Add some spice to traditional chocolate fondants with star anise. Seve with orange cream for a wonderfully fragrant dessert.
For the orange ice cream, make a crème anglaise first. Heat the cream, milk and orange zest in a saucepan until just boiling. Remove from the heat and set aside to infuse for 5-10 minutes.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until well combined. Whisk the cream mixture into the eggs, pour the mixture back into the saucepan and return to the heat.
Stir in the orange juice and continue to cook until the crème anglaise is thickened (do not boil). Set aside the crème anglaise to cool, then chill in the fridge.
Churn two-thirds of the crème anglaise in an ice cream machine, according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer the ice cream into a freezable container and chill in the freezer until needed.
Pass the remaining crème anglaise through a sieve into a bowl, cover with cling film and chill in the fridge until needed.
For the star anise chocolate fondant, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4.
Grease four ramekin dishes with a little butter. Add a small amount of the grated chocolate to each, turn them to coat the sides and bottom, shaking out any excess.
Bring a little water to the boil in a pan, then reduce the heat until the water is simmering. Suspend a heatproof bowl over the water (do not allow the base of the bowl to touch the water). Melt the chocolate and butter together in the bowl.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the ground almonds, egg yolks, cornflour and star anise.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form when a whisk is removed. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time. Fold the egg white mixture into the melted chocolate mixture.
Divide half of the chocolate mixture among the four ramekins. Place a chocolate truffle on top and fill the ramekins with the remaining chocolate mixture.
Place in the oven to bake for 10-15 minutes, or until risen and slightly wobbly.
To serve, sprinkle any remaining grated chocolate onto one side of each of four serving plates and turn a chocolate fondant out onto each plate. Spoon the chilled orange crème anglaise onto the other side of the plate and spoon some orange ice cream on top of the chocolate fondant.
