Paul A. Young, with Great British Chefs and Cordon Bleu teaches Decanter's Jessica Charlton and Patrick Grabham how to make this show stopping dessert.

Champagne rhubarb, Earl Grey tea ganache, rose and white chocolate

This is a show stopping dessert, so easy to prepare and dress yet it looks like hours and hours of work. It’s the prefect winter to spring dinner party dessert.

Scroll down to see the full recipe.

With the marking of the 10th anniversary of Paul A. Young Chocolates first shop it seemed fitting to join a group of chocolate enthusiasts for an evening masterclass to help celebrate the occasion.

Paul A. Young, renowned and innovative chocolatier, with the help of Le Cordon Bleu’s Master Chef Julie Walsh, led a fun and inspiring masterclass to encourage us to expand our ideas when cooking with chocolate.

First, Paul demonstrated how to make this seasonal dessert and then it was up to us to try and recreate what we had just seen. Although the dessert looked undeniably impressive and elegant it was easy to see how Paul’s ethos of simplicity has come about. Cooking with chocolate doesn’t have to be complicated or tough as long as the chocolate you start off with is good quailty. The key with chocolate, Paul explained, is simplicity.

While the rhubarb was softening in the oven we were able to taste Paul’s delicious chocolates. Grapefruit marmalade, calamansi juice and martini to name just a few of the ground-breaking flavours that have made him so legendary.

Wine Match

Finally to the tasting! The dessert was beautifully paired with Moscato d’Asti Alasia, Piemonte, Italy 2014. Carefully chosen by Matthieu Longuère MS, this sparkling sweet wine worked beautifully with the rhubarb and Earl Grey ganache to give a fresh sweetness that cleansed the palette.

The atmosphere was relaxed and cheerful, perfectly reflecting Paul’s philosophy of chocolate; that life is boring and dull without it!

Recipe

Serves 4

Time: 1 hour, plus 2 hours setting time for the ganache

Ingredients

Rhubarb

• 500g Wakefield champagne rhubarb cut into 3 inch (7.5cm) lengths
• 200g Unrefined golden caster sugar
• 50mls Vodka

Earl Grey tea ganache

• 200mls Very strong Earl Grey tea
• 400g 64 to 66% cocoa solids Valrhona dark chocolate
• 50g Unrefined golden caster sugar

Decoration

• 10g Dried edible rose petals
• 100g White chocolate bar – leave whole
• Gold leaf – optional

Method

1. For the ganache, bring the Earl Grey tea and sugar to the simmer, pour onto the chocolate and whisk well until smooth and glossy.  Pour the ganache into a 6 inch (15cm) square baking tray lined with a double layer of cling film. Refrigerate until fully set. Approx 2 hours.
2. For the rhubarb, place the perfectly cut rhubarb onto a baking dish, sprinkle with the sugar and vodka. Cover with foil and braise for 20 minutes at 175˚C. Take out of the oven and allow to cool while still covered.
3. Once cold, carefully lift out the rhubarb onto 4 layers of kitchen towel to dry out slightly.  Pour the cooking liquor into a saucepan and reduce slightly to a light vibrant pink syrup.
4. Cut the white chocolate bar with a large knife to create very thin shards and set aside. Place 7 to 8 pieces of rhubarb on to a flat white round plate.
5. Take the ganache from the fridge and carefully turn out onto parchment paper. Remove the cling film and cut the ganache with a hot knife to the same size as the rhubarb rectangle.
6. Cover the top of the ganache rectangle with white chocolate shards. Place the ganache rectangle gently onto the rhubarb with a palette knife. Now place rose petals onto the white chocolate decoration.
7. Spoon the vibrant pink liquor around the dessert and finish with small pieces of gold leaf between the rose petals.

Recipe courtesy of Paul A. Young. Visit Great British Chefs for more chocolate recipes.