Caramel Dream Petits Gâteaux

This caramel entremet is rich in contrasting flavors and textures. You will learn how to make a sponge cake that is rich and moist you will also learn a technique using salt and blanching to reduce bitterness when using citrus fruits.

Recipe

Created by
  • Lauren V. Haas - Lead Chef, Chocolate Academy™ North America
  1. Brown Sugar Hazelnut Sponge Cake
  2. Mandarin and Apricot Compote
  3. Alto Del Sol Mousse
  4. Hazelnut Nougatine
  5. Sea Salt Caramel Glaze
  6. Garnish
  7. Assembly and Finishing

Brown Sugar Hazelnut Sponge Cake

Ingredients Preparation
  • 110g
    powdered sugar
  • 150g
    Butter, Softened
  • 150g
    egg yolks
  • 230g
    Hazelnut flour, toasted with skins
  • 55g
    Heavy Cream 35%
  • 60g
    bread flour
  • 20g
    Cornstarch
  • 240g
    Egg whites, at room temperature
  • 100g
    Dark brown sugar
  • As needed
    Praliné 50% Hazelnuts Piémont
  • 4g
    fine salt
  1. Cream the soft butter with the icing sugar together until light.
  2. Add the egg yolks slowly and mix well on medium speed.
  3. Add the hazelnut flour and mix. Note: hazelnut flour is added first because it has no gluten and can be mixed for a little longer.
  4. Add half of the cream and mix.
  5. Add the flour, cornstarch and salt and mix just until blended.
  6. Add the rest of the cream and mix until blended.
  7. In a clean bowl, put the room temperature egg whites with a little bit of the brown sugar and whip.
  8. Once a meringue starts forming, add the sugar gradually and keep whipping until soft to medium peaks form.
  9. Add a third of the meringue to the cake batter and mix to lighten the dough.
  10. Fold in the rest of the meringue.
  11. Pour the cake batter in a piping bag and cut the tip.
  12. Place the prepared cake mold on a scale and pipe 350g (12.3 oz) of batter into the mold.
  13. Smooth the top with a spatula.
  14. Using a piping bag, pipe small dots of Cacao Barry® praliné into the batter at regular intervals.
  15. Bake at 160°C (320°F) for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched.
  16. Once the cake is baked, wrap it up in plastic film and place it in the refrigerator until needed.

Mandarin and Apricot Compote

Ingredients Preparation
  • 4piece(s)
    mandarines
  • 80g
    apricot puree
  • 140g
    sugar
  • 6g
    yellow pectin
  • As needed
    salt
  1. Boil the whole mandarins in lightly salted water for 1 hour and 30 minutes, changing the water a minimum of 5 times.
  2. NOTE: Adding salt and changing the water helps to extract the bitterness from the citrus fruit.
  3. Once the mandarins are boiled, cut and deseed them.
  4. Place them in a food processor or Thermomix® and grind. Scrape the sides of the bowl a few times and grind again until you obtain an even paste.
  5. Weigh 300g (10.6 oz) of the mandarin paste.
  6. Mix a small amount of the sugar with the pectin.
  7. Put the mandarin paste, apricot purée, sugar and yellow pectin in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
  8. NOTE: We use yellow pectin because it works well with fruit and will provide a nice set. If you work with yellow pectin, make sure you have sugar and acid in the recipe.
  9. Once the compote comes to a boil, take it off the heat, place it in a bowl and cover with plastic making sure the plastic comes into contact with the entire surface of the compote.
  10. Allow to cool in the refrigerator.

Alto Del Sol Mousse

Ingredients Preparation
  • 340g
    Heavy Cream 35%
  • 4g
    Gelatin sheets, 180 bloom
  • 32g
    water
  • 78g
    Eggs, whole
  • 22g
    egg yolks
  • 61g
    sugar
  1. Whip the cream to very soft peaks. Reserve until needed.
  2. Mix the gelatin with the water and allow it to bloom.
  3. Mix the eggs, egg yolks and sugar with a whisk over a double boiler until the temperature reaches 62°C (145°F). Keep the zabaglione at that temperature for 15 seconds to pasteurize the eggs.
  4. Pour the zabaglione into the bowl of a mixer and whisk at high speed until light.
  5. Melt the gelatin in the microwave for a few seconds.
  6. Mix the gelatin into the zabaglione and fold in with a whisk.
  7. Add the chocolate and fold in with a whisk.
  8. Add the whipped cream in 3 stages, folding well after each addition.
  9. Pour the mousse in a piping bag, cut the tip and pipe it into the mold. Fill the mold to the top.
  10. Tap the mold on the counter to remove any air bubbles and smooth the top with an offset spatula.
  11. Place the mousse in the blast freezer until completely frozen.

Hazelnut Nougatine

Ingredients Preparation
  • 125g
    butter
  • 50g
    glucose syrup
  • 150g
    powdered sugar
  • 2g
    pectin NH
  • 150g
    Hazelnuts, finely chopped
  1. Melt the butter and glucose together in a pan
  2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
  3. Allow the nougatine to come to a full boil while constantly stirring.
  4. Once the nougatine is cohesive, pour it on a metal tray lined with a silpat and spread evenly into a thin layer.
  5. Top with another silpat and roll with a rolling pin to flatten and smooth it. Trim the edges and roll some more.
  6. Remove the top silpat and bake at 160°C (320°F) for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven from time to time and tap it to remove any air bubbles.
  7. Once the nougatine is cooked and golden, take it out of the oven.
  8. Using a ruler and a pastry wheel, cut six rectangles of 3 cm x 8.5 cm (1.2” x 3.3”) and six rectangles of 3 cm x 24 cm (1.2” x 9.4”). If the nougatine starts to set, place it back in the oven for a minute or so to soften it.
  9. Allow the rectangles to cool on a rack and reserve in a dry location until ready to use.

Sea Salt Caramel Glaze

Ingredients Preparation
  • 144g
    Heavy Cream 35%
  • 164g
    Water #1
  • 13g
    Gelatin sheets, 180 bloom
  • 65g
    Water #2
  • 216g
    sugar
  • 108g
    sweetened condensed milk
  • 3g
    fine salt
  • 108g
    glucose syrup
  1. Place the cream, first quantity of water and glucose in a saucepan and heat until barely simmering.
  2. Mix the second quantity of water and the gelatin in a small bowl to allow the gelatin to bloom.
  3. Heat a dry saucepan and add the sugar to make a dry caramel. Melt until the sugar reaches a dark caramel color.
  4. Deglaze by gradually adding the warm cream mixture and stir well after each addition.
  5. Strain the caramel over the Cacao Barry® Zéphyr caramel, sweetened condensed milk, salt and bloomed gelatin.
  6. Mix with an immersion blender until well emulsified.
  7. Let the glaze cool down to 28°C (82°F).

Garnish

  1. Pour the pre-crystallized chocolate on a guitar sheet and cover with another guitar sheet.
  2. Spread thinly with an offset spatula.
  3. Using a metal ruler and the back of a pairing knife, measure and cut 5.5 cm (2.2”) squares in the chocolate.
  4. Place the guitar sheets between two pieces of parchment paper. Place this on plastic film.
  5. Place the rolling pin diagonally on one of the corners and roll everything around it.
  6. Reserve in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to fully crystallize the chocolate and then store at room temperature until needed.

Assembly and Finishing

Ingredients Preparation
  • As needed
    Hazelnuts, roasted
  • As needed
    Candied orange zest
  1. Unmold the sponge cake and carefully remove the parchment paper.
  2. Place it back in the mold and trim the top.
  3. Trim the edges of the cake with a bread knife, making sure the final cake size is 23.5 cm x 8.25 cm (0.2” x 3.2”).
  4. Use metal rods as guides to trim along the longer sides of the cake.
  5. Pipe a layer of compote on top of the cake and smooth with an offset spatula.
  6. Place the cake on your serving platter.
  7. Pour the glaze in a piping bag.
  8. Unmold the frozen mousse and place it on the metal rod to lift it from the work surface.
  9. Pipe the glaze on the mousse. Wipe off the excess glaze on the sides with an offset spatula.
  10. Carefully place the glazed mousse on top of the cake.
  11. Pipe a little compote along each nougatine rectangle and secure one on each side of the cake.
  12. Peel the plastic film from the rolling pin and the decorations.
  13. Remove the rolling pin and carefully peel the decorations from the guitar sheet.
  14. Shave the whole roasted hazelnuts to flatten them.
  15. Place one chocolate garnish in the center of the cake. Top it with a piece of homemade or store bought candied citrus peel and one of the shaved hazelnuts.

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