Smoked Chestnut Purée, Camembert Cheese, Chestnut Financier, Valrhona Manjari Chocolate Sorbet, Black Truffles, and Sorrel

METHOD:

For the Chestnut Financier:
Prepare one day in advance. Put the sugar, flours and salt into a mixer fitted with a paddle. Mix at first speed and add ¼ of the egg whites. Add the brown butter, honey and orange zest and mix to combine. Add the remaining ¾ of the egg whites and combine once more. Allow the mixture to mature overnight. Divide the mixture in half and reserve one half to make Financier Chips. Bake the other half at 375°F in a convection oven until browned on top.

For the Financier Chips:
Slice the chilled financier very thinly on a meat slicer and place onto a Silpat. Bake in a 350°F oven until crisp.

For the Valrhona Manjari Chocolate Sorbet:
Combine the sugar, trimoline, sorbet stabilizer and salt. Heat the water to 40°C in a pot over a medium heat. Add the sugar mixture and heat the syrup to 85°C. Pour the syrup over the chocolate and homogenize with an immersion blender. Freeze the sorbet mix in an ice cream machine.

For the Chestnut Purée:
Smoke the chestnuts for 30 minutes. Put the chestnuts in a pressure cooker, cover with water and cook until tender, approximately 1 hour. Purée the chestnuts in the Vita-Prep with the honey, salt, and rum, and adjust the consistency with the remaining cooking liquid. 

For the Candied Cocoa Nibs:
Heat the sugar and water to 115°C in a small pot over a medium heat. Add the cocoa nibs and stir until the mixture turns the consistency of sand. Continue cooking until the sugar melts and caramelizes evenly around the nibs. Add the cocoa butter, mix well and pour onto a Silpat. When completely cooled, break into nibs.

To Assemble and Serve:
Toast the financier in a pan with butter. Spread the chestnut purée across the plate and top with the financier. Put a slice of camembert on top of the financier. Next to the financier, plate a quenelle of the sorbet on a bed of cocoa nibs and rest a financier chip against it. Garnish with roasted chestnuts, shaved black truffle and micro sorrel.