7 down – 2 to go: Raspberry Marquise

We are nearly at the end of this journey. As has been my habit during our experiment what follows is the recipe taken from “The Little Book of Chocolat” by Joanne Harris and Fran Warde.

Raspberry Marquise

This is the ultimate chocoholic's dessert. Grown-up, rich and seductive, it's best served with a fresh raspberry coulis to cut the richness of the chocolate. Perfect for dinner parties, a little goes a long way – and because it's flourless, it's the ideal chocolate fix for cacao addicts everywhere.

Takes 20 minutes, plus 2 hours (minimum)

to set

Serves 10-12

175g butter

175g unrefined caster sugar

400g dark chocolate, broken into

small, even-sized pieces

40g cocoa powder

500ml double cream

6 egg yolks, beaten

cocoa powder, for dusting

250g raspberries

Carefully line a 11.5 x 25.5 cm tin with cling film (try to avoid creases).

Place the butter, sugar, chocolate and cocoa in a bain-marie, melt and stir until smooth and blended. Whisk the cream in a bowl until it just starts to hold, add the egg yolks, whisk, then add the chocolate mixture and blend until smooth. Pour into the lined tin, bang twice on the work surface to remove any air pockets from the corners and place in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight to set.

Turn the loaf out on to a flat board or place, peel away the cling film and lightly dust with sifted cocoa. Blend half the raspberries and sieve to remove the seeds. (Fran suggests doing this, but I never bother. I guess it depends on whether you care about raspberry seeds). Just before serving, arrange the remaining raspberries on top of the loaf, drizzle with the coulis and serve. Have a jug of hot water to dip the knife into before each slice, this will help to achieve a neat cut.

This is looking promising!