Ingredients

For the white chocolate and Bailey’s mousse
350ml Bailey’s
70ml milk
1.2kg white chocolate
35g gelatine
1litre cream

For the chocolate glacé
1.5 litres water
4.5kg sugar
1.5kg cocoa powder
250g gelatine leaves
2.625 litres cream

For the vanilla ice cream
800ml milk
4 egg yolks
1 vanilla pod
100g liquid glucose or sugar

For the almond twirl biscuit
100g egg whites
120g icing sugar
75g plain flour
75g unsalted butter
50g ground almonds

For the Sauce Anglaise
1 litre milk
250g sugar
250ml egg yolks
1 vanilla pod

Method

For the mousse

Mix well together the milk and Bailey’s as well as the chocolate. Put in a bain-marie until melted completely.

Put the gelatine leaves in cold water till they are soft, then squeeze out the water and add the gelatine to the mixture. Whip the cream until soft and pour it in slowly.

Put in moulds and deep freeze until needed. Take them out of the freezer two hours before serving.

For the chocolate glacé

Mix the cream, sugar and water to boil, remove from the heat and add the gelatine leaves which should first be soaked for four minutes in cold water.
Add the cocoa powder and whisk constantly until well mixed.
Keep the chocolate glace in a cool place until needed. Melt in bain-marie for use.

For the vanilla ice cream

Heat the milk, syrup and split the vanilla pod in a pan. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and let infuse.

Beat the egg yolks until they turn pale in colour. Add some warm milk to the mix, then put this back in the pan with the rest of the milk. Stir over a low heat until it thickens.

Put in a container and seal with cling film. When the ice cream mixture is ready, turn on the ice cream maker. Once done, transfer to a suitable container and keep in the freezer until needed.

For the almond twirl biscuit

Mix the icing sugar, flour and the ground almonds together. Melt the butter and mix it slowly into the egg whites. Gently fold the dry mixture into the butter and egg whites and mix lightly. Let it rest overnight in the fridge.
Spread the mixture on a silicone mat to form a flat biscuit round shape or you can use a form. Bake in hot oven at 230°C until the edges turn brown and the centre remains uncoloured. Remove the tray from the oven, work quickly while hot and twist the pastry into the shape you like.

For the sauce Anglaise

Mix the egg yolks and the sugar together. Boil the milk and the vanilla pod. Mix together and simmer until it thickens. You can serve some fresh strawberries around it.

Mario Schembri is an Executive chef & general manager, Ta’ Frenċ Restaurant, Xagħra, Gozo.