First, a big thank you to Emiline who very kindly designed the new header for this blog. Emiline, i just Fedexed your ribeye with chimichurri. It was medium rare when it left… it should be well…done by the time it gets to you. Thanks a million! Emiline works for food and usually gets paid in pecans but she would gladly accept a scholarship at a top notch cooking school in exchange for her design work. Any sponsors?

Talking about pecans, I read in a gossip column that Nicole Kidman choked while dining at Spice Market in New York and was rescued by a waiter who performed the Heimlich maneuver on her to dislodge the rebellious bite. It happened a while back and the article didn’t give too much details about the food she was eating (sadly, it wasn’t written with foodies in mind) but one can only hope it was on a little cluster of popcorn joy that garnish the Ovaltine & Milk Chocolate Kulfi. I like Spice Market but to be bluntly honest you can have food just as good in Chinatown for one-tenth of the price, except for this dessert… ahhh.. this ovaltine kulfi is the item on the menu that might be worth dying for … it’s chokingly good! (get it? get it? chokingly! hahaha. Sorry Nicole!)

You have to think outside the… fortune cookie to truly enjoy this. It’s dense and malty like a frozen snicker candy bar coated with caramelized popcorn and candied fennel seeds. A ‘brulee’ banana, malt chantilly and ‘three milk’ sauce are served alongside. Pure bliss. No wonder it’s one the best selling dishes in the restaurant, sweet or savory. Pichet Ong, the diminutive former pastry chef of Spice Market is the brain behind this dessert. The following recipe was adapted from the The Sweet Spot: Asian-Inspired Desserts cookbook and other sources. Promise me not to get too excited and choke on the little nuggets of love when you try this. Safety first my friends. Enjoy!

 

Kulfi base:

• 2 cups cream
• 2 cups goat’s milk (or a total of 4 cups cream)
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Ovaltine powder
• 14 ounces milk chocolate

Three milk chocolate sauce:

• 6 ounces evaporated milk
• 3 ounces condensed milk
• ½ vanilla bean
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cinnamon stick
• 7 ounces milk chocolate

Spiced caramel popcorn crust:

• 14 ounces sugar
• 2 tablespoons glucose or corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons water
• 3 teaspoons lemon juice
• 4 ½ ounces popcorn kernels
• 3 ounces butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons poppyseeds
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds

Malt chantilly:

• 3 tablespoons malt powder (Horlicks)
• 5 ounces cream
• Pinch of salt

For kulfi: Simmer cream, milk, vanilla bean and salt in sauce pot for about 25 minutes until cream is thickened, coating the back of a wooden spoon. Add ovaltine powder whisking constantly until the mixture is thick and boils again. Remove from heat, add chocolate and stir until melted. Strain mixture and pour mixture onto 8 molds. Freeze until set.

For the chocolate sauce: Bring evaporated and condensed milk, split vanilla bean, salt and cinnamon to a simmer, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until melted. Strain and chill.

For the spiced caramel popcorn crust: In a clean pot, cook sugar, glucose, water and lemon juice over high heat until it reaches the soft-ball stage, or 234-240°F. Add popping corn, reduce the heat to low, and cover. Cook over low heat until the lapse between each corn popping is more than 3 seconds. Remove from heat and stir in butter add salt. Add mukwa, fried mung dal, and poppyseeds and stir to coat with caramel.Carefully pour mixture onto a cool surface and, working with gloves, separate the spiced caramel popcorn into smaller clusters. Set aside to cool.

For the malt chantilly: In a pot, bring cream to a scald. Whisk in malt and bring mixture to boil. Remove from heat and refrigerate in a bowl for at least 2 hours. Whisk chilled malted cream to medium peaks.

Assembly:Unmold kulfi and place on plates. Spoon malt chantilly over kulfi, about 2 tablespoons per serving. Garnish with spiced caramel popcorn clusters, chocolate sauce and a banana caramelized.

Tags: Dessert