Irish Coffee Chocolate Slice Recipe by Chef Darren Hogarty

For the shortbread

1. Beat the yolks with the sugar in a large bowl.
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder.
3. Add the soft butter to the yolks and sugar then add the dry ingredients.
4. Roll thinly between 2 sheets of paper, rest in the fridge then, when chilled, cook at 150C for 14 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and cut to 4×10 plaques, then cut small circles with a ring cutter matching the size of semi-sphere mould for the mocha bombes, then set aside and cool.

For the fudge cake

1. Melt the butter and sugar.
2. Sift together cocoa, coffee and flour.
3. Add to the melted mixture, add salt, baking powder and chocolate.
4. Mix well then whisk in eggs until smooth.
5. Pour into a frame 1mm high and bake at 155C for 18 minutes.

For the caramel

1. Heat whiskey and cream in a dry pan.
2. Caramelize sugar and add cream and whiskey.
3. Take off the heat and emulsify with hand blender.
4. Pour over the fudge cake, warm, and allow to soak in well.
5. Cut to 4×10 rectangle and set on shortbread base.
6. Reserve some caramel in a small paper piping bag for later.

For the espresso crumble

1. Add all dry ingredients to a bowl then add melted butter mix well until the mixture resembles sand.
2. Bake at 160 for 17 minutes set aside and cool.

For the barley ice cream

1. Mix egg yolks and sugar until pale.
2. Heat milk and cream to the boil, add to the yolk mix add back into thick bottomed pan.
3. Cook and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until mixture hits 83 degrees.
4. Take off the heat and blend with a hand blender.
5. Add in barley syrup, pass through a sieve, chill and churn in an ice cream machine.

For the tempered chocolate

1. Temper chocolate by heating to 50 degrees over a bain marie and then tempering on a marble top slab to 27, then heat back to 30 degrees to ensure chocolate is tempered correctly.
2. Allow to set and cut to 4×10.
3. Set aside and on 1 acetate sheet, cut thin at an angle a roll to create spirals.

For the namelaka

1. Bring milk to the boil with glucose and add to chocolate in 3 stages to create an emulsion.
2. Finish with a hand blender and add cream, then leave to crystallise in fridge.

For the cinnamon and vanilla cream

1. Heat milk with cinnamon and vanilla and infuse for 15 mins.
2. Whip yolks, sugar, cornflour flour until pale.
3. Strain milk and add to mix.
4. Add back to a clean pan and cook with a whisk cook until thick.
5. Add Opalys and gelatine and whisk until smooth and finish with hand blender.
6. Chill in fridge and whip with 350ml of cream until smooth, put in a piping bag with a no 1 nozzle and keep in the fridge until serving.

For the mocha bombe

1. Heat the cream with coffee to infuse for 10 minutes, melt chocolates to 40/45C and strain cream into a clean pan.
2. Add glucose and heat to the boil.
3. Add to chocolate in 3 stages and blend with a hand blender to emulsify.
4. Blend in milk, pour into semi-circle moulds and freeze.

Optional red and gold shimmer glaze

1. Soak gelatine in a pan.
2. Heat glucose, sugar and water to 103C.
3. Add gelatine and white chocolate.
4. Blend with hand blender and add colours until vibrant.
5. Cool to 35/40C and glaze frozen mocha bombes and place on shortbread.
6. Set aside to defrost.

To assemble

1. Take fudge cake on shortbread base and pipe Namelaka on top with a no2 nozzle.
2. Put a plain Manjari chocolate plaque on top, pipe vanilla and cinnamon cream on top with a no2 nozzle.
3. Put a decorated transfer plaque on top then a bombe on top, ensuring it doesn't move by securing it with a little whiskey caramel.
4. Place on a large white plate. Add 1 spiral of chocolate on top to finish and again secure it with a little caramel.
5. To the side of the dessert add 1 spoon of coffee crumb, quenelle of ice cream and finish with 1 more spiral of chocolate and 2 lines of caramel.