Secret Sauce Kitchen

Directions

• Buttered Popcorn Ice Cream
• In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring milk and cream to a light simmer. Remove from heat, stir in popcorn, cover, and let steep for 1 hour.
• In bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until pale in color and slightly thickened. Chill in refrigerator until dairy has finished steeping.
• Pour dairy through a fine-mesh strainer into bowl with egg-sugar mixture, then whisk rapidly until very well combined.
• Wipe out saucepan, add in ice cream mixture and cook on medium, whisking until a custard forms on the back of a spoon.
• When ready, strain custard into an airtight container and chill overnight, or at least 6 hours.
• The next day, churn according to manufacturer’s instructions. It takes approx 15 mins with a Cuisinart.
• Transfer ice cream to air tight container and chill in freezer for at least 4 hours before serving.
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• Cherry Coke Curd
• Place citrus zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, lavender, ginger, citric acid, vanilla, and coriander seed in cheesecloth bouquet garni. Add to saucepan with cherries, sugar and water.
• Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer on low for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, squeeze out all juices from cheesecloth and blend in high speed blender.
• Wipe out saucepan. Strain cherry mixture through fine mesh strainer into saucepan. Whisk in eggs and almond extract. Add gelatin sheets to a bowl of cold ice water for 5mins.
• Over medium heat, whisk constantly until curd thickens and leaves a trail on the back of a spoon when you run your finger through it.
• Remove from heat. Take gelatin out of water and wring out as much water as possible. Add to saucepan along with butter and whisk until everything is dissolved.
• Pour into a nonstick quarter size sheetpan. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least 1hr to setup.
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• Aerated Chocolate Rocks
• Place an open ziploc bag or plastic wrap liner inside your vacuum seal container and put into the freezer.
• Set your sous vide to 115F (46C).
• Vacuum seal the chocolate, raw cacao and peppermint essence in a bag. Drop it into a water bath and let it sit until completely melted, about 10 minutes. Pull bag from water and mix by squeezing bag thoroughly. Put back in water.
• Set your sous vide cooker temperature to 81F (27C) and add ice to the water bath until the temperature drops to 81F (27C).
• Set your temperature to 90F (32C) and let the chocolate heat up, lifting the bag out of the water once every minute and squeezing it around to agitate it as it warms up. Hold the chocolate at 90F (32C) until ready to use.
• Snip off the corner and quickly pour the chocolate into a whipping siphon and charge with two N20 charges. Shake well for about a minute upside down.
• Pull the vacuum seal container out of the freezer and spray the aerated chocolate into the ziploc bag, no more than halfway up the sides of the container. Very lightly fold in the carbonated candy with a silicon spatula.
• Leaving the ziploc bag open, place the lid securely on the container and vacuum out the air. You’ll see the chocolate lift upwards as the bubbles expand.
• Gently place the container into the freezer to set for at least 1hr. Once set, break into small, easily edible rocks.
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• Caramel Powder
• Add the sugar and 2 tbsp water to a saucepan and stir to combine. Add the butter and set it over medium-high heat, but do not stir. Cook without stirring, until the butter and sugar have completely melted and started to bubble, 4 to 5 mins.
• After it has begun to brown at the edges, use a silicone spatula to carefully stir it occasionally until it is deep golden brown and beginning to smoke just slightly, another 4 to 5 mins. Do not walk away from the pan during this process as the caramel will go from perfectly golden to burned in moments.
• When the mixture is deep golden, remove the pan from the heat and carefully whisk in the heavy cream. The mixture will sputter before turning into a smooth sauce. Add the vanilla and salt. Allow to cool.
• If the caramel is lumpy, return the pan to the stove on low heat and whisk until smooth. Allow to cool.
• Weigh caramel sauce. Multiply the weight by 40%, add that amount of N-Zorbit M to food processor, followed by the caramel sauce.
• Blend until it’s the consistency you like. Add more N-Zorbit M if necessary.
• Alternately, blend by hand to get the texture you prefer.
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• Chocolate Sponge
• Combine all ingredients in a blender, adding liquids first to keep dry ingredients from sticking to the bottom. Blend until thoroughly mixed.
• Pour batter into siphon. Charge with two N2O cartridges. Shake siphon vigorously.
• Line up 6 microwave-safe 12oz paper cups and dispense 45g of batter into each (or about 1/3 of size of cup).
• Microwave on high for 40 seconds.
• Turn over onto a cooling rack and poke 5 holes with a wooden skewer in the bottom of each cup to help steam escape.
• Allow to cool for at least 2 mins, then slide knife around edge of cakes to cut them from the cups. You may need to tap them on the counter to release.
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• Cherries
• Put cherries into a ziploc bag to avoid a mess. Crush cherries with a rolling pin or any heavy object into varying sizes creating both small pieces and a powder.
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• To Plate
• Using a 4” ring mold, cut a portion of the Cherry Coke curd and place in the center of the bowl or plate.
• Tear the chocolate sponge into large pieces and plate 2-3 on top of the cherry cola curd. Your goal is to create a bed for the ice cream to sit on top of.
• Add a handful of chocolate rocks no bigger than 1/2″, around the sides of the curd.
• Lightly sprinkle the caramel powder around the dish, then the freeze dried cherries.
• To Finish using a round ice cream scoop, add scoop in center of plate on top of the chocolate sponge.
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• Enjoy The Show