If you only knew how long I’ve wanted to make a poppy entremets… put it this way, it’s been so long that the poppy flavouring I bought back then has now been out of date for a while. Oops! It was seeing Valentine’s Day approaching that brought the urge back, and I decided to pair poppy with raspberry.
This raspberry and poppy entremets is made up of a raspberry financier sponge, an almond crunchy layer, a raspberry confit, a poppy bavarois mousse and a pretty red mirror glaze.
I don’t usually publish a recipe after an occasion has passed (Christmas, Valentine’s Day etc…) but Sunday is Grandmothers’ Day and I thought this raspberry and poppy entremets would be just as appreciated for that occasion. A lovely declaration of love.
How I love poppies! This flower is so pretty and so fragile… impossible not to think of one of my most beautiful maternity photo shoots when I was pregnant with my eldest.
Photo credit: Studio dans les nuages
How do you use poppy in pastry?
The poppy is a wild flower belonging to the Papaveraceae family. It flowers in late spring and turns the landscape red. It’s such a fragile flower that it wilts as soon as it’s picked. Its petals are used in syrups, confits and even liqueurs. Its seeds are also eaten, just like poppy seeds.
In this recipe, I used a poppy flavouring (bought from Meilleur du chef). As I was saying, my little bottle (bought ages ago) was therefore out of date. That’s probably not a problem in itself, but it may have affected the dosage. I strongly advise you to do as I did and add the flavouring to the mixture little by little. I started with 5 drops and in the end I put in 35 (but I’d add a bit more if I were to do it again). Taste as you go and add more if needed. I imagine some flavourings are more concentrated than others, so be careful.
How do you organise yourself to make an entremets?
To make this raspberry and poppy entremets, the easiest thing is to spread the work over several days. Some preparations can be made the day before or even several days in advance. For example:
- the raspberry confit has to go in the freezer so it can be unmoulded easily. So it’s something that can be done in advance, since it stays in the freezer until assembly.
- the mirror glaze (if you choose to make one) can be kept for several days in the fridge (with cling film touching the surface and in an airtight container).
- the raspberry financier and the almond crunchy layer can be made on assembly day, but if you like, you can very well make them the day before, wrap them well and keep them in the fridge, or you can also make them several days in advance and keep them in the freezer.
- all that’s left is to make the poppy bavarois mousse and do the assembly.
What do I do if I don’t have the Bacio mould?
When I give the reference of a Silikomart mould and you don’t have that mould, you just need to look at the volume of my mould and compare it with the volume of yours. For example, the Bacio mould I use in this recipe has a capacity of 1200ml. You can use any mould of that capacity, and if you use a smaller or larger mould, you’ll just need to adjust the quantities. Generally, you only need to change the quantities of the confit and the mousse. For information, the volume of a cylinder is πr² x height. Don’t thank me, it’s a gift! 😛
For those of you who have the Bacio mould, I’m even going to make things easier for you by providing the lips-shaped template, which you can use to cut your sponge to the right dimensions.
Ingredients & Method
7 components · Full recipe
Red Mirror Glaze (can be made ahead)
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) sugar
- 150 g (5.3 oz) glucose syrup
- 75 g (2.6 oz) water
- 100 g (3.5 oz) unsweetened condensed milk
- 150 g (5.3 oz) white chocolate
- 10 g (0.4 oz) powdered gelatine
- 60 g (2.1 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
- red food colouring with a tiny drop of black
Method
1
It’s ideal to make the glaze the day before (or in advance) and reheat it in the microwave when needed.
2
Rehydrate the gelatine in the water.
3
In a saucepan, combine the water, sugar and glucose and heat to 103°C / 217°F.
4
Meanwhile, in a pitcher, place the white chocolate cut into pieces, the unsweetened condensed milk, the rehydrated gelatine and the food colourings.
5
When the water/sugar/glucose mixture reaches 103°C / 217°F, pour it into the pitcher then blend with a hand blender to smooth the glaze, taking care not to incorporate any air bubbles.
6
If needed, pass the mixture through a fine sieve and set aside in the fridge.
Raspberry Confit (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 270 g (9.5 oz) red fruit purée
- 50 g (1.8 oz) sugar
- 4.5 g (0.2 oz) pectin
- a squeeze of lemon juice
Method
1
Pour the red fruit purée into a saucepan and heat.
2
When the purée reaches about 40°C / 104°F, add the sugar and NH pectin mixture, having first combined them well. Bring to the boil while whisking and maintain the boil for one minute.
3
Off the heat, add a squeeze of lemon juice and mix.
4
Pour into an insert mould. Wrap in cling film and place in the freezer overnight. I used the Bacio mould directly as I didn’t have the right shape (a calisson-shaped mould would be perfect I think). The problem with the Bacio mould is that there is more filling in the centre than on the sides. You decide… You can also increase the quantities of the confit to make a round insert and then cut it to the right shape (but there is some waste and I don’t like that either).
Raspberry Financier
Ingredients
- 60 g (2.1 oz) flour
- 90 g (3.2 oz) ground almonds
- 150 g (5.3 oz) icing sugar
- ½ vanilla pod
- 4 egg whites
- 100 g (3.5 oz) butter
- 125 g (4.4 oz) fresh raspberries
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F.
2
In a saucepan, melt the butter until it turns a hazelnut colour (stir constantly). The butter is ready when a delicious hazelnut aroma develops and it stops ‘singing’. Leave to cool. Note: always use a little more butter than the stated weight as there is some loss.
3
In a bowl, mix the sifted powders (ground almonds, flour, icing sugar, salt) with the seeds from the half vanilla pod and the unwhipped egg whites.
4
Add the cooled brown butter to the mixture, passing it through a sieve to remove impurities.
5
Pour into a 22 cm (8.7 in) diameter round cake tin and add the raspberries. I recommend placing the raspberries with the cut shape you’ll be making in mind, to avoid ‘wasting’ raspberries. You can also buy a few more raspberries and spread them all over the biscuit (the off-cuts will be devoured).
6
Lower the oven temperature to 180°C / 350°F and bake for about 20 minutes.
7
Leave to cool for a few minutes before unmoulding then set aside on a wire rack.
8
Once the biscuit has cooled, cut out the lip shape using this template.
Almond Crunch
Ingredients
- 60 g (2.1 oz) whole almond paste
- 25 g (0.9 oz) white chocolate
- 25 g (0.9 oz) gaufrettes/lace crêpes
- 15 g (0.5 oz) toasted flaked almonds
- 1 pinch of fleur de sel
Method
1
Melt the white chocolate in a bain-marie or in the microwave.
2
Add the almond paste and mix. Then fold in the crumbled gaufrettes, the toasted flaked almonds and the pinch of fleur de sel. Mix then spread over the financier using a small offset spatula. Set aside in the fridge until assembly.
Poppy Bavarian Mousse
Ingredients
- 30 g (1.1 oz) egg yolks
- 30 g (1.1 oz) sugar
- 100 g (3.5 oz) milk
- 15 g (0.5 oz) full-fat double cream
- 300 g (10.6 oz) full-fat double cream
- 4 g (0.1 oz) powdered gelatine (= 2 leaves)
- 24 g (0.8 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
- 40 drops of poppy aroma (caution: I recommend adding gradually and tasting as you go)
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatine in the water.
2
Heat the milk with half the sugar.
3
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar.
4
Pour the milk onto the yolk-sugar mixture, mix well and return everything to a low heat.
5
Cook to 83°C / 181°F, stirring constantly with a spatula. Take care not to let the cream boil.
6
Off the heat, add the rehydrated gelatine. Leave to cool.
7
Add the poppy aroma. You can pass this crème anglaise through a fine-mesh sieve or blend it with a hand blender to remove any lumps. Whisk the full-fat double cream but don’t over-whip it — it should be lightly aerated.
8
When the crème anglaise has cooled to 45°C / 113°F, fold in the whipped cream and set aside.
Assembly
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Pour the poppy Bavarian mousse into the Bacio mould up to three-quarters full. Run a spatula well up along the sides for a clean finish. Place in the freezer for 5 minutes if needed to allow the mousse to set slightly.
2
Remove the raspberry insert and gently press it into the mousse.
3
Cover with a layer of mousse, leaving enough room for the biscuit.
4
Finish with the financier/crunch (crunch side against the mousse). Press down gently to embed the biscuit. Smooth the surface with a spatula.
5
Cover with cling film and place in the freezer for a minimum of 4 hours, ideally overnight.
Decoration of the Raspberry and Poppy Entremet
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Remove the entremet from the freezer and unmould.
2
Place the frozen entremet on a wire rack set over a plate or dish to catch the excess.
3
Reheat the glaze to about 30°C / 86°F and pour gently over the entremet.
4
Remove the entremet from the rack and place on a serving dish.
5
Leave to thaw in the refrigerator. Allow approximately 6 to 7 hours minimum.
Gallery
