I love desserts in jars. They just feel precious for some reason. You open the jar, dig deep with your spoon, slide it out, let all that creaminess melt in your mouth and dream away… To help you with these dreams, I have flavoured one of the creams with tonka beans. They are not the easiest to find, but they add a nice flavour with a hint of amaretto. If you can’t find any, simply replace it with a vanilla pod. The two creams are complimented with the caramelised pears as well as the crushed hazelnuts. For your presentation, I recommend always closing the jars with the lid and, for some extra effect, add one or two edible flowers. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Difficulty
For 4 persons
Tonka cream
- 225 gr double cream
- 1 tonka bean, grated or 1 vanilla pod
- 3 egg yolks
- 30 gr sugar
- 2 sheets gelatine
Chocolate cream
- 125 gr double cream
- 30 gr sugar
- 150 gr dark chocolate
- 125 gr milk
- 5 egg yolks
Caramelised pears
- 2 ripe pears
- 35 gr sugar
Topping
- 100 gr hazel nuts
- 1 heaped teaspoon cacao powder
Directions
- For the tonka cream, soak the gelatine in cold water. Bring the cream to a boil, add the grated tonka bean or the split vanilla pod with the seeds scraped out and leave to infuse about 10 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy. Remove the cream from the heat and sieve. While whisking add half of the cream to egg mixture and whisk that into the rest of the cream. Return to the pan and cook on low heat until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon, constantly whisking. It’s very important to keep whisking otherwise you’ll end up with scrambled eggs. You can use a kitchen thermometer for the cream. Once it reaches 80ºC, it’s done. Squeeze the gelatine to remove any excess water and whisking it into the cream. Divide the cream over 4 clean jars and place them in the freezer.
- For the chocolate cream, chop the chocolate into small pieces. Bring the milk to a boil and pour over the chocolate. Whisk until you get a smooth chocolate sauce. Bring the cream to a boil. In a bowl whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy. Whisk half of the cream into the egg mixture and whisk that again with the rest of the cream. Return the pan to the heat and keep whisking until the cream thickens (like in the previous step). Remove from the heat and whisk in the chocolate sauce. Pour the cream on top of the firm tonka cream.
- Before you serve, take the jars at least half an hour beforehand. Peel the pears, remove the clock house and cut into small cubes. Melt the sugar in a pan with 2 tablespoons water. Once the sugar starts to brown, add the pears and toss to coat them with the caramel. In a blender, crush the hazelnuts with the cacao powder. Divide the pears over the jars and top with the hazelnuts. Cover and serve.
