Irish moss mint pudding with chocolate crunch

Soak the gelatine powder in 15ml of water until spongey, approx. 5 minutes.

Place the milk, split vanilla pod and 30g of the mint leaves in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the soaked gelatine.

Separate the yolks from the egg whites.

Whisk the egg yolks and 1 tbsp of caster sugar together then pour the hot milk through a sieve onto the egg yolk mixture, whisking continuously.

Add a few drops of the peppermint extract and green colouring.

Whisk the egg white and 1 tbsp of sugar until stiff peaks form then fold it into the egg yolk milk mixture. It will rise to make a fluffy top.

Pour the mixture into individual glasses, or serving dishes, and refrigerate until set.

To make the chocolate crunch, chop the chocolate into small pieces (roughly 1cm in size).

Prepare a silicone mat or sheet of baking paper.

Boil the remaining 90ml of water and white sugar together over a medium heat in a pan to make a syrup (Add a lid on top. The water vapour will condensate on the lid and run down the side of the pan, which prevents crystallisation on the edges).

Swirl the pan to incorporate evenly. Once the syrup reaches 135°C (or begins to colour at the edges), immediately add all the chocolate in at once and stir quickly with a whisk. Make sure you whisk all the way to the edges of the pan as that’s where the sugar will likely clump up. In approx. 10 seconds the chocolate will transform into what looks like soil.

Spread the mixture out onto the baking paper and allow to cool completely.

Serve with the mint pudding and top with the remaining mint leaves.