Pistache Noisette Entremet (Pistachio Hazelnut Entremet)

Hi there!

Boy, has it really been 2.5 years? A lot sure happened during that time and this little page of mine been forgotten.

Well, let's start with this blog. I took time off for 2.5 years focusing on my (not so) baby in the beginning and one thing led to another, this blog did not get any attention.
My daughter just turned 3 last week. Yup, how we went from newborn to a whole three years in just a blink of an eye is beyond me, but now she has become a little tiny lady who loves exploring and socializing, though quite a handful at times.  

During my hiatus, I regularly received email almost daily. Many asked why I didn't update the blog anymore and if I am going to go back doing it again (and I really appreciate it). I knew I wanted to continue growing this blog to something I originally intended to do, which was to share my love for all things baking, and who knows, it might turn into something more.

The older readers might noticed that the blog looks a bit different now. A few months before Sophie (my daughter) turned three, I toyed with the idea of writing again, especially since I have also been back to baking quite a bit. I decided to do it after the 3rd birthday celebration with the help of my husband. He helped me giving a little facelift for the blog and making it not so ancient-looking (though he didn't admit it, I think he secretly enjoys doing it). It might still look like it is all over the place but it is slowly coming along and (hopefully) better than before. Changes are still gonna happen a little at a time, but for the better.

To start this new chapter, I am sharing an entremet I made this summer for a birthday, also marked the first entremet of the year. 

For this cake, I wanted to try new pairing but still familiar flavors and decided on hazelnut and pistachio (maybe keep those Szechuan pepper flavor for some other time). Normally, I like to pair pistachio with anything berries and hazelnut with chocolate, whisky, or coffee!, so this is somewhat new but also not completely strange flavor.

This cake consists of hazelnut dacquoise, crunchy hazelnut and pistachio praline, chocolate hazelnut mousse, chocolate joconde, and pistachio bavaroise. I know I tried to make life more complicated by using two different types of cake (dacquoise and joconde), you don't have to and can only use either one for both layers, but I love playing with textures and always try to make something that has different texture for each component.

Chocolate and hazelnut are both strong flavors and would easily overpower other flavors, so I wanted to make sure the pistachio is noticeable, not something in the background, or worse, an aftertaste. I have been using Sevarome pistachio paste for years now and the price is not for the faint of heart, but I am not sure if I can go back to using other brands now. I used a bit more than what I normally would if I were to pair it with fruits to make sure the flavor is not lost.

This recipe is enough to make 8" square cake, 2" high and I think the proportion is perfect. I prefer a cake to be shorter for richer cakes to avoid feeling too much, but you can adjust the proportion according to your cake mold.

Enjoy!

Pistache Noisette Entremet (Pistachio Hazelnut Entremet)
Makes one 8" square, 2"high cake

Chocolate Joconde
55g almond powder
55g powdered sugar
55g egg yolks
25g egg whites
105g egg whites
30g sugar
40g all-purpose flour
15g cocoa powder
20g butter, melted

• Sift together the cake flour and the cocoa powder. Set aside.
• Combine the almond powder, powdered sugar, egg yolks, and 25g egg whites together and whisk until thick and pale
• On a separate clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy and add the sugar a little at a time until it forms firm peak
• Fold some of the meringue into the yolk mixture to lighten it.
• Add in the sifted flour mixture, and fold well.
• Fold in the rest of the meringue
• Fold in the melted butter
• Spread the batter into 9x13" pan
• Bake in the oven at 220C for 5-6 minutes
• Cut to size

Crunchy Hazelnut Praline
65g feuilletine
25g chopped pistachio
40g dark chocolate (I used Valrhona 66% Alpaco, but you can use any bittersweet chocolate)
40g hazelnut praline

• Melt the chocolate and mix with the rest of the ingredients
• Spread the mixture on top of chocolate joconde inside a cake ring

Hazelnut Dacquoise

100g egg whites

35g sugar

70g hazelnut powder

25g powdered sugar

• Sift the hazelnut powder and powdered sugar together. Set aside
• Make a meringue with the egg whites and the sugar
• Fold in the sifted hazelnut powder mixture
• Spread on top of 9" square cake ring/cake pan
• Bake at 350F for 20 minutes
• Cut to 8" square

Pistachio Bavaroise

80g whole milk

40g egg yolks

15g sugar

30g pistachio paste (I use Sevarome pistachio paste)

2 sheets gelatin, soften in water (or use 3/4 tsp. powdered gelatin dissolved in 1 Tbs. water)

150g heavy cream, whisk to soft peak

• Heat the milk in a saucepan
• Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and pistachio paste
• Temper the hot milk into the yolk mixture and put it back in the pan
• Bring the mixture to 84C on a low heat, stirring constantly to avoid the egg being scrambled
• Turn off the heat and put the gelatin sheet in (or powdered gelatin that has been melted in a microwave). Mix well
• Strain into a bowl and cool on an ice bath
• Once cooled, fold the heavy cream in

Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse

30g milk chocolate, (I used Valrhona Jivara, but you can use any good milk chocolate)

40g dark chocolate, (I used Valrhona 66% Alpaco, but you can use any bittersweet chocolate)

10g gianduja paste

30g egg yolks

15g water

25g sugar

10g trimoline, or glucose, (this is to prevent caramelization and to make things moist in general. Can be skipped)

2 sheets gelatin, soften in water (or use 3/4 tsp. powdered gelatin dissolved in 1 Tbs. water)

180g heavy cream, whisk to soft peak

• Make pate a bombe with the yolk, water, sugar, and trimoline.
• Add the gelatin while the pate a bombe is still hot
• Keep whisking the mixture until cooled
• Melt both chocolate and mix in the gianduja paste, let it cool a bit and add it to pate a bombe mixture
• Fold the heavy cream