Adele Brynne
“Think of this as an inverted Polly Waffle with the marshmallow on the outside and the chocolate filling on the inside,” says Alistair Wise of Hobart’s Sweet Envy. “During Dark Mofo in collaboration with Franca Zingler and Asher Gilding from Port Cygnet Catering Co and Sabine Spindler, the question was posed: would Ryan Gosling eat this bar, or refuse to, like he does cereal. It’s a weird joke, but the name stuck.”
Ingredients
Shortbread slice
Whipped ganache
Swiss meringue
Method
1.For shortbread slice, combine sugar, flour and cocoa in a bowl. Add butter and rub in with your fingers to make a smooth paste. Pat dough into a 1.5cm-thick, 12cm-long slab. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, then slice lengthways into 2mm thick slices and refrigerate until required.
2.Preheat oven to 180°C and grease and lightly flour two oven trays. To make a choux pastry, bring milk, butter, sugar, 100ml water and 1/2 tsp salt to the boil in a saucepan. Add flour and
stir vigorously until the mixture comes away from the sides. Transfer to an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until steam stops rising. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, until glossy.
3.Spoon choux pastry into a piping bag fitted with a 12mm plain nozzle and pipe 12cm lengths on a baking tray. Top each with a chilled shortbread slice (you may have some slices remaining; they can be baked as biscuits) and bake until crisp and golden brown (25-30 minutes). Cool on a wire rack.
4.For whipped ganache, place chocolate in a heatproof bowl and bring cream to the boil in a saucepan. Pour hot cream over chocolate, stir occasionally to melt, cool briefly, then transfer to an electric mixer and beat until light and fluffy. If it doesn’t whip, then refrigerate for a few minutes to cool (do not chill as it will set) and try whipping again. Spoon ganache into a piping bag with a 5mm plain nozzle, pierce a hole in the base of each éclair with a paring knife and fill with ganache.
5.For Swiss meringue, add eggwhite and sugar to a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water. Warm, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot to the touch. Pour into an electric mixer and whisk at high speed until stiff and shiny (10-15 minutes). Transfer to a disposable piping bag and cut off the tip on an angle (2cm from the tip on one side, 5cm from the tip on the other).
6.To serve, pipe meringue from side to side on each éclair to create a wave shape (the larger opening of the piping bag should be facing upwards), then toast meringue with a blowtorch (or secure on sticks and toast over a campfire).
