White Chocolate Crémeux & Caramelised Rice Pudding

What is a Chocolate Crémeux? 

Chocolate crémeux is a smooth, dense pastry cream. You could compare it to a velvet-like creamy custard with a rich, deep and intense chocolate flavour. Firm enough to hold its shape in a tart when sliced or to be used as a filling for macarons and layered desserts. With its melt in the mouth texture, as soon as you take a bite, It is even perfect just served on it’s own, in a glass.

Making the chocolate crémeux couldn’t be easier. What you need are your basic ingredients to make a simple creme anglaise, egg yolks, sugar, milk and cream, and a chocolate of your choice.
I used this delicious Cashew Caramelised White Chocolate (interesting flavour, isn’t? ) from Terre de Sienne by Chef and Owner Audrey Dufay.

This chocolate as a really unique taste, perfect for caramel lovers and find the perfect paring with caramelised rice pudding cubes and fresh orange. -The perfect combination of caramel cashew and orange. Fresh, creamy and nutty!

Chocolate Crémeux
Ingredients:
20g Egg Yolks
20g Caster Sugar
110g Milk
50g Double Cream
150g Caramelised white Chocolate and Cashew
1 tsp Agar agar 

Put the finely chopped chocolate into a large bowl. Put the egg yolks, caster sugar and agar into a separate large bowl and whisk until light. Gently heat the milk in a pan until just below a simmer, then pour over the egg while whisking. Pour back into the pan and heat gently, stirring constantly until the custard coats the back of a spoon. Pour over the chopped chocolate, leave for 2 minutes then stir until the chocolate is fully melted. Pour into a bowl, cover the surface with clingfilm to stop a skin forming and chill for a few hours until set.

Rice puddings cubes
Ingredients: 
200g Pudding Rice 
600ml Milk
40g Caster Sugar
1/2 Vanilla pod
20g Butter
Pinch of salt

Place the rice, milk and sugar in a non-stick saucepan and mix to combine. Split the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape the seeds into the pan.
Place over a medium heat and bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and cook gently until all of the the milk has been absorbed. This will take around 30 minutes
Check that the rice is cooked – it should be completely soft with no bite. If it isn't ready, add a little more milk and cook for a few more minutes
Place in a square or rectangular container, and let set then freeze.
Once the rice pudding is frozen then cut small cubes of 2.5/ 3 cm.

Coat the cubes with sugar then use a blow torch and caramelise the sides.

Plating:
Orange segments
Tasted cashews
Reduced orange juice 

Place a big scoop of chocolate crémeux on the sai of the plate, then with the back of the spoon spread the crémeux.
Place three cubes of rice pudding, and decorate the plate with small pieces of orange segments, toasted cashews, baby basil leaves and some chopped caramelised white chocolate.
Complete the dessert with a spoon of orange juice.