Dark chocolate tart with Muscadel and prune ice cream and roasted plum
Cross cultural studies
Irish-born chef Lorraine Meaney comes up with a dessert to pair with quintessentially South African Muscadel. By Adele Stiehler.
With proteas as her favourite flower, Zebra and Giraffe her choice of music and buchu grissini sticks a regular feature in her bread repertoire, it is hard to believe that Lorraine Meaney is Irish born.
The passion with which she discusses South African wines adds to the conundrum. "There are some phenomenal wines in this country and as chefs we have to showcase them. Food and wine support each other." This relationship is clearly expressed in her pairing of Oranjerivier White Muscadel 2007 with an intricate dessert combining a dark chocolate tart, roasted plum, pistachio gerber macaroon and Muscadel and prune ice cream.
Meaney found several flavour attributes in the Oranjerivier example to play with. "The alcohol is quite overwhelming, but the floral and stone fruit aromas are lovely. It is a heavy wine, full bodied and not cloyingly sweet".
The anglaise-based ice-cream is a perfect canvas to highlight the Muscadel's aromas of blossom and fruit, while the chocolate tart echoes the body and strength of the wine and anchors the dessert. The roasted plum underlines the stone fruit flavour.
Although Irish born, Meaney grew up in South Africa and completed a three year chef apprenticeship through the Sandton Sun Intercontinental, where she found her niche in the pastry kitchen. After a stint in Europe, she returned to South Africa and worked at the Saxon boutique hotel before joining the Prue Leith Chefs Academy. She is currently vice principle and executive chef of Prue Leith's, the Academy restaurant.
The restaurant has been given a contemporary makeover, including towering protea murals, to better align it with what is produced in the kitchen - classics, often South African, with a modern presentation. Meaney's demeanor changes when she elaborates on the challenges of her specialist field. She explains that discipline and perseverance is needed to conquer the art of manipulating sugar, flour and chocolate. "The Roux brothers (Michel and Albert Roux of La Gavroche) often credit their pastry beginnings for the precision that they apply in all areas of the kitchen."
Dedicated to training and keeping abreast with trends, Meaney is off to France for a two month summer camp at the Alain Ducasse-owned Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Pâtisserie (ENSP). "I hope to bring back new ideas and advanced techniques."
Dark chocolate tart with
Muscadel and prune ice
cream and roasted plum
CHOCOLATE TART
(Fills six 10cm tart cases)
6 pâté sablé pastry cases, blind baked
200g dark chocolate
80g milk
1 egg
200ml cream
Beat the milk and the egg together and
bring the cream to the boil.
Add the chocolate to the cream and
remove from the heat, allow the chocolate
to melt.
Cool the chocolate mixture slightly then
temper it into the milk and egg mixture. Strain
and pour it into the baked pastry cases.
Place in the fridge to set.
ICE CREAM
400ml Oranjerivier White Muscadel
1 vanilla pod
1 prune, pitted and fi nely chopped
6 egg yolks
140g granulated sugar
150g butter
Bring the Muscadel, prune and split vanilla pod
to scalding point, then strain.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together
until light, and then temper the strained Muscadel
mixture into the egg yolks. Thicken over
low heat until it covers the back of a spoon,
then stir the butter in.
Churn the mixture in an ice cream machine until frozen.
ROASTED PLUM
½ plum per person, stone removed
Oranjerivier White Muscadel
Stock syrup
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Dip the plum halves in stock
syrup and sprinkle with Muscadel. Place on a roasting tray
and roast until they are soft and sweet.
