Coffee Chocolate Mousse With Rum Caramel And Orange Curd

Ingredients

• 120 g egg
• 50 g egg
• 2 eggs
• 40 g milk, chopped
• 3 oranges, zested and juiced
• 80 g cane sugar
• 125 g butter
• 1 pinch citric acid
• 30 g butter
• 130 g dark chocolate, chopped
• 250 ml double cream
• 3 tsp instant coffee granules
• 60 ml orange blossom water
• 90 g caster sugar
• 1 tbsp orange blossom water
• 100 g soft dark brown sugar
• 95 g double cream

Method

1. Start the mousse. Set the milk and dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl over gently simmering water — the bowl shouldn't touch the water or the chocolate seizes. Melt slowly, stirring once or twice until glossy and smooth, then lift off the heat.
2. Warm 50 ml of the double cream in a small pan until steaming but not boiling, then stir in the coffee granules until completely dissolved. Pour into the melted chocolate and stir to a deep, mahogany ganache.
3. In a clean heatproof bowl over simmering water, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, caster sugar, orange blossom water and a tiny pinch of salt — that pinch lifts the chocolate and stops the sweetness going one-note. Whisk steadily for 4–5 minutes until pale, thick and ribboning, reaching around 74°C. It should feel hot to the finger but never scrambling; if you see threads of cooked egg, you've gone too far.
4. Fold the warm sabayon into the chocolate-coffee base in three additions until uniform. Leave to cool to just lukewarm, around 30°C — too warm and it deflates the cream you're about to fold in.
5. Whip the remaining 200 ml double cream to soft, floppy peaks. Stop the second the whisk leaves a trail; over-whipped cream folds in as lumps, not air. Fold a third into the chocolate base to loosen, then gently fold in the rest with a wide spatula until you have a glossy, airy mousse with no pale streaks. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3–4 hours, until set but still spoonable.
6. Make the curd. Combine the orange zest, the orange juice, cane sugar, butter, eggs and citric acid in a heavy pan over low heat. Low and slow is the only setting here — too high and the eggs scramble at the edges before the curd thickens. Whisk constantly for 8–10 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon and reaches 82°C; drag a finger through and it should hold a clean line.
7. Pull off the heat, stir in the orange blossom water, then pass through a fine sieve into a container — the sieve catches any zest threads or stray cooked egg and gives you that glassy, glossy finish. Press cling film directly onto the surface and chill until cold and set.
8. Make the rum caramel. Melt the brown sugar and butter with 1 tbsp water in a small pan over medium heat, swirling — don't stir — until dissolved. Bring to a rolling boil for 1 minute, then pour in the double cream. It will hiss and bubble furiously; stand back and keep going. Boil for another 30 seconds until glossy and the colour of wet teak.
9. Off the heat, whisk in a generous splash of dark rum and a small pinch of flaky salt — taste it now, while it's warm. The salt should sharpen the toffee without you tasting salt itself; adjust if it's flat. Cool, then refrigerate until thick and pourable.
10. Taste the curd and the mousse once both are cold. Adjust now, not at the table — a whisper more salt into the caramel if it's still cloying, a touch more orange blossom into the curd if it reads shy.
11. To plate, scoop a generous quenelle of mousse onto each plate and press the back of a warm spoon into the centre to make a deep well. Spoon the cold orange curd into the well so it sits glossy and bright, drizzle the rum caramel around the base, then scatter the toasted hazelnuts and thin strips of orange zest over the top with a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt across the mousse. Serve straight away.