French Consulate’s Holiday Recipe for Chocolate Fondant, Sauce Anglaise

Posted on 11. Dec, 2009 by Administrator in Lifestyle

Meet Bruno Lopez, private chef for the French Consulate in Los Angeles. Planning meals, grocery shopping, staying on top of the farmers market, cooking within budget – sounds like a 1950s housewife on steroids. The difference is, Bruno’s more than just a chef at the Residence, he actually gets to represent France along with French culture, food, wine, haute cuisine, and all the rest of it.
Needless to say, he can whip up a fabulous dinner for six or eight or twenty-eight for that matter. Small dinner parties are actually Bruno’s favorites because they allow him to be truly creative and prepare whatever’s in season or available that day at the market. But let’s just clarify, “small” is up to twelve. And yes, that’s twelve sit-down, not to mention the receptions for several hundred people, which Bruno says are much more like his old job when he was Chef de Cuisine at the Bel Air. Bruno’s best tip? Keep it simple and use great ingredients because 75 percent of the success of a dish comes from the products you use.
When I asked Bruno if he’d be kind enough to share a simple holiday recipe, I got to taste the most amazing lobster bisque ever, creamy beyond belief, and no wonder, the recipe calls for 16 lobster heads. But that sounded a bit ambitious for most of us who have no elves in the kitchen so here’s a little holiday dessert from Santa Bruno that will surely get you the oohs and ahhs we all crave in the kitchen!

CHOCOLATE FONDANT, SAUCE ANGLAISE
Serves 8

Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 3/4 oz. sugar
1/2 cup of orange juice or coffee
1 1/2 cup of heavy cream
1 tablet of 65% Valrhona Chocolat (available at Sur La Table Stores)
8 metal rings 2 1/2 in. diameter and 3 in. high (Sur La Table as well)

Sauce :
1 cup heavy cream
4 egg yolks
2 oz. sugar
1/2 vanilla bean

Procedure:
Mix eggs and sugar and warm over a bain marie until mixture is 140 degrees. Whip in a mixer on high speed until light and fluffy.
Boil the juice or coffee and add the chocolate, stir until melted. Cool for 10 minutes. Add the two mixtures (egg/sugar and chocolate) and then the cream.
Working quickly, spoon the batter into the rings and refrigerate for at least 3 hours (overnight is better).
Unmold on the plate and dust the top with cocoa powder. Serve with sauce anglaise.
Sauce Anglaise:
Boil the cream with vanilla bean. Whisk the yolks and sugar until the mixture becomes “white”.
Pour the hot cream and mix.
Cook slowly until nape (coating the back of a wooden spoon).
Strain and refrigerate.
BON APPETIT AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

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