Black Rain by Salvatore Martone

In Black Rain, a white sesame flavored cloud of cotton candy floats above a dark chocolate umbrella resting on a piece of speckled pavement. The ‘pavement’ is filled with black sesame praline mousse, a cherry coulis center and a cocoa and black sesame sable, and topped with gelée ‘rain drops’.

Yield: 8 servings

Black Sesame Praline

• 65 g sesame seeds
• 195 g granulated sugar
• 65 g toasted almonds
• 15 g black cocoa butter
• 26 g milk chocolate 40%

1. Toast sesame seeds at 284˚F for 20 minutes.
2. Make a caramel with the sugar and add the sesame seeds and almonds. Pour onto a marble slab and let cool.
3. Process in food processor.
4. Melt together cocoa butter and milk chocolate and stir in ground sesame mixture.

Black Sesame Mousse

• 150 g milk
• 45 g granulated sugar
• 2 sheets gelatin, bloomed
• 75 g Black Sesame Praline
• 150 g heavy cream, cold
• 200 g whipped cream

1. Bring milk and sugar to boil.
2. Add the bloomed gelatin, praline and cold cream and whisk to combine. Place in ice bath, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Fold in whipped cream.

Cherry Coulis

• 250 g cherry puree
• 25 g granulated sugar
• 5 g lemon juice
• 1 g xanthan gum
• 5 g cherry blossom extract

1. Combine ingredients and mix with immersion blender. Portion 25 g coulis in insert molds and freeze.

Rain Water

• 200 g Japanese knotweed juice
• 20 g glucose powder
• 5 g iota carrageenan

1. Add glucose powder and iota carrageenan to knotweed juice and mix with immersion blender.

Sesame Sable

• 220 g brown sugar
• 220 g almond powder
• 12 g fleur de sel
• 190 g all-purpose flour
• 40 g cocoa powder
• 30 g black sesame seeds, toasted
• 220 g cold unsalted butter, diced

1. Mix all dry ingredients together.
2. Add the diced butter and mix until mixture comes together as a dough.
3. Roll to a width of 2 mm and cut out 90 mm rounds. Bake at 320˚F for 15 minutes.

Assembly

• Black cocoa butter for spraying desserts
• Silver luster dust mixed with alcohol
• Granulated sugar
• Sesame oil
• Molded red chocolate umbrella décor (Chef Martone uses a custom mold)

1. Pipe the Black Sesame Mousse into demisphere molds (90 mm base), filling them halfway. Place Cherry Coulis inserts in center and cover with more mousse. Place the sable on top and freeze.
2. Unmold desserts and spray with black cocoa butter. Spray with silver luster mixed with alcohol.
3. Add a few drops of sesame oil to sugar and place in cotton candy machine to make cotton cloud.
4. Place dessert on plate and garnish with umbrella and cotton cloud (attach the cloud to plate with custom made wire). Arrange a few drops of Rain Water on plate.