Orange ricotta in chocolate cups with tomato and passionfruit topping

Missy Wombat's Note:

This recipe is an RSC entry. My brother never used to like tomatoes until our desperate mother suggested that he sprinkle sugar on them. He still eats them with sugar to this day. It was this that inspired me to use tomatoes in the topping. However any old tomato will not do. The tomatoes I have used are decidedly not acidic, quite small, very tasty and have their own natural sweetness. They must be fully ripe. This recipe is very simple and it is easy to adjust the quantities if you need more of any of the parts. Bon appetit!

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 2

CHOCOLATE CUPS

• 4 ounces good quality baking chocolate
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

TOMATO TOPPING

• 2 small tomatoes, fully ripe,finely chopped
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cointreau liqueur or 1 teaspoon orange based liqueur
• 1 passion fruit

FILLING

• 6 tablespoons smooth ricotta cheese
• 3 tablespoons icing sugar
• 3 tablespoons cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Cointreau liqueur
• orange zest

GARNISH

• crushed caramel-flavored bits or homemade spun sugar, threads

Directions:

1. CHOCOLATE CUPS: Melt 4 oz of good quality chocolate in a double boiler.
2. Once melted, add a pinch of cayenne pepper and stir well.
3. Spoon a tablespoon of chocolate into each foil baking cup and spread up the sides of the foil.
4. Best to make one chocolate cup at a time if you have never done this before.
5. Refrigerate until the chocolate has hardened.
6. Once hard, carefully remove the foil.
7. Leave these in the fridge until ready to assemble and serve!
8. TOMATO TOPPING: In a small saucepan, cook the sugar and tomatoes together carefully so that the sugar starts to thicken and a jam like consistency is reached.
9. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
10. Scoop out the passionfruit pulp and mix well with the tomato mixture.
11. Allow to cool and place in the refrigerator.
12. FILLING: Combine all the ricotta filling ingredients and mix well into a smooth mixture that is not runny.
13. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to assemble.
14. ASSEMBLY: Add ricotta filling to each chocolate cup.
15. Add about 1 tsp of the tomato-passionfruit topping and sprinkle with crushed caramel chips.
16. These can be kept in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
17. However if using spun sugar instead of caramel chips, please serve immediately before the threads disintegrate.