Last week, I shared with you the recipe for the banana, Dulcey and pecan loaf cake made for my son’s birthday. I also took the opportunity to take some little strawberry, blackcurrant and coconut entremets out of the freezer, which were patiently waiting to be eaten. I already had a very precise idea in mind for this dessert… So I took advantage of 2 special occasions.
First of all, I posted a photo of this dessert on Instagram to celebrate Pink October and support the fight against breast cancer. Obviously, these breast-shaped entremets were perfectly suited to the occasion. But celebrating my son’s 1st birthday also means celebrating one year of breastfeeding, and even if it hasn’t always been plain sailing, I’m proud of us (#allaiterpartouttoutletemps). So naturally, once again, these nipples were frankly appropriate 😉
Maybe this dessert reminds you of something… I discovered it in season 9 of Le Meilleur Pâtissier (the theme was “50 nuances plus crème”). It was Mercotte who had proposed this dessert for the technical challenge. It was an interpretation of Capezzoli di Venere (Nipples of Venus), an Italian dessert made with chestnut, rum and chocolate. She had then chosen fresher flavours more in keeping with the theme (rose in the strawberry compote, ginger in the breton shortbread and an almond bavarian cream).
I only kept the look of these little nipples of Venus and I made a strawberry, blackcurrant and coconut entremets made up of a strawberry blackcurrant compote, a coconut mousse, a joconde sponge and a pâte sucrée.
To make these nipples of Venus, you’ll need a half-sphere mould 7-8 cm in diameter. I didn’t do exactly as Mercotte did for the decoration; I went for the simplest option, using pale pink sugar paste. As for the glaze, I didn’t use any colouring to get this flesh colour. I simply replaced a little of the white chocolate with a few Valrhona strawberry Inspiration chocolate pistoles. I’m well aware that it’s not the kind of chocolate we have in stock at home, which is why I mention the use of a colouring here. That being said, it’s up to you to see what might work to get (both in terms of colour and quantity) this flesh colour.
Finally, to make these strawberry, blackcurrant and coconut entremets, I decided to make a strawberry blackcurrant confit because that’s what I had to hand (blackcurrant purée and frozen strawberries I had in the freezer). You can make a confit with whatever fruit you like (red berries, raspberry… or even an exotic insert); it will go very well with the coconut mousse. For the insert, I used Silikomart’s Globe mould (4.5*2cm) but you can use a smaller half-sphere mould. My insert doesn’t really have the intended shape, but I was a bit pressed for time and I unmoulded them before they were properly set.
So, fancy a little boob? Er… a little piece? 😛
Ingredients & method
7 components · Full recipe
Flesh mirror glaze (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 75 g (2.6 oz) water
- 150 g (5.3 oz) sugar
- 150 g (5.3 oz) glucose
- 100 g (3.5 oz) unsweetened condensed milk
- 150 g (5.3 oz) white chocolate
- 10 g (0.4 oz) gelatine
- food colouring of your choice to achieve this colour
Method
1
Ideally, make the glaze the day before (or in advance) and reheat it in the microwave before use.
2
Rehydrate the gelatine in water.
3
In a saucepan, combine the water, sugar and glucose and heat to 103°C / 217°F.
4
Meanwhile, in a jug, place the white chocolate cut into pieces, the unsweetened condensed milk, the hydrated gelatine and a small amount of food colouring.
5
When the water/sugar/glucose mixture reaches 103°C / 217°F, pour it into the jug then blend with an immersion blender to smooth the glaze — be careful not to incorporate air or you risk unsightly air bubbles in your glaze.
Sweet pastry (start 2 days or 1 day ahead)
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) butter
- 95 g (3.4 oz) icing sugar
- 30 g (1.1 oz) ground almonds
- 60 g (2.1 oz) eggs (1 large egg)
- 250 g (8.8 oz) plain flour
- a pinch of fleur de sel
- a knife tip of vanilla powder
Method
1
Place the softened butter and icing sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Add the ground almonds, vanilla powder and fleur de sel and mix again.
2
Then add the beaten egg and mix using a spatula this time (it will be easier than with the stand mixer).
3
Finish with the flour and mix with the stand mixer until you obtain a smooth, homogeneous dough. Do not overwork the dough. Bring together into a ball without pressing too much. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions.
4
Wrap each dough ball in plastic wrap, shaping them into flattened rectangles. Refrigerate one overnight and freeze the other (to use for another tart).
5
The next day, roll out the dough to a thickness of 2–3 mm using a rolling pin and cut out 6 discs of 8 cm (3.1 in) in diameter. Place in the freezer 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 pattern on the pastry), itself placed on a perforated baking tray. Place another Silpain mat on top.
8
Bake for approximately 25 minutes (keep a close eye on the baking time, as it also depends on the thickness and evenness of the dough).
Strawberry blackcurrant confit (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) blackcurrant purée
- 100 g (3.5 oz) strawberry purée
- 20 g (0.7 oz) caster sugar
- 10 g (0.4 oz) lemon juice
- 4 g (0.1 oz) NH pectin
- a dash of lemon juice
Method
1
Pour the blackcurrant and strawberry purées into a saucepan and heat.
2
When the purée reaches around 40°C / 104°F, add the sugar and NH pectin, previously mixed together well. Bring to the boil while stirring with a whisk and maintain the boil for one minute.
3
Remove from the heat, add the lemon juice and stir.
Joconde sponge
Ingredients
- 80 g (2.8 oz) icing sugar
- 80 g (2.8 oz) ground almonds
- 20 g (0.7 oz) plain flour
- 16 g (0.6 oz) melted butter
- 100 g (3.5 oz) whole eggs
- 100 g (3.5 oz) egg whites
- 30 g (1.1 oz) caster sugar
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F.
2
Melt the butter in the microwave and set aside.
3
In a bowl, sift the dry ingredients (ground almonds, flour and icing sugar).
4
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the whole eggs then add the sifted dry ingredients and whisk for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth.
5
Add the melted butter and fold in gently with a spatula.
6
In parallel, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, adding the caster sugar in 3 additions.
7
Gently fold the egg whites into the previous mixture.
8
Pour the batter onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper to form a 20×30 cm (11.8 in) rectangle. Smooth with a small offset spatula.
Coconut mousse
Ingredients
- 250 g (8.8 oz) coconut milk
- 80 g (2.8 oz) sugar
- 250 g (8.8 oz) whipping cream
- 8 g (0.3 oz) powdered gelatine (= 4 sheets)
- 48 g (1.7 oz) water (to hydrate the gelatine)
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatine in water.
2
Heat the coconut milk with the sugar.
3
Remove from the heat, add the hydrated gelatine. Leave to cool.
4
Whip the cream but do not over-whip — it should be light and mousse-like.
Assembly
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Fill the moulds three-quarters full with the coconut mousse and spread it up along the sides with a spatula for a clean assembly. Freeze for 5 minutes to allow the mousse to set slightly (and prevent the insert from sinking to the bottom).
2
Enfoncer délicatement l’insert bien au centre.
Decoration
Ingredients
- desiccated coconut
- pink fondant
Method
1
Reheat the mirror glaze until it reaches approximately 30°C / 86°F.
2
Remove the entremets from the freezer and unmould.
3
Place the frozen entremets on a rack, itself set on a plate or tray to catch any excess glaze.
4
Carefully pour the mirror glaze over the entremets to cover them completely. Gently tap the rack.
5
Decorate each entremet with desiccated coconut all around, then using a small offset spatula, carefully place each entremet on a sweet pastry disc, taking care to centre it properly.
6
Transform the entremets into an appealing shape by adding a small disc of pink fondant and a small ball of fondant as the nipple.
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