For the second Christmas recipe, I’m offering you something a little different. After all, you don’t have to make a Yule log for the festive season ???? Last year I took inspiration from a few desserts by great chefs with a snowman look (Fauchon, Vincent Guerlais…). Honestly, it’s rather cute, isn’t it?
For these exotic snowman entremets, I absolutely wanted to try the pineapple and coriander combination for a little touch of originality. And believe it or not, it works wonderfully! (Incidentally, later on, buoyed by this discovery, I made a tart-entremets with these same flavours: the lime, pineapple and coriander tart inspired by William Lamagnère.) Here, the pineapple and coriander are also paired with vanilla and ginger, and the whole thing is super fresh and surprising.
Back to our snowman. To tell you the truth, it wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. To get started, you first need to be equipped with the right moulds. I used the Dolce Tartufo moulds and one of the items from the Stella Del Circo kit (the 15-sphere mould) by Silikomart. If you also want to equip yourself at a really reasonable price, I advise you to go to CuisineShop. I also used a 3 cm diameter half-sphere mould. Once you have the right equipment, you need a minimum of organisation. In my case, the sphere mould from the Stella Del Circo kit was used to make the crémeux insert but also to assemble the small sphere. Organisation, I tell you!!!
Last point, the famous top hat that gives our snowman so much style. It’s made with tempered chocolate, but not only that; it also took a lot of meticulousness, patience and resourcefulness to get the desired result. And it’s thanks to Marianne from Vanille et citron that I was able to see this creation through to the end. Without her help and her little tips, this snowman wouldn’t have such a handsome look!
Ingredients & preparation
9 components · Full recipe
Pineapple Coriander Cremeux (to be made the day before)
Ingredients
- 80 g (2.8 oz) of Victoria pineapple purée
- 30 g (1.1 oz) of egg yolks
- 40 g (1.4 oz) of whole eggs
- 25 g (0.9 oz) of sugar
- 1.5 g (0.1 oz) of powdered gelatine
- 9.2 g (0.3 oz) of water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
- 50 g (1.8 oz) of cold butter
- 5 g (0.2 oz) of fresh coriander
- the zest of half a lime
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatine in cold water.
2
Pour the fruit purée into a saucepan, then add the whole eggs, egg yolks and sugar. Mix together using a whisk.
3
Heat to 83°C / 181°F, stirring constantly. The cream will thicken. This is like cooking a crème anglaise — be careful not to exceed this temperature. If you don’t have a thermometer, here is Chef Michalak’s tip: simply whisk the mixture quickly, then stop. If the “whirlpool” stops abruptly, the cream is at the right temperature. Add the rehydrated gelatine, the lime zests and the finely chopped coriander. Stir to combine.
4
Once the cream has cooled to around 35°C / 95°F, pour it into a tall container (I use a pitcher). Add the cold butter all at once, then blend using a hand blender. The cream should be smooth and will lighten slightly in colour.
5
Pour into a sphere-shaped insert mould (here, the mould from the Stella Del Circo kit) and set aside in the freezer overnight.
Pineapple Coriander Compote (to be made the day before)
Ingredients
- 75 g (2.6 oz) of pineapple purée
- 75 g (2.6 oz) of diced pineapple (brunoise)
- 10 g (0.4 oz) of brown sugar
- 3 g (0.1 oz) of NH pectin
- 1.3 g (0 oz) of fresh coriander
- lime zests and a little juice
Method
1
First, cut off both ends of the pineapple with a serrated knife. Trim off the skin close to the flesh. Then remove the eyes by cutting diagonally into the pineapple to remove each line. Then cut the pineapple into 4 and remove the tough core.
2
Cut 75 g (2.6 oz) of pineapple into small cubes (brunoise) and blend 75 g (2.6 oz) to obtain a smooth purée.
3
In a saucepan, combine the pineapple purée and diced pineapple and heat to approximately 40°C / 104°F.
4
Add the sugar/pectin mixture and stir with a whisk (the sugar and pectin must be well combined to avoid lumps).
5
Bring to the boil and cook for one minute.
6
Remove from the heat, then add the finely chopped coriander, the lime zests and a little juice.
7
Pour the compote into a half-sphere insert mould with a diameter of 3 cm (1.2 in) and set aside in the freezer overnight.
Coconut Shortbread
Ingredients
- 120 g (4.2 oz) of flour
- 60 g (2.1 oz) of desiccated coconut
- 60 g (2.1 oz) of brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 100 g (3.5 oz) of butter
- 2 egg yolks
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F.
2
Mix all the dry ingredients together.
3
Add the cold butter cut into small pieces and mix with your fingers to create a sandy texture.
4
Add the egg yolks and mix again (but not too much) until a smooth dough is obtained.
5
Roll the dough out between two sheets of greaseproof paper and cut out circles slightly larger than the base of the Dolce Tartufo mould spheres (approximately 6 cm (2.4 in) in diameter).
6
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 180°C / 350°F (during this time, you can make the coconut sponge). Leave to cool on a wire rack and set aside.
Coconut Sponge (recipe by Claire Heitzler)
Ingredients
- 55 g (1.9 oz) of desiccated coconut powder
- 25 g (0.9 oz) of icing sugar
- 75 g (2.6 oz) of egg whites (30 + 45 g (1.6 oz))
- 5 g (0.2 oz) of liquid cream
- 25 g (0.9 oz) of caster sugar
Method
1
Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C / 325°F.
2
Using a small food processor, blend the coconut powder and icing sugar to refine the powders.
3
Add the 30 g (1.1 oz) of egg whites and the liquid cream, then mix.
4
Whisk the remaining 45 g (1.6 oz) of egg whites to stiff peaks, adding the sugar gradually, then fold in the first mixture, stirring gently with a spatula.
5
Pour the batter into a 16 cm (6.3 in) diameter ring placed on a sheet of greaseproof paper. Bake for approximately 18 minutes.
6
Leave to cool, then carefully peel off the greaseproof paper. Using a 4 cm (1.6 in) diameter cutter, cut out sponge circles. Set aside.
Vanilla Ginger Mousse
Ingredients
- 125 g (4.4 oz) of full-fat liquid cream
- 11 g (0.4 oz) of fresh ginger
- 1/2 vanilla pod
- 40 g (1.4 oz) of egg yolks
- 25 g (0.9 oz) of sugar
- 6 g (0.2 oz) of powdered gelatine
- 36 g (1.3 oz) of water
- 325 g (11.5 oz) of cold full-fat liquid cream
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatine in water.
2
Heat the liquid cream, vanilla seeds and finely grated ginger. Leave to infuse for about ten minutes.
3
Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar.
4
Reheat the cream-vanilla-ginger mixture, then strain it through a fine-mesh sieve over the egg yolk-sugar mixture, stir well, and return everything to the heat.
5
Cook to 83°C / 181°F, stirring constantly with a spatula. Take care not to let the cream boil.
6
Remove from the heat, then add the rehydrated gelatine. Leave to cool.
7
Whisk the cold full-fat liquid cream until foamy but not too firm.
8
Once the crème anglaise has cooled to 40°C / 104°F, fold in the whipped cream gently, then set aside.
Assembly of the Large Spheres
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Pour three-quarters of the vanilla ginger mousse into each sphere, spreading it well up the sides for a clean finish.
2
Place the cremeux insert and press it gently into the mousse, centring it carefully.
3
Cover again with another layer of vanilla ginger mousse (leave a good centimetre at the top).
4
Finish with the coconut sponge. Press down lightly to embed it and smooth the surface with a spatula.
5
Cover the silicone mould with cling film and set aside in the freezer overnight.
Assembly of the Small Spheres
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Pour three-quarters of the vanilla ginger mousse into each mini sphere, spreading it well up the sides for a clean finish.
2
Place the pineapple coriander compote insert and press it gently into the mousse, centring it carefully.
3
Cover the silicone mould with cling film and set aside in the freezer overnight.
Final Assembly of the Snowman Entremet (Pineapple, Coconut)
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Remove the large and small spheres from the freezer, unmould them 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 we’re going to take care of it. I use whatever I have to hand to protect the work surface (cardboard, packaging, a plastic bag or greaseproof paper…) Spray a fine layer of white velvet spray onto each sphere from a distance of 30–40 cm (15.7 in).
2
Using a small offset spatula, carefully place each large sphere on a coconut shortbread, making sure to centre it properly.
3
Then place a small sphere on top of each large sphere, also centred carefully, and press down slightly to make it adhere (it doesn’t matter if it leaves a small mark on top, as the hat will cover it).
Decoration
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
The snowman’s buttons were made with chocolate chips (pressed tip-first into the mousse).
2
For the eyes, I used small edible eyes (but I removed the white part around them to keep only the black dot).
3
For the scarf and carrot, I used sugar paste.
4
The most challenging part was making the top hat-style chocolates. I am not a great specialist in tempered chocolate decorations, so patience and a little imagination were required. Using acetate sheets (rhodoid), I made plastic tubes that I taped together so they could hold their shape. I sealed one end with tape as well. I then poured tempered chocolate inside to a height of approximately 2 cm (0.8 in). At the same time, I also made small tempered chocolate discs (for the base of the hat). Then comes the unmoulding stage (and the keeping of fingers crossed!!). Simply stick each cylinder onto a chocolate disc and voilà — the hat is done!
5
Leave to defrost for 2–3 hours in the refrigerator before serving.
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