Zuppa Inglese

Ingredients For 2 People

For the pastry cream:

• 2 egg yolks

• 2 tablespoons of sugar

• ½ tablespoon of flour

• the peel of a lemon

• 250 ml of milk

• 1 vanilla pod

• 100 g whipping cream

For dipping:

• 1 cup of espresso coffee

• 1small glass of Alchermes

• 50 g of melted dark chocolate

• 1g sheet gelaNn divided into two pieces

Place the milk, the vanilla and the lemon peel in a small pot and bring to a boil.

In the meanNme, beat the eggs with the sugar in a small mixing bowl. When smooth, add the flour and mix well.

Add the boiling milk to the egg, sugar and flour, and mix again. Then transfer everything to a new pot and bring it to a boil over a moderate fire, sNrring constantly. Let it boil for about five minutes unNl thick. Interrupt the cooking of the cream by immerging the pot into a basin of cold water. Let it cool down, sNrring now and then. Once cool, add the whipping cream.

Dissolve half the gelaNn sheet in the hot coffee, pour the mixture onto a small flat dish so it is half a cen- Nmeter thick and allow it to solidify in the fridge. Warm up the Alchermes, dissolve the other half of the gelaNn sheet in it and then put that, too, on a small plate to solidify in the fridge.

Cut two squares out of the sponge cake. Place each one on a plate. Cut out discs of the Alchermes and the coffee gelaNns with a round cookie cuWer and place one of each on each of the squares of sponge cake. Then, with a pastry pocket fill in the other areas of the sponge cake with the cream. Decorate the cake by adding drizzles of melted chocolate. Use your imaginaNon and add a wafer, a cookie, or something green to the design.

I’ve never considered myself a star I think we must keep our role [as chefs] in perspective – we bring happiness to some people, but I'm no brain surgeon. ere are also chefs who makes fabulous things every day but who remain in the shadows. is "starification" doesn't really come from chefs – they don't necessarily want to be in the spotlight.

Anne-SophiePic

To understand Anne-Sophie Pic’s cuisine, one must understand Anne-Sophie Pic the woman. She is passionate, sensitive, free and determined. Her path exemplifies a unique strength of character, for as a self-taught woman, much conviction, perseverance and faith were asked of her in order to establish herself in a firmly male-dominated universe.

My father is crazy about rugby and he passed this on to me. During the last world cup I enthusiastically followed the birth of ‘Chabalmania’, brimming with pride for this man from Valence who had a racted great a ention all over the world. As a kind of tribute, I had a kitchen overall embroidered with his name and our logo and waited for him to visit so I could present him with it. One day, on the occasion of an unexpected visit, my husband discreetly accompanied him into the kitchen. I hadn’t seen him come in. I was wondering who that waiter was who had a very imposing physique! It was only when I looked up that I recognised Sébastien Chabal: to my great surprise, our national champion was gearing up to go out into the dining room with a tray…

* Your most amusing kitchen incident?

*

What’s your pleasure?

e pleasure of taste is not intellectual People can be deterred by technique, and there must be emotion behind it. I don't want to just do "show-o " cooking, where the pleasure is intellectual. I think that the most important thing is gourmet pleasure.

My proudest achievement is my son. He's my priority in life. Of course, secondly, it's the fact that my career has blossomed, but having a family is something I find extraordinary. An adventure like that turns you into a di erent person entirely. My son will always be my biggest success.

* Your proudest achievement?

It will always be my biggest regret that I didn't have a chance to work for long with my father I returned home to start training with him a few months before his death. But I spent my whole childhood in the house with him and there's a form of mimicry that happens between a child and their parents; he taught me a lot in terms of training my palate that will always be an essential part of my knowledge.

*Your biggest regret?

* A source of inspiration?

Nadia Santini has always been a source of inspiration for me e Italian chef [who has won three Michelin stars at Dal Pescatore and was up against Pic for the San Pellegrino award] is 10 or 15 years older than me and I've always held her up as an example, because she's an extraordinary chef as well as being a mother, like myself.

Source: The Independent