This time, I’m giving you not an exotic recipe, but an ultra-indulgent one: the praline succès. It’s a dessert I’d wanted to make loads of times, but the opportunity never arose. And then I had the chance to receive a few products from the Michel Cluizel manufacture, including a succulent praline. The opportunity was too good!
For this recipe, I wanted to take inspiration from the assembly by Auriane from the blog Sucre d’orge et pain d’épices. She made 2 beautiful daisy-shaped dacquoises that look stunning for her date and walnut succès. Well, that’s easier said than done ^^ So I went for 2 discs — the taste is the same! It’s a fairly simple dessert to make: a dacquoise and a mousseline cream (which is nothing more than a pastry cream with added butter and, here, praline of course).
To make the mousseline cream, there are 2 schools of thought. Those who make a pastry cream without adding butter, in which case all the butter is added afterwards. And those who add half the butter to the hot pastry cream, the other half being added later. Usually, I go for the 2nd option, but this time I wanted to try incorporating the butter all at once. If all your ingredients are at the right temperature, everything should go well. The risk is that the cream “splits”, but in that case, the little trick is to warm the sides of the mixer bowl to melt the little lumps of butter that refuse to blend in (a small blowtorch or even a hairdryer can do the job). In my case, everything went well, but I think I still prefer option 1. It’s up to you! 🙂
Ingredients & method
3 components · Full recipe
Hazelnut Dacquoise
Ingredients
- 80 g (2.8 oz) almond flour
- 80 g (2.8 oz) hazelnut flour
- 40 g (1.4 oz) flour
- 130 g (4.6 oz) icing sugar
- 190 g (6.7 oz) egg whites
- 70 g (2.5 oz) caster sugar
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F.
2
In a bowl, sift the flour and icing sugar, then add the almond flour and hazelnut flour (you can toast the hazelnut flour first to develop the flavours).
3
Beat the egg whites with the caster sugar until you reach a meringue-like consistency.
4
Add the sifted dry ingredients and fold in gently with a spatula.
5
Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a plain tip and pipe the batter into two circles about 20-22 cm (8.7 in) in diameter on two sheets of baking paper (to pipe the spiral, start from the centre).
6
Dust lightly with sifted icing sugar (I always use a tea ball infuser to dust with icing sugar).
7
Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes (the dacquoise should be dry to the touch and lightly golden).
8
Leave the 2 dacquoise discs to cool on a wire rack.
Praline Mousseline Cream
Ingredients
- 250 g (8.8 oz) whole milk
- ½ vanilla pod
- 50 g (1.8 oz) sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 20 g (0.7 oz) cornstarch
- 10 g (0.4 oz) T45 flour
- 4 g (0.1 oz) gelatine (optional but helps hold shape)
- 150 g (5.3 oz) softened butter
- 60 g (2.1 oz) praline paste (not too runny)
Method
1
In a bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks, then add the flour and cornstarch.
2
Bring the whole milk to the boil with the vanilla seeds and pod in a large saucepan. Place a fine-mesh strainer over the bowl, then pour in the hot milk in a thin stream, whisking constantly, to temper the cream. Pour everything back into the saucepan.
3
Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened, and keep at a boil for 1 minute to achieve a dense texture. (If using gelatine: add it off the heat while the cream is still warm).
4
Pour into a bowl. Cover with cling film directly on the surface and leave to cool at room temperature, then refrigerate if needed, until cold but pliable (around 20°C / 68°F/68°F).
5
For the mousseline cream assembly: take the butter out in advance so it is well softened (pliable but not melted).
6
Loosen the pastry cream in a stand mixer until smooth.
7
Add the butter in several batches, whisking at medium-high speed.
8
Add the praline paste and whisk for another 5-10 minutes until the cream is airy, smooth and firm. If needed, chill for 20-30 minutes before piping.
Assembly
Ingredients
- icing sugar
- chopped hazelnuts
Method
1
Remove the mousseline cream from the refrigerator. It should be firmer and therefore easier to pipe.
2
Pipe the praline cream over the entire surface of one of the two dacquoises, creating rosettes around the edge and a spiral in the centre.
3
Cover with the second dacquoise layer. Press down gently.
4
Dust with icing sugar and decorate with chopped hazelnuts.
Gallery
