Vanilla Entremet (Christophe Felder & Camille Lesecq)

Here is an all-vanilla entremet recipe, made with a recipe from the book Bûches by Christophe Felder & Camille Lesecq. Since the season for yule logs has passed for a while now, I chose to use the Silikomart Cloud mold and therefore increased the quantities accordingly. The quantities given below are adapted for this mold, it is up to you to make the calculations if you use a different mold. No particular difficulty in making this cake, especially since I removed the mirror glaze step and instead used a can of white velvet spray, as well as two vanilla pods for decoration. As with all entremets that require freezing time, you can prepare it well in advance and take it out of the freezer and decorate it the night before (to serve at noon) or in the morning (to serve in the evening). There you go, you know everything, to your vanilla pods ;-)

Preparation time: 3 to 4 hours, including resting times in the freezer and baking

Special utensils: mold + insert mold, thermometer, rhodoid if using a ring and not a silicone mold, a chinoise or sieve

Vanilla disk:

37g of whole milk
270g of heavy cream
1 vanilla pod
37g of granulated sugar
1.2g of NH pectin
62g of egg yolks

Bring the milk, cream, and vanilla bean seeds to a boil. Let cool, then strain the liquid.

Mix the sugar and pectin, then pour the milk over this mixture, constantly whisking. Pour it all back into the saucepan and bring to a boil.
Off the heat, add the beaten egg yolks while stirring well, then pour the preparation into your insert mold (for me, a square smaller than the mold size).

Place in the freezer.

Almond dacquoise:

74g of almond powder
86g of powdered sugar
86g of egg whites
31g of granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 170°C.
Toast the almond powder for about ten minutes.

Mix the sifted powdered sugar and the toasted almond powder.

Beat the egg whites until stiff, then gradually tighten them by adding the granulated sugar while continuing to beat.

When the whites are very firm, gently incorporate the powdered sugar and almond powder mixture using a spatula.
Place the mixture in a piping bag fitted with a plain tip, then pipe the biscuit onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; form a square (or circle, or other) of the size of your mold, then bake for 20 to 30 minutes. The biscuit should be golden but not overcooked.

Praline crunch:

160g of gianduja
31g of feuilletine (or crumbled crepes dentelles)
37g of crumbled shortbread
1 pinch of fleur de sel

Melt the gianduja in a double boiler, then add the feuilletine, shortbread, and fleur de sel.

Spread between two sheets of parchment paper to double the size of your mold (if your mold is a 20cm square, spread the crunch about 40x20cm so you can cut two squares slightly smaller than your mold). Reserve in the freezer.

Vanilla supreme mousse:

3.7g of gelatin
92g of whole milk
19g of double cream
1 vanilla pod
6g of liquid vanilla
19g of granulated sugar (1)
31g of egg yolks
12g of granulated sugar (2)
400g of liquid cream

Only prepare the vanilla mousse when the crunch and vanilla insert are frozen.

Start by preparing the crème anglaise: place the gelatin in a bowl of very cold water.
Bring the milk, double cream, scraped vanilla pod, liquid vanilla, and sugar (1) to a boil.
Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar (2). Pour half of the boiling milk onto them while whisking well, then return everything to the saucepan. Cook over low heat until it reaches 85°C. Add the rehydrated and drained gelatin, then let the cream cool.

Whip the very cold liquid cream until you obtain a not-too-firm chantilly.

When the crème anglaise is at 26°C, add a small portion of the chantilly and incorporate it, mixing vigorously. Then gently add the rest of the chantilly, being careful not to deflate the mixture.

Assembly:

Pour about 1/3 of your mousse into the bottom of your mold.

Let it set for a few minutes in the freezer, then place the frozen vanilla disk in the middle. Cover it with a bit of mousse.

Cut the praline crunch into two squares slightly smaller than your mold using a hot knife blade. Place one square on the mousse, then a bit more mousse and the second crunch square.

Pour the remaining mousse, making sure all sides of the mold are well covered. Finish by placing the dacquoise cut to the right size.

Place the entremet in the freezer for several hours (or several days if you wish to prepare it in advance).

Finishing touches:

A can of white velvet spray glaze

The original recipe by Christopher Felder and Camile Lesecq included a white mirror glaze and decoration with a few meringue sticks, but for reasons of time, organization, and also because I find it prettier on the Cloud mold, I chose to use a can of velvet glaze.
Unmold the entremet, then spray it with the glaze can (be careful to protect the area where you do this, it can quickly become very messy). Keep the cake in the refrigerator for a few hours, allowing it to defrost, then enjoy ;-)