Do you ever make desserts with ingredients you don’t like? Well, that’s the whole story of this dessert! I don’t like pistachio at all (I’ve tried, really, but I just can’t…) On the other hand, it’s a flavour that a lot of people like, including my sweetheart and my family. So I made these little desserts based on pistachio and orange blossom, two flavours that pair wonderfully. I’d actually already tested this pairing with this pistachio and orange blossom tart.
These “Boules d’Orient” are made up of a pâte sucrée, a pistachio sponge, a pistachio ganache, a pistachio praline and an orange blossom whipped ganache, all covered with a neutral glaze and pistachio chips. A dessert made for pistachio lovers, as you’ll have gathered!
To make these pistachio and orange blossom entremets, I used the Dolce Tartufo mould from Silikomart, which has the advantage of creating perfectly round entremets. For the inserts, you could very well use 3 cm diameter half-sphere moulds, but I used the Globe mould, which is less tall than a half-sphere mould. Here, my insert is actually made up of 2 inserts that I assembled, so it’s still preferable not to make half-inserts that are too tall.
Don’t hesitate to organise yourself in advance to make this entremets. The pistachio praline can be made in advance and, as there are inserts that need to be frozen, they can also be made in advance. In fact, I always make my entremets in several stages. If you’re a pistachio devotee, I really recommend this dessert 🙂
Ingredients & method
7 components · Full recipe
Pistachio ganache (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 95 g (3.4 oz) Valrhona Ivoire 35% white chocolate
- 95 g (3.4 oz) heavy cream
- 22 g (0.8 oz) pistachio paste
Method
1
Melt the white chocolate in the microwave.
2
Heat the cream in a saucepan then pour in 3 additions over the white chocolate, emulsifying each time. The chocolate should be smooth and glossy.
3
Add the pistachio paste and stir. Blitz with an immersion blender to fully combine.
4
Pour the ganache into an insert mould (I used a Globe mould filled to about 3/4). Freeze.
Orange blossom whipped ganache (start the day before)
Ingredients
- 135 g (4.8 oz) Valrhona Ivoire 35% white chocolate
- 175 g (6.2 oz) heavy cream (1)
- 10 g (0.4 oz) glucose
- 250 g (8.8 oz) heavy cream (2)
- 8 g (0.3 oz) Norohy orange blossom water
- 2 g (0.1 oz) powdered gelatin (= 1 sheet)
- 12 g (0.4 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatin)
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatin in the water.
2
Break the white chocolate into pieces in a bowl (you can melt it slightly in a bain-marie or microwave).
3
Heat the 175 g (6.2 oz) of cream and glucose in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Off the heat, add the rehydrated gelatin and stir.
4
Pour one-third of the cream over the white chocolate and stir with a spatula to create an emulsion. Then add the second third, then the third, until you have a smooth, homogeneous mixture.
5
Add the 250 g (8.8 oz) of cold heavy cream and the orange blossom water, stir again. Blitz for a few seconds with an immersion blender to fully homogenise.
6
Cover with cling film touching the surface and refrigerate overnight.
Sweet pastry dough (start the day before)
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) butter
- 95 g (3.4 oz) powdered sugar
- 30 g (1.1 oz) almond flour
- 60 g (2.1 oz) egg (1 large egg)
- 250 g (8.8 oz) flour
- a pinch of fleur de sel
- a knife tip of vanilla powder
Method
1
Place the softened butter and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Add the almond flour, vanilla powder and fleur de sel and mix again.
2
Add the beaten egg and mix with a spatula this time (it will be easier than with the mixer).
3
Finish with the flour and mix with the mixer until a homogeneous dough forms. Don’t overwork the dough. Bring it together into a ball without insisting. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions.
4
Wrap each portion in cling film, shaping into a flat rectangle. Refrigerate one portion overnight and freeze the other (for another tart).
5
The next day, roll the dough out to 2–3 mm thickness and cut out 8 discs of 6 cm (2.4 in) diameter. Freeze for 30 minutes.
6
Preheat the oven to 160°C / 325°F.
7
Place the pastry discs on a Silpain mat (which gives a lovely grid texture to the pastry), itself placed on a perforated baking sheet. Place another Silpain mat on top.
8
Bake for about 25 minutes (watch carefully — timing depends on the thickness and evenness of the pastry).
9
Leave to cool on a rack and set aside. You will have leftover dough that can be frozen. It’s always handy to have sweet pastry dough in stock.
Pistachio financier
Ingredients
- 35 g (1.2 oz) pistachio powder (I ground the pistachios myself)
- 35 g (1.2 oz) brown sugar
- 15 g (0.5 oz) egg whites
- 15 g (0.5 oz) egg yolks
- 10 g (0.4 oz) powdered sugar
- 0.5 g (0 oz) salt
- 45 g (1.6 oz) butter
- 25 g (0.9 oz) flour
- 1 g (0 oz) baking powder
- 55 g (1.9 oz) egg whites
- 10 g (0.4 oz) brown sugar
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F.
2
Melt the butter in the microwave.
3
In a mixing bowl, combine the pistachio powder, brown sugar, the 15 g (0.5 oz) of egg whites, the egg yolk, powdered sugar and salt.
4
Add the melted butter and stir.
5
Whip the 55 g (1.9 oz) of egg whites, adding the brown sugar gradually.
6
Fold the whipped whites into the first mixture gently.
7
Finally, fold in the baking powder and sifted flour.
8
Pour the batter into a 22 cm (8.7 in) diameter ring and bake for 15 to 18 minutes.
9
Once the sponge is completely cold, cut out 4 cm (1.6 in) diameter discs using a cutter. Set aside.
Assembly
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Whip the orange blossom ganache like a chantilly (it should not be too stiff either).
2
Pour it into each cavity up to 3/4 full. Use a spatula to bring the mousse up along the sides for a clean finish.
3
Remove the pistachio ganache and pistachio praline inserts from the freezer and join them together to form a single insert. Gently press it into the mousse, right in the centre (either way round works).
4
Cover with a tiny bit more whipped ganache.
5
Finish with the pistachio financier disc. Press lightly to sink the sponge in. Smooth the surface with a spatula.
6
Cover with cling film and freeze for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight.
Neutral glaze
Ingredients
- 80 g (2.8 oz) sugar
- 80 g (2.8 oz) water
- 4 g (0.1 oz) gelatin
- 24 g (0.8 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatin)
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatin in the water for at least 15 minutes.
2
In a saucepan, heat the sugar and water to 103°C / 217°F.
3
Off the heat, add the rehydrated gelatin and stir gently, being careful not to incorporate air.
4
Leave to cool to 32°C / 90°F.
Decoration
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Remove the entremets from the freezer and unmould carefully.
2
Place the frozen entremets on a rack set over a plate or tray to catch any drips.
3
When the neutral glaze has reached about 32°C / 90°F, pour it gently to fully coat each entremet.
4
Using a small offset spatula, carefully place each entremet onto a sweet pastry disc, making sure it is well centred.
5
Decorate with a few crushed pistachio pieces.
6
Leave to thaw in the refrigerator. Allow about 4 to 5 hours of defrosting time.
Gallery
