Escargot Tempura with Chicken Liver Royale

6 Individual Hors d’Oeuvres

Escargot Tempura
3/4 cup Ice cold water
1 tbsp Baking powder
1 1/2 cups All purpose flour
2 tbsp Sesame seed oil
6 Escargot
6 Small wooden skewers

Chicken Liver Royale
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1/2 lb Chicken livers
8 Egg yolks
4 Whole eggs
2 tbsp Milk
1/4 cup Heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Sift flour and baking powder together, then whisk in the water and sesame oil. Leave the batter lumpy. Dip the escargot into the batter and quickly deep fry in hot oil. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 300F. In the bowl of a food processor combine the ingredients and purée until smooth. Fill shot glasses 1/2 full with royale mixture, cover with plastic film wrap and bake in bain marie (double boiler) in oven for 40 minutes, until set.

To serve, top each shot glass with an escargot tempura skewer.

Biltmore Executive Hotel
Chef Roly Cruz-Taura

Chocolate Mousse Cake with Caramelized Almonds

Serves 6

Chocolate Biscuit (sponge)
1 cup Egg whites
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Egg yolks
3/4 cup Cocoa powder
3/4 cup Sugar
1 tbsp Cake flour
Caramelized Almond
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Water
1 1/4 cup Sliced almonds
Chocolate Mousse
1½ cups Dark baking chocolate
5/8 cup Milk
2 cups Heavy cream

Place chocolate in a bowl. Boil milk, then pour over chocolate. Stir with a spatula until mix is velvety smooth.

Whip the heavy cream until soft, and when the chocolate mixture is at 115 F, mix both together in a bowl with a spatula.

In a baking pan lay out the chocolate biscuit (sponge), sprinkle with caramelized almonds, and cover with the mousse. Freeze. Remove and cut into small rectangular shapes. After defrosting for 30 minutes in the refrigerator, serve with you favorite ice cream and warm chocolate sauce.

Biltmore Executive Pastry Chef Olivier Rodriguez