A Tunisian national, chef Anis studied at the Tunisian Tourism School. At just 19 he pursued his culinary dream by moving to Belgium to attend the Chocolate Academy, which gave him the chance to develop his fledgling skills. Since then he has worked for many international hotels in the Gulf, Asia and Africa before taking up his current position in Bahrain with Sofitel.
He says: “I always try to take influence from the things that are around me. I’m a voracious reader of pastry cookbooks, old and new. Sometimes I love looking through books from the best of a generation’s pastry chefs, the ’70s and ’60s.
A lot of inspiration comes from travelling for courses and eating in many famous pastry shops. I think the most important thing that any culinary professional can do is just continue to eat and learn and taste. I take inspiration as well from social media,;there are many creative pastry chefs around this world that help me with many ideas.”
Here he shares with us one of his favourite cake recipes.
Hazelnut Chocolate Gateaux De Voyage
Ingredients
150g ground hazelnut
150g flour
150g salted butter
150g sugar
50g chocolate
10g baking powder
10g vanilla powder
5 eggs
For the Filling/Ganache
200g dark chocolate 72 per cent
100g double cream
50g butter
50g toasted hazelnuts
30g icing sugar
20g coffee powder
Method
Beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl, using an electric whisk or wooden spoon, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, a little at a time. Don’t worry if the mixture curdles; it won’t affect the finished cake. Fold in the chocolate, then the ground hazelnuts, then sift in the flour and baking powder.
Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 45-55 minutes, until firm to the touch. Cool in the tin for five minutes, then turn out and cool on a wire rack.
To make the filling, put the chocolate, butter, coffee and cream in a small pan and heat gently, stirring until dissolved and smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the icing sugar. Leave to cool, then put in the fridge, stirring occasionally until it is spreadable. This will take one to two hours.
Slice the cake in two, horizontally, and put the base on a serving plate. Spread over half of the filling and scatter over half the hazelnuts. Cover with the top of the cake and spread the remaining filling over the top. Scatter the remaining hazelnuts around the top edge of the cake.
Add some berries on top of the cake for additional decoration if required.
