Mint & chocolate Christmas log

05 December 2020

Second Christmas log recipe this year, a mint and chocolate one. I love this association, I know that in general the opinions are quite clear-cut, either we like it or we hate it, I'm on the first team! The recipe is well balanced, you can taste the mint without it becoming nauseating, but you have to be patient to infuse the mint to get a well-flavoured mousse. If you want a greener color for the mousse, you can add coloring, I almost never use coloring so I didn't have a green color and I left the mousse as is. In decoration, as often, I made it quite simple with a neutral glaze, just to bring some shine and protect the mousse from oxidation. I added a few mint leaves but also some chocolate caviar, according to Dominique Ansel's recipe in his chocolate caviar tartlet that I made a few years ago. It's totally optional, if you don't have the time/feeling like it, you can simply add chocolate chips or Valrhona dark chocolate crunchy pearls. Finally, I told you a few days ago about the Limoges Haviland porcelain brand, this recipe is presented in their Place Vendôme collection.

I used Buyer's brand log molds, I put you the links below :
- Gouttière à bûche
- Gouttière à insert
To make demolding easier, I use feuilles guitare.

Prep time : 1h20 + time to infuse, cook, freeze and defrost
For a 30cm Christmas log :

Dark chocolate crémeux insert :

90g whole milk

90g full cream

36g egg yolk

14g caster sugar

65g Valrhona's Caraïbes Chocolate

Heat the milk with the cream. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar.

Pour the hot liquids over it, stirring well, then pour it back into the pan and cook at 85°C.

Pour the custard thus obtained over the chocolate and mix the crémeux with a hand blender.

Pour the crémeux into an insert mould and place in the freezer until fully set.

Mint madeleine cookie :

50g egg

40g sugar

10g milk

55g flour

2g baking powder

67g butter

25g mint syrup

Melt the butter and let it cool.

Whisk the eggs with the sugar, then add the milk, mint syrup and then the sifted flour and baking powder.

Finally incorporate the butter and pour into a frame (about 1cm thickness) before putting in the oven for 10 minutes at 180°C.

Cut the madeleine to the size of your log mould.

Praliné & dark chocolate crispy layer :

55g praliné

35g dark chocolate

45g crêpes dentelles

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

Spread the crispy mix between two sheets of parchment paper and set aside in the freezer.

Stracciatella style mint mousse:

2.7g gelatin

200g whole milk

14g mascarpone

25g mint leaves

14g caster sugar (1)

23g egg yolk

8g caster sugar (2)

300g liquid cream

60g dark chocolate

Bring to the boil 200g of milk with the chopped mint.

Put a plastic wrap on the saucepan and let it infuse overnight.

The next morning, mix the mint & milk with a hand blender, then bring to a boil and let it infuse for another hour. Then filter the milk and take 68g of it.

Start by preparing the custard : put the gelatine in a bowl of cold water.

Bring the mint milk, mascarpone, and sugar to the boil (1).

Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar (2). Pour half of the boiling milk over the yolks, whisking well, then pour the mixture back into the pan. Cook over low heat until it reaches a temperature of 85°C. Add the rehydrated and drained gelatine and allow the cream to cool.

Melt the chocolate gently.

Beat the cold liquid cream. When it begins to firm up, pour in a trickle of melted chocolate to give a "stracciatella" effect to the whipped cream.

When the custard is at 26°C, add a small portion of the whipped cream and stir in vigorously. Then gently add the rest of the whipped cream, taking care not to let the mixture fall back.

Assembly :

Pour mousse at the bottom of the mold.

In the center, place the chocolate crémeux insert, then cover with mousse.

Then add the crispy layer, again a little mousse and finish with the madeleine.

Put in the freezer until fully set.

Chocolate caviar :

1.5 liter of grape seed oil

3.5 gelatin

130g whole milk

60g full cream

50g sugar

2g agar-agar powder

25g finely sliced cocoa paste (I found some in the form of a tablet in an organic store)

2g of black food coloring gel (optional)

Place the grapeseed oil in a 10cm high bowl (the height is very important, this is what will allow the chocolate pearls to form). Put the bowl in the freezer for at least 3 hours.

Place the gelatine in a bowl of cold water to soften.

Bring the milk and cream to the boil, then add the sugar and agar-agar previously mixed, whisking gently.

Lower the heat so that the mixture is simmering, and let it cook for 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, then whisk in the rehydrated and wrung gelatin to obtain a smooth mixture. Then add the cocoa paste and then the black coloring agent, mixing well to obtain a smooth and homogeneous cream.

Allow the mixture to cool until it reaches a temperature between 45 and 50°C. Use either a piping bag with a small hole at the end or a small pipette.

Remove the bowl of grape seed oil. Place the piping bag about 25cm above the oil, and let it come and go: the chocolate jelly will flow into the cold oil, and when it reaches the surface, it will sink and solidify in a few seconds.

Once the piping bag is empty, drain the chocolate caviar with a sieve, then rinse it lightly and gently to remove excess oil. Drain well and store in a cool place until ready to assemble.

Neutral glaze :

400g sugar

260g water

12g gelatin

Some mint leaves

Put the gelatin to be rehydrated in a large bowl of cold water.

Bring the water and sugar to a boil with mint leaves.

Remove from the heat and add the rehydrated and wrung out gelatine. When the icing is at 30-35°C, remove the mint leaves and pour it on the unmoulded log.