Bergamote

pretty excited about this coz its the 1st time i'm using oval molds for my entremets, attempted caramel glaze and also dabbled with a new ingredient - the buddha's hand citron or bushukan in japanese. the citron is pretty similar to lemon in taste and texture, the only funny thing is there isn't any pulp or seeds in there, just peel & pith. tastewise i find it sweeter and more aromatic than lemon and its easily my favorite citrus now.

components for this entremet are citron dacquoise, bergamot supreme mousse insert, milk choc mousse all infused with the buddha's hand citron, plus a caramel fleur de sel brilliance glaze. since the instructions from the book i got the recipe from were really brief, i took the opportunity to do some adaptations on my own. the end result, dare i say, was really really good! i mean, who can say no to the lemon/chocolate combo? i also purposely overcooked the caramel for the glaze, letting it burn a little, hence lending a slightly bitter taste. so the overall taste was REALLY like earl grey, even though no earl grey was used. its just perfect! and this is by far the neatest glaze i've ever done, practice makes perfect i guess. really happy with it :D

if you can't get hold of the buddha's hand citron, feel free to substitute the recipe with lemon and adjust the amount of zest to your liking.

recipe source : monter au plus haut du ciel by hayashi syuhei (正统派法国糕点的究极美味 by 林 周平)

ingredients : (makes five 8x5x4x6cm (H) oval mousse rings)

for the citron dacquoise :

68g egg whites

25g sugar (A)

15g flour

40g ground almonds

50g sugar (B)

1 tbsp grated bushukan (buddha's hand citron) zest

for the bergamot supreme mousse :

62ml milk

50g bushukan, chopped

62ml whipping cream (A)

25g egg yolk

12g sugar

2g sheet gelatin

20ml whipping cream (B)

for the citron jivara milk choc mousse :

100ml milk

4g sheet gelatin

200g valrhona jivara lactee milk choc, finely chopped

20g bushukan zest

250g whipping cream, whipped

for the caramel fleur de sel brilliance glaze :

84g sugar

166ml whipping cream

16g glucose syrup

pinch of fleur de sel

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

3g sheet gelatin

directions :

1. to make the dacquoise, make meringue with the egg whites & sugar (A). fold in flour, ground almonds, caster sugar (B) & zest. pour mixture into a 24x16cm rect baking tray & bake on 180C for 15-20 mins or until golden. cut into five 5cm rounds and set aside.

2. to make the bergamot supreme mousse, boil together milk, whipping cream & bushukan then leave to infuse for 15 mins. strain. add in egg yolks & sugar and cook until 84C. add in gelatin, strain then leave to cool. whip whipping cream (B) until soft peaks then fold into the above. pour mixture into a 16x9cm rect tin & freeze until firm.

3. to make the citron jivara milk choc mousse, heat milk & milk choc until boiling and that the choc has completely melted. mix until gelatin followed by the zest. leave to cool then fold in whipped cream.

4. to make the caramel fleur de sel brilliance glaze, combine whipping cream, glucose, fleur de sel & vanilla bean paste in a saucepan & heat until boiling. in another pan make a blonde/burnt caramel with the sugar and slowly add in the cream mixture. stir until boiling, remove from heat then add in gelatin. mix well, let cool and use at room temp.

5. to assemble, place the dacquoise rounds at the bottom of the mousse rings. pour in the citron milk choc mousse until it comes up to 1/2 the height of the rings. freeze until firm. cut the bergamot supreme mousse into five 4cm rounds then place in the rings. top with more citron milk choc mousse to the rim. level with spatula, freeze until firm, release entremets from rings then glaze. decorate as desired.