Chocolate, umeshu, and yogurt cake is a dessert created by Raffaele Lenzi, chef of the restaurant Il Sereno Al Lago at Il Sereno, a 5* Luxury hotel in Torno (Co). The inspiration was to create a bridge dessert that combines American and Italian tastes, both of which are well represented here at Lake Como. “The former is satisfied with a cake, a creamy chocolate filling, and a chocolate glaze – the use of 85% Valrhona Abinao, which is very bitter, is justified by its versatility in desserts – the latter with a yogurt ice cream, which adds acidity to the dessert and invites continued tasting. The dessert is completed with an umeshu jelly, a Japanese plum liqueur also known for the fermentation process that turns them into umeboshi.
Ingredients for 4 people
Yogurt Ice Cream
- 100 g double cream or mountain milk
- 75 g buttermilk
- 20 g glucose
- 20 g white cane sugar
- 125 g plain yogurt
- 50 g goat yogurt
- 75 g Greek yogurt
- 10 g milk powder
- 2 g stabilizer mix
Churn all the ingredients in an ice cream maker.
Cocoa and Coffee Biscuit
- 80 g flour 170 W type 1
- 80 g einkorn wheat flour
- 63 g cocoa powder
- 5 g salt
- 8 g baking soda
- 7 g baking powder
- 160 g white cane sugar
- 133 g eggs
- 197 g milk kefir
- 181 g espresso coffee
- 90 g butter
Whip the eggs and sugar, add the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the liquids, and finally incorporate the melted butter. Bake at 160°C for 10 minutes.
English Cream
- 625 g milk
- 82 g white cane sugar
- 400 g egg yolks
Combine the yolks and sugar. Heat the milk to a boil, then add the yolks and sugar. Bring the mixture to 84°C.
Chocolate Cream
- 750 g English cream
- 285 g 85% Abinao dark chocolate
- 11 g gelatin
- 38 g cocoa powder
Pour the hot English cream over the chocolate. Add the cocoa powder at the end and the previously hydrated gelatin.
Glaze
- 112 g water
- 150 g cream
- 250 g Demerara sugar
- 63 g cocoa
- 23 g potato starch
- 13 g 85% Abinao dark chocolate
- 10 g gelatin
- 25 g butter
Boil water and cream, then add sugar, cocoa, and starch, and bring the mixture to 83°C. Finally, add the chocolate, and when the mixture reaches 50°C, incorporate the gelatin and butter. Blend and strain.
Umeshu Jelly
- 50 g umeshu
- 2 g gelatin
Hydrate the gelatin in cold water, heat the gelatin with the umeshu to 30°C, and pour into molds.
Finishing
Alternate layers of the cocoa and coffee biscuit with the chocolate cream: biscuit, cream, and finally biscuit. Cut the cake into rectangles and then into triangles. Pour the glaze over the cake, add the umeshu jelly to the plate, and serve with the yogurt ice cream on the side.