Dani Venn's Dessert Recipe in Stemless RED+
Dani Venn is a self-taught cook, most widely known for her time on Masterchef Australia 2011 where she was a finalist, and most recently in 2020 for Masterchef Back to Win.
We asked Dani for her favourite winter dessert recipe, something we could serve up in our Plumm Stemless RED+ glasses. The result in her words, “A perfectly indulgent way to end a winter dinner party at home with friends”.
Crème Fraiche Ice Cream with Whisky Salted Caramel, Dark Chocolate, Pear & Honeycomb
Recipe by Dani Venn
Prep Time: 60 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes plus chilling and setting
Serves: 8
Ingredients
Whisky Salted Caramel
1 cup caster sugar
½ cup water
100g unsalted butter, diced
¼ cup good quality whisky (we suggest @starwardwhisky)
1 teaspoon salt flakes
Dark Chocolate Discs
200g good quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
Crème Fraiche Ice Cream
250ml full cream milk
400ml thickened cream
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
6 free range egg yolks
¾ cup raw caster sugar
200g good quality crème fraiche
Honecomb
1 ½ cups caster sugar
½ cup liquid glucose
2 teaspoons bi-carb soda
Cinnamon Poached Pears
4 ripe beurre bosc pears, peeled, small dice
½ stick cinnamon or ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon raw caster sugar
½ cup verjuice or water
Method
Crème Fraiche Ice Cream
To make crème fraiche ice cream, place milk, cream and vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring mix to simmering point, but don’t allow mixture to boil.
Place egg yolks and sugar in a large mixing bowl and whisk well until thick and creamy for about 5 minutes. When milk mixture is hot, add half the amount of hot milk mixture to the egg yolks and whisk well to combine. Add remaining milk mixture into the egg yolks and pour this mixture back into the saucepan over low heat. Stir well using a rubber spatula to ensure all the sides of the pan are being incorporated. Stir continuously for about 5 – 10 minutes, until mixture has thickened to a thin custard consistency.
To test if the ice cream is ready, dip in a wooden spoon. If you can draw a line with your finger across the spoon and hold it up and the line remains, it’s ready.
Pour mixture into a mixing bowl, add crème fraiche and whisk to combine. Place bowl on top of an ice bath and whisk until the custard has cooled. Alternatively place cling film on the surface of the custard and place in the fridge to chill completely. When chilled, churn mixture in an ice cream machine until thick and creamy.
To store, scoop ice cream out of ice cream machine into a storage container and keep in the freezer.
Honeycomb
Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place medium sized extra clean saucepan over low – medium heat. Add sugar, glucose and water and stir gently to combine so that the sugar dissolves into the water. Use a pastry brush dipped in water to remove any sugar residue from the side of the pan that forms during the cooking process.
Allow mixture to come to the boil and cook until sugar has become a light golden colour. Gently swirl the pan at this point, turn off the heat, add bi-carb soda and whisk in so that it incorporates into the honeycomb. Mixture will froth and bubble, then pour into a lined baking tray and allow to cool completely for about 45 minutes, until breaking or chopping into small pieces.
Dark Chocolate Discs
Either use a double boiler if you have one, or alternatively, place a metal or glass bowl on top of a saucepan of gently simmering water, add 2/3rds of the amount of chocolate and allow to melt gently stirring. When fully melted, remove from heat and stir in remaining chocolate until it has melted.
Place baking paper or silicone mat onto bench and pour on chocolate. Smooth evenly with a spatula to create a thin layer of chocolate. Chocolate should firm up after about 10 minutes. Use the rim of Plumm RED+ wine glass and make rounds in the chocolate. When chocolate has firmed up use a sharp paring knife to cut out the rounds, ensuring that the rounds are slightly bigger than the rim of the glass so that they sit comfortably on top of the glass when serving.
Whisky Salted Caramel
Place a medium sized extra clean saucepan over low – medium heat, add sugar and water and stir gently to combine so that the sugar dissolves into the water. Use a pastry brush dipped in water to remove any sugar residue from the side of the pan that forms during the cooking process.
Allow mixture to come to the boil and cook until sugar has become a deep golden colour. Gently swirl the pan at this point, add butter and whisk well to combine, add whisky and stir in. Mixture should start to thicken as it cools slightly, if it appears too runny, place over low – medium heat and cook for a further few minutes.
Serve caramel warm so that it is an oozy gooey consistency rather than too runny.
Poached Cinnamon Pears
Place pears, cinnamon, sugar, verjuice or water in a medium sized saucepan bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 – 10 minutes, until softened but still firm. Drain pears and store at room temperature until ready to serve.
To assemble dessert, place diced pear and crushed honeycomb in base of Plumm Stemless RED+ glass top with a scoop of crème fraiche ice cream and sprinkle with extra honeycomb. Place chocolate disc on top of the rim of the glass and pour warm whisky caramel into a serving jug. Serve your guests a glass each and pour a few tablespoons of caramel on top of the chocolate disc at the table. The caramel should melt and create an “ooh ahh” moment for your guests!
Tips
1. Honeycomb is best made with fresh bi-carb soda that has just opened.
2. If chocolate discs are not firming up at room temperature, place in the fridge to firm up.
