As we were enjoying eating and making smores with my girls I began to think about ways of elevating the humble yet delicious childhood treat, and transforming it into a more sophisticated dessert.
This is what I came up with.
My 'Sophisticated Smore' still needed to maintain the integrity of the original, and therefore needed a Graham Cracker-esque element to the dish. I wanted to keep the familiar sandwich structure of the smore, and chose to make cinnamon tuiles as the vehicle for my smore.
A tuile is a very delicate and light cookie, which is often molded while still hot to form edible garnishes for ice creams and desserts.
My Cinnamon Tuiles:
125 g/4 oz softened unsalted butter (not margarine!)
125 g/4 oz icing/confectioners sugar
4 medium egg whites
125 g/4 oz plain flour
1 heaped tbsp cinnamon
I wanted my tuiles to look like a graham cracker, so I made a stencil 6cm/2 1/4'' by 12cm/4 1/2'' from stiff card, and wrapped it in plastic wrap.
Preheat the oven to 180 C./350 F. and line a baking sheet with baking parchment or silicone; personally I prefer to use a silicone sheet as it is reusable and I seem to get better results with it. Cream together the butter and sugar. I recommend using an electric whisk or mixer to save your arms, until it becomes pale and stiff; it should resemble butter cream frosting at this point. Next gradually beat in the egg whites. Once the whites are completely incorporated into the mix fold in the flour and cinnamon. Be careful not to over mix it or you will lose all of the air that you have so carefully whipped in.
Using a palette knife or spatula, smear some of the batter through the stencil onto your baking sheet, and repeat. Leave about an inch gap between the tuiles as this will make removing them easier.
Bake in the oven for about 4 minutes, or until they are beginning to go golden. Then remove them from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.
These will keep for a few weeks in an airtight container, but they are best used straight away.
The next element of my smores is the chocolate. I wanted the chocolate aspect of the dish to evoke the heat and smokiness of the campfire. After some experimentation I came upon something I was happy with, a 'Smoked Paprika and Dark Chocolate Ganache'.
A chocolate ganache is incredibly easy to make and forms the basis of many chocolate desserts and treats such as truffles.
Smoked Paprika and Dark Chocolate Ganache:
125 g/4oz Good quality dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)
150ml/1/4 pint of double or heavy whipping cream
1/2 tbsp smoked paprika powder
To make the ganache, finely chop the chocolate into small pieces and put them in a heat-proof bowl. Then heat the cream and paprika in a saucepan until you get a rolling boil. Remove the pan from the heat and pour it over the chocolate, mix thoroughly until all the chocolate has melted and you are left with a silky smooth gananche.
I wanted to pipe the marshmallow into my dessert, and so I could have used ready made marshmallow cream, but that just didn't seem to fit with this dessert. I didn't want something full of E numbers and chemicals; I wanted to know exactly what was in it. So I made it myself, which was actually much easier than I had expected. After trying several recipes and variations I found one that looked and tasted perfect. It is from a web sight called 'Wren's Cottage'.
For the recipe and instructions for how to make the Marshmallow Creme click here.
I added the seeds of a vanilla pod to syrup to make it extra tasty.
To assemble my smores, I spread some of the ganache onto a tuile, then using a piping bag with a 1/2'' nozzle I piped some of the marshmallow creme on top of the ganache. Using a chef's blow torch I caramelised the top of the marshmallow. This really adds the smell and flavour of campfire toasted marshmallows. To finish lay another tuile on top and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Enjoy!!!
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