into individual glasses, or serving dishes, and refrigerate until set.

9 To make the chocolate crunch, chop the chocolate into small pieces (roughly 1cm in size).

10 Prepare a silicone mat or sheet of baking paper.

11 Boil the water and sugar together over a medium heat in a pan to make a syrup (Add a lid on top. The water vapour will condensate on the lid and run down the side of the pan, which prevents crystallisation on the edges).

12 Swirl the pan to incorporate evenly. Once the syrup reaches 135°C (or begins to colour at the edges), immediately add all the chocolate in at once and stir quickly with a whisk. Make sure you whisk all the way to the edges of the pan as that’s where the sugar will likely clump up. In approx. 10 seconds the chocolate will transform into what looks like soil.

13 Spread the mixture out onto the baking paper and allow to cool completely.

14 Serve with the mint pudding and top with mint leaves