This dessert was named after a song by Kalafina, a Japanese music group known for their slightly edgier songs. However, “your silver garden” honestly sounded more like a nursery rhyme, at least compared to some of their darker songs like “Magia” or “heavenly blue”. So I went with that name to symbolize a mint-chocolate dessert! For the dessert itself, we have a chocolate delice, which is a rich mousse, with tempered chocolate shards, edible flower petal and mint leaf-embedded meringues, a chocolate crumble, and a mint-chocolate gelato. I also garnished it with fried mint leaves, to give a translucent finish. I really wanted the dessert to resemble a garden with the snow melting away, to symbolize that “silver”-ish element.

For the delice:
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
a pinch of salt
2 tablespoons agar agar

Melt agar into heavy cream. Season with salt and melt in the chocolate next. Stir into the egg yolk. Pour into silicone bar molds and freeze until set, about 30 to 45 minutes.

For the crumble:
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon mint extract

Combine together and spread on a sheet tray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Blitz in a food processor until it forms a fine crumb.

For the gelato:
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup mint leaves
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Steep the mint into the heavy cream on medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Strain. Temper the egg, sugar, and salt with the cream and whisk on medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes. Pass through a sieve and add in the vanilla. Cool down and churn in the ice cream machine. Fold in dark chocolate to finish.

For the tempered chocolate shards:
1 cup dark chocolate
a pinch of salt

Melt 3/4 of your dark chocolate and salt in a double boiler until the chocolate reaches 95 degrees F. Take off heat and stir in the remaining chocolate. Keep stirring until the chocolate cools down to about 75 degrees F. Pour and spread onto either parchment or acetate. Cool down until set firm and snappy and keep refrigerated.

For the meringue:
2 egg whites
1/3 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of cream of tartar
a pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
mint leaves
edible flower petals

Whip whites, sugar, cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla to stiff peaks. Spread out flower petals and mint leaves on parchment, then using an offset spatula, spread the meringue over that as thinly as possible. Bake at 180 degrees F for 90 minutes. Keep the meringues in an airtight container.

For the fried mint leaves:
Mint leaves
Canola oil
salt

Bring canola oil up to 330 degrees F. Literally drop the mint leaves in for 5-10 seconds and strain immediately. Place on a paper towel to remove excess oil and sprinkle on salt.

For plating:
Start with some crumble. Then place the delice off to the side of it. Garnish the delice with meringue and tempered chocolate shards, as well as some fried mint leaves. Do a quenelle of the gelato and place onto the crumble. Garnish with a fried mint leaf.