Ze Fork’s wicked chocolate desserts

Justine Tyerman experienced the best dessert she’s ever tasted at Ze Fork, a delightful restaurant in Vevey, Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva, Switzerland, one of the most beautiful locations in the world. She persuaded the charming and highly-amusing restaurateur Jean Bodivit to share his recipes . . .

Cooks beware — these recipes came from a chef who caters for large numbers. They’ve been translated and divided by 10 by my Swiss French friend Aurélia. The recipes are bit slim on precise instructions. For experts only!

Chocolate lava cake

INGREDIENTS:

300g chocolate

200g butter

7 medium eggs

90g sugar

90g flour

10ml of cream

90ml of milk

METHOD:

Melt chocolate and butter together.

Mix the eggs with the sugar.

Heat the milk and cream.

Add the chocolate and butter to the egg-sugar mixture, and then the heated milk and cream.

Then gently add the flour.

Bake in the oven at 200°C for about 10-15 minutes.

Coco-chocolate heart

INGREDIENTS:

200g white chocolate

70g coconut pulp

40g grated coconut

METHOD:

Melt white chocolate in a water bath (bain-marie).

Add the coconut pulp, then the grated coconut and put the mixture into moulds.

Rum ice cream

INGREDIENTS:

600ml litres milk

7 egg yolks

110g sugar

300ml cream (35 percent fat)

50ml rum (i.e. a shot of rum)

METHOD:

Prepare a custard and add the cream and rum at the end of cooking.

Coconut marbles or rocher (balls)

INGREDIENTS:

150g coconut pulp

150g cream (35 percent fat)

50g sugar

1 medium egg white

500g grated coconut

2 leafs of gelatin (one leaf= 5ml)

Chocolate topping

INGREDIENTS:

50g white chocolate

50g cocoa butter

50g grated coconut

25g roasted crushed hazelnuts

Cocoa ‘tile’ (wafer)

INGREDIENTS:

75g sugar

60g butter

25g glucose

90g cocoa nibs (small pieces of crushed cocoa beans — ‘grué’ in French)

METHOD:

Cook butter, sugar and glucose. Add the cocoa nibs. Spread thinly and bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 180°C.