Prep time: 45 mins
Cook time: 45 mins
Serves six.
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Ingredients
100g caster sugar
2 tsp ground star anise
Pinch ground cinnamon
100g finely grated parmesan
Fresh berries, to decorate
Whipped cream, to serve
Sifted icing sugar, to dust
Chocolate soil
50g plain flour
2 tbs caster sugar
1 ½ tbs cocoa powder
½ tsp cornflour
40g butter, melted
Ricotta fritters
2 eggs, plus 1 extra egg yolk
2 tbs icing sugar
100g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
500g firm ricotta
Finely grated zest of 1 large orange
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Vegetable oil, for deep frying
Blackberry sauce
500g fresh or frozen blackberries
50g caster sugar
Method
1. Combine the caster sugar, star anise and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
2. Preheat oven to 140C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.
3. To make chocolate soil, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder and cornflour in a bowl. Add a pinch of salt. Stir in butter until mixture resembles wet sand. Spread onto prepared tray in a thin layer.
4. Bake for 15 minutes or until dry and crisp, stirring halfway through. Cool on tray.
5. To make fritters, sift the icing sugar, flour and baking powder into a large bowl stir in the ricotta, orange zest and vanilla.
6. Using an electric mixer, whisk the eggs and yolks in a large bowl until pale, creamy and trebled in volume. Fold into the ricotta mixture in 3 batches. Refrigerate, covered, for 30 minutes.
7. To make sauce, stir blackberries and sugar in a medium saucepan over low heat until sugar has dissolved and blackberries have broken down. Simmer for 5 minutes. Pass through a fine sieve and discard seeds. Cool completely.
8. Line an oven tray with baking paper.
9. Increase oven to 180C.
10. To make parmesan crisps, sprinkle tablespoons of parmesan onto a baking paper-lined baking tray into 6cm rounds. Bake for about 5 minutes or until golden. Cool on tray.
11. Deep fry tablespoons of the fritter batter in small batches until golden, crisp and cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper. Roll in star anise sugar.
12. Serve fritters and blackberry sauce with chocolate soil, parmesan crisps and whipped cream. Decorate with berries. Dust with sifted icing sugar.
