Smoked Honey & Goat...Smoked Honey & Goat Cheese Mousse with Fig-Rosemary Compote and Olive Oil Sponge

An elegant avant-garde dessert featuring a light-as-air smoked honey goat cheese mousse, rich port-infused fig compote, and a microwave-baked extra virgin olive oil sponge.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   For the mousse, bloom the gelatin sheet in ice-cold water for 5 minutes. Warm 50ml of the heavy cream in a small saucepan, squeeze excess water from the gelatin, and dissolve it into the warm cream. Remove from heat.

2. 02

   In a high-speed blender, combine the remaining 150ml cream, goat cheese, smoked honey, and the warm gelatin-cream mixture. Blend on high until completely smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh chinois into a whipped cream siphon (0.5L). Charge with 1 N2O cartridge, shake vigorously, and refrigerate horizontally for at least 2 hours.

3. 03

   To make the compote, combine the quartered figs, Port wine, 30g of granulated sugar, lemon juice, and the rosemary sprig in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer gently for 15 minutes until the figs are tender and the liquid has reduced to a syrupy consistency. Remove the rosemary sprig and let the compote cool to room temperature.

4. 04

   For the olive oil sponge, whisk together the egg whites, olive oil, almond flour, remaining 30g sugar, and all-purpose flour in a bowl until completely smooth. Strain the batter through a fine sieve, then pour into a second whipping siphon. Charge with 2 N2O cartridges and shake well.

5. 05

   Using a knife, cut three small 1cm slits in the bottom of 4 paper cups. Syphon the batter into each cup, filling them only 1/3 full. Microwave each cup individually on high for 40 seconds. Immediately invert the cups onto a wire rack and allow to cool. Once cooled, tear the sponge cake into organic, rustic bite-sized pieces.

6. 06

   To assemble, spoon a neat base of the cooled fig-rosemary compote onto the center of each plate. Dispense a generous, elegant cloud of the smoked honey goat cheese mousse directly onto the compote. Artfully nestle three or four pieces of the vibrant olive oil sponge around the mousse. Garnish with a light sprinkle of Maldon sea salt and micro-basil leaves.