This new entremets wasn’t supposed to contain an almond mousse. To tell you the truth, I wanted to make the delicious Peach Melba entremets by Auriane. After all, I had some peach purée left that I should have used up a while ago. Except that, when it came to making the peach mousse, I had a doubt about that purée. I sacrificed myself (I sacrificed my sweetheart too, while I was at it!) and we tasted it. We were of the same opinion, the peach purée had gone off. Darn it! Yet my Italian meringue was ready to make the mousse. So I had to think of a backup solution, another flavour that could go with raspberry and vanilla. I chose almond!
I find that the sweetness of almond and the roundness of vanilla go perfectly with the tartness of raspberry. It’s a nice balance, in theory. In my case, I made the vanilla panna cotta and raspberry coulis insert 3 weeks before making this entremets. Usually I plan ahead, yes, but only by a few days. Coincidence or not, I found the raspberry lacked a bit of zing and acidity. So I advise you to make the insert a few days before assembly at most and to use fresh raspberries rather than frozen ones (but it also works very well with frozen ones, mind you!).
For the decoration, I tried out the cute little two-tone meringues. Easy, just put a little gel food colouring of the desired colour inside the piping bag, then fill the bag with the meringue. Guaranteed effect 🙂
Edit: I’ve changed the quantities of the raspberry coulis and the almond mousse after reading several comments. The recipe should be well balanced now 🙂
Ingredients & method
6 components · Full recipe
Raspberry jelly (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 120 g (4.2 oz) fresh raspberries (or frozen)
- 70 g (2.5 oz) sugar
- 2 g (0.1 oz) pectin
- 1/2 gelatin sheet (1 g (0 oz))
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Method
1
Soften the gelatin in cold water.
2
Place the raspberries in a saucepan and heat gently, then add the sugar and pectin, pre-mixed together. Bring to the boil for one minute.
3
Remove from the heat, add the lemon juice then the drained gelatin.
4
Tightly cover the base of a 22 cm (8.7 in) diameter pastry ring with cling film to form a base, flip it over and pour in the raspberry jelly.
5
Leave to cool and place in the freezer for at least one hour (ideally make it the day before).
Vanilla panna cotta (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 300 g (10.6 oz) heavy cream
- 100 g (3.5 oz) whole milk
- 1 vanilla pod
- 60 g (2.1 oz) sugar
- 5 g (0.2 oz) gelatin (2.5 sheets)
Method
1
Soften the gelatin sheets in very cold water.
2
Place the cream, milk, sugar and the split, scraped vanilla pod in a saucepan and heat gently. Bring slowly to the boil.
3
Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the well-squeezed gelatin. Stir.
4
Allow to cool slightly and, before the cream sets, pour over the raspberry jelly.
5
Place in the freezer for at least 2 hours (can be made the day before).
Raspberry financier
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) butter
- 150 g (5.3 oz) icing sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz) flour
- 50 g (1.8 oz) ground almonds
- 160 g (5.6 oz) egg whites (about 5 whites)
- 120 g (4.2 oz) whole raspberries (fresh or frozen)
Method
1
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes then leave to cool for a few minutes before unmoulding.
2
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
3
Make a brown butter: melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat — it will begin to foam on the surface (and "sing"). Once the butter stops "singing" and the foam has disappeared, it should have taken on a beautiful golden colour with a nutty aroma. Pass through a fine sieve and leave to cool.
4
In a bowl, combine the ground almonds, flour, icing sugar and egg whites.
5
Add the brown butter and mix.
6
Pour into a 22 cm (8.7 in) diameter tin (I line the base with baking paper first, which makes it easier to unmould).
7
Scatter the raspberries over the surface.
Almond mousse
Ingredients
- 300 g (10.6 oz) almond paste 50/50
- 450 g (15.9 oz) heavy cream
- 225 g (7.9 oz) milk
- 75 g (2.6 oz) caster sugar
- 11 g (0.4 oz) gelatin
Method
1
Soften the gelatin in cold water.
2
Dilute the almond paste, cut into small pieces, in half the milk.
3
Heat the remaining milk with the sugar then, off the heat, add the drained gelatin. Stir.
4
Pour the milk over the almond paste and leave to cool until thickened. Whisk vigorously. If there are still too many lumps, use a hand blender.
5
Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks — don't over-whip, it should be light and airy.
6
Fold the whipped cream into the previous preparation and mix gently.
7
Set aside until assembly.
Assembly
Ingredients
- 1 neutral velvet spray
- small homemade meringues
- a few fresh raspberries
- coloured sugar pearls
Method
1
Tightly cover the base of a 24 cm (9.4 in) diameter ring with cling film (to prevent leaks). Place a strip of acetate inside the ring.
2
Tightly cover the base of a 24 cm (9.4 in) diameter ring with cling film (to prevent leaks). Place a strip of acetate inside the ring. Place the ring on a tray lined with baking paper and pour in half the almond mousse. Freeze for 10 minutes.
3
Place the gelled coulis and vanilla panna cotta insert in the centre, gently pressing it into the mousse.
4
Cover with another layer of mousse.
5
Finish with the raspberry financier. Press gently to embed the sponge. Smooth the surface with a palette knife.
6
Cover with cling film and place in the freezer overnight.
Decoration
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Remove the entremet from the freezer, unmould and place on a wire rack. Personally, I stopped spraying inside my dishwasher as it still left marks after washing. And now we have a new dishwasher, so let's take care of it. I use whatever I have to hand to protect the worktop (cardboard, packaging, a plastic bag or baking paper…). Spray a thin layer of white velvet spray from a distance of 30–40 cm (15.7 in).
2
Add a few meringues, raspberries and coloured sugar pearls, then leave to defrost for 5–6 hours in the refrigerator.
3
Leave to defrost for 6–7 hours in the refrigerator before serving.
Gallery
