GRAND CRU STYLE PRALINE CAKE
Ingredients
For 8 to 10 people.
For the crunchy base:
- 125g of 40% milk chocolate
- 150g of hazelnut praline (praline paste)
- 100g of milk-chocolate gavottes (crepe dentelle)
For the hazelnut cake (Conticini’s recipe, here I halved the proportions):
- 65g of whole hazelnuts
- 55g of brown sugar
- 15g of icing sugar
- 1 pinch of fleur de sel
- 1/2 vanilla pod
- 17g of egg white
- 1 egg yolk (20g)
- 60g of butter
- 30g of flour
- 1.5g of baking powder
The foamy whites:
- 70g of egg whites
- 10g of brown sugar
For the soft praline ganache:
- 63g of liquid cream
- 75g of praline paste
- 85g of 40% milk chocolate
- 15g of honey
- 25g of soft butter
For the praline mousse:
- 225g of milk
- 3 egg yolks (60g)
- 40g of caster sugar
- 175g of praline paste
- 225g of very cold full-fat liquid cream
- 7g of powdered gelatine + 35g of water
For the milky mirror glaze:
- 50g of water
- 100g of caster sugar
- 100g of glucose
- 66g of sweetened condensed milk
- 7g of powdered gelatine + 35g of water
- 100g of 40% milk chocolate
- 50g of toasted chopped almonds
Instructions
The hazelnut cake
make a beurre noisette by heating the butter in a saucepan until it has a hazelnut colour. Set aside preheat the oven to 140° and toast the whole hazelnuts for 15min let them cool then blend them. Mix them with the paddle of the mixer (or in a bowl with a spatula) with the brown sugar, the icing sugar, the salt, the scraped vanilla seeds, the egg yolks and whites. The dough should be smooth add the beurre noisette, the sifted flour and baking powder, mix well whisk the whites to foamy peaks (not too firm) with the 20g of brown sugar add them in 2 batches to the mixture pour the batter into a 22 to 24cm diameter ring, lined with cooking film bake for 20 to 25min; the cake should stay moist let it cool
The crunchy base:
melt the milk chocolate in a bain-marie add the praline crumble the gavottes and fold them into the melted chocolate spread the chocolate-praline mixture over the entire surface of the hazelnut cake and chill for 15 to 20min, until the base hardens
The soft praline ganache:
in a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil pour it over the praline and the milk chocolate cut into pieces mix well with a whisk (emulsify) add the honey and let it cool a little (to 36°) before adding the butter mix and let it cool a little so the ganache thickens and is easy to spread
The praline mousse:
in a bowl, let the powdered gelatine soften and swell in the cold water, without stirring make a crème anglaise (tips and advice here): in a bowl, whisk the yolks with the sugar until pale. Bring the milk to a boil and pour it gradually over the pale yolks return to low heat and cook to 85°, stirring constantly. The cream should coat the spoon then add the praline and the melted gelatine. mix well whisk the liquid cream into a not-too-firm chantilly (the cream should be very cold; the bowl and whisks can be placed in the freezer for a few minutes to make whipping easier) when the praline crème anglaise has reached a temperature of 30-35°, loosen it with a little chantilly then pour the loosened cream into the rest of the chantilly, fold gently place a ring of a larger diameter (about 2 to 3cm more) around the cake and pour the praline mousse over the ganache chill for 6h or even overnight
The milky mirror glaze:
let the powdered gelatine swell in the cold water, without stirring in a saucepan, cook the water with the sugar and the glucose to a temperature of 103° off the heat, add the sweetened condensed milk and the melted gelatine, mix well pour the hot mixture over the milk chocolate in pieces once melted, blend let it cool to 25° then coat the cake with this glaze decorate the edge of the cake with the chopped almonds previously toasted in the oven for 15min at 150° chill the cake until ready to serve