Asparagus Spears with Poached Egg

A poached egg on a pile of tender steamed asparagus is a fine meal; a shaving of hard aged cheese, such as Parmesan, is an added treat -- and don't forget freshly ground pepper. Chef Kyle Norris

Ingredients:
• 750g asparagus, trimmed and peeled
• 4 large eggs
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 100g Parmesan cheese, thinly shaved
• Fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions
1. Tie asparagus into a bundle using kitchen twine. Place in the basket of an asparagus pot filled with 1 inch water. Cover, and bring water to a boil. Steam asparagus until tender, 2 to 6 minutes.
2. Fill a large saucepan with 4 inches of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. When water is barely simmering, break 1 egg into a small heatproof bowl. Gently tip bowl, sliding egg carefully into water. Repeat with remaining eggs. Cook until whites are set but yolks are soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer eggs to paper towels, and drain briefly.
3. Divide asparagus among 4 plates, and top each with an egg. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with Parmesan, and season with salt and pepper.

Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream Cake

Ingredients

Cake:

1/2 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

Filling:
4lt peppermint crisp ice cream, softened

Glaze:
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoon dark corn syrup
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

Garnish:
Dark or white chocolate curls or shavings
Confectioners' sugar
Directions

Cake: Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 20cm x 30cm x 2cm baking pan with non-stick foil or wax paper. In a small bowl, combine cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
Separate egg whites and yolks into 2 large bowls. Beat whites on medium-high speed until foamy. Gradually beat in 1/2-cup of the sugar. Continue to beat on high speed just until stiff (but not dry) peaks form.
Using same beaters, beat yolks with the remaining 1/4-cup sugar and extracts until thickened, about 3 minutes. On low speed, beat in flour mixture until blended. Stir in 1/4 of beaten egg whites into mixture. Fold in remaining whites. Spread in prepared pan; smooth top. Bake 12 minutes or until top springs back when gently pressed. Let cool 2 minutes on a wire rack.
Dust a clean towel with confectioners' sugar; invert cake onto towel. Remove pan; carefully peel off foil. Starting from the short end, roll up cake in towel; place seam side down on wire rack; cool completely.
Filling: Unroll cake and spread evenly with ice cream. Roll up cake. Wrap tightly in nonstick foil and freeze, seam side down, overnight until firm.
Glaze: In a small saucepan, heat cream, chocolate, and corn syrup over low heat until chocolate is melted and glaze is shiny and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in extracts; cool to room temperature.
Unwrap cake; trim ends. Place cake on a wire rack over waxed paper. Pour glaze along top of cake roll, spreading with a spatula to cover sides. Garnish top of cake with chocolate curls or shavings. Freeze cake

Bitter-sweet-Chocolate Tart

Chef Kyle Norris from The Beverly Hills Hotel in Durban creates this stunningly decadent bitter sweet chocolate tart..

Ingredients

Tart Shell
All-purpose flour
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoon almond flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg

Filling

3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
500g bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk

Glaze
1 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin
2 tablespoon whole milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
150g milk chocolate, chopped
Sweetened whipped cream, for serving

Directions

Make the Tart Shell: In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, blend 1 cup of all-purpose flour with the butter, sugar, cocoa, almond flour, and salt at medium speed. Mix in the egg just until a soft dough forms. Scrape the dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and lay another large sheet of plastic wrap on top. Roll out the dough between the plastic wrap to a 24cm round. Transfer the round to a baking sheet and freeze until firm, 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200degree C.
Peel off the top sheet of plastic and invert the dough onto a 20cm fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Remove the remaining sheet of plastic and gently press the dough into the pan. Trim the dough flush with the rim. Freeze until firm, 10 minutes.
Line the tart shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or beans. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, until the tart shell is nearly cooked through. Remove the parchment and weights and bake until the shell is cooked through, about 20 minutes longer. Transfer to a rack and let cool. Lower the oven temperature to 160 degrees C.

Make the Filling:
In a medium saucepan, combine the cream and milk and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Add the chocolate and let stand until melted, 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. In a small bowl, whisk the egg with the egg yolk, then whisk in 1/2 cup of the chocolate cream. Thoroughly whisk this custard into the chocolate cream in the saucepan. Pour the filling into the tart shell and bake until set around the rim but still slightly jiggly in the center, 30 minutes. Let the tart cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then refrigerate until chilled, 2 hours.
Make the Glaze: In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the milk and let stand 5 minutes. In a small saucepan, whisk the cream, sugar, and cocoa over moderate heat until the sugar is dissolved, 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Scrape the gelatin into the cocoa mixture, add the milk chocolate and whisk until melted. Pour the glaze over the tart and spread it in an even layer using an offset spatula. Refrigerate the tart until the glaze is firm, 30 minutes. Serve with whipped cream

Chocolate Peanutbutter Moon Pies

These Moon Pies created by Chef Kyle Norris of The Beverly Hills Hotel are awesome for kids parties.. 

Ingredients

2 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 large egg whites, at room temperature, to mix with corn syrup
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
Salt
120g semisweet chocolate, melted
1 cup chunky peanut butter
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1 pinch cream of tartar
1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting
Cocoa, for dusting
Cinnamon, for dusting

Directions

In a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter until creamy. Add the brown sugar and beat at medium-high speed until fluffy, 3 minutes. Beat in 1 teaspoon of the vanilla and the whole egg. Add the 2 1/4 cups of flour and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and beat until a soft dough forms. Divide the dough into 2 mounds and transfer to 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Pat each mound of dough into a 1/3-inch-thick square, wrap, and refrigerate until firm, 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with one square at a time, on a floured work surface, roll the dough out to a 26cm square, 5ml thick. Using a 5cm biscuit cutter, stamp out rounds and arrange them 1cm apart on the baking sheets; repeat with the second square of dough. Gather the scraps and refrigerate until firm. Reroll and cut out more rounds, using the scraps only once. Refrigerate the cookies just until firm, about 10 minutes.
Bake the cookies in the upper and middle thirds of the oven for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned, shifting the pans halfway through baking. Let cool slightly, then carefully invert the cookies onto racks and let cool completely.
Spread the melted chocolate on half of the cookies and the peanut butter on the other half. Allow the chocolate to set.
In a small saucepan, boil the corn syrup over high heat without stirring until it registers 120 degrees C on a sugar thermometer. Meanwhile, in a clean standing mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the 2 egg whites with the cream of tartar and a pinch of salt until firm peaks form. Slowly drizzle in the hot corn syrup and beat at high speed until glossy, about 2 minutes. At medium-low speed, beat in the remaining 2 teaspoons of vanilla and the 1 cup of confectioners' sugar.
Transfer the marshmallow to a pastry bag with a plain 1cm tip or a large zippered plastic bag with the corner snipped off. Pipe 1 1/2-tablespoon mounds of the marshmallow onto the chocolate-covered cookies. Top with the peanut butter–covered cookies and press lightly to spread the marshmallow to the edges. Let the moon pies stand in an airtight container for 2 hours (they will soften slightly) before dusting with confectioners' sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon and serving