Easter is fast approaching and you might be looking for a deliciously chocolatey recipe? Today I’m offering you a new entremets recipe for the greediest among you, since it combines chocolate and praline.
This entremets is made up of a hazelnut dacquoise, a praline crunchy layer, a dark chocolate crémeux, a hazelnut praline mousse (the recipe comes from the blog empreinte sucrée), all covered with a cocoa mirror glaze.
For this chocolate praline entremets, I wanted to innovate a little in terms of decoration and I used bubble wrap to make a chocolate disc. I’ll explain it all a bit further down.
How do you temper chocolate?
To start, you’ll need a quality chocolate, that is to say a so-called “couverture” chocolate. Indeed, it’s richer in cocoa butter and less sweet than the classic chocolate bars you can find in the shops. It contains at least 31% cocoa butter, which makes it more fluid and better suited to working chocolate properly.
Then, you’ll need to temper the chocolate, that is to say take it through a temperature curve while melting, which depends on the type of chocolate (dark, milk or white). For example, dark chocolate must be melted between 50°C and 55°C, while milk chocolates and white chocolates should melt at around 40-45°C. For dark chocolate (as here), you then bring the temperature back down to 28°C – 29°C and then bring it back up to 31°C – 32°C, which is the working temperature of the chocolate.
It’s this tempering of the chocolate that will preserve the chocolate’s glossy, smooth appearance but will also allow you to unmould your chocolate bonbons more easily (you may well have already planned a tempering workshop for Easter, it’s coming up fast!)
There are several methods for tempering chocolate (you’ll find a wealth of information online if you need more details):
- tempering in a bain-marie
- tempering by seeding
- tempering by tabling
Personally, I used a less classic method that is just as effective and quicker… tempering in the microwave, a method that was kindly explained to me by Marianne from the blog Vanille et citron.
How do you make a chocolate disc with bubble wrap?
You’ll need to use a piece of new bubble wrap, obviously, and a nice clean one. Once the chocolate is tempered, you simply pour it onto the bubble wrap and smooth it with an angled spatula. It’s best to get a chocolate disc that isn’t too thick (nor too thin either, otherwise it will break when you remove it). It was my first attempt and I was a bit afraid the chocolate would break when removing the bubble wrap, so I made it a bit too thick (you have to think about the cutting…) Be very gentle when removing the bubble wrap.
Ingredients & preparation
9 components · Full recipe
Hazelnut praline (can be made ahead)
Ingredients
- 180 g (6.3 oz) noisettes Pariani
- 120 g (4.2 oz) sucre
- 1 pincée de fleur de sel
Method
1
Toast the hazelnuts at 150°C / 300°F (300°F) fan-assisted for 15–20 minutes, until golden.
2
Make a dry caramel: heat the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat without stirring. Once it turns amber, remove from the heat.
3
Add the toasted hazelnuts and stir to coat them in the caramel.
4
Pour onto a silicone mat or baking paper and leave to set completely.
Cocoa mirror glaze (can be made ahead)
Ingredients
- 120 g (4.2 oz) d’eau
- 150 g (5.3 oz) de sucre
- 50 g (1.8 oz) de cacao en poudre non sucré
- 100 g (3.5 oz) de crème liquide entière
- 10 g (0.4 oz) de gélatine
- 60 g (2.1 oz) d’eau (pour réhydrater la gélatine)
Method
1
Once cool, break into pieces and blend in a food processor until you obtain a smooth paste. Set aside.
2
Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 5–10 minutes.
3
Heat the water, sugar and glucose together in a saucepan to 103°C / 217°F (217°F).
4
Add the cocoa powder and whisk to combine.
5
Drain and squeeze out the gelatine, then stir it into the hot mixture.
Hazelnut dacquoise (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 60 g (2.1 oz) de blancs d’œufs
- 60 g (2.1 oz) de poudre de noisette Pariani
- 60 g (2.1 oz) de sucre glace
- 15 g (0.5 oz) de sucre
Method
1
Add the cream and mix well. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve.
2
Cover with cling film pressed directly onto the surface and refrigerate overnight.
3
Use the glaze at 35°C / 95°F (95°F). Reheat gently and blend with a hand blender, then pass through a sieve before using.
4
Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F (340°F) fan-assisted.
5
Whisk the egg whites to firm peaks, adding the sugar gradually.
6
Sift together the ground hazelnuts, icing sugar and flour.
Praline crunch (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 50 g (1.8 oz) de chocolat au lait Jivara 40% de Valrhona
- 65 g (2.3 oz) de praliné noisette (recette ci-dessus)
- 55 g (1.9 oz) de crêpes dentelle
Method
1
Fold the dry ingredients gently into the meringue.
2
Spread onto a lined baking sheet to the required dimensions.
3
Bake for 15–18 minutes, until lightly golden. Leave to cool completely.
4
Melt the milk chocolate over a bain-marie or in the microwave.
Dark chocolate cremeux (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 55 g (1.9 oz) de jaunes d’œufs (environ 3 jaunes)
- 20 g (0.7 oz) de sucre en poudre
- 330 g (11.6 oz) de crème liquide entière
- 90 g (3.2 oz) de chocolat noir Caraïbes 66% de Valrhona
Method
1
Mix together the hazelnut praline and melted chocolate.
2
Add the crushed gavottes and fleur de sel and mix well.
3
Spread over the cooled dacquoise and set aside in the freezer.
4
Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water.
5
Bring the milk and cream to the boil.
6
Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale.
7
Pour the hot liquid over the egg mixture, whisking constantly, then return to the saucepan.
Praline mousse
Ingredients
- 108 g (3.8 oz) de crème liquide entière
- 42 g (1.5 oz) d’œuf (un petit œuf)
- 180 g (6.3 oz) de praliné (100% noisette pour moi)
- 6 g (0.2 oz) de gélatine (= 3 feuilles)
- 18 g (0.6 oz) d’eau
- 270 g (9.5 oz) de crème liquide entière
Method
1
Cook over low heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture reaches 82°C / 180°F (180°F).
2
Remove from the heat and pour over the chopped dark chocolate.
3
Drain and squeeze out the gelatine, then add to the mixture.
4
Blend with a hand blender until smooth and glossy.
5
Pour into the mould and freeze until solid.
Assembly
Ingredients
- Aucun
Method
1
Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water.
2
Warm the praline gently in a saucepan.
3
Drain and squeeze out the gelatine, then dissolve in the warm praline.
4
Leave to cool to around 25°C / 77°F (77°F).
Chocolate disc
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) de chocolat noir Caraïbes 66% de Valrhona
- de la poudre or
Method
1
Whip the cream to soft peaks, then fold into the praline mixture.
2
Use immediately.
3
Place the entremet ring on a flat tray lined with baking paper.
Decoration
Ingredients
- Aucun
Method
1
Pour a layer of praline mousse into the base of the ring.
2
Place the frozen cremeux insert on top, pressing down gently.
3
Cover with a second layer of praline mousse.
4
Press the dacquoise and croustillant layer on top (croustillant side down).
5
Smooth the surface and freeze overnight.
Questions fréquentes
How do you temper chocolate?
To begin, you’ll need a good-quality chocolate — what’s known as “couverture” chocolate. It is richer in cocoa butter and less sweet than standard chocolate bars found in shops. It contains at least 31% cocoa butter, which makes it more fluid and better suited to working with chocolate properly. You’ll then need to temper the chocolate — that is, take it through a specific temperature curve as it melts, which varies depending on the type of chocolate (dark, milk or white). For example, dark chocolate should be melted between 50°C / 122°F and 55°C / 131°F, while milk and white chocolates should melt at around 40–45°C / 113°F. For dark chocolate (as here), bring the temperature back down to 28°C / 82°F–29°C / 84°F, then raise it again to 31°C / 88°F–32°C / 90°F, which is the working temperature. This tempering process is what gives chocolate its glossy, smooth finish — and it also makes unmoulding your chocolate confections much easier (you may even have a tempering session already planned for Easter — it comes around quickly!). There are several methods for tempering chocolate (you’ll find a wealth of information online if you need more details). Personally, I used a less traditional but equally effective and faster method… microwave tempering, which was kindly explained to me by Marianne from the blog Vanille et citron.
How do you make a chocolate disc with bubble wrap?
You will need to use a brand new, clean piece of bubble wrap. Once the chocolate is tempered, simply pour it over the bubble wrap and smooth it with an offset spatula. The ideal is to get a chocolate disc that is not too thick (but not too thin either, or it will break when you remove it). It was my first attempt and I was a little worried the chocolate would crack when peeling off the bubble wrap, so I made it a bit too thick (you do need to think about cutting…). Be very careful when removing the bubble wrap. For this praline chocolate entremet, I used Valrhona Caraïbes 66% dark chocolate and Jivara 40% milk chocolate, along with Pariani nuts (absolutely wonderful).
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