Royal beer brownie

With this dessert I know I risked being banal because of the exceeding use of chocolate. However, I found the right balance in the brownie enriched with barley and vanilla. The caramel mousse recalls the toasted and bitter notes of the beer which can also be found in the spice I chose. The barley gel completes this game of textures. I matched a Birra Moretti Grand Cru because it is rich in aromas and flavours, accompanying the ingredients of this cake.

Royal Beer Brownie

Recipe for 25 people

INGREDIENTS

for the dark chocolate and barley brownie
600 g “00” flour
1250 g sugar
800 g eggs
300 g cocoa
850 g margarine
5 g salt
100 g barley
½ vanilla pod

for the caramel mousse
230 g cream
230 g milk
90 g egg yolk
40 g sugar
225 g custard cream
350 g semi-whipped cream
3 gelatine sheets
280 g dulcey/caramelia chocolate

for the beer and lime ice-cream
105 g powdered milk
890 g cream
400 g milk
280 g egg yolk
210 g sugar
240 g glucose
20 g neutro stabilising powder
650 g water
1220 g Birra Moretti Baffo d’Oro
6/10 fresh lime leaves

METHOD
For the dark chocolate and barley brownie
Cook the barley for at least 50 minutes in a pot with water, sugar and vanilla. Once the cooking is done, drain and leave to cool to room temperature. Keep the cooking water to a side and chill it. For the brownie, melt the butter with the chocolate and whisk – though not fully – the eggs with the sugar, add a pinch of salt and a touch of baking powder. Add the chocolate to the eggs, and finally the flour. Pour the mixture into a rectangular baking tin, cover it with barley and bake it at 180°C for 18 minutes. When the brownie is cooked and has cooled, create some 7x3 cm rectangles, 1 cm thick. Use the barley cooking water as a matching gel – adding a pinch of xantana to thicken it if necessary; season to taste and then put it into a juice bottle. Keep in the fridge.

for the caramel mousse
For the custard cream, bring the cream and milk to the boil, pour over the egg yolk previously mixed with the sugar and bring the mixture to 85°C. Soak the gelatine sheet in cold water and then melt it in the custard. Using a hand blender, process the cream and add the chocolate. When the ganache has reached 25°C, mix the cream and leave it in the fridge for 2 hours so it thickens.

for the beer and lime ice-cream
Beat the egg yolk with the sugar and glucose. Bring the powdered milk, cream and milk to the boil and then pour it over the egg yolk. Bring the mixture to 85°C. Bring the water to 90°C and leave the lime leaves in infusion for at least one hour. Drain them and add them to the custard cream together with the beer. Finally, whisking energetically, sprinkle the neutro stabilising powder. Freeze it in the paco-jet glasses and process when frozen.

Place the biscuit in the centre of the plate, using a touch of barley gel to fix it. Leave some space for the ice-cream scoop and cover the rest with the caramel mousse. Add a few flakes of salt.
Garnish the dish with two lines of barley gelatine, add the ice-cream scoop and finish with some tips of wild hop sprouts.