Brussels, December 2003. Ernst Knam – a German patissier who has settled in Milan – has gathered extensive international experience in the field of sweets and desserts. In London's Dorchester Hotel he has baked for the Queen and other members of the royal family. He has shared his recipe for a delicious Christmas dessert with us.

"In Italy all the members of the family come together to celebrate Christmas, and in the festive season one always want to indulge them. My tip: Lebkuchen marquis with chocolate. The many layers of chocolate ensure that this dessert using traditional German gingerbread is not only delicious but also something special," enthuses the 40-year-old patissier.

And here's his recipe:
Gingerbread marquis with chocolate for 12 portions

Gingerbread-coffee roulade:

• 5 eggs
• 250 g sugar
• 190 g flour
• 60 g cacao powder
• 20 g soluble coffee
• 20 g gingerbread spices (contain: 35 g cinnamon, 9 g cloves, 2 g allspice, 1 g nutmeg, 2 g coriander, 1 g cardamom, 2 g ginger, 1 g mace)
• 150 g liquid butter

Gingerbread chocolate mousse:

• 600 g dark chocolate coating
• 350 g milk chocolate
• 100 g gingerbread crumbs
• 50 g butter
• 7 eggs
• 150 g cointreau
• 7.5 g gelatine
• 75 g cream
• 25 g gingerbread spices

White chocolate mousse:

• 250 g white chocolate
• 25 g butter
• 2 egg yolks
• 35 g cointreau
• 5 g gelatine
• 100 g cream

Coffee mixture to soak the roulade:

• 3 espresso
• 50 g cointreau
• 20 g cocoa powder 

Preparation

For the roulade beat the eggs and sugar together. Dissolve the coffee in the butter, then stir into the egg/sugar mixture together with the flour and cocoa powder. Spread this mixture onto baking paper in a square-shaped layer about 1 cm thick and bake in the oven at 220 degree Celsius for 5 minutes. For the gingerbread chocolate mousse melt the dark chocolate coating, the milk chocolate and the butter over a water bath. Separate the egg yolk from the white, and beat the egg white to form soft, white peaks. Warm the cointreau. Soak the gelatine leaves individually for at least 5 minutes in ice-cold water, squeeze out carefully and then dissolve in the warm cointreau. Blend the egg yolk with the cream, and mix with the gelatine, the melted chocolate, the gingerbread crumbs, the gingerbread spices as well as the beaten egg-white.

For the white chocolate mousse, melt the white chocolate with the butter over a water bath. Dissolve the gelatine leaves in the cointreau as described above. Whip the cream and mix into the chocolate with all the ingredients.

For the coffee mixture mix all the ingredients together and warm in a pan.

Line a shallow dish with plastic wrap (cling film) and cut the roulade into four square pieces. Place one square of the roulade in the dish and lightly soak with the coffee mixture. Cover with half of the dark chocolate mousse. Place another roulade square on top and lightly soak with the coffee mixture. Cover with the white mousse, then place another roulade square on top of this. Soak and then cover with the remaining dark chocolate mousse. Cover with the remaining roulade square and place in the refrigerator to cool for about 5 hours. Cut into thin slices and the festive confection/pleasure is ready.

Ernst Knam has international experience in his specialist field – the preparation of desserts, jams and jellies. Among other things he worked in 1987 as a patissier in London's Dorchester Hotel and one year later in the Noga Hilton Hotel in Geneva. In 1989 and 1992 he was the winner in the cakes and pastries category at the Toque D’Or, the international competition held by the Swiss Federation of Chefs, and in 1995 he won in the cooking category. After this the 37-year-old worked in the gourmet restaurant of Gualtiero Marchesi, Milan's answer to Bocuse. He has remained true to the northern Italian metropolis, where he has opened his own patisserie and has established a catering service.

GME - Gelatine Manufacturers of Europe
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