Recipe of the month

Mont-blanc

Recipe for 10 petits gâteaux.

Shortcrust pastry

  • Flour 150 g
  • Salted butter 112 g
  • Caster sugar 6 g
  • Salt 2 g
  • Egg yolk 20 g
  • Milk 15 g

Mix together the flour, salted butter, sugar and salt. When the mixture comes together without lumps of butter, add the egg yolk and the milk. Leave the dough to rest at least one hour. Ideally the dough should be rested overnight.


Almond cream

  • Butter 50 g
  • Caster sugar 50 g
  • Almond powder 50 g
  • Egg 50 g

Place the softened butter, sugar and almond powder into a mixing bowl. Whiten the mass
and add the egg, continuing to mix. Set aside.


Chestnut cream

  • Milk 65 g
  • Chestnut cream 200 g
  • Egg yolks 40 g
  • Corn starch 5 g
  • Butter 145 g

In a saucepan heat the milk and chestnut cream. Pour onto the egg yolks and corn starch. Reboil the mixture, off the heat add the butter. Smoothen and spread onto a tray to cool. Cover with cling film.


Chantilly

  • Cream 35% fat 90 g
  • Mascarpone 30 g
  • Caster sugar 10 g

Whip the cream, mascarpone and the sugar to a chantilly consistency.


Finishing and decoration

With the shortcrust dough, line 10 x 7 cm tart rings. Blind bake with baking beads in the centre at 150°C. Cool and fill with almond cream 3/4 up the sides. Bake at 140°C for 25 minutes. Cool and lightly soak with rum syrup. Place a couple of candied chestnut pieces on the surface of the tart before piping with chantilly a cone, perfectly from the centre. Freeze for a short period to harden the cone and pipe the chestnut cream with a vermicelli tip. Sift with icing sugar and decorate with candied chestnuts.

Recipe given by

M.O.F., Relais Desserts International, Rennes

THE IDEA?

I rediscovered with cake during a trip to Japan. It is one of the most popular cakes there.


THE SHAPE?

Needing shape and volume in order to finish with chestnut cream. Consisting of a shortcrust tart shell, filled with almond cream onto which Chantilly cream is piped and then finished with chestnut cream.


THE FLAVOURS?

The classic : chantilly and chestnuts.Eventually, depending on the seasons it is possible to pair with red fruits or even citrus fruits, but the chestnut flavour will be slightly lost.


THE TECHNICAL STEP?

The texture of the mousseline for a perfect finishing, not too soft, not too firm.


CAREFUL

The balance with the base and the chantilly which gives a light texture and the chestnut mousseline which brings flavour and a firmer texture. Each part needs to represent 1/3 of the cake.

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