Coconut, spiced cherries and dark chocolate

Name: Coconut, spiced cherries and dark chocolate
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: Serves 6

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for coconut, spiced cherries and dark chocolate by Terre restaurant.

Jan 04, 2015 1:00pm

Serves 6
1 hr preparation
45 mins cooking plus infusing, cooling and freezing

"I love Terre's spiced cherries and creamy coconut combo. Would you please publish the recipe?"
Michelle West, Albert Park, Vic

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Ingredients

To serve: toasted coconut flakes

Coconut sorbet

400 ml coconut milk
155 gm caster sugar
120 ml pouring cream
65 gm liquid glucose
¾ gold-strength gelatine leaf, softened in cold water for 5 minutes

Chocolate ganache

175 gm caster sugar
125 ml (½ cup) pouring cream
55 gm Dutch-process cocoa powder, sieved
3 gold-strength gelatine leaves, softened in cold water for 5 minutes
40 gm dark chocolate (60-66% cocoa solids), finely chopped
40 ml crème de cacao

Spiced cherries

150 gm caster sugar
150 ml pinot noir
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
Finely grated rind of 1 orange
2 cinnamon quills
8 cloves
500 gm pitted cherries (or 600gm unpitted)

Coconut cake

200 gm butter, softened
250 gm caster sugar
150 gm almond meal
100 gm desiccated coconut
6 eggs
35 gm (¼ cup) plain flour, sieved, plus extra for dusting

Method

Main

1
For sorbet, bring coconut milk, sugar, cream, glucose and 290ml water to the boil in a saucepan, stir to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat, squeeze excess water from gelatine and whisk into cream mixture until dissolved, then refrigerate overnight. Churn in an ice-cream machine, then freeze until required. Makes 750ml.
2
For chocolate ganache, bring sugar and 150ml water to the boil in a small saucepan over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and whisk in cream and cocoa, bring back to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer until glossy (4-6 minutes). Remove from heat, squeeze excess water from gelatine, then add to cream mixture and whisk until dissolved. Whisk in chocolate and crème de cacao to combine, strain through a fine sieve and refrigerate to chill completely. Ganache will keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.
3
For spiced cherries, bring ingredients, except cherries, to the boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat, cover with plastic wrap and infuse for 10 minutes. Strain, add cherries and simmer
over low-medium heat until a thick syrup forms (10-15 minutes). Refrigerate until chilled.
4
For coconut cake, preheat oven to 170C. Grease and line the base of a 15cm x 30cm cake tin and dust lightly with flour. Beat butter and sugar in an electric mixer until pale (5-7 minutes), add almond meal and coconut and beat well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition and scraping down sides of bowl, then fold in flour. Pour mixture into tin and bake until golden and a skewer inserted withdraws clean (25-30 minutes). Cool in tin for 10 minutes then cool on a wire rack. Cut into 1.5cm squares and store in airtight container. Coconut cake is best eaten on the day of making.
5
To serve, spread ganache onto plates and layer with coconut cake, cherries and syrup, coconut sorbet and toasted coconut.