Bryan Zhu - Lemon Myrtle Cucumber Ice Cream

with caramelised chocolate and goats cheese mousse

Serves 4

Ingredients

Lemon Myrtle and Cucumber Ice Cream

1 continental cucumber

3 egg yolks

¾ cup caster sugar

1 ½ cups thickened cream

1 ½ tsp ground lemon myrtle

Candied Kaiserfleisch

¼ cup caster sugar

125g kaiserfleisch, cut into 2mm thick slices

Red Grape Chutney

300g seedless red grapes

1/4 cup caster sugar

½ cup water

pinch ground lemon myrtle

2 tbsp white vinegar

Roasted Macadamias

250g macadamias

Caramelised Dark Chocolate and Macadamia Soil

150g 70% dark chocolate callets

100g reserved whole roasted macadamias

Goats Cheese Mousse

50g mature rinded goats cheese

120g thickened cream

Grilled Caramelised Kaiserfleisch

125g kaiserfleisch, cut into 2mm thick slices

¼ cup caster sugar

Garnish

red seedless grapes, halved

Method

1. Preheat oven to 150C. Turn on ice cream machine to chill according to manufacturers instructions. Fill a large wide bowl with iced water and set aside.
2. For the Lemon Myrtle and Cucumber Ice Cream, juice the cucumber and set aside in a jug until needed.
3. Place egg yolks and sugar into a medium bowl and whisk together until pale.
4. Place cream and lemon myrtle into a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.  Once simmering, remove from heat and whisk in the cucumber juice. 
5. While continuously whisking, pour hot cucumber cream mixture in a slow stream into the egg and sugar mixture and continue to whisk until fully combined. Return mixture to the saucepan and stir with a silicone spatula over a low heat until mixture reaches 84C and thickens slightly. Remove from heat, strain through a fine sieve into a clean medium sized bowl and set over the prepared ice bath to cool. Once mixture is cool, transfer to the pre-chilled ice cream machine and churn until set. Once set, transfer to the freezer until needed.
6. For the Candied Kaiserfleisch, line a baking tray with baking paper. Sprinkle half of the caster sugar onto the lined tray. Place slices of kaiserfleisch onto the layer of sugar, ensuring pieces are not overlapping each other. Sprinkle the remaining caster sugar over the pieces of kaiserfleisch. Cover with a second sheet of baking paper then top with another baking tray to weigh down. Place into the preheated oven and cook until dark brown, but not burnt, about 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely. Once cool, remove the top tray and top layer of baking paper and snap the candied kaiserfleisch into small shards. Set aside until needed.
7. For the Red Grape Chutney, combine all ingredients except for the white vinegar, in a small saucepan.  Place saucepan over low heat and cook until grapes have softened and liquid has reduced to a syrup, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the vinegar and continue to cook for a further 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and use a fork to roughly mash the grapes. Transfer to a small serving bowl and set aside until needed.
8. For the Roasted Macadamias, line a baking tray with baking paper.  Spread macadamias onto the lined tray then place into the oven to roast until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Once cooled, take 150g of the roasted macadamias and roughly chop then set aside in a bowl. Set remaining whole roasted macadamias aside on the tray until needed.
9. Increase oven to 170C.
10. For the Caramelised Dark Chocolate and Macadamia Soil, line a baking tray with baking paper. Scatter the chocolate callets onto the lined tray, then place into oven until melted, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from the oven and, using a metal spatula, scrape and spread the melted chocolate over the baking tray to prevent burning. Return to the oven and repeat every five minutes until chocolate has caramelised, about 15 minutes.  Once the chocolate has caramelised, remove from oven and set aside in fridge to cool completely.
11. Meanwhile, place reserved whole roasted macadamias into food a processor and process to a fine crumb.  Add the cooled caramelised dark chocolate to the food processor and process to a coarse crumb. Transfer to a clean small bowl and set aside until needed.
12. For the Goats Cheese Mousse, place goats cheese into a medium sized bowl and use electric beaters to beat until fluffy. Add the cream and beat until thickened. Pass the mousse through a fine sieve into a small bowl then transfer to a piping bag and set aside in the fridge until needed.
13. For the Grilled Caramelised Kaiserfleisch, heat a griddle pan over high heat until smoking hot.  Add slices of kaiserfleisch and cook until slightly browned about 20 seconds. Turn pieces and cook for a further 20 seconds then sprinkle with sugar. Repeat process until caramelised and crispy. Remove from pan and drain on paper towel. Set aside until needed.
14. To serve, pipe some mounds of the Goats Cheese Mousse onto rectangular serving plates.  Spoon Caramelised Dark Chocolate and Macadamia Soil in along length of plates. Dot Goats Cheese Mousse and Caramelised Dark Chocolate and Macadamia Soil with Grape Chutney, Roasted Macadamias, Grilled and Candied Kaiserfleisch. Finish with some fresh red grape segments and a rocher of Lemon Myrtle and Cucumber Ice Cream.