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Chocolate nut boxes with rum and raisin salsa

Paul Bloxham from Great Food Live
Paul Bloxham's neat dessert is a crisp nutty treat, filled with rich chocolate mousse and doused with spicy tropical sauce

Chocolate nut boxes with rum and raisin salsa

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Sift the ground hazelnuts through a sieve. In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites a little then stir in the nuts, flour and sugar to give a smooth paste.

2. Line 2-4 baking trays with non-stick silicone paper. Place the template on the silicone paper and, using a warm palette knife (dip it in hot water), spread the tuile mixture in the template. Carefully lift off the template and repeat, keeping a little space between each tuile. You will need a total of 24 biscuit squares, so bake them in batches as necessary. Cook for around 6 minutes or until golden. Leave to cool on the tray for a few seconds, then lift the tuiles from the paper with a spatula and set aside until crisp.

3. To make the chocolate nut cream, melt the chocolate in a microwave oven or in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. When it has melted, combine it in a mixing bowl with the mascarpone, hazelnuts and vanilla seeds and mix well. Transfer to a piping bag and chill.

4. For the rum-raisin salsa, combine the rum, sugar, lime juice, cardamom seeds and vanilla in a small saucepan with 150ml water. Simmer the mixture until it is a light caramel colour. Meanwhile, place the raisins and ginger in a heatproof bowl. Pour the caramel over the raisins and leave to cool.

5. To build the boxes: place a tuile biscuit on the work surface and pipe a mound chocolate mousse onto it. Stick four biscuits vertically around each side to form a box and continue to pipe in the mousse until the box is just over-filled. Place a biscuit on top to complete the box. Repeat this with the remaining ingredients.

6. Place the chocolate boxes on serving plates and drizzle with the rum-raisin salsa. Dusting with icing sugar and cocoa powder before serving.