Large bar of good quality dark chocolate.
Brandy to taste or liqueur of just about any sort
Red wine to taste
Ladyfinger short bread, Auora, or any of the Italian dessert biscuits. If you have a large bowl you’ll need 1 and ½ packets.
Almond meal
Almond splinters
500mls fresh cream
3 tins of dark pitted cherries
Large tin of pears, peaches or other stewed fruit.
Brown sugar to taste
In a bowl make a mixture of red wine brandy and brown sugar. Dip the ladyfingers one at a time and line them inside a large bowl.Take the juice from three cans of dark pitted cherries and
slowly heat it in a saucepan when it begins to steam remove from heat and gradually sprinkle in 1 and a ½ sachets of gelatine. Add some red wine and brandy. Let it cool for three minutes then add the cherries. Pour over the ladyfingers and place in the fridge to set. Allow at least two hours and don’t move it while it’s setting.
Make a medium thick custard adding brandy and some sort of fruit say stewed pear. I use custard powder with about 500mls of milk and a good slurp of cream. While it’s still fairly liquid pour over the set cherries and then place back in the fridge to set.
Whip the cream and add sugar to taste with a couple of capfuls of brandy or liqueur. Grate ½ the chocolate and fold in with about four to five tablespoons of almond meal. Spread this mixture over the cooled custard.
Place the almond splinters on a tray and roast them till they are just turning brown. In a double boiler melt the remaining chocolate. Add the almonds to the chocolate and then place on a greased tray in small bite sized pieces. Place in the freezer and once they set hard decorate across the top of the cream.
Variations are adding yogurt to the cream, grated nuts to the cream, folding in Neufachatel cheese and egg yoke with the cream. Adding coffee and liqueur to the biscuit layer (obviously removing the red wine however)
more.
