Creamy Crunchy Chocolate Dessert

This excellent crunch can serve as a base for many varieties of desserts and petit fours. Use your imagination. The white chocolate can be replaced with milk or dark chocolate. The crumbs can be made of candied nuts, cashews, pecans, crispy rice, cornflakes and more. The recipe may seem complicated, but in fact it is made of ingredients that are readily available, and makes an incredible treat!

Directions

Prepare the Crunch

1. Using the mixer’s flat beater attachment (guitar hook), mix the margarine, sugar, flour and ground nuts into a crumbly mixture.

2. Transfer the crumbs to a baking pan lined with Gefen Parchment Paper and bake for 20 minutes in an oven heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring occasionally to ensure even baking.

3. Place the chopped chocolate, the crushed wafers, and the nougat into the bowl of the mixer. Add the baked crumbs to the bowl while they are very hot, and mix until a moist crumbly mixture is obtained.

4. Place the crunch at the bottom of a 10-inch cake pan (or inside three 6” rings that are sitting on a baking sheet covered with parchment) and refrigerate for an hour. You can remove the crunch from the pan at this point and use the pan/rings for the next step.

Prepare the Chocolate-Coffee Mousse

1. In a medium-sized saucepan boil the milk with cream and coffee.

2. Mix the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl.

3. Pour the hot milk mixture over the egg yolks, mix well, and return to the saucepan, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly.

4. Strain the hot mixture and pour it onto the chopped chocolate, and use an immersion blender to create a smooth cream.

5. Allow the mousse to cool slightly, then pour it into a 10-inch pan (or three six-inch round rings, used as above, with an additional parchment paper strip along the inside of the ring to make it easier to remove later), or silicone molds that are the same size as the rings used to prepare the crunch base, and transfer to the freezer for four hours.

6. Release and place on the prepared crunch.

Prepare The Cream

1. Combine the milk, cream, and coffee in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

2. Mix the egg yolks with the sugar.

3. Pour the hot cream mixture into the eggs. Mix well and keep cooking until the mixture thickens slightly.

4. Pour the hot mixture over the chopped chocolate, and use an immersion blender to create a smooth, shiny cream.

5. Refrigerate for a few hours until the cream hardens and is ready to put in a piping bag.

Prepare The Chocolate Belt

1. Place the acetate slide on parchment paper.

2. Spread the melted baking chocolate on the slide. Lift up the coated slide and place it on a new, clean piece of parchment paper. Note: Wait until the chocolate is dry, but it is important to make sure the chocolate is not too hard!

3. If you want a wider chocolate belt, leave it as is. If you want a narrow chocolate belt, cut the chocolate lengthwise into two strips.

4. Take the acetate slide and place it in a circular mold or ring in the diameter you need to make the belt (acetate side out). Freeze it for 10 minutes and carefully remove the acetate.

Assembly

1. Bring out the frozen coffee mousse and place it on the layer of crunch. Place the chocolate belt over the mousse and pipe coffee cream kisses around the inside of the belt. Decorate as desired.