This year’s Christmas has been lovely. Plenty of time spent with my family, good food, positive thoughts and over all a good energy for the year that will soon be done. But of course I couldn’t let Christmas go away without making a cake – well, actually two, but the second one is reserved for another post. This particular cake, coffee banana buche, combines a few flavors that I love: banana, coffee and cardamom, being supported by delicate notes of hazelnuts, either in the form of a delicious biscuit or a praline croustillant. This coffee banana buche was the perfect mix of flavors for these winter holidays!

The layers of this entremet are as follows (from bottom to top): hazelnut biscuit, milk chocolate mousse, praline croustillant, cardamom ganache, banana compote, coffee creme brulee and mirror glaze, finished with white chocolate decorations and gold spray. Plenty of flavors, plenty of layers, but they combine so well together that a slice is surely not enough for your sweet cravings!

{Coffee Banana Entremet} Print Author: Olguta - Pastry Workshop Serves:: 1 buche Ingredients: Hazelnut Biscuit: 60g hazelnut flour

23g white sugar A

100g whole eggs

16g all-purpose flour

12g butter, melted

10g honey

60g egg whites

40g white sugar B Coffee Creme Brulee: 125ml heavy cream

30g white sugar

1 teaspoon instant coffee

40g egg yolk

2g gelatin + 10ml cold water Praline Croustillant: 20g dark chocolate (50-60%)

5g butter

65g praline paste

32g paillete feuilletine Banana Compote: 150g bananas, diced

5ml lemon juice

40g white sugar

40g butter

2g pectin NH

1g gelatin + 5ml cold water Cardamom Ganache: 70g dark chocolate (50-55%)

5 cardamom pods, crushed

70ml heavy cream

10g butter Milk Chocolate Mousse: 60g egg yolk

15g white sugar

100ml milk

4g gelatin + 20ml cold water

196g milk chocolate, partially melted

15ml dark rum

225ml heavy cream, whipped Mirror Glaze: 75ml cold water

150g white sugar

150g glucose syrup

100ml sweetened condensed milk

10g gelatin + 50ml cold water

150g white chocolate

Red food coloring (powder or gel) Directions: Hazelnut Biscuit: Combine the hazelnut flour, white sugar A, eggs, flour, butter and honey in a bowl and mix briefly just to combine. Whip the egg whites until foamy then add the sugar B and continue mixing until stiff and glossy. Fold the meringue into the first mixture then pour the obtained batter into a large pan, spreading it into a about 1cm thick sheet. Bake in the preheated oven at 350F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown but still soft. Allow to cool down then cut out a piece of biscuit that has the same size as your buche. Reserve in plastic wrap to prevent drying out. Coffee Crème Brulee: Bloom the gelatin in cold water then melt it. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Pour the mixture into an insert for buche and bake in the preheated oven at 120C on a bain-marie (a large pot of hot water in the oven to hold your insert mold) for 35-40 minutes or until set. Allow to cool down in the mold then freeze for a few hours. Praline Croustillant: Melt the chocolate. Combine it with the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Spread the mixture into a rectangle that has the same size as your buche and freeze. Banana Compote: Bloom the gelatin in cold water. Combine the bananas and lemon juice. Mix the sugar, butter and pectin in a saucepan and place over low heat. When the butter is fully melted, add the bananas and cook for 3 minutes on low to medium heat just until the bananas are softened. Remove from heat and add the gelatin. Mix well then allow to cool down and spread the mixture over the frozen crème brulee. Place back in the freezer. Cardamom Ganache: Combine the heavy cream and cardamom pods and bring to a boil. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool down and infuse. Drain the cream to remove the cardamom pods then heat the cream back up to the boiling point. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Mix well then stir in the butter. Pour the ganache over the banana layer. Place the croustillant on top and freeze once again. Milk Chocolate Mousse: Bloom the gelatin in cold water. Combine the egg yolk with the sugar in a bowl and mix well. Heat the milk to the boiling point then pour it over the egg yolk mixture. Return the mix back on heat and continue cooking until it reaches 82C. Remove from heat and stir in the gelatin. Strain the mixture over the chocolate and mix well. Allow the mixture to cool down in the bowl then add the dark rum. Fold in the whipped heavy cream. Pour half of the mousse in the buche mold. Remove the insert from the freezer and place it in the center of the mousse. Top with the remaining mousse and finish off with the hazelnut biscuit. Freeze the buche for a few hours, preferably over night. Mirror Glaze: Bloom the gelatin in cold water. Combine the white chocolate and condensed milk in a bowl. Combine the water, sugar and glucose in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to 103C. Remove from heat and stir in the gelatin then pour the mixture over the chocolate. Add one drop of food coloring and blend well. Add more food coloring if needed. Use at 32-35C. To finish the cake: Reheat the glaze to 32-35C if needed. Remove the cake from the freezer and place it over a cooling rack. Pour the glaze over the cake and allow it to drip off. Transfer on a platter and decorate as you wish. Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe 3.5.3226

Nu stiu voi, dar eu gasesc forma de buche incantatoare si extrem de ofertanta pe partea de decor. O vedeti destul de des la Craciun, a devenit cumva o forma traditionala, aducand usor cu buturugile, dar eu personal vad aceasta forma folosita oricand si oricum. Dupa ce am folosit-o in cadrul ultimului curs de bomboane, mi-am dorit mult sa ma mai “joc” putin cu ea si sa vad ce mai pot obtine, asa ca am decis ca de Craciun sa avem pe masa un tort de acest gen.

Pentru compozitia de la interior, m-am orientat spre banane si ciocolata, o combinatie clasica careia i-am adaugat note delicate de cafea si cardamom, totul sustinut de un biscuite cu alune de padure. E un tort aromat, cremos ale carui arome s-au incadrat perfect in peisajul sarbatorilor de iarna! Pentru glazura am mers la sigur spre culoarea rosie, cum altfel?! Decorul nu putea fi decat alb, tematic!