Only last Sunday did my beautiful mother turn 45! She's still so young and happy and radiant, and even though she dresses way too young for her age and listens to Macklemore, Katy Perry and P!nk, her love for food beats all. I remember the one day that we were eating dinner as a family and Masterchef was making this cake. It looked very exquisite and complicated, and the competitors were given 3.5 hours to complete this masterpiece in the Pressure Test. Although, the original cake looks much different from mine, and is much smaller. Nonetheless, my mum, being as extravagant as she is, demanded that that cake was to be made for her birthday, and let's say I couldn't say no.
Altogether, the making of the cake took almost three weeks! It would not have taken this long if I had the correct kitchen utensils and gadgets, but unfortunately I wasn't equipped with such luxuries.
Here is the inside of the cake! I forgot to wipe the knife off everytime I sliced into the cake, because I was so amazed at how amazing the cake turned out! You can see almost all the layers perfectly.
I took a picture of my slice! Here you can see all the layers of the cake, but you're missing out on the best bit.. which is, of course, eating it! After the first bite, I came to accept that the three weeks of hard work really had paid off.
White chocolate
cremeux
·
6g gold gelatine leaves
·
690g good quality white chocolate
·
180g cocoa butter
·
840g thickened cream
·
6vanilla beans, split and seeds scraped
·
150g egg yolks
·
30g caster sugar
Roasted milk
chocolate mousse
·
400g 39% milk couverture
·
20g milk powder
·
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
·
6g gold gelatine sheets
·
70g caster sugar
·
50g water
·
76g egg yolks
·
70g milk
·
450g thickened cream
Chocolate mirror
glaze
·
10g gold gelatine leaves
·
196g water
·
196g caster sugar
·
76g glucose
·
2g sea salt
·
450g neutral glaze
·
76g Dutch cocoa powder (22-24%)
·
2g black oil-based food colouring (optional)
Chocolate pain de
gene
·
540g almond paste
·
90g caster sugar
·
300g eggs
·
60g egg yolks
·
2g salt
·
70g Dutch cocoa powder (22-24%), sifted
·
1/4 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
·
110g clarified butter, warm
Walnut black sesame
florentine
·
120g caster sugar
·
6g NH pectin (found in jam setters
·
40g unsalted butter
·
70g thickened cream
·
40g honey
·
40g liquid glucose
·
70g white sesame seeds
·
60g black sesame seeds
·
70g walnuts, roasted, chopped
·
30g cocoa butter
Crispy rice base
·
30g roasted skinless hazelnuts, roughly chopped
·
20g dark crispearls
·
60g praline
·
100g Nutella
·
24g dark couverture (70%)
Chocolate spheres
(optional)
·
6 tempered domes, various sizes
·
Reserved white chocolate cremeux
To assemble
·
Oil spray, to grease
·
Large 20cm round pan with removable bottom
To serve
·
Chocolate glaze
·
Cardboard base
·
Pink hearts, to garnish (optional)
Note: You will need
to start the recipe a day ahead.
White chocolate cremeux
For the white chocolate cremeux, soak gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water
for about 5 minutes or until softened. Drain, squeezing out any excess
water.
Place white chocolate and cocoa butter in a bowl.
Meanwhile, place cream, vanilla beans and seeds in a medium saucepan, and bring
to the boil over medium heat. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a bowl to combine.
Slowly pour cream mixture into yolk mixture, whisking continuously. Transfer
mixture to a clean saucepan and bring to 80˚C, stirring constantly to make an
anglaise. Remove from heat. Immediately add softened gelatine and stir until
dissolved.
Strain anglaise through a fine sieve into bowl with white chocolate and cocoa
butter, whisking until melted and well combined, then transfer to a disposable
piping bag.
Place a 36-hole x 2.5cm half-sphere fleximat sheet on a flat tray. Cut 2mm from
the tip of the piping bag and fill holes with cremeux. Place in freezer for at
least 4 hours until frozen solid. Repeat for remaining batter.
Cool remaining chocolate cremeux to 30°C, then fill chocolate domes, if using.
Once half spheres are frozen, working quickly in batches, press two halves
together to create 36 full spheres, gently rubbing together on the sides.
Return to freezer until needed.
*You will have some remaining cremeux that can be stored in an airtight
container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It can be served with desserts or
used in cakes.
Roasted milk chocolate mousse
For the roasted milk chocolate mousse, preheat oven to 125°C.
Place arriba milk couverture, milk powder, vanilla bean and seeds in a bowl and
toss to combine to avoid milk powder from clumping. Transfer to a silicone mat
and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven every 20 minutes to stir, and to ensure
the mixture roasts evenly. Spread out before returning to oven. You can
refrigerate mixture overnight.
Meanwhile, make glaze.
Make chocolate pain de gene.
Make walnut black sesame florentine.
Make crispy rice base.
Make chocolate spheres, if using.
To finish mousse, soak gelatine leaves in a heatproof bowl of cold water for 5
minutes or until softened. Drain, squeezing out any excess water.
Place sugar and water in a small saucepan set over medium heat, and bring to
121°C, taking care not to allow the temperature to increase any further.
Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, continually whisk egg yolks until thick,
pale and the sugar syrup is added. Gradually whisk hot sugar syrup into egg
yolks. Continue to whisk until mixture reaches room temperature to create a pâté
à bombe.
Meanwhile, bring milk to the boil in a small saucepan.
Remove and discard vanilla beans from roasted chocolate, then transfer mixture
to a food processor. With the motor running, gradually add heated milk, then
strain through a fine sieve into a heatproof bowl. Set roasted chocolate
ganache aside.
Pour cream into the bowl of an electric mixer, whip until slightly thickened.
Set aside in the fridge until needed.
Return softened gelatine to bowl and heat in the microwave in 10 seconds
increments to melt. Note carefully, do not heat the gelatine above 80°C because
it will lose its setting ability. It will heat very quickly in the microwave.
Fold a small amount of the pâté à bombe into heated gelatine to combine. Using
a spatula, fold gelatine mixture into bowl with remaining pâté à bombe to
combine.
If necessary, gently reheat roasted chocolate ganache in 20-second increments
in a microwave. Bring mixture to 34˚C, then fold in one-fifth of the whipped
cream to loosen. Using a spatula, gently fold ganache into the pâté à bombe
until combined, then fold through the remaining cream.
Spoon into a disposable piping bag fitted with a 1cm round nozzle and set aside
on the bench until needed.
Chocolate mirror glaze
Soak gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for about 5 minutes or until
softened. Drain, squeezing out any excess water.
Meanwhile, place 14g of the water, sugar, glucose and salt into a saucepan and
bring to a simmer over low heat, whisking constantly. Whisk in neutral glaze,
maintaining the mixture at a simmer.
Combine remaining 162g of water and cocoa powder in a bowl, then pour into pan
with syrup, whisking to combine. Sift black food colouring into pan, and simmer
for a further 5 minutes, whisking continuously. Remove from heat, add softened
gelatine, and emulsify mixture using a stick blender, keeping the blade at the
base of the bowl to avoid incorporating any air. Strain through a fine sieve
into a shallow tray, then place plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the
glaze to avoid a skin forming. Refrigerate until needed.
Chocolate pain de gene
Preheat oven to 170°C.
Place almond paste and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a
paddle attachment, and beat well on low speed to combine.
With the motor running, slowly add eggs and yolks, followed by the salt,
regularly scraping down the sides. Please note, if the eggs and yolks are added
too quickly, lumps will develop and cannot be removed.
Using a spatula, gently fold in cocoa and baking powder by hand until just
combined. Add a small amount of the almond paste mixture to a bowl with
clarified butter and mix until well combined, then fold into remaining almond
paste mixture to combine.
Spread mixture evenly into two 25cm-wide x 35cm-long x 1cm-deep flexipan, and
bake for 12-15 minutes until cooked. Place in freezer to cool completely. Cut
into 2 x 20cm circles, then set aside on the bench until needed. You can use a 20cm round mould to do this.
Walnut black sesame florentine
Preheat oven to 170°C.
Combine sugar and pectin in a saucepan. Add butter, cream, honey and glucose,
and stir to combine. Place over medium-high heat and cook for about 5 minutes
or until golden.
Add sesame seeds and walnuts and stir to combine.
Roll mixture between two sheets of baking paper to 2-3mm thick. Transfer to a
baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle with Copha as soon as it is removed from the oven. Working quickly, using an 20cm round pan as a guide, cut florentine into 20cm circles.
Crispy rice base
Place roasted hazelnuts in a bowl along with crispearls and paillete
feuilletine, and stir to combine.
Place gianduja and couverture in a heatproof bowl and heat in a microwave in
20-second increments to 36°C, then pour into bowl with hazelnut
mixture and mix well to combine.
Spread a 3mm layer onto one 20cm pain de gene circle.
Chocolate spheres (optional)
Fill each chocolate dome with white chocolate cremeux and level off the base.
Place in freezer until needed.
To assemble
Spray a 20cm round pan and place pan onto a silicone mat set on a tray for
assembly.
Place a circle of pain de gene, topped with crispy rice layer into the base of
the cube. Cover with a layer of milk chocolate mousse to a maximum of
1cm-thick, piping an extra 1cm layer around the edges to spread up the sides of
the mould, using a palette knife.
Using tweezers, place 16 white cremeux spheres into the mousse in a 4 x 4 pattern. Pipe in another layer of mousse, surrounding and covering the spheres
with a 1cm-thick layer above the spheres.
Using a bamboo skewer, gently insert into a black sesame florentine square,
then carefully place into mould. Cover with another layer of mousse at
8mm-thick.
Carefully insert a pain de gene layer and cover with 8mm of mousse, filling the
gaps between the mould and the pain de gene, and spreading the mousse slightly
up the sides. Layer with remaining 16 spheres, then add another layer of mousse,
covering the spheres with a 1cm-thick layer.
Insert a second piece of florentine into mould.
Cover with a final layer of mousse to fill mould and place in freezer to firm
up slightly.
Remove from freezer. Using a palette knife, level off the top of the mousse,
adding an additional thin layer of mousse. Place chocolate filled spheres on
top, if using, gently pushing into soft layer of mousse. Return to freezer for
at least 6 hours, preferably overnight until frozen solid.
To serve
Gently reheat glaze in the microwave in 20-second increments to bring it up to
a pouring consistency of 25C in temperature.
Place 20cm round pan onto a stand smaller than the diameter of the cake pan to allow mirror glaze to drip off cake. This can be achieved by standing cake on top of mugs or cups. Release mould from cake by
pulling downwards, gently heating with a blowtorch, if necessary. Glaze frozen
cake with chocolate glaze. Carefully transfer to a serving plate.
Louros needs to be at room temperature for about 20 minutes before
slicing.
Enjoy!
- Rachel
.png)
4:53 PM
0 comments
