Mocha Parfait with Salted Caramel Praline Recipe

Ingredients

For the praline

• 100g (4oz) hazelnuts, toasted
• 200g (7oz) golden caster sugar
• 2tsp sea salt

For the semifreddo

• 200g (7oz) dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 100g (4oz) caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 x 284ml pots Elmlea Double Light cream
• 50ml (2fl oz) Tia Maria (coffee liqueur)
• 2tsp coffee essence
• chocolate curls and edible glitter (optional), to decorate

You will need:

Baking sheet, lined with foil and lightly oiled

900g (2lb) loaf tin, base and sides double lined with clingfilm with a good overhang

Method

1. To make the praline, spread 75g (3oz) of the nuts over the baking sheet. Put the sugar in a heavy-based pan and heat gently to dissolve. Don’t stir, but keep shaking the pan to ensure the heat is evenly distributed. Turn up the heat and bubble until the sugar is the colour of amber, then carefully pour it on top of the nuts and set aside to cool. Break up the cooled praline, saving a third of the shards to decorate. Place the remaining praline in a food processor with the salt and whizz until fine.
   
2. Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Set aside.
   
3. Place the sugar and eggs in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and beat with an electric hand whisk for around 8 minutes until doubled in volume and the whisks leave a ribbon trail on the surface when lifted. Remove from the heat and put the bottom of the bowl into cold water, then continue whisking until the mixture is cool.
   
4. In another bowl, whisk the cream and Tia Maria to soft peaks, then gently fold into the egg mixture.
   
5. Remove a third of the creamy mixture and place in a small bowl. Pour the melted chocolate into the larger portion and gently fold through. Add the coffee essence to the smaller portion and carefully fold in.
   
6. To assemble the semifreddo, spoon half the chocolate mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Sprinkle over a third of the praline in a single layer. Spoon in the coffee cream mixture, followed by another third of the praline. Finally, spoon over the remaining chocolate mixture, wrap with the overhanging clingfilm and freeze for 4 hours.
   
7. Remove from the freezer 20 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with the remaining praline, praline shards and the chocolate curls to decorate. We added edible gold glitter for extra wow factor!