Food or Science?

Most of us would make a chocolate cake by melting chocolate and butter together, stirring in egg yolks, sugar and flour, and adding beaten egg whites. Of course there are thousands of variations on the standard chocolate cake recipe but Chef ‘Will Goldfarb’ from Manhattans trendy ‘Room 4 Dessert’ can take the humble chocolate cake to a whole new level. First, bring 100ml of milk to a boil with sugar. Infuse roasted cocoa seeds and coffee beans, then strain, and purée 100ml infusion with methylcellulose following instructions for hydration. Bring to 80-90C then rapidly chill to 4C. Warm remaining 300ml milk to dissolve gelatine and reserve at 35C. Begin whipping methylcellulose base in mixer, slowly adding gelatin base and making a stable mousse. Freeze in moulds, unmould, and warm as needed in a salamander. Will bravely opened New York’s very first ‘Dessert Only’ restaurant creating a new dining trend that has now been cloned in many major cities. He’s also a devotee of Spain’s ‘Ferran Adria’ with a kitchen that looks more like a science laboratory and a grocery list that ALWAYS includes liquid nitrogen.