Recipe of the month

MACARON, CHOCOLATE, HAZELNUT LOG

Recipe for 3 pieces at 6 portions.

CHOCOLATE MACARON

• Icing sugar 150 g
• Almond powder, with skin 150 g
• Egg whites 65 g
• Cocoa paste 60 g
• Caster sugar 150 g
• Water 40 g
• Egg whites 55 g

Make a TPT with icing sugar and almond powder, blending the two ingredients in a Robot-Coupe® to obtain a fine powder. Melt cocoa paste to 50°C. Cook sugar and water to 118°C and pour onto 65 g whipped egg whites and whip to cool. Once meringue has cooled and is firm, fold into melted cocoa paste (50°C). Add TPT and 55 g raw whites into half of chocolate meringue. Stir well before adding remaining meringue. Finish folding to form a correct macaron batter. Pipe onto a silicon mat with N°12 tip 4 cm diameter macarons slightly touching and to 30 long to form a log. Bake at 140°C for 25 minutes.

PRALINE INSERT

• Water 100 g
• Caster sugar 400 g
• Blanched almond 200 g
• Blanched hazelnut 200 g

Cook water and sugar to 115°C. Add nuts and cook with sugar, slowly stirring on the heat until nuts are fully roasted. Pour onto baking paper and leave to completely cool. Blend in Robot-Coupe® without exceeding 30°C until desired consistency. Pipe praline into 3 cm diameter half spheres and add a roasted hazelnut per mould. Blast freeze.

CARAMEL CHANTILLY

Recipe to be made a day in advance.

• Caster 85 g
• Cream 35% fat 300 g
• Gelatin mass (200 Bloom) 3 g
• Water (for gelatin) 20 g

Cook a dry caramel with sugar and deglaze with hot cream. Once a homogeneous mixture has formed, add soaked gelatin. Refrigerate at 4°C and leave overnight before use. Whip chantilly to a soft texture, unmould praline inserts and place them onto a guitar sheet. Pipe 6 balls of 4 cm diameter balls leaving 5 mm gap between each ball and completely covering the praline balls. Cover piping with a second guitar sheet and slightly press the piping with a board. This will enable the balls to touch. Set aside in freezer.

SHORTBREAD

• Flour 150 g
• Butter 90 g
• Icing sugar 60 g
• Almond powder 12 g
• Egg 30 g
• Fine salt 1.5 g

Mix dry ingredients with butter. Add eggs without over working dough. Roll out between two sheets of baking paper to 2 mm thick. Refrigerate to cool before cutting rings with the following dough cutters: Bake at 150°C for 20 minutes. Store in a dry place.

SHINY GLAZE

• Water 161 g
• Caster sugar 323 g
• Glucose 323 g
• Gelatin powder (200 Bloom) 21 g
• Water 130 g
• Sweetened condensed milk 215 g
• Milk chocolate 323 g
• Red and yellow colouring as nec.

In a saucepan, boil water, sugar and glucose. Leave to slightly cool before adding gelatin mass. Emulsify with condensed milk, milk chocolate and colours. Use at 35°C.

ASSEMBLY

Turn over chocolate macaron. The flat surface needs to be on top. Glaze caramel Chantilly and place onto macaron. Place shortbread discs on top and in each ring place praline to the top. Temper milk chocolate, spread between two guitar sheets and cut the following rings: Ø 2.5 cm and Ø 3 cm diameter before rolling around a 5 cm diameter tube to set. Place a chocolate ring onto each shortbread ring. Finish with a couple of hazelnuts on the top, as well as hazelnut skin on the sides as well as gold leaf directly onto praline.