Smoked Brandy Chocolate Torte with a Crackling Cumin Spiced Base
(can be vegan – see bottom of page)

This Torte is incredibly rich and indulgent with beautiful deep flavours. But it’s also really quick and easy to make. The Smoked Brandy adds flavour that compliments the chocolate and mimics its own smoky notes, whilst the cumin provides subtle heat to the dessert and an earthy quality that works really well here. Then finally the pop rocks in the base lighten the dessert and add an element of fun with their crackling, popping in the mouth sensation

First off prepare your Smoked Brandy – This uses a really cool, new, super fast technique. See the Bottom of the page for the recipe and technique or click here
(If you don’t have the equipment to make this you can use plain brandy but the flavour profile will be different and I’ve put a link below to where you can affordably buy the equipment to perform this super quick technique)

Now make the base
150g Digestive Biscuits
70g Softened Butter
One Tablespoon Honey
Two Tablespoons of Neutral Flavoured Pop Rocks
One Tablespoon finely ground toasted cumin seeds

Blitz the digestives to fine a breadcrumb consistency and pop them in a bowl along with the ground cumin. Now mix in the softened butter and syrup. Work this mix briefly until it begins to stick together. Finally gently mix in the pop rocks.

Gently press the base mix into the bottom of a cake tin and smooth down with the back of a spoon.
The Smoked Brandy Chocolate Mix

300g Dark Chocolate (Good quality 70% plus cocoa solids dark chocolate is a must for this dessert)
150ml Single Cream
Seeds of one Vanilla Pod
Three Tablespoons Maple Syrup (or you could use a simple syrup)
Eight Tablespoons of your Smoked Brandy (see below or click here)

Place the chocolate and vanilla seeds in a metal or glass bowl above a pan of water just off the boil. Once the chocolate is melted stir in the cream, then the Smoked Brandy and finally the Syrup. Stir together until you get a smooth glossy mix. Pour onto the base and smooth the top flat. Chill for at least four hours in the fridge but ideally overnight.

Smoked Brandy Recipe and Technique
Ingredients -
200ml Brandy
Applewood smoking chips

Equipment –
Polyscience Smoking Gun (Pictured Below)
Mosa Cream Whipper (Pictured Below)
Two 8gm Nitrous Oxide Cartridges

Pour the brandy into your cream whipper. Now using the smoking gun fill the whpper with applewood smoke via the rubber tube connected to the smoking gun and quickly screw on the cream whipper top. Now you’re ready to use a fast infusion technique to get that smoky flavour into the brandy. Charge the cream whipper with two 8gm Nitrous Oxide cartridges. Shake the whipper for 30 seconds then let it rest for a further 30 seconds. Now slowly vent out the gas with the whipper in the upright position. And there you go you now have smoked brandy. This basic fast infusion technique (which I’ve written about elsewhere) was developed by Dave Arnold, but I don’t think anyone has used it to infuse smoke into alcohol in this way before. So this may well be a new technique, or at least a new variation.



Cream Whipper and Smoking Gun. Available from

www.Modernist-Chef.com


For a Vegan version
Simply replace the butter with vegan margarine
Replace honey with maple syrup
Replace the cream with soy cream
And double-check your dark chocolate and biscuits are vegan.
This recipe works great as a vegan version, I’ve tried doing it this way and it comes out perfect.