Taste, Textures, and Temperatures of Chocolate
Chocolate Sponge Cake, Chocolate Shortbread, Vanilla Shortbread, Chocolate Sabayon, Vanilla Ice Cream, Chocolate Cream, Chocolate Bits, and Chocolate-Vanilla Sauce
Pastry Chef Pierre Hermé of Pierre Hermé | Paris
Yield: 10 servings
Adapted by StarChefs | october 2019
INGREDIENTS:
Vanilla Ice Cream:
260 grams liquid crème fraîche (35 percent fat)
95 grams yolks, beaten
670 grams milk
24 grams Madagascar vanilla beans, split and scraped
40 grams 0 percent fat milk powder
Chocolate Cream:
310 grams milk
310 grams liquid crème fraîche (35 percent fat)
150 grams yolks, beaten
250 grams Valrhona Belize 64 percent couverture chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 grams gelatin, bloomed in 28 grams mineral water
Chocolate Sabayon:
60 grams eggs
70 grams yolks
90 grams sugar
27 grams mineral water
215 grams Valrhona Belize 64 percent couverture chocolate, melted to 45 to 50ºC
300 grams whipped liquid crème fraîche (35 percent fat)
Chocolate Shortbread:
85 grams flour
15 grams Valrhona cocoa powder
2½ grams baking soda
75 grams butter, softened
60 grams brown sugar
25 grams sugar
1½ grams Guérande fleur de sel
75 grams Valrhona Belize 64 percent couverture chocolate, coarsely chopped
Vanilla Shortbread:
112 grams extra fine butter, softened
50 grams sugar
1 gram Guérande fleur de sel
½ gram vanilla powder
1½ grams vanilla extract
160 grams T55 flour, sifted
Chocolate Sponge Cake:
20 grams flour
20 grams Valrhona cocoa powder
125 grams egg white
80 grams sugar
80 grams yolks
Belize Chocolate Bits:
160 grams Valrhona Belize 64 percent couverture chocolate, melted
Vanilla Chocolate Bits:
130 grams Valrhona Ivoire 35 percent couverture chocolate, melted
30 grams Valrhona Dulcey 33 percent cocoa couverture chocolate, melted
1 gram vanilla powder
Sauce:
140 grams mineral water
4 grams Madagascar vanilla beans, split and scraped
5 grams sugar
¼ gram Guérande fleur de sel
50 grams Valrhona Belize 64 percent couverture chocolate, coarsely chopped
METHOD:
For the Vanilla Ice Cream:
In a bowl, whisk to combine crème fraîche and yolks. In a pot over medium heat, bring milk to a boil, add vanilla, and remove heat. Infuse 30 minutes. Through a chinois, strain mixture into a saucepan with milk powder. Whisk, over medium heat, until temperature reaches 30ºC. Stir in sugar. At 40ºC, add the yolk mixture and continue to whisk until temperature reaches 85ºC. Whisk 1 more minute, transfer to a container, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Transfer mixture to a Vitamix blender and purée. Pour into an ice cream machine and process according to manufacturer’s instructions. Cover and freeze.
For the Chocolate Cream:
In a saucepan over medium heat, make a crème anglaise with the milk, crème fraîche, and yolks. When sauce is 85ºC, pour one-third into bowl with chocolate, stirring to combine. Repeat with remaining thirds. Stir in gelatin. Transfer Chocolate Cream to an airtight container, covering surface with plastic wrap before sealing with lid. Refrigerate 12 hours.
For the Chocolate Sabayon:
In the bowl of a KitchenAid stand mixer fitted with a whisk, whisk to combine eggs and yolks. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook sugar and water to 128ºC. With mixer on high speed, stream in hot syrup. Mix 3 minutes. Decrease speed to medium and mix until cooled completely. In a bowl, combine melted chocolate and 75 grams crème fraîche. When combined, stir in remaining crème fraîche. Gently fold chocolate mixture into cooled sabayon until just combined. Refrigerate in an airtight container.
For the Chocolate Shortbread:
Into a bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, and baking soda. In a food processor, pulse to combine butter, sugars, and salt. Add flour mixture and chocolate. Pulse until mixture just comes together. On a clean work surface, roll out dough, flattening until about 7-millimeters thick. Transfer to a silicone mat-lined sheet tray, cover, and refrigerate 1 hour. Heat oven to 165ºC. Cut dough into 7-millimeter squares. Bake on a silicone mat 10 minutes. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.
For the Vanilla Shortbread:
To a food processor, add all ingredients, pulsing until mixture just comes together. On a clean work surface, roll out dough, flattening until about 7-millimeters thick. Transfer to a silicone mat-lined sheet tray, cover, and refrigerate 1 hour. Heat oven to 165ºC. Cut dough into 7-millimeter squares. Bake on a silicone mat 12 minutes. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.
For the Chocolate Sponge Cake:
Cut a small cross into the bottoms of twelve 20-centiliter plastic cups. In a bowl, sift together flour and cocoa. In the bowl of a KitchenAid stand mixer fitted with a whisk, whip egg whites while streaming in sugar in thirds. When meringue is stiff and shiny, add yolks and whip 3 to 4 minutes, until mixture is light and ribbony. Delicately fold in half the flour mixture. When combined, fold in remaining half. Transfer batter to a siphon and charge twice. Discharge batter into plastic cups until each one-third full. Bake in microwave at 900 watts for 40 seconds. On a sheet tray, turn the cups upside down and refrigerate.
For the Chocolate Bits:
On a 40- by 30-centimeter plastic sheet, evenly spread chocolate. Cover with a second plastic sheet. Place weight on top and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours. Coarsely chop into 5- to 7-centimeter bits.
For the Vanilla-Chocolate Bits:
In a bowl, combine all ingredients. On a 40- by 30-centimeter plastic sheet, evenly spread mixture. Cover with a second plastic sheet. Place weight on top and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours. Coarsely chop into 5- to 7-centimeter bits.
For the Sauce:
In a pot over medium heat, bring water and vanilla to a boil, remove from heat, and infuse 20 minutes. Strain through a chinois into strain a pot over medium heat. Stir in sugar and salt to dissolve. Into a nonreactive, heatproof bowl with chocolate, pour liquid in thirds, stirring in between each addition. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate.
To Assemble and Serve:
Transfer Chocolate Cream to a pastry bag with plain tip and pipe artfully around the center of a chilled serving plate. Arrange Chocolate and Chocolate-Vanilla Bits on and around Chocolate Cream. Dollop Chocolate Sabayon around design. Add a quenelle of Vanilla Ice Cream. Finish with 5 torn pieces Chocolate Sponge Cake. Garnish with Shortbreads. Serve with a sauciere of Sauce.
