For the Discs:
350g vegan dark chocolate
60g cashews, roughly crushed
To make the plain chocolate discs for the tower:
Melt 260g of the chocolate by placing it in a bowl above a pan of
boiling water. Line a 30cm x 24cm baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
Spread
the molten chocolate into a thin layer across the whole sheet.
Lay the sheet flat and allow to harden at room temperature. When the
chocolate layer is just solidifying, cut at least eight 7cm discs
(using a biscuit cutter). (The towers will require eight of these
discs, but it is worth making some extra ones in case any break.)
Once cut, place the tray in a fridge until the chocolate fully
hardens.
When ready to use, gently peel off the excess chocolate (which
may be saved for use in another recipe) from around the cut discs,
leaving
the discs intact on the greaseproof paper. The discs are quite fragile,
so try to handle as little as possible. To make the base discs for the tower:
Melt the remaining 90g of chocolate, then add the crushed cashew
nuts. Mix together, and spoon the mixture onto grease proof paper
in four
circular “pools”, roughly 7cm in diameter. Allow to harden
at room temperature. Place in a fridge until required. For the Coulis:
700g raspberries
30g (3 Tbsp) unrefined icing sugar
Select the best raspberries and reserve them for constructing the
towers (9 for each tower). It is best to try to get them all to be
the same height.
Liquidize the remaining raspberries then pass them through a sieve
to remove the pips. Add the icing sugar (more if required, to taste,
although it should be a little tart).
For the Raspberry Cream:
400g firm silken tofu
30g (2 Tbsp) coulis (made earlier)
10g (4 tsp) unrefined icing sugar
Liquidise the tofu until smooth. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the coulis
made earlier, and the icing sugar, until well mixed.
To Serve:
Construct the tower by placing one of the cashew-chocolate discs
on a plate, and place 1-2 tablespoons of the raspberry cream in
the
centre of the disc. Then place 3 raspberries towards the outside
of the disc, equidistant from each other.
Place a plain chocolate disc on top of the three raspberries and
cream. Repeat, but in this layer offset the raspberries from those
in the
layer below. Top with another chocolate disc. Place a little more
cream on top, and arrange three raspberries on the cream.
Pour a quarter of the raspberry coulis around the edge of the plate.
Repeat for the other three towers. Serves 4
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