Recipe: Devraj's Bittersweet Chocolate Pave With A Hazelnut Crust

A pave is an artfully-created layered dessert.

The layers can be cream or cake or syrup. The most famous type of pave is, of course, a tiramisu. Or the Brazilian pave made from digestive biscuits and a cream concocted from condensed milk.

Chef Devraj Pentam chooses to create a pave using layers of chocolate, nuts and whiskey. His Bittersweet Chocolate Pave With A Hazelnut Crust combines both milk chocolate and dark chocolate and whiskey gives it an extra kick.

Hazelnuts, though not native to India, are easily available. You could choose to use a nut of your choice or mixed nuts.

The pastry chef at the Novotel Hyderabad Airport, Chef Devraj has been in the culinary industry for the past 20 years, working in Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, Seychelles, and across major brands like the Taj, The Park and the Marriott, apart from spending more than nine years with Accor Group's Novotel.

Pastry, confectionery, and international bakery recipes are some of his areas of skill, and he is interested in innovation and adopting new technology.

Bittersweet Chocolate Pave With A Hazelnut Crust

Ingredients

• 300 gm bitter dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 400 ml cream
• 30 ml whiskey
• 30 ml coffee
• 200 gm milk chocolate, finely chopped
• 300 gm hazelnuts, toasted, finely chopped
• A loaf pan
• Parchment or waxed paper
  
• Cling wrap or cling film
• Cocoa powder or grated white chocolate, for decoration

Method

• Place the bitter dark chocolate into a bowl.
  In a saucepan, bring 250 ml of the cream to a boil over low heat and pour over the chocolate.
  Let it stand for 5 minutes and then stir until smooth.
  Add the whiskey and stir again.
  Keep aside.
• Put the milk chocolate into another bowl.
  In a saucepan, bring the remaining 150 ml cream to a boil over low heat and pour over the milk chocolate and stir until smooth.
  Keep aside.
• Prepare a loaf pan by lining the bottom with parchment or waxed paper.
  Cover the parchment with cling wrap, allowing at least 5 inches of overhang.
  Sprinkle the bottom of the loaf pan with the chopped hazelnuts.
  Pour the milk chocolate mixture on top of the nuts.
  Freeze the mixture for at least 45 minutes.
  Take out of the freezer and pour the bitter dark chocolate over the milk chocolate layer and cover with the overhanging cling wrap.
• Freeze until ready to serve, about 4 hours.
• Turn out the pave onto a serving platter, after removing the cling wrap and slice into 2-inch slices with a sharp knife dipped into hot water (please see the pic above).
  Sprinkle with cocoa or decorate with white chocolate if desired.

Chef Devraj's Note: The recipe can be made without whisky too.

• REDIFF FOOD