Rice Berry Entremet
Yes, you can use rice in other recipes than puddings and savory! In a cake, how does that sound?!?! And not just any cake but a rice berry entremet which is one of the most elegant and exquisite cakes ever! I’ve used rice to make a rice and berry mousse and I really liked the texture of it, slightly in contrast with the airy, light berry mousse that forms the next layer. It has a very comforting taste to be fair, a mix between the familiar taste of a rice pudding with a lighter texture and a delicate fragrance from the berries.
However, my favorite part is the berry mousse that forms the next layer – it’s truly exquisite. Must be having to do with the fact that it starts with a meringue base and that makes it incredibly airy – it literally melts in your mouth into a delicious, slightly tangy and fragrant foam. The sponge has a Madeleine texture and it actually starts as a genoise, but then more flour is added to make it denser and more whipped egg whites to make it airy. I think it would be a nice sponge to use as a base for carved cakes just because it holds its shape well and cuts perfectly into thin or thick slices.
The glaze is AMAZING, I’m incredibly pleased with it, especially since it’s made from scratch, at home. It tastes great, it has a pretty good cover when poured over a cake, it’s thick and creamy and it pours nicely. It’s definitely a keeper!
Rice Berry Entremet
Ingredients
Vanilla Syrup:
- 100 ml water
- 50 g sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Madeleine Sponge:
- 4 eggs
- 150 g white sugar
- 200 g all-purpose flour
- 10 g baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 180 g butter (melted and chilled)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teapsoon vanilla extract
- 3 egg whites
- 25 g white sugar
Berry Rice Mousse:
- 90 g white rice (rinsed)
- 1 pinch salt
- 500 ml whole milk
- 50 ml heavy cream
- 120 g wild berries (slightly crushed)
- 100 g sugar
- 4 g gelatin
- 20 ml cold water
- 125 ml heavy cream (whipped)
Wild Berry Mousse:
- 60 g sugar
- 30 ml water
- 1 teapsoon lemon juice
- 2 egg whites
- 8 g gelatin
- 45 ml cold water
- 150 g wild berry puree
- 250 ml heavy cream
- 30 g powdered sugar
White Chocolate Ganache:
- 150 g white chocolate
- 100 ml heavy cream
- 20 g butter
Wild Berry Inserts:
- 150 g wild berries (crushed)
- 40 g sugar
Pink Glaze:
- 50 ml water
- 100 g white sugar
- 100 g liquid glucose
- 70 ml sweetened condensed milk
- 6 g gelatin
- 60 ml cold water
- 100 white chocolate (chopped)
- 1 drop red food coloring
- 1 drop blue food coloring
Instructions
Vanilla Syrup:
- Mix the water and sugar and boil them over medium flame for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let the syrup come to room temperature then stir in the vanilla extract.
Wild Berry Inserts:
- Mix the wild berries with sugar and cook them over low heat for 5-7 minutes.
- Puree the mixture then pass it through a fine sieve.
- Pour the sauce in an ice mold (round, square, any shape will work) and freeze for a few hours. This will help you handle the inserts later on.
Madeleine Sponge:
- Preheat your oven to 330F (165C) and line the bottom of two round cake pans (24-26cm diameter) with baking paper.
- Sift the flour with baking powder and salt in a bowl.
- Mix the eggs with sugar until they triple their volume.
- Gradually fold in the flour mixture, spoon by spoon, using a spatula.
- Once the flour is incorporated, add the butter, spoon by spoon as it tends to sink at the bottom of the bowl.
- Add the lemon zest and vanilla extract.
- Whip the egg whites until stiff then add the remaining sugar and mix until stiff and glossy.
- Fold the whipped whites into the batter.
- Pour the batter into your prepared cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes until well risen and golden brown. If you touch the top of the sponge, it should spring back!
- Let the sponges cool then even the tops if needed.
- Place one sponge in your cake ring and reserve the second sponge for later.
- Brush the Madeleine sponge with vanilla syrup and place the cake ring aside.
Rice Berry Mousse:
- Mix the rice with a pinch of salt, milk and 50ml heavy cream in a heavy saucepan.
- Place over low heat, cover with a lid and cook for 30 minutes until the rice is soaked up.
- Stir in the sugar and berries and cook for 5 additional minutes.
- Remove from heat and let the rice cool completely.
- Bloom the gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes then melt it for a few seconds over a hot water bath.
- Mix the gelatin with the rice then fold in the heavy cream.
- Pour the mousse into the cake ring and place in the fridge to set.
- Once the rice berry mousse is set, arrange the second Madeleine sponge on top and brush it with vanilla syrup. I cut the edges of the sponge because I wanted to create a pattern, but you don’t have to.
Wild Berry Mousse:
- Bloom the gelatin with cold water for at least 10 minutes.
- Mix the sugar with water and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Cook for 5-6 minutes until it begins to thicken.
- While the syrup cooks, whip the egg whites until stiff. Carefully add the hot sugar syrup and continue mixing until you get a stiff and glossy meringue, at least 5 additional minutes.
- Melt the gelatin and mix it with the wild berry puree then fold the puree into the whipped egg whites.
- Whip the heavy cream with the powdered sugar until stiff then fold it into the mousse.
- Pour half of the mousse over the sponge.
- Arrange the berry inserts into the cake ring as well and top with the remaining berry mousse.
- Refrigerate the cake for 2 hours.
White Chocolate Ganache:
- Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan over low heat.
- Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate.
- Mix until melted then add the butter and mix well.
- Let the ganache cool to room temperature then pour it over the berry mousse.
- Refrigerate the cake over night.
Pink Glaze:
- Mix the water, sugar and glucose in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Bloom the gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes.
- Cook the syrup over low to medium heat until it begins to thicken.
- Remove from heat and pour the syrup into a heatproof bowl. Stir in the condensed milk and mix until well combined.
- Add the melted gelatin then stir in the chocolate.
- Mix until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Add the food coloring then let the glaze cool before use.
- I recommend freezing the cake for a few hours before pouring the glaze over it just because it helps the glaze smoothen up and set faster.
- Decorate the cake as you wish. In this case, I used dark chocolate and a few fruits, but it’s all up to you!
Notes
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