What does an eggplant-based cake taste like? To find out, try Ernst Knam's version, which combines vegetables with chocolate to surprise your palate!
Photo by Francesco Mion
Ingredients
For the eggplant cream:
- 2 eggplants
- salt to taste
- 100ml oil
- 5g coriander seeds
- 100g brown sugar
- 3g gelatin
- mint to taste
For the raspberry jelly:
- 250g raspberry purée
- 3g chili pepper
- 50g caster sugar
- 2g agar agar
For the chocolate mousse:
- 250g 70% Mexican chocolate
- 150ml fresh cream
- 200g whipped cream
For the chocolate ganache:
- 150g 70% Mexican chocolate
- 250ml fresh cream
For the marquise:
- 60g egg yolks
- 20g icing sugar
- 150g egg whites
- 140g icing sugar
- 60g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 20g potato starch
- granulated sugar to taste
For the brittle:
- 100g puffed rice
- 100g 70% Mexican chocolate
For the eggplant cream:
- Cut the eggplants into cubes.
- Place in a pan and heat gently.
- Add the oil, chopped coriander, and brown sugar.
- Cook over low heat for about 30 minutes. It should become a very thick cream.
- Meanwhile, rehydrate the gelatin in cold water and, when softened, mix it with the hot eggplant.
- Set aside and, when cooled, flavor with a little chopped mint.
For the marquise:
- Beat the egg whites until stiff with 140 g of powdered sugar.
- Separately, beat the egg yolks with 20 g of powdered sugar.
- Add half of the beaten egg whites to the egg yolks.
- Sift and mix the dry ingredients together.
- Add to the egg mixture, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites.
- Pour onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Level the mixture to obtain a layer about 2-3 cm thick.
- Bake at 200°C for about 8-9 minutes.
- Once cooked, sprinkle with granulated sugar.
For the raspberry jelly:
- Mix all the ingredients and heat to 90 degrees for 1 minute.
- Pour into the mold and refrigerate until ready to use.
For the crunch:
- Heat the chocolate and mix it with the puffed rice.
- Spread the crunch and leave to harden.
For the chocolate mousse:
- Bring 150 ml of fresh cream to a boil.
- Remove from heat, add the chocolate, and stir until melted.
- Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture.
For the chocolate ganache:
- Bring the fresh cream to a boil and remove from heat, then add the chocolate.
- Stir until completely melted.
Assembly
- Layer the dessert.
- Place the marquise at the base.
- Continue with a layer of chocolate ganache, then chocolate mousse, crunchy, more chocolate mousse, raspberry jelly, marquise and, finally, eggplant cream.
- Freeze the cake.
- Glaze with neutral jelly.
- Decorate with halved raspberries.
