Ingredients
White chocolate cremeux:
3g gold gelatine leaves
345g good quality white chocolate
90g callebaut mycryo cocoa butter
420g thickened cream
3 vanilla beans, split and seeds scraped
75g egg yolks
15g caster sugarRoasted milk chocolate mousse :
200g callebaut arriba 39% milk couverture
10g milk powder
½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped
3g gold gelatine sheets
35g caster sugar
25g water
38g egg yolks
35g milk
225g thickened creamChocolate mirror glaze :
5g gold gelatine leaves
88g water
88g caster sugar
38g glucose
1g sea salt
225g neutral glaze
38g Dutch cocoa powder (22-24%)
1g black oil-based food colouring (optional)Chocolate pain de gene :
270g almond paste
45g caster sugar
150g eggs
30g egg yolks
1g salt
35g Dutch cocoa powder (22-24%), sifted
1/8 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
55g clarified butter, warmWalnut black sesame florentine:
60g caster sugar
3g NH pectin
20g unsalted butter
35g thickened cream
20g honey
20g liquid glucose
35g white sesame seeds
30g black sesame seeds
35g walnuts, roasted, chopped
15g callebaut mycryo cocoa butterCrispy rice base:
15g roasted skinless hazelnuts, roughly chopped
10g dark crispearls
30g callebaut paillete feuilletine
50g callebaut milk gianduja
12g callebaut Ecuador dark couverture (70%) Chocolate spheres (optional):
3 tempered domes, various sizes
Reserved white chocolate cremeuxTo assemble:
Oil spray, to grease
2 each 10 x 20cm acetate sheets, folded in halfTo serve:
Chocolate glaze
Cardboard base
Pink hearts, to garnish (optional)
Method
Note: You will need to start the recipe a day ahead.
White chocolate cremeux
1. 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.
2. Place white chocolate and cocoa butter in a bowl.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Place a 36-hole x 2.5cm half-sphere flexipan 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.
6. Cool remaining chocolate cremeux to 30°C, then fill chocolate domes, if using.
7. Once half spheres are frozen, working quickly in batches, press two halves together to create 18 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
8. For the roasted milk chocolate mousse, preheat oven to 125°C.
9. 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.
10. Meanwhile, make glaze.
11. Make chocolate pain de gene.
12. Make walnut black sesame florentine.
13. Make crispy rice base.
14. Make chocolate spheres, if using.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. Meanwhile, bring milk to the boil in a small saucepan.
19. 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.
20. Pour cream into the bowl of an electric mixer, whip until slightly thickened. Set aside in the fridge until needed.
21. 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.
22. 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.
23. 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.
24. Spoon into a disposable piping bag fitted with a 1cm round nozzle and set aside on the bench until needed.
Chocolate mirror glaze
25. Soak gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for about 5 minutes or until softened. Drain, squeezing out any excess water.
26. Meanwhile, place 7g 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.
27. Combine remaining 81g 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
28. Preheat oven to 170C.
29. 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.
30. 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.
31. 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.
32. Spread mixture evenly into a 25cm-wide x 35cm-long x 1cm-deep flexipat, and bake for 12-15 minutes until cooked. Place in freezer to cool completely. Cut into 4 x 8cm squares, then set aside on the bench until needed. You can use an 8cm square mould to do this.
Walnut black sesame florentine
33. Preheat oven to 170C.
34. 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.
35. Add sesame seeds and walnuts and stir to combine.
36. 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 mycryo as soon as it is removed from the oven. Working quickly, using an 8cm square-mould as a guide, cut florentine into 8cm squares.
Crispy rice base
37. Place roasted hazelnuts in a bowl along with crispearls and paillete feuilletine, and stir to combine.
38. Place gianduja and couverture in a heatproof bowl and heat in a microwave in 20-second increments to 36C, then pour into bowl with hazelnut mixture and mix well to combine.
39. Spread a 3mm layer onto one 8cm pain de gene square.
Chocolate spheres (optional)
40. Fill each chocolate dome with white chocolate cremeux and level off the base. Place in freezer until needed.
To assemble
41. Spray and line a 10cm cube mould with acetate sheets. Each strip is used to line two sides of the cube. Place cube onto a silicone mat set on a tray for assembly.
42. Place a square 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.
43. Using tweezers, place 9 white cremeux spheres into the mousse in a 3 x 3 pattern. Pipe in another layer of mousse, surrounding and covering the spheres with a 1cm-thick layer above the spheres.
44. 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.
45. 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 9 spheres, then add another layer of mousse, covering the spheres with a 1cm-thick layer.
46. Insert a second piece of florentine into mould.
47. Cover with a final layer of mousse to fill mould and place in freezer to firm up slightly.
48. 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
49. Gently reheat glaze in the microwave in 20-second increments to bring it up to a pouring consistency of 25C in temperature.
50. Place an 8cm square mould onto a fleximat. Place frozen cake onto cardboard, then place on top of 8cm square mould. Release 10cm square 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.
51. Garnish with red hearts.
52. Louros needs to be at room temperature for about 20 minutes before slicing.
