The Magnum Cafe

If you like to indulge your guests with fancy desserts, chocolate and ice cream may serve you well.

Belgian chocolate expert Steve Diaz offers some tips for making a fabulous dessert at home.

Together with five celebrities, he made five kinds of desserts that combine chocolate, cake, hazelnut, strawberry and ice cream at the Magnum Cafe.

“There is no specific way of arranging them, but of course the ice cream needs to be on top and not on the bottom, because it melts. Also, the ice cream has to be the star of the dish,” he says.

In collaboration with actor Dion Wiyoko, for instance, he made Grande Gaufre, which consists of crispy Belgian waffles with ice cream and melted milk chocolate.

“Get any kind of waffle. Make two layers with the ice cream in the middle like a sandwich, and put it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to an hour. After that, dip it into melted chocolate,” Diaz said.

The New Crown JewelYou will need to pay attention to the temperature of the melted chocolate, as it should be slightly below body temperature.

The simple way to know if it is, Diaz said, is by dipping your finger in it. The cold feeling indicates that it is below your body temperature, and will freeze well when you dip the ice cream sandwich in.

Another thing to consider is that you cannot prepare the dessert too far inadvance because it can get soggy.

Diaz’s three best ingredients for pretty desserts are chocolate, berries and whipped cream.

Plate selection does matter, as it can enhance the presentation of the dessert and boost the ambience.

His advice is to go for white plates to enhance the color of the dessert, and dark plates if you want it to match with an evening nuance.

— JP/Indah Setiawati