Pure chocolate is the star of this signature sorbet from the Picasso of pastry chefs, to be sprinkled to taste with a few salt crystals.
Pierre Hermé's Chocolate Sorbet Recipe
The dessert
To enjoy the taste of cocoa in purity on a summer evening, there is nothing better than a sorbet without eggs, milk, or cream, where the sole protagonist is the aromaticity of the bean. This is the opinion of Pierre Hermé, perhaps the greatest living pastry chef, who offers a recipe of great simplicity, all in subtraction, tailor-made for his fetish. And if "like water for chocolate" indicates an absolute incompatibility in the cinema, it is an exaltation, like that pursued by the best chefs.
I semifreddi by Pierre Hermé
A son and grandson of art (the Hermés have been pastry chefs in Alsace for four generations), this "Picasso of pastry" went through the teachings of Gaston Lenôtre before becoming the pastry chef at Fauchon from 1986 to 1996 and at Ladurée the following two years.
He has launched boutiques from Paris to Tokyo, but no one would stand up to him if MICHELIN Stars went to desserts. His strength, unquestionably, is a taste. As presentations become more and more essential, sugar becomes a mere enhancer. So why not sprinkle the chocolate with salt flower crystals in synergy with the bitterness?
The pairing
"Sorbet is already almost a drink; serving it at minus twenty degrees or so conditions the perceptions of any drink that follows or anticipates it. I would never pair it with a wine," Pierluigi Gorgoni reflects about pairing. "However, it is a challenge that I enjoy and do not shy away from. I immediately consider two elements: the sorbet's temperature and the chocolate's taste-olfactory intensity. I like to match a drink that does not cause thermal distortion on the palate. I do not tolerate hot and cold together. So, I would look for a pairing with a beverage that can be served frozen. At this point, it depends on the nature of the chocolate: if I wanted to enhance its acidity and toastiness, I would lean toward a Milkshake, with plausible variations on the milk and ice cream, which could be almond, being in the Mediterranean, or coconut, in a more exotic-tropical trace, and thoughtful openings on the alcoholic 'reinforcement,' which I would like to bring decisive aromas and that typical burning-refreshing, dehydrating effect, which would help support the structure of the sorbet."
"The alcohol should be a minimal portion. It could be the splendid Amaretto Adriatico in combination with almond milk and a sprinkling of lime peel. Instead, in combination with coconut milk, a brandy such as Peruvian Pisco or a white version of Rhum Agricole could be evocative."
Margarita
"I don't like the idea of chasing the roasted notes of chocolate with sensations that can evoke it (and eventually confuse it) the way drinks with coffee, wood-passed spirits, bark-based infusions, and dried berries would. I prefer to lift, sustain, and revive the complexity of chocolate. If this lift I wanted to project to an unprejudiced level of freshness, then I like to imagine a pure chocolate Sorbet, without sugar, paired with the classic Margarita (30 ml Cointreau, 50 ml White Tequila, 20 ml lime juice) served iced and with the rim of the glass salted as it should be."
Pierre Hermé's chocolate sorbet recipe
Photo from website Cuisine D´Aubery
Ingredients for 5 people
200 g of dark chocolate
150 g of sugar
450 g of water
Method
Combine the sugar, room-temperature water and broken dark chocolate in a saucepan. Simmer over low heat, turning with a rubber spatula, until it comes to a boil. At this point, continue to cook and wait 2 minutes.
Pour into a bowl and process with an immersion blender. Allow to cool by placing the bowl in a larger container filled with ice and water. While the mixture cools, keep stirring with the spatula.
Cream from cold according to the instructions of the machine on hand. Allow to rest for 3 hours in the freezer.
Photo Archive from Le Progrès-Joël Philippon
