Bacon brioche
(4 of 5)
Chocolate Crème with Caramelized Banana, Bacon and Burnt Milk Ice Cream
Recipe courtesy of Chef Ramon Perez of Los Angeles' Sona
Ice cream:
32 oz. (4 cups) milk
8 oz. cream
4 oz. sugar
5 egg yolks
In a heavy saucepan, heat milk until reduced to 24 oz. (3 cups) and burned at the bottom.
Deglaze the saucepan with reduced milk and cream. Add 2 oz. sugar to the milk mixture and mix remaining sugar with the egg yolks.
When milk comes to a boil, mix in egg yolks.
Cook mixture over medium heat, bringing temperature to 85°C (185°F). Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.
Chocolate crème:
4 oz. Manjari chocolate (64% from Valrhona)
4 oz. Jivara chocolate (35% milk chocolate from Valrhona)
5 oz. cream
1 tbsp. glucose
1 oz. espresso beans
¼ tsp. kappa powder (seaweed powder)
Pinch of xanthan gum
7 oz. mineral water
Melt chocolates together in double boiler.
In a separate pot, boil cream with glucose and pour into chocolate.
Combine espresso beans, kappa powder, xanthan gum and water; blend, using an immersion blender. Pour into the chocolate and blend this mixture with the immersion blender.
Pour resulting liquid into a saucepan and cook over low-medium heat, whisking constantly until boiling.
Simmer for 1 minute, then pour into desired mold to set.
Bacon:
4 oz. bacon
Dice bacon into ¼-inch pieces. Sauté in a pan until fat renders and pieces are crispy. Using a slotted spoon, move the pieces to a paper towel to drain off excess fat.
Caramelized banana:
1 banana, sliced
3 oz. (6 tbsp.) sugar
1 tbsp. butter
1 cup milk
Peel and cut banana into slices.
Place a medium sauté pan over high heat and add sugar. Allow the sugar to caramelize dry in the pan; then add butter and banana slices.
Allow bananas to caramelize well then remove from pan leaving pan "juices" behind.
Deglaze pan with milk.
To plate:
Using ring cutter, cut three rings of chocolate crème.
Place caramelized banana around rings and sprinkle with rendered bacon bits.
Top each crème ring with one small scoop of ice cream.