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Chocolate and Wattle Seed Mousse with Apricot and Pistachio
Recipe by Gareth Whitton
Give Gareth Whitton's show-stopping grand finale dish a crack; combining wattleseed, chocolate, apricot and pistachio
- Steps
- Ingredients
Ingredients
Wattle Seed Biscuit
Apricot Pate de Fruit
Armagnac Sponge
Pistachio Cremeaux
Apricot Gel
Armagnac Gel
Pistachio Ice Cream
Wattle Seed Mousse
To assemble
Chocolate spray
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Steps
- Preheat the oven to 150°C fan forced.
- Preheat the oven to 165°C fan forced.
- Pre chill an ice cream machine. For the Wattle Seed Biscuit, in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the sugar and butter until sugar has dissolved and pale in colour.
- Add in the egg yolks gradually and beat until combined.
- Gently add in the remaining ingredients and fold through until a paste is formed.
- Roll the mixture between grease proof paper to 3mm thick and place on a baking tray.
- Place in an oven at 150°C for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- While the biscuit is still hot, cut with a 70mm ring cutter and allow to cool on the tray.
- Once cooled, mix with a small amount of melted chocolate to protect the biscuit from going soft.
- For the Apricot Pate de Fruit, place the apricot puree and glucose in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
- In a small bowl, mix the pectin with the sugar and pour into the boiling apricot puree.
- Whisk to combine, then return to a boil.
- Mix the citric acid with the water and set aside.
- Use a thermometer to measure the temperature of the puree and once it comes to 107°C add the citric acid solution and whisk until dissolved.
- Pour the pate de fruit into a flat baking tray and place in the fridge to cool.
- Once set, using a stick mixer, blend until smooth and place in a piping bag.
- For the Armagnac Sponge, sift the plain flour, bicarb soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.
- Place the butter, milk and sugar together in a medium saucepan and heat on low heat until the butter is melted.
- Cut the vanilla bean lengthways and scape out the seeds, using a whisk add into the melted butter and milk mixture along with the egg and whisk until emulsified.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the bowl and whisk until combined.
- Pour into a square 17cm x 17cm silicone mould and bake at 165°C for 20 minutes or until a medium brown and the sponge has a slight spring when pressed.
- Allow to cool in the tray, then cut with a 70mm ring cutter. Trim to 15mm thick and brush with a good amount of the Armagnac.
- For the Pistachio Cremeaux, place the milk in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Once it has reached this stage remove from the heat.
- Place the gelatine leaves in cold iced water for 5 minutes to bloom.
- In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the sugar and egg yolks together until light and fluffy.
- Add a small amount of milk to the egg yolk and sugar mixture and continue to whisk together.
- Return the mix to a saucepan and cook over a low heat whilst stirring until it reaches 83°C then squeeze the water from the gelatine and stir into the custard mix.
- Allow this mix to cool over ice.
- Whisk in the pistachio paste and pour 25g into each 70mm silicone ring mould and place in the freezer.
- Leave the remaining cremeaux in a bowl in the fridge with clingfilm on the surface to prevent a skin forming.
- For the Apricot Gel, bring the puree, sugar and citric acid up to a simmer and add the gellan while whisking.
- Return to a simmer, then whisk whilst boiling to approximately 30 seconds.
- Remove from the heat and stick blend to ensure there is no undissolved powder, then pour into a tray on top of an ice bath to set.
- Once set, cut the gel into pieces and place into a blender and blend on high for 2 minutes or until it has become a smooth gel. Keep in a squeezy bottle in the fridge.
- For the Armagnac Gel, bring the milk, sugar and Armagnac up to a simmer and add the gellan while whisking.
- Return to a simmer, then whisk whilst boiling for approximately 30 seconds. Remove from the heat using a stick blender, blend to ensure there is no undissolved powder, then pour into a tray on top of an ice bath to set.
- Once set, cut the gel into pieces and place into a blender and blend on high for 2 minutes or until it has become a smooth gel. Transfer to a squeezy bottle and keep in the fridge.
- For the Pistachio Ice Cream, place the milk and cream in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a large saucepan until just dissolved.
- Bring the infusion back to a simmer and add a small amount of infused milk to the egg yolks mix and whisk well.
- Add in remaining milk to the egg yolk mix whisking continually, then return to the heat and cook until the custard reaches 83°C.
- Pour the custard into a bowl and place onto an ice bath to cool.
- Once the mix has cooled completely, whisk in the sour cream and pistachio paste then strain through a fine sieve.
- Place in an ice cream machine and churn.
- For the Wattle Seed Mousse, place cream (A) in the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and whip to achieve soft peaks.
- Place cream (B) with the wattle seed in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Once reached, remove from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes to infuse.
- Meanwhile, soak the gelatine leaves in cold iced water for 5 minutes, then once the time has elapsed, pass the mixture through a sieve- ensuring to squeeze all the cream through.
- Weigh 600g of the infusion in a clean saucepan and bring to a simmer and add the gelatine.
- Pour this mix over the chocolate and whisk to combine. Once the texture is smooth, allow the mix to cool to 35o, then fold in the whipped cream.
- Put this in a piping bag ready to assemble.
- Pipe a thick layer of Apricot Pate de Fruit on top of the Wattle Seed Biscuit and place the soaked sponge on top.
- Remove the cremeaux from the freezer, then place this on top of the Armagnac Sponge.
- Fill a silicone mould 110 mm wide and 40mm deep halfway with the Wattle Seed Mousse.
- Push the insert into the mousse so that it fills the entire mould.
- Top up the mould with the Wattle Seed Mousse in the piping bag if need be, then flatten and scape excess with a palette knife.
- Place in the freezer to set.
- Once completely frozen, turn out of the moulds, and place on a tray. Keep in the freezer while you melt the chocolate and cocoa butter mix.
- Melt the chocolate and cocoa butter in the microwave. When this is completely melted, blend briefly with a stick blender and pour into a paint gun chamber.
- Remove the mousse from the freezer and place in a spray booth.
- Spray the mousse with 2 light coats of the chocolate to get an even velvet like texture on the surface, then remove from the tray straight on the serving plate.
- Once the mousse has defrosted which should take about 15-20 mins, pipe 6-7 small dots of the Apricot Gel on one half of the mousse.
- Whisk the Pistachio Cremeaux until smooth, then place in a piping bag with a 5mm piping nozzle. Pipe 6-7 small dots in and around the apricot, then do the same with the Armagnac gel.
- Place a Rocher of Pistachio Ice Cream to the right of the dots and serve.
