Before introducing you to a few new Yule log recipes (I’m patiently waiting for December), it’s an ultra-simple recipe I’m offering you today. A recipe I (once again) pinched from Christophe Michalak (I’m a fan, as you’ll have gathered!). He made it on the show “Dans la peau d’un chef” on France 2. A crunchy sablé, a delicately scented, tender pear and a passion fruit chantilly: those are the components of this recipe.
Well, success guaranteed! These little sablés didn’t last long. And if you don’t like passion fruit, or the pear-passion fruit combination bothers you, you can make a vanilla whipped ganache for example — it’s very simple! You’ll find a vanilla whipped ganache recipe in the “macarons” section, by the way 🙂
Ingredients & Method
4 components · Full recipe
Diamond Shortbread
Ingredients
- 95 g (3.4 oz) cold butter
- 2 g (0.1 oz) fleur de sel
- 120 g (4.2 oz) flour
- 45 g (1.6 oz) icing sugar
- 1 vanilla pod
- 1 egg yolk
- brown sugar (for rolling)
Method
1
Preheat your oven to 190 °C.
2
In a bowl, combine the sifted flour and icing sugar.
3
Add the vanilla seeds, fleur de sel and cold butter cut into small pieces. Work together with your hands until you have a smooth shortbread dough.
4
Roll the dough into a log, brush all over with egg yolk, then roll in brown sugar.
5
Cut into slices about 1 cm (0.4 in) thick and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Press lightly on the top of each shortbread with your thumb to flatten them slightly.
6
Bake for about 10 minutes. Once out of the oven, leave the shortbreads to cool on a wire rack (if making the day before, store in an airtight container).
Poached Pear Balls
Ingredients
- 1 William pear
- 200 g (7.1 oz) water
- 100 g (3.5 oz) soft brown sugar
- 1 lime
- 1 vanilla pod
- 2 star anise
Method
1
Peel the pear and use a melon baller to scoop out as many pear balls as possible.
2
In a saucepan, combine the water and sugar, then add the vanilla seeds and pod, star anise and lime zest.
3
Bring to a simmer, add the pear balls and cook over low heat until tender (a knife should slide in easily).
4
Remove the pear balls from the syrup and leave to cool.
Passion Fruit Chantilly
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) whipping cream
- 40 g (1.4 oz) white chocolate
- 30 g (1.1 oz) passion fruit pulp
- ½ gelatine leaf (1 g (0 oz))
Method
1
Soak the gelatine in very cold water for 10 minutes.
2
In a saucepan, heat the cream, then pour it into a blender already containing the white chocolate and the drained gelatine.
3
Blitz everything together, then add the passion fruit pulp.
4
Pour into a wide dish, cover with cling film directly on the surface and refrigerate until very cold (ideally make the day before). If you don’t have ready-made passion fruit purée, simply strain the juice of fresh passion fruits through a sieve.
Assembly
Ingredients
- lime zests
Method
1
Place a pear ball on each shortbread.
2
Take the passion cream out of the fridge and whip it gradually to a thick, firm chantilly consistency.
3
Transfer the passion chantilly to a piping bag fitted with a fluted nozzle and pipe a dome over each pear ball to cover it.
4
Finish with a few lime zests.
Gallery
