Vanilla Snowflake

A delicate winter-inspired creation featuring layers of vanilla biscuit and a silky mascarpone chantilly infused with white chocolate. At its heart lies a rich Duja base and a luscious crunchy hazelnut filling with pailleté feuilletine. Finished with a smooth almond white chocolate glaçage gourmand, this dessert is a harmonious blend of texture and elegance.
Level:
Difficult
Shelf life:
2 days @ 4*C
Conservation:
Can be frozen for up to 1 month before decorating

Vanilla Biscuit

Ingredients: Vanilla Biscuit

  • 160 g
    almond flour
  • 140 g
    powdered sugar
  • 15 g
    vanilla powder
  • 120 g
    eggs
  • 50 g
    Olive oil
  • 50 g
    Butter, melted, warm
  • 300 g
    egg whites
  • 240 g
    sugar
  • 200 g
    all-purpose flour
  • 220 g
    heavy cream

Preparation: Vanilla Biscuit

  1. Whip together the almond flour, powdered sugar, vanilla powder, eggs, and egg yolks.
  2. Add in the melted butter and the olive oil.
  3. Whip the eggs whites with the sugar to form a dense, stable meringue.
  4. Combine the two mixtures, then gently fold in the flour like a rain shower.
  5. Carefully fold in the cream at the end.
  6. Bake at 180*C for about 12 minutes, until set and golden.
  7. Cool completely and cut out snowflakes using custom stencil.

Mascarpone Chantilly

Ingredients: Mascarpone Chantilly

Preparation: Mascarpone Chantilly

  1. Bring to the boil the whole milk, along with the gelatin mass, invert sugar and vanilla bean.
  2. Strain the mixture over the white chocolate and blend with an immersion blender to form a ganache.
  3. Blend in the mascarpone cheese and the heavy cream.
  4. Refrigerate overnight.
  5. Whip to volume and use to build cakes.

Base Duja

Ingredients: Base Duja

  • 62 g
    sugar
  • 800 g
    Roasted hazelnuts
  • 380 g
    powdered sugar
  • 1 Unit
    vanilla bean
  • 4 g
    Fleur de sel
  • 60 g
    milk powder

Preparation: Base Duja

  1. Dry caramelize the sugar. Pour onto a silpat to cool.
  2. Grind the caramelized sugar along with the remaining ingredients into a thick paste.
  3. Use as needed.
  4. Store in an airtight container at 16*C.

Pear and Vanilla Compote

Ingredients: Pear and Vanilla Compote

  • 714 g
    pear puree
  • 45 g
    lemon juice
  • 2 Units
    Vanilla bean scrapings
  • 200 g
    sugar
  • 13 g
    pectin NH
  • 35 g
    Gelatin mass (5:1)

Preparation: Pear and Vanilla Compote

  1. Warm the puree, juice and vanilla bean scrapings to 40*C
  2. Combine the sugar with the pectin and then whisk it into the warm liquid
  3. Bring to the boil for one minute, then add in the gelatin mass and boil for another minute
  4. Cool the mixture to room temperature and then pipe on top of the crunchy hazelnut layer.
  5. Place a second vanilla biscuit on top.
  6. Freeze.

Almond White Chocolate Glacage Gourmand

Ingredients: Almond White Chocolate Glacage Gourmand

Preparation: Almond White Chocolate Glacage Gourmand

  1. Melt the chocolate to 40*C.
  2. Blend the oil into the melted chocolate, followed by the chopped almonds.
  3. Use at 35*C to glaze frozen cakes.

Vanilla Gel

Ingredients: Vanilla Gel

  • 436 g
    water
  • 15 g
    inverted sugar
  • 95 g
    glucose syrup
  • 2 Units
    Vanilla Beans
  • 255 g
    sugar
  • 185 g
    dextrose
  • 11 g
    pectin NH
  • 4 g
    Citric acid solution (1:1 water + citric acid)

Preparation: Vanilla Gel

  1. Combine the water, invert sugar, glucose syrup and vanilla beans (opened and scraped) in a saucepan and heat to 40*C.
  2. Combine the sugar, dextrose and pectin and then whisk into the warmed liquid mixture.
  3. Bring to the boil for 2 minutes.
  4. Add the citric acid solution and boil for one more minute.
  5. Strain the mixture and pour into a shallow silicone mat to a thickness of 5mm.
  6. Freeze.
  7. Cut frozen into 5mm cubes.
  8. Allow the cubes to defrost in the refrigerator and place cubes onto the cake as desired.