Dark Chocolate and Coffee Entremet
Dark chocolate and coffee form a classic pairing in pastry, the best example being the iconic Opera cake. The two flavors enhance each other beautifully, making this chocolate and coffee entremet a refined, airy, and creamy dessert perfect for special occasions.
What sets this entremet apart, beyond its taste and appearance, is the crunchy layer. Inspired by the Dubai chocolate croustillant, it features a praline croustillant—a classic French pastry recipe—offering a delightful textural contrast to the smoothness of the mousse.
This praline croustillant includes praline paste and pailleté feuilletine, finely crumbled French biscuits. These can be store-bought or homemade. If making them yourself, ensure the dough is spread very thinly for quick baking—be vigilant, as they bake in an instant and no one likes burnt paillete feuilletine!
The decor of this entremet is made with a piping bag and a flower petal nozzle. It is a beautiful technique to have on hand to be honest, a great way to bring a mousse cake out of the ordinary. It is also a great technique to master if you are trying to be more creative or find other ways to decorate an entremet other than mirror glaze or velvet spray. However, it requires a certain degree of skill working with a piping bag. What i strongly recommend to all my students during our classes is to practice! Nothing improves this skill more than practice. And practice can come two ways: you either don’t put too much pressure on yourself and just start decorating cakes taking the risk of failure upon yourself or you practice on dummy cakes before. A great way to practice piping skills is using margarine which you let come to room temperature and then whip with a bit of icing sugar until light and airy. Transfer it into a piping bag and play around with various nozzles and shapes. You can do this over and over again and margarine is quite sturdy at hand temperature unlike other creams you might use.
Chocolate Coffee Entremet
Ingredients
Almond Sponge
- 65 g powdered sugar (sifted)
- 65 g almond flour
- 15 g all-purpose white flour
- 1 g salt
- 80 g egg whites
- 40 g white granulated sugar
- 15 g light brown sugar
Praline Croustillant
- 35 g milk chocolate (40%)
- 80 g praline paste
- 50 g pailleté feuilletine
Dark Chocolate Mousse
- 160 g whole milk (3.5% fat)
- 50 g egg yolks
- 25 g white granulated sugar
- 2 g gelatin + 12 g cold water
- 190 g dark chocolate (58%)
- 300 g whipping cream (lightly whipped)
Coffee Chantilly Cream
- 3 g gelatin + 18 g cold water
- 400 g whipping cream
- 2 g instant coffee
- 90 g white chocolate
- 5 g vanilla extract
Instructions
Almond Sponge
- Mix powdered sugar, almond flour, all-purpose flour, and salt in a bowl.
- Separately, whisk the egg whites until they become slightly foamy. Gradually add the granulated sugar, then the brown sugar, and continue mixing until a firm meringue forms.
- Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the meringue using a spatula.
- Spread the batter on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, ensuring it’s large enough to cut two 16 cm discs later.
- Bake at 210°C for 10-14 minutes, or until the surface is slightly crisp and golden.
- Let cool, then carefully cut out two 16 cm discs.
Praline Croustillant
- Melt the milk chocolate.
- Mix the melted chocolate with the praline paste.
- Add the feuilletine and combine.
- Place one sponge disc into a 16 cm ring lined with parchment paper. Spread the croustillant evenly over the sponge, pressing gently.
- Place the second sponge disc on top of the croustillant layer.
- Chill in the fridge or freezer until set.
Dark Chocolate Mousse
- Bloom the gelatin in cold water for at least 10 minutes.
- Whisk the egg yolks with sugar in a bowl.
- Heat the milk and bloomed gelatin together. Gradually pour the warm milk over the egg yolk mixture while whisking.
- Return the mixture to the heat and cook gently over low heat until it reaches 82°C.
- Remove from heat and pour over the dark chocolate in a tall container. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
- Cool the mixture to 40°C, then fold in the lightly whipped cream.
Entremet Assembly
- Line an 18 cm diameter, 6 cm high ring with acetate.
- Pour the mousse into the mold, leaving space at the top for the sponge and croustillant layer.
- Place the sponge and croustillant assembly in the center of the mold, pressing gently to level it with the ring.
- Freeze the cake for at least 12 hours.
Coffee Chantilly Cream
- Bloom the gelatin in cold water.
- Heat the cream with gelatin, instant coffee, and vanilla extract.
- Pour the mixture over the white chocolate and blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
- Cover with cling film in contact with the surface and chill for at least 12 hours.
- Whip the Chantilly cream before use.
Entremet Decoration
- Whip the Chantilly cream with a hand mixer until firm.
- Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a petal nozzle and pipe petals onto the surface of the cake (removed from the mold and acetate). Start at the center and work outward, then pipe on the sides.
- Chill the cake in the fridge for 1-2 hours to stabilize.
- Decorate as desired!
