Dark Chocolate Delice with Sour Cherry Sorbet, Olive Oil and Sea Salt

⏱ 180 min · Serves 8

A restaurant-plate finale: a silky set chocolate delice on a crisp cocoa sablé base, cut into sharp slabs and glossed with a peppery olive oil, sharpened by a scarlet sour cherry sorbet. The salt makes the chocolate hum; the oil makes it linger.

Per serving: 690 kcal · 7.5g protein · 62.0g carbs · 46.0g fat

Ingredients

• For the cherry sorbet:
• 600g frozen sour or dark cherries
• 150g caster sugar
• 150ml water
• 1 tbsp liquid glucose (optional, for scoopability)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp kirsch (optional)
• For the cocoa sablé base:
• 110g plain flour
• 20g cocoa powder
• 40g icing sugar
• 75g cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1 egg yolk
• Pinch of fine salt
• For the delice:
• 300g dark chocolate (66–70%), finely chopped
• 300ml double cream
• 150ml whole milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 40g caster sugar
• 20g unsalted butter, softened
• To finish:
• 4 tbsp good peppery extra virgin olive oil
• Flaky sea salt
• Fresh cherries, halved (optional)

Method

1. Make the sorbet: bring sugar, water and glucose to a simmer until dissolved. Add the frozen cherries and cook 5 minutes until soft. Blitz until very smooth, then push through a sieve. Stir in lemon juice and kirsch, chill completely.
2. Churn the cherry purée in an ice cream machine until thick, then freeze 2 hours. No machine? Freeze in a shallow tray, forking through every 30 minutes for 3 hours.
3. Make the sablé: rub butter into flour, cocoa, icing sugar and salt to fine crumbs, then bring together with the yolk. Press into a disc, chill 20 minutes.
4. Roll the dough between baking paper to fit a 20cm square tin lined with baking paper. Lay it in, prick lightly and bake at 170C fan for 15 minutes. Cool in the tin.
5. For the delice, heat the cream and milk to just below the boil. Whisk yolks and sugar, pour over the hot cream whisking, then return to the pan and cook gently to 82C, stirring, until it coats the back of a spoon.
6. Pour the hot custard through a sieve onto the chopped chocolate. Wait 1 minute, then stir from the centre out to a glossy emulsion. Beat in the soft butter.
7. Pour over the cooled base, tap out bubbles, and chill at least 3 hours until firmly set.
8. Lift out and trim the edges with a hot, dry knife, then cut into 8 clean rectangles, wiping the blade between cuts.
9. Plate each slab, spoon over olive oil, scatter flaky salt, and add a quenelle of cherry sorbet alongside with a few fresh cherries. Serve immediately.