Michelin-starred chef Michael O’Hare puts Skittle twist on classic desserts

Michelin-starred chef Michael O’Hare has put a sweet twist on classic desserts – using new Skittles Desserts sweets. The Great British Menu stalwart is renowned throughout fine dining circles for his distinctive and creative dishes. But now, Michael has been tasked to take his avant-garde culinary expertise and apply it a range of beloved puddings , using the confectionary favourite. This resulted in a Choco Orange Ganache formed of deconstructed chocolate orange cake with chocolate ganache. Next up was the Sweet and Smoky Strawberries made by smoked strawberry ice cream with barbecued strawberries, garnished with silver leaf. Third to be plated up was the Rainbow Alchemy, made of a serving of Skittles Desserts , each melted and reformed at a different temperature and dipped in a layer of coloured chocolate and cocoa butter casing that bursts when bitten. And finally, a Watermelon Tartare was given Michael’s creative treatment – he impregnated watermelon with essence from the tiny treats and served with a strawberry ice-cream sorbet, also made from the sweets. It comes after research of 2,000 adults found younger Brits are ditching traditional desserts – such as syllabub, figgy pudding and cherries jubilee. Of the 18- to 34-year-olds polled, 45 per cent would skip dessert at home in favour of a bag of sweets on the sofa. Just 13 per cent have tucked into a Queen of Puddings before, and only 16 per cent have enjoyed a strawberry fool. It also emerged 43 per cent of millennials would prefer to indulge in a lighter dessert, compared to 36 per cent who would opt for a heavier pudding. But 44 per cent of these youngsters admit they never make desserts at home. Ryan Pardo-Roques, chief fruity flavour alchemist at Mars Wrigley, which commissioned the research to mark the launch of its new dessert flavoured sweets, said: ‘We pride ourselves on being innovative with our flavours, so we loved working with Michelin star chef Michael O’Hare who shares our vision of a more fun-filled world of food-experiences and creations.’ The research also found 69 per cent of all Brits admit they have a sweet tooth. And 53 per cent would opt for a sweet treat after their main when eating out, rather than a starter, if they had to pick one. However, many believe certain sweet dishes sound old fashioned by today’s standards – with spotted dick (51 per cent) and jam roly poly (37 per cent) most associated with times gone by. Some are even causing confusion with many having no idea what ingredients are used to make them – as syllabub (46 per cent) and Queen of Puddings (42 per cent) caused eyebrows to raise. Of the home bakers polled, via OnePoll, apple crumble (66 per cent) is the most popular dish rustled up in kitchens, followed by Victoria sponge (58 per cent) and cheesecake (56 per cent). However, of those who don’t dare make a dessert at home, a third recognise they haven’t got the skill to pull it off. It also emerged, on average, adults will have a dessert twice in a typical week. And 58 per cent will just stick to what they know, rather than try something new, with 38 per cent claiming they don’t feel full until they’ve had something sweet after their main meal. Chef Michael O’Hare said ‘Dessert is pleasure, simple as that, however I wasn’t surprised to learn that dinner table desserts are on the decline. “I’ve partnered with Skittles Desserts to help make desserts desirable once more through these unique and delicious creations inspired by ordinary flavours experienced in an extra-ordinary way.’ Top 10 desserts the under 35’s have never tried: Syllabub Queen of Puddings Cherries Jubilee Strawberry Fool Figgy Pudding Curd Tart Spotted Dick Treacle Sponge Pudding Knickerbocker Glory Treacle Tart