Chocolate & Chestnut Dome
All aspects of this dessert can be made independently and in advance. The chestnut and chocolate mousses can be made ahead and frozen for up to a month. The simple syrup and glaze will keep for about 3 days in the fridge, the sable breton dough can be made and kept rolled out in the freezer for a month. The chocolate discs can be made a week in advance and stored in an airtight container.
Ingredients
- ***Simple Syrup***
- 110 ml Water
- 95 g Caster Sugar
- 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- ***Chestnut Mousse***
- 120 g Chestnut Puree
- 5 g leaf gelatine
- 85 g Simple Syrup
- 20 ml Rum
- 200 ml Whipping Cream
- ***Chocolate Mousse***
- 150 g 70% Dark Chocolate
- 70 g Egg Yolks
- 40 g Caster Sugar
- 20 ml Water
- 190 ml Whipping Cream
- ***Sables Breton***
- 100 g Plain Flour
- Pinch of Salt
- 3/4 Tsp Baking Powder
- 60 g Caster Sugar
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 75 g Unsalted Butter Softened
- ***Dark Chocolate Glaze***
- 9 g Leaf Gelatine
- 115 ml Water
- 150 g Caster Sugar
- 50 g Cocoa Powder
- 85 ml Whipping Cream
- ***Chocolate Hazelnut Discs***
- 100 g Milk Chocolate
- 50 g Chopped Hazelnuts
Instructions
- Begin by making the sugar syrup, put the water, sugar and vanilla extract in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Take off the heat and leave to cool.
- Next make the chestnut mousse, Soak the gelatine in a bowl of ice cold water for a few minutes until soft.
- Place the unsweetened chestnut puree in a pan with the syrup and bring to the boil.
- Take off the heat and add the soaked gelatine, squeezing all of the water out before adding it.
- Mix well and pass through a fine sieve, then leave to cool to room temperature.
- Mix in the dark rum and then fold in the semi-whipped cream.
- Fill the small hemisphere moulds that are 3cm diameter and freeze for at least 2 hours.
- Next make the chocolate hazelnut discs, melt the chocolate and mix in the chopped hazelnuts, spread the mixture onto a silicone sheet and leave to set hard.
- Take a 3cm round cookie cutter and stamp 12 circles, store them in an airtight container till you are ready to use them.
- To make the sable breton, put the plain flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and mix together. Put this to one side.
- Put the sugar and egg yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until light and pale. Add the softened butter and mix, the mixture may look curdled, but this is fine.
- Then add the flour mixture and mix on a low speed until combined. The dough will not completely come together, tip the dough out onto a sheet of baking parchment and knead it into a ball.
- Place another sheet of baking parchment on top and roll the pastry out to a thickness of 5mm. Place the dough in the freezer for 20 mins to rest.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and take the pastry from the freezer, peel off the top layer of baking parchment. Place the pastry in one piece on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 12 minute until it becomes golden.
- As soon as the pastry is baked, take a 7cm round pastry cutter and stamp out 6 circles from the pastry. Transfer the circles to a rack and leave to cool.
- To make the chocolate mousse melt the chocolate in a bain-marie until it reaches 45C.
- Whisk the egg yolks in an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
- Meanwhile put the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Heat until it reaches 121C, then slowly pour the sugar syrup over the egg yolks and continue to whisk to a full sabayon. Continue to whisk the mixture until it is cool.
- In a separate bowl whip the cream until it reaches the ribbon stage, then fold the sabayon into the cream.
- Carefully fold one third of this mixture into the melted chocolate. Fold in the remaining cream.
- Next assemble the domes, take the 7cm diameter silicone moulds and spoon some chocolate mousse into the mould, using a stepped palette knife, smooth the mousse up the sides of the mould.
- Place in the frozen chestnut mousse semi-spheres and push it down a little, place a chocolate disc on top and then fill the mould with the remaining chocolate mousse. Repeat this with the remaining 5 moulds and place them in the freezer for at least 2 hours.
- Finally make the dark chocolate glaze, soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water for a few minutes until soft. Squeeze out the excess water.
- Put the water and sugar in a saucepan, bring to the boil, then continue to simmer over a low heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the sifted cocoa powder and the cream, mix thoroughly.
- Bring back to the boil and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
- Take the pan off the heat and add the pre-soaked gelatine and stir until dissolved.
- Strain then leave to cool.
- When the domes are frozen, take them out of the moulds and place them on a cake rack with a baking tray underneath, take the glaze and warm it to around 35C-40C and then pour it over the mounds until completely covered.
- When the glaze has finished dripping place a dome on top of a sable breton on the flattest side. Take the remaining 6 chocolate discs and place them on top of the domes at an angle. Decorate with gold leaf.