Chocolate terrine with hazelnut praline and salted caramel popcorn

Terrine

Place the cream in a saucepan over low heat until it reaches scalding point, but does not boil. Remove from heat, add the chocolate and stir until it has melted and is beautifully smooth.

Melt the castor sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the boiling water and stir until completely dissolved before boiling. Bring to a boil slowly until it turns a light caramel colour (do not stir the syrup at all while it boils).

Remove from heat and quickly stir in the 100g chopped hazelnuts. Spread the hazelnut mixture out evenly on a silicone mat and leave to harden. Once set, crack with the back of a knife or spoon, place the praline in a food processor and blitz until fine.

Fold the crushed praline into the chocolate mixture. Pour into a greased 1L terrine or loaf tin lined with cling film and place in the freezer to set, at least 2 hours.

Hazelnut-praline topping

Melt castor sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the boiling water and salt and stir until completely dissolved before boiling. Bring to a boil slowly until it turns a light caramel colour (do not stir the syrup at all while it boils).

Remove from heat and quickly stir in the chopped hazelnuts before it sets. Spread the hazelnut mixture out evenly on a silicone mat and leave to harden. Once set, crack with the back of a knife or spoon into shards and set aside.

Popcorn,

Pace a little pot over high heat and add the oil. Wait 5 minutes for the oil to heat up, then add the corn kernels. They will start to pop after 1 – 2 minutes. Remove from heat when the popping begins to stop.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt sugar. Add the boiling water and Khoisan Sea Salt, depending on how salty you prefer it. Stir until completely dissolved before boiling.

Bring to a boil slowly until it turns a light caramel colour (do not stir the syrup at all while it boils). Pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn and stir to coat evenly. Pour onto a greased baking sheet and spread it out. Allow to cool and set.

To serve

Place the terrine or loaf tin in a little boiling water, which will help to release it from the dish and create a nice smooth texture once turned out. Top it off with the praline shards, the salted-caramel popcorn and edible flowers. Serve thin slices as an after-dinner treat.