For a change from the Yule log, here are some little entremets shaped like Christmas trees with dark chocolate and red berry flavours, a well-known pairing that works perfectly. These little trees are made up of a flourless cocoa sponge, a hazelnut crunchy layer, a red berry confit, a dark chocolate mousse and a mirror glaze.
To make these dark chocolate and red berry entremets, I used the Astro 95 mould by Silikomart (a mould developed in collaboration with Grégory Doyen). I find this mould really very beautiful, the result is top-notch! For the insert, I used this mould as well. For the red berry confit, you don’t fill the mould, so in the end the insert is small enough and has a really suitable shape.
I made this recipe alongside another one (a chocolate, vanilla crème brûlée and pecan Yule log). So I made a pâte à bombe-based chocolate mousse. However, for a mould like the Astro 95, I don’t especially recommend it because the mousse is fairly dense and can struggle to get into all the “folds” properly. I recommend a more “liquid” mousse (bavarois texture). I’ve given you Valrhona’s recipe here, a reliable source of course. If you try this recipe, don’t hesitate to let me know whether the quantities for the mousse are right.
I hope you’ve found what you’re looking for on the blog and that you’ll enjoy your Christmas Eve dessert. For the latecomers (there are always some :P), I’ll point you to the “Yule logs and Christmas desserts” category 🙂 I wish you an excellent Christmas Eve, surrounded (as far as possible) by your loved ones… Take care of yourselves and of those dear to you.
Ingredients & Method
7 components · Full recipe
Red mirror glaze (can be made in advance)
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) sugar
- 150 g (5.3 oz) glucose syrup
- 75 g (2.6 oz) water
- 100 g (3.5 oz) unsweetened condensed milk
- 150 g (5.3 oz) white chocolate
- 10 g (0.4 oz) powdered gelatin
- 60 g (2.1 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
- red food colouring with a tiny touch of black
Method
1
Ideally, prepare the glaze the day before (or in advance) and reheat it in the microwave when needed.
2
Rehydrate the gelatine in water.
3
In a saucepan, combine the water, sugar and glucose and heat to 103°C / 217°F.
4
Meanwhile, in a jug, combine the white chocolate broken into pieces, the unsweetened condensed milk, the rehydrated gelatine and the food colouring.
5
When the water/sugar/glucose mixture reaches 103°C / 217°F, pour it into the pitcher then blend with an immersion blender to smooth the glaze, being careful not to incorporate air.
Red berry compote (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) red berry purée
- 20 g (0.7 oz) caster sugar
- 2 g (0.1 oz) NH pectin
- a dash of lemon juice
Method
1
Pour the red berry purée into a saucepan and heat.
2
When the puree reaches about 40°C / 104°F, add the sugar and NH pectin that have been well mixed together. Bring everything to a boil while stirring with a whisk and continue boiling for one minute.
3
Off the heat, add a dash of lemon juice and stir.
Flourless cocoa sponge
Ingredients
- 40 g (1.4 oz) egg yolks
- 16 g (0.6 oz) sugar (1)
- 60 g (2.1 oz) egg whites
- 47 g (1.7 oz) sugar (2)
- 18 g (0.6 oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 190°C / 375°F.
2
Whip the egg whites to soft peaks, gradually adding the 16 g (0.6 oz) of sugar. Set aside.
3
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar for several minutes at full speed. The mixture will increase in volume and turn pale.
4
Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the previous mixture.
5
Then gently fold in the sifted cocoa powder.
6
Pour the batter onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper (to a height of 1 cm (0.4 in)) and smooth with an offset spatula.
7
Bake for about 10 minutes.
Hazelnut praline crunch
Ingredients
- 33 g (1.2 oz) hazelnut praline
- 11 g (0.4 oz) hazelnut paste
- 22 g (0.8 oz) milk chocolate
- 22 g (0.8 oz) white chocolate
- 9 g (0.3 oz) cocoa butter (or butter)
- 17 g (0.6 oz) crushed crêpes dentelle (feuilletine)
- 17 g (0.6 oz) crushed baked shortbread
- 15 g (0.5 oz) crushed hazelnuts
Method
1
In a bowl, combine the two chocolates with the cocoa butter and melt in the microwave.
2
Add the hazelnut paste and hazelnut praline and mix.
3
Add the crumbled crêpes dentelle, the crushed cooked shortbread pastry and finally the crushed hazelnuts. Mix then spread the crunch in a thin layer over the cocoa sponge. Smooth with an offset spatula.
Dark chocolate mousse (Valrhona recipe)
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) whole milk
- 100 g (3.5 oz) dark chocolate
- 1.7 g (0.1 oz) powdered gelatine (a little less than a whole sheet)
- 10 g (0.4 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
- 197 g (6.9 oz) full-fat whipping cream
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatine in water.
2
Melt the chocolate in the microwave or bain-marie.
3
Bring the milk to a boil, then off the heat, add the bloomed gelatin.
4
Pour the milk in three additions over the melted chocolate and mix with a spatula to create an emulsion.
5
Whip the heavy cream into a soft chantilly — don’t over-whip, it should be mousse-like.
Assembly
Ingredients
- Aucun
Method
1
Pour the chocolate mousse into each cavity up to halfway. Run a spatula along the sides for a clean finish. Freeze for 5 minutes so the mousse sets slightly before adding the insert.
2
Remove the red fruit confit inserts and press them gently into the mousse, centered.
3
Cover with just a very small amount of chocolate mousse.
4
Add a disc of chocolate sponge, press lightly and add a little more mousse. Finish with the hazelnut crunch. Press lightly and smooth the surface with a spatula.
Decoration
Ingredients
- Aucun
Method
1
Reheat the mirror glaze to about 30°C / 86°F.
2
Remove the entremets from the freezer and unmould.
3
Place the frozen entremets on a wire rack set over a plate or dish to catch any excess.
4
Pour the mirror glaze delicately to cover the entremets entirely. Tap the rack lightly.
5
Using a small offset spatula, gently place each entremet on a serving dish.
6
Decorate with coloured sugar pearls and a small sugar star on top of each Christmas tree. I also dusted the trees with a little icing sugar (which melts on contact with the mirror glaze but leaves a ‘snowy’ effect on the sugar pearls).
Gallery
