These tiny, airy, creamy, loaded with chocolate cakes were our New Year’s treat – I could have done a lot more, but I decided to keep it simple. To be honest, time was short as well due to making cakes and cookies for family and friends so this was my only idea at that time. The layers of these cakes are: sable Breton, dark chocolate mousse, chocolate mirror glaze, chocolate soil, red wine poached pear and red wine sauce and although it does sound like many components, they are all easy to make and I would definitely recommend this recipe even for beginners.

I find pears to be some of the most elegant fruits ever and they sure yield amazing desserts so I use them in my desserts quite often. But nothing compares to red wine poached pears! And a chocolate mousse cake next to it coplements the pears perfectly! The chocolate soil adds texture, but once soaked in the red wine sauce it melts into even more chocolate. To us, it was the perfect dessert for the New Year and we started 2015 enjoying a scrumptious, rich dessert! May the rest of the year be just as good!

(In the last picture of this post you can also see a layer consisting of a white chocolate mousse which was a leftover from an entremet I made for a friend and I just couldn’t throw it away, right?!)



{Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake} - Tortulete cu mousse de ciocolata si pere in vin Print Author: Olguta - Pastry Workshop Ingredients: Walnut sable Breton: 220g all-purpose flour

7g baking powder

1 pinch salt

160g butter, room temperature

170g sugar

4 egg yolks

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

50g walnuts, finely chopped Dark chocolate mousse: 200g dark chocolate, chopped (70% cocoa content or more if you like it)

450ml heavy cream

30g powdered sugar

2 egg yolks

60g sugar

30ml water

1 pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons Amaretto (or dark rum if you prefer)

4g gelatin

20ml cold water Chocolate mirror glaze: 450g sugar

150g cocoa powder

280ml water

300ml heavy cream

15g gelatin granules

70ml cold water

1 pinch salt Chocolate soil: 35g dark chocolate, finely chopped

50g sugar

25ml water Red wine poached pears: 6-8 small pears

750ml red wine (rose in my case)

150g sugar

1 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

2 cardamom pods

2 whole cloves Directions: Walnut sable breton: Sift the flour with baking powder and salt. Combine the butter with sugar in a bowl and mix at least 5 minutes until smooth and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one by one, then stir in the vanilla and walnuts. Add the flour and give it a quick mix until well incorporated. Transfer the dough between two sheets of baking paper. The dough is quite soft, but that’s how it’s supposed to be. Carefully roll the dough into 1cm sheet and place in the freezer. For easier handling, I recommend placing the baking paper sheets on the back of a pan. This allows you to roll and freeze the dough without hassle. Freeze the dough for 1 hour then take your mini cake molds (preferably steel ones) and cut small rounds of frozen dough. Transfer the cake molds and dough (leave the dough in the molds as they will help it rise) on a clean baking tray and bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes or until well risen and fragrant. Let the sable Breton cool completely then remove it from the molds and line the molds with acetate foil. Place the sable back in the molds and place aside. At this point, if you wish, you can slightly brush the sable breton with sugar syrup to soften it up. Dark chocolate mousse: Whip the heavy cream with powdered sugar until stiff peaks and place it in the fridge until the other components are ready. Bloom the gelatin with cold water for at least 10 minutes. Make a pate a bombe by combining the 60g sugar with 30ml water in a saucepan. Bring the syrup to a boil and cook until the sugar dissolves. In the meantime, mix the egg yolks with a pinch of salt until light and fluffy. Gradually stir in the hot sugar syrup, mixing all the time. Keep mixing for at least 5 minutes until stiff and light, as well as creamy and fluffy. Melt the gelatin a few seconds and stir it into the pate a bombe. Add the melted chocolate and mix until smooth. Allow this mixture to come to room temperature then fold in the heavy cream, amaretto and vanilla. Evenly distribute the mousse between the 6-8 round cake molds and refrigerate a few hours until set. Chocolate mirror glaze: Mix the gelatin with 70ml cold water and let it bloom for 10 minutes. Combine the sugar, cocoa powder, water, heavy cream and salt in a heavy saucepan and place over medium flame. Bring to a boil and keep cooking the mixture, stirring often, for 10 minutes. Stay close because it tends to foam up and keep mixing all the time to avoid burning. The mixture will begin to thicken and turn into a dark color. Remove from heat and let it temper for 10 minutes then stir in the gelatin. Mix until melted then cover the glaze with plastic wrap on the surface and let it cool to room temperature before using it. Chocolate soil: Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook the syrup just until the sides begin to turn slightly golden. Keep a close eye to the pan because it can easily burn. The line between slightly golden on the sides and dark caramel is very fine! Quickly stir in the chopped chocolate and mix well. You will see how it instantly turns into a mixture resembling soil. Remove from heat and let it cool completely. Red wine poached pears: Mix the wine with sugar and spices in a deep saucepan. Bring to a boil. Carefully peel the pears and remove the core. Place the pears in the red wine. Cover the top of the wine with a sheet of baking paper and cook on low heat for 1 hour or until a knife inserted in one pear goes through easily. Remove from heat and let them cool in the red wine syrup. Once cooled, remove them from the red wine and keep cooking the wine syrup until reduced by half. To assemble the dessert: Remove the cakes from their molds and place them on serving plates. Top with 1-2 tablespoons of mirror glaze and decorate with berries. Next to the cake, place 1 tablespoon of chocolate soil then carefully place one pear over the soil. Drizzle with red wine reduction just before serving. Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe 3.2.2885

ROMANIAN!

Desi timpul a fost scurt, am reusit sa fac acest desert pentru masa de Anul Nou. Sincera sa fiu, pentru ca eu mereu fac cate ceva, ai mei nu au avut vreo pofta anume, asa ca am apelat la vechea si clasica combinatie de pere si ciocolata, una dintre preferatele mele, si nu m-a dezamagit nici de aceasta data, caci desertul a fost absolut delicios. Straturile si elementele folosite sunt: blat biscuite cu nuca, mousse de ciocolata, glazura oglinda, pere posate in vin rosu si “pamant” de ciocolata, plus reductie de vin rosu.

Blat biscuite cu miez de nuca:

220g faina

7g praf de copt

1 praf de sare

160g unt moale

170g zahar

4 galbenusuri

1/2 lingurita extract de vanilie

50g miez de nuca, tocat marunt

Cerneti faina cu praful de copt si sarea. Mixati untul si zaharul cel putin 5 minute pana devin spumoase. Adaugati galbenusurile, unul cate unul, apoi vanilia si miezul de nuca. Aluatul obtinut va fi destul de moale, dar asa trebuie sa fie. Transferati aluatul pe o foaie de copt de hartie si acoperiti cu o alta foaie de copt. Intindeti aluatul intr-o foaie de aprox 1cm grosime si dati la rece, in congelator, pentru 1 ora. Folosind cateva forme rotunde de tort (ale mele sunt luate din Lidl si sunt din inox), taiati cercuri din aluatul congelat si transferati cu grija, atat aluatul cat si formele pe o tava de copt. Este nevoie de forme in jurul blatului caci ii ofera sustinere in timpul coptului. Coaceti la 180C pentru 12-15 minute apoi lasati sa se raceasca in forme. Cu grija, scoateti blatul din forme (treceti un cutit intre peretii formei si blat pentru a-l desprinde usor) si tapetati formele cu folie de acetat. Puneti blatul inapoi in forme si insiropati cu un sirop de apa si zahar daca doriti. Dati deoparte.

Mousse de ciocolata cu amaretto:

200g ciocolata neagra (70% cacao sau mai mult daca va place gustul intens), topita

400ml frisca lichida

30g zahar pudra

2 galbenusuri

60g zahar

30ml apa

1 praf de sare

1 lingurita vanilie

2 linguri amaretto

4g gelatina

20ml apa rece

Mixati frisca cu zaharul pudra pana se tine bat si dati la rece pana o veti folosi. Amestecati gelatina cu apa rece si lasati sa se umfle 10 minute. Faceti un pate a bombe combinand 60g zahar cu 30ml apa. Fierbeti siropul pana se topeste zaharul. Intre timp, mixati galbenusurile cu 1 praf de sare doar cat sa devina cremoase. Treptat, adaugati siropul fierbinte de zahar si continuati sa mixati pana galbenusurile isi dubleaza volumul si devin pufoase si cremoase. Topiti gelatina si adaugati-o in amestecul de galbenus, apoi incorporati ciocolata topita. Lasati compozitia sa se racoreasca pana la temepratura camerei, apoi incorporati frisca batuta, vanilia si amaretto. Distribuiti in mod egal mousseulintre cele 6-8 forme de tort si dati la rece cateva ore.

Glazura oglinda – e aceeasi reteta ca aici, cu mentiunea ca am facut doar 1/4 de portie.

„Pamant” de ciocolata:

50g zahar

25ml apa

35g ciocolata neagra (minim 70% cacao), tocata marunt

Amestecati apa si zaharul intr-un vas si puneti pe foc. Fierbeti siropul pana marginile incep sa devina usor aurii. Adaugati ciocolata si mixati bine cu un tel sau o lingura de lemn. Veti vedea cum instantaneu amestecul se usuca si seamana cu pamantul. Lasati sa se raceasca inainte de a folosi.

Pere posate in vin rosu:

6-8 pere mici

750ml vin rosu (demidulce rose am avut eu, dar folosit rosu ori chiar alb daca vreti sau pur si simplu apa, caz in care adaugati putina zeama de lamaie si mai mult zahar pentru a balansa gustul)

150g zahar

1 baton scortisoara

1 stea de anason

2 pastai cardamom

2 cuisoare

Combinati vinul, zaharul si condimentele intr-un vas. Inlaturati coaja perelor cu grija si scoateti cotorul. Puneti perele in vinul care fierbe, apoi lasati focul la mic si acoperiti perele cu o foaie din hartie de copt. Fierbeti pana cand cutitul trece usor prin pere. Trebuie sa fie fierte, dar nu atat de moi incat sa se dezintegreze. Lasati perele sa se raceasca in vin, apoi scoateti-le si continuati sa fierbeti vinul pana se reduce cu jumatate.

Finisarea desertului:

Scoateti tortuletele din forme si puneti-le pe farfurii. Acoperiti cu 1-2 linguri de glazura. Asezati langa fiecare tortulet 1-2 linguri de „pamant” de ciocolata si puneti o para posata peste acesta. Acoperiti para cu sos redus de vin doar inainte de servire.

(In ultima fotografie mai vedeti un strat de mousse de ciocolata alba ce imi ramasese de la un tort facut pentru o prietena)