Layered Gateau with Chocolate Mousse
(1 vote)
(1 vote)
Difficulty:
moderate
Difficulty
Preparation:
1 hr
Preparation
ready in 4 h.
Ready in
Ingredients
for
16
- For the praline layers
- 1 cup almonds (chopped)
- ½ cup soft butter
- ½ cup sugar
- 0.333 cup flour
- 1 Tbsp double cream
- For the mousse
- 5 ozs white chocolate
- ½ cup Mascarpone
- 1 untreated Orange
- 2 Tbsps Orange liqueur
- 2 sheets white gelatin
- 1 cup cream (at least 30 % fat)
- In addition
- 6 ½ cups fresh Strawberries (with hulls)
- ⅛ cup Strawberry liqueur
- 2 Tbsps Corn starch
- 1.333 cups Strawberries
- 3 Tbsps powdered sugar
- 1 Nut brittle (bow)
- 0.333 cup white Chocolate curl (bought or home-made)
Preparation steps
1.
Line 4 round ovenproof dishes (16,18, 20 and 22 cm) with baking parchment. Knead together all the ingredients for the praline layers (it will be crumbly). Crumble the mixture into the four dishes and put into a preheated oven (200°C). As soon as the crumble begins to melt smooth the surface with the back of a spoon. Bake for about 10 minutes, until golden brown. Take out and leave to cool and set on a cake rack, still on the baking parchment.
2.
Soak the gelatine in plenty of cold water. Zest and squeeze the orange. Wash the strawberries. Hull and chop approximately 700 g of the strawberries and put into a pan with the Strawberry Limes and orange juice. Heat gently. Mix the cornflour smoothly with a little cold water, stir into the hot strawberries and briefly bring to the boil. Set aside and leave to cool. Chop the chocolate and melt over a hot, but not boiling bain-marie. Add the orange zest to the chocolate. As soon as the chocolate has melted, remove from the heat. Squeeze out the gelatine and dissolve in the hot chocolate. Stir in the mascarpone and orange liqueur and leave to cool. Whip the cream until very stiff and fold into the chocolate cream as soon as it begins to set. Put the cream into a piping bag with a rosette nozzle. Place the largest praline base on a cake plate and pipe a large, deep ring of cream 4-5 cm away from the edge. Pipe another, smaller ring of cream inside the first ring. Fill the spaces between and inside the rings with some of the strawberry compote. Pipe a little cream on top and place the next praline base on top. Pipe two circles of cream and fill the spaces with strawberry compote. Cover with a little cream and place the next praline base on top. Pipe one circle of cream in the centre, fill with the remaining strawberry compote and cover with cream. Place the last praline base on top. Pipe a rosette of cream in the middle. Put into the refrigerator for about 3 hours, or better still, overnight. Next day dust with icing sugar and decorate with chocolate curls and strawberries. Place the nut brittle bow on the top rosette of cream and press on lightly. Just before serving dust the strawberries with a little icing sugar. To serve, cut with an electric knife.
