Armed with dessert spoons, Mike Bennie and Merrick Watts take on a full-bodied chocolate mousse cake and triumph, with drinks picks ranging from fresh and fruity lambrusco, to a smooth cognac and a standout stout.
Mike: This dish screams two things to me: the good side of lambrusco – sparkling, fresh reds – and the old punch bowl. I’m talking ’70s-style swingers’ dinner party, you’ve got everything from the cupboard in there.
Merrick: Advocaat! What’s that, that looks good. Put it in!
Mike: Pour in tropical punch, stir with your fingers, throw in some melon balls. Fruity, fresh and ready to go with this sexy cake.
Merrick: I love the sparkling-red idea but I didn’t go there. I am biased because this is my last-supper drink, Rockford Black Shiraz. The berries would complement this cake so well. I make a packet-mix brownie with my daughter – she absolutely loves it. It’s quick and easy. And that gives you more time to make a convoluted drink!
My thinking, Mike, is this: cakes have so much sugar in them, you can try to dilute that or you can double down and have a double-shot espresso with Amaretto.
Mike: There’s a cocktail I learnt from being in ’90s nightclubs, a Slippery Nipple, but I like to call it the Classy Small Glass. I have no idea what’s in it; it’s creamy so it’ll work.
Merrick: This is the only time where we can match creamy drinks!
Mike: A shot of Kahlua and a shot of Baileys. On a single cube of ice. Or go left of centre and add Amarula cream.
Merrick: Oh yeah the one that has the elephant on it! If you were an adult would you suggest a cognac with this?
Mike: I would suggest you were a loser. Cream on cream would work. But also what would be perfect is a moscato d’asti. Light, fresh, 5.5 per cent alcohol.
Merrick: I had moscato written down, too. I can‘t wait to share things again when we come out of Covid.
Mike: I miss so many people. I’ve just been in the bath with candles, watching re-runs of Sex and the City. Actually, I spent a lot of time with you!
Merrick: One of the first places I went to when we were allowed out again was to see you, Mike!
Mike: So when should we schedule our fight with the Chef and the Butcher?
Merrick: We’re going to beat those guys up.
Mike: Colin wants to be part of this column, I know it.
THE CRITIC’S PICKS
Lambrusco is so often thought of as ultra-sweet, creamy-foamy simple sparkling wine, but in the hands of great producers, like this, it’s scintillating, refreshing, bright and gently fruity. This is a wonderful match to this dish.
Spring Seed Wine Co Sweet Pea Moscato 2019, $20
It’s pink, it smells like Turkish Delight, it has light, frisky bubbles and generally does an amazing job of being refreshing. While it is a simple, sweeter, frizzante wine style, it’s really good for counterbalancing the richness of this dessert.
Made with sour cherries and cacao, this delivers a ‘like with like’ experience to this dessert. Tangy cherry and rich, chocolatey beer may sound unusual, but it is curiously thirst-quenching and magnifies everything in this dish superbly.
THE COMIC’S WILDCARD
François Méry Melrose VS Cognac, $86
Cognac is awesome with chocolate and is fittingly brilliant with this opulent dessert. This one is smooth and vibrant with stone fruit, honeycomb, gentle spice and sweet, dried fruit characters, but finishes pleasingly dry.
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