Vanilla & Hazelnut Praline Charlotte

You may have noticed that aside from Yule logs, I don't make layered desserts very often; charlottes are the exception to this rule. They can be endlessly varied and don't require freezing, in short, they have everything to please! Here we have a delicious marbled charlotte with vanilla and hazelnut praline, all soft and textured 😊

Equipment:
Stand mixer
Whisk
Mini angled spatula
Perforated baking sheet
Piping bags
18mm nozzle
10mm nozzle
12mm nozzle
20cm ring

Ingredients:
I used hazelnuts from Koro for the praline: code ILETAITUNGATEAU for a 5% discount on the entire site (non-affiliate).
I used Azelia & Waina chocolates from Valrhona: code ILETAITUNGATEAU for a 20% discount on the entire site (affiliate).

Preparation time: 1h15 + 12 minutes of cooking + minimum 3h rest
For a 20cm diameter charlotte:

Ladyfinger biscuit:

120g egg whites (about 4 whites)
100g caster sugar
80g egg yolks (about 5 yolks)
100g T55 flour
QS icing sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Start by preparing a French meringue: whip the egg whites, then stiffen them by adding the sugar in three batches while gradually increasing the speed of the mixer. The meringue is ready when it is smooth, glossy, and forms a bird's beak.

Then, add the egg yolks and whisk again for a few seconds, just enough to incorporate them.

Finish by gently incorporating the sifted flour with a spatula. Then, divide the batter into two and add a tablespoon of sifted cocoa powder to one of the two batters.

Place each of the two batters into two piping bags fitted with a plain nozzle of 10 to 12mm in diameter.
Pipe (on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper) a cocktail stick (twice to have enough biscuit to go around your ring) alternating the two batters and two 20cm diameter biscuit circles (depending on the size of the ring you are going to use for assembly).

Sprinkle with icing sugar for the first time, wait two minutes, and sprinkle them a second time.

Bake in the preheated oven at 180°C for about 10 minutes (the biscuit should rise when you press a finger into it, but it should be very soft). When it comes out of the oven, place the biscuit on a rack and let it cool.

Praline crisp:

55g hazelnut praline
35g Azelia or other milk chocolate
45g crêpes dentelles, crumbled

Melt the chocolate, then add the praline and crumbled crêpes dentelles.

Vanilla mousse:

3g gelatin
70g whole milk
25g mascarpone
1 vanilla bean
20g caster sugar (1)
30g egg yolks
10g caster sugar (2)
50g hazelnut praline
300g heavy cream (30 or 35% fat content)

Start by preparing the custard: place the gelatin in a bowl of very cold water.
Bring the milk, mascarpone, vanilla seeds, and sugar (1) to a boil.
Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar (2). Pour half of the boiling milk over them, whisking well, then pour it all back into the saucepan.

Cook over low heat until reaching a temperature of 85°C. Add the rehydrated and drained gelatin, then divide the cream into two equal parts of about 85g each. In one of them, add the praline.

Let the creams cool.
When the creams are about 35°C, whip 150g each of the very cold heavy cream into a not-too-firm whipped cream.

When the custards are about 30°C, add a small portion of the whipped cream to each one and incorporate it by mixing vigorously. Then, gently fold in the remaining whipped cream, being careful not to deflate the mixture to obtain your two mousses.

Assembly:

50g milk for soaking

Cut the base of the cocktail stick to get a smooth base. Place it in the ring set on the serving platter and add one of the round biscuits.

Soak it with half of the milk, then spread the crisp over it.

Then add alternately a bit of vanilla mousse and hazelnut mousse, then place the second biscuit and soak it with the remaining milk. Finally, add the remaining two mousses alternately and smooth the surface.

Place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

Namelaka waina:

100g whole milk
200g cream
1 vanilla bean
2g gelatin
170g waina chocolate
Hazelnut praline & a few hazelnuts for decoration

Rehydrate the gelatin in cold water.
Bring the milk to a boil with the seeds of the vanilla bean. Add the rehydrated and drained gelatin.
Pour it over the previously melted chocolate.

Add the cold cream and mix with an immersion blender to have a smooth cream.

Let it crystallize overnight in the refrigerator. Then, without stirring or whipping the cream, place it in a piping bag fitted with a plain 18mm nozzle and pipe it onto the charlotte. Add a bit of praline and some halved hazelnuts, then enjoy!