Here is my second entremets, a pure marvel that is now one of my favourite cakes. Admittedly, this entremets requires a bit of work and organisation, but nothing too daunting (well, except perhaps the mirror glaze).
This chocolate praline entremets is a delicious blend of textures and flavours: a dacquoise topped with a praline crunchy layer, a milk chocolate crémeux, a second dacquoise sponge and, to finish, a delicious praline mousse. And to top it all off, a chocolate mirror glaze.
Edit of 10/04/19: I’ve just made this entremets again — it is, I believe, one of the very first on the blog. Looking at the old photo, I can see I’ve made some progress in 5 years! 😀 So I’m taking the opportunity to update the recipe with new photos and some extra tips.
Ingredients & preparation
6 components · Full recipe
Chocolate Mirror Glaze (can be made ahead)
Ingredients
- 120 g (4.2 oz) water
- 150 g (5.3 oz) sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 100 g (3.5 oz) heavy cream
- 10 g (0.4 oz) gelatin
- 60 g (2.1 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatin)
Instructions
1
Rehydrate the gelatin in the water.
2
Place the first five ingredients in a saucepan and mix with a whisk.
3
Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
4
Add the rehydrated gelatin and blend with an immersion blender.
5
Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface and refrigerate.
Hazelnut Dacquoise
Ingredients
- 6 egg whites
- 60 g (2.1 oz) sugar
- 130 g (4.6 oz) hazelnut flour
- 130 g (4.6 oz) powdered sugar
- 40 g (1.4 oz) flour
Instructions
1
Preheat the oven to 240°C / 465°F.
2
Beat the egg whites with the granulated sugar until they reach a meringue-like consistency.
3
Sift the powdered sugar, flour, and hazelnut flour together, then gently fold them into the egg whites.
4
Spread two sponges (slightly larger than the frame) onto two baking sheets lined with parchment paper and bake for 5–7 minutes (the dacquoise should be dry to the touch and lightly golden).
5
Let cool on a wire rack.
Praline Crunch
Ingredients
- 9 small packets of dentelle crepes (feuilletine)
- 200 g (7.1 oz) pralinoise chocolate
- 40 g (1.4 oz) pralin (hazelnut praline powder)
Instructions
1
Melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a bain-marie.
2
Crumble the dentelle crepes and add the pralin.
3
Stir in the melted chocolate and mix well.
4
Spread in a thin layer over one of the dacquoise sponges. Don’t do what I did — my crunch layer was too thick. Then refrigerate.
Milk Chocolate Cremeux
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) milk
- 150 g (5.3 oz) heavy cream
- 3 egg yolks
- 60 g (2.1 oz) sugar
- 150 g (5.3 oz) milk chocolate
Instructions
1
Heat the cream and milk in a saucepan.
2
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns pale.
3
When the milk and cream mixture is hot, pour it into the bowl, mix well, then return everything to the saucepan.
4
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens — do not let it boil (this is called cooking “à la nappe,” and the temperature should not exceed 85°C / 185°F/185°F).
5
In a separate bowl, break the milk chocolate into pieces.
6
Pour the crème anglaise over the chopped chocolate. Let sit for a moment, then stir gently. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
7
Pour the milk chocolate cremeux over the praline crunch to a depth of about 1 cm (0.4 in), then top with the second dacquoise sponge. Press lightly and refrigerate while preparing the praline mousse.
Praline Mousse
Ingredients
- 4 egg yolks
- 80 g (2.8 oz) sugar
- 300 g (10.6 oz) milk
- 140 g (4.9 oz) pralinoise chocolate
- 300 g (10.6 oz) heavy cream
- 6 g (0.2 oz) gelatin (3 sheets)
Instructions
1
Soften the gelatin sheets in cold water.
2
In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale.
3
In another bowl, break the pralinoise chocolate into pieces.
4
Bring the milk to a boil and pour it over the egg yolk mixture in several additions to avoid cooking the yolks. Cook like a crème anglaise, stirring constantly without letting it boil.
5
Pour the mixture over the chocolate pieces. Let sit for a few minutes, then stir gently.
6
Add the squeezed gelatin. Let cool completely.
7
Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks, then gently fold it into the praline mixture.
8
Pour the praline mousse over the second dacquoise, smooth with a spatula, and freeze overnight. My entremet is fairly tall. To have enough praline mousse, I had to use acetate strip taller than the frame (the acetate is 6 cm (2.4 in) tall while my frame is 4.5 cm (1.8 in)). So the mousse will extend above the frame, but as long as the acetate is properly positioned, it won’t spill.
Decorating the Chocolate and Praline Entremet
Ingredients
- None
Instructions
1
Warm the mirror glaze to approximately 28–30°C / 82–86°F.
2
Remove the entremet from the freezer and remove the frame. Set it on a wire rack placed over a plate or tray to catch the excess glaze.
3
Gently pour the glaze over the entremet to coat it completely.
4
Remove the entremet from the rack. For the decoration, I melted a little dark chocolate and used a paper cone to drizzle it back and forth, then placed a few halved hazelnuts on top.
5
Trim the edges (cut the sides of the entremet to reveal the interior layers) for a clean presentation. Transfer to a serving platter.
6
Let thaw in the refrigerator. Allow at least 5–6 hours of defrosting time.
Gallery
