Name: Ryan Gosling, the candy bar (aka an inverted Polly Waffle)
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 75 min
Ingredients: 100 ml milk; 80 gm softened butter; 2 tsp caster sugar; 120 gm plain flour; 3 eggs; Shortbread slice; 125 gm caster sugar; 100 gm (⅔ cup) plain flour, plus extra for dusting; 25 gm (¼ cup) cocoa; 100 gm butter, diced, plus extra for greasing; Whipped ganache; 150 gm dark chocolate (62%-65% cocoa solids), chopped; 150 ml pouring cream; Swiss meringue; 120 gm egg white (about 4 eggs); 240 gm caster sugar

“Think of this as an inverted Polly Waffle with the marshmallow on the outside and the chocolate filling on the inside,” says Alistair Wise of Hobart’s Sweet Envy. “During Dark Mofo in collaboration with Franca Zingler and Asher Gilding from Port Cygnet Catering Co and Sabine Spindler, the question was posed: would Ryan Gosling eat this bar, or refuse to, like he does cereal. It’s a weird joke, but the name stuck.”

Ingredients

100 ml milk

80 gm softened butter

2 tsp caster sugar

120 gm plain flour

3 eggs

Shortbread slice

125 gm caster sugar

100 gm (⅔ cup) plain flour, plus extra for dusting

25 gm (¼ cup) cocoa

100 gm butter, diced, plus extra for greasing

Whipped ganache

150 gm dark chocolate (62%-65% cocoa solids), chopped

150 ml pouring cream

Swiss meringue

120 gm egg white (about 4 eggs)

240 gm caster sugar

Method

1.For shortbread slice, combine sugar, flour and cocoa in a bowl. Add butter and rub in with your fingers to make a smooth paste. Pat dough into a 1.5cm-thick, 12cm-long slab. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, then slice lengthways into 2mm thick slices and refrigerate until required.

2.Preheat oven to 180°C and grease and lightly flour two oven trays. To make a choux pastry, bring milk, butter, sugar, 100ml water and 1/2 tsp salt to the boil in a saucepan. Add flour and stir vigorously until the mixture comes away from the sides. Transfer to an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until steam stops rising. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, until glossy.

3.Spoon choux pastry into a piping bag fitted with a 12mm plain nozzle and pipe 12cm lengths on a baking tray. Top each with a chilled shortbread slice (you may have some slices remaining; they can be baked as biscuits) and bake until crisp and golden brown (25-30 minutes). Cool on a wire rack.

4.For whipped ganache, place chocolate in a heatproof bowl and bring cream to the boil in a saucepan. Pour hot cream over chocolate, stir occasionally to melt, cool briefly, then transfer to an electric mixer and beat until light and fluffy. If it doesn’t whip, then refrigerate for a few minutes to cool (do not chill as it will set) and try whipping again. Spoon ganache into a piping bag with a 5mm plain nozzle, pierce a hole in the base of each éclair with a paring knife and fill with ganache.

5.For Swiss meringue, add eggwhite and sugar to a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water. Warm, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot to the touch. Pour into an electric mixer and whisk at high speed until stiff and shiny (10-15 minutes). Transfer to a disposable piping bag and cut off the tip on an angle (2cm from the tip on one side, 5cm from the tip on the other).

6.To serve, pipe meringue from side to side on each éclair to create a wave shape (the larger opening of the piping bag should be facing upwards), then toast meringue with a blowtorch (or secure on sticks and toast over a campfire).

Alistair Wise

Recipe / styling by Lisa Featherby

Ingredients

Method

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