In this serie, we will analyze high-end pastries to understand the secrets behind original creations.
This week, we're tackling a classic : Cyril Lignac's “Hazelnut” cake.
I went to a famous French pastry chef in Paris, to taste an original entremet and understand the balance, subtlety and technique.
How can I describe this pastry ? A bold and classic choice if you want to bake something gourmet for your family, for adults and children aslike.
STRUCTURE
This pastry is composed of :
A joconde biscuit (with almond)
A hazelnut shortbread
A gianduja/hazelnut mousse
A chocolate “rocher” coating
A gianduja ganache
TASTY OVER BEAUTY
All the elements that follow are the result of personal research and analysis. I tasted all the cakes I present in this series of articles and take care to understand their composition so that you can reproduce them at home.
Let's break down the different layers one by one:
This dessert is perfect if you want a very tasty and chocolaty dessert.
The joconde biscuit is thin. However,it’s important because it brings structure to the dessert.
The main elements of this dessert are the hazelnut cream/mousse and the gianduja ganache. As I told you, this cake is perfect if you are looking for delicacy and very creamy textures. If you like hazelnuts, you will be pleased for sure !
Finally, there is chocolate coating all around the cake. This rather thin coating brings both a refined finish and texture. This chocolate shell gives relief and crunch to the cake.
BETTER THAN OTHERS
I'll be honest with you, this cake is nothing original in its taste, it’s a classic but very well executed. The balance of textures is well respected and greediness is there. Personally, I like its general presentation, chic and elegant at the same time. There are no frills.
KEY POINTS
To make an exceptional cake:
Master the basics. Here Cyril Lignac uses known techniques and appropriates them to mix them and make a balanced entremet.
Master textures, without abusing them. You must know how to dose quantities and have proportional textures. For example, the main trap will be to make a much too thick shell. This will unbalance the cake and make it disgusting because it’s too chocolaty with too much chew.
RECIPE
Here is the real recipe from Cyril Lignac :
Hazelnut shortbread :
50g soft butter
50g hazelnut powder
50g icing sugar
50g flour
Joconde biscuit :
80g almond powder
80g icing sugar
95g whole eggs
90 egg whites
15g caster sugar
15g soft butter
20g flour
Gianduja mousse :
70g fresh whole milk
½ vanilla pod
25g egg yolks
20g caster sugar
1 leaf of gelatine
90g hazelnut gianduja
90g liquid cream
Gianduja ganache :
70g liquid cream
10g glucose syrop
110g gianduja
2 leafs of gelatine
190g liquid full cream (with 30% fat)
Chocolate & hazelnut coating :
40g hazelnuts
210g milk chocolate
45g sunflower oil
Hazelnut shortbread :
Preheat the oven to 165°C/ 329°F (in a convection oven).
Beat the butter with a rubber spatula to obtain a firm ointment consistency.
In a bowl, mix the hazelnut powder and powdered sugar.
Incorporate the ointment butter mixture and always mix, until you obtain a homogeneous mixture.
Pour the flour little by little while stirring at low speed.
Spread the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper. Cut the dough to make a rectangle of 20 x 12 cm.
Bake at 165°C/329°F for 25 minutes.
Let it cool down to room temperature
DIRECTIONS
Joconde biscuit :
Preheat the oven to 210°C/410°C (in a convection oven).
Mix almond powder and icing sugar.
Whip the whole eggs into an omelette and pour them little by little into the previous mixture and whisk until the mixture doubles in volume. Set the mixture aside at room temperature until the whites are beaten.
Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold in the caster sugar.
Melt the butter and add it into the mixture of almond powder and sugar. Mix gently with a rubber spatula .
Add the sifted flour and mix again always using the rubber spatula.
Now, add the beaten egg whites and mix with the rubber spatula carefully .
Cover your baking tray with a sheet of baking paper and pour the preparation. Spread it thinly (0.3 to 0.4 cm).
Bake in a hot oven (210°C/410°F) for 8 to 10 minutes depending on your oven.
Let it cool down to room temperature
Cut the biscuit into a rectangle of 20 x 12 cm.
Mousse gianduja :
Soften the leaf of gelatine in cold water for 5 min.
Pour the fresh whole milk into a saucepan and add the ½ vanilla pod split in half and scraped. Bring it to boil.
Cover and brew for a few minutes (off the heat), i.e. for 15 minutes. In the meantime, mix the egg yolk and sugar.
Bring the milk and the vanilla bean to the boil again.
Remove the vanilla pod from the mixture and pour the milk over the egg yolk + sugar mixture. Mix with a whisk.
Transfer everything into the pan and heat over low heat without ceasing to stir with a whisk until the mixture thickens and reaches 82°C/180°F.
Incorporate out of the fire the gelatine and mix until completely dissolved. This is a custard.
Cut your gianduja into pieces and pour in 3 times the hot custard over it. Mix the whole with a hand blender and let it cool down at room temperature.
Once the previous mixture has cooled down, whip the cold liquid cream and delicately add it to the previous mixture. The whipped cream should be soft, but not firm.
Once everything is well mixed with a whisk, cover it with a plastic film and set aside in the refrigerator until needed.
Gianduja ganache :
Soften the gelatine in cold water for 5 minutes.
Bring the liquid cream (70g) and the glucose syrup to the boil.
Melt the gianduja in a double boiler or a microwave.
Remove from the heat and stir the gelatine into the cream and glucose mixture, then mix.
Pour the hot cream in several times over the gianduja that you have previously melted.
Mix with a rubber spatula making an ‘emulsion’ (make small swirls in the center without incorporating air) then mix with a hand blender to smooth the whole thing.
Pour the 190g of cold liquid cream (30% fat) and mix again. Film on contact and set aside in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
Coating :
Preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F (in a convection oven).
Place the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and put it in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. The hazelnuts should not be burnt, but roasted.
Put your roasted hazelnuts in a dish towel and rub to remove the skin.
Crush the hazelnuts to obtain fine chopped hazelnuts.
Melt the milk chocolate in a double boiler (between 42 and 45°C/ 110°F and 113°F).
Remove from the heat and add the sunflower oil and chopped hazelnuts. Stir to combine. The coating must be shiny.
Store at room temperature or in the fridge. It must be used between 30 and 35 °C/ 80°F and 85°F when you pour it on the cake.
Assembling :
Get a 20 x 12 cm mold, or adapt the dimensions to the rectangle mold you have at home. Put a baking paper at the base of your mold.
Place the hazelnut shortbread at the bottom of the mould. The thickness must be 2 mm.
Take your mousse out of the fridge and whip it with a whisk.
Pour half of the mousse and spread it over a thickness of 4 to 5 mm.
Add the joconde biscuit rectangle over the mousse. Its thickness must be 3mm
Pour the rest of the mousse over the joconde biscuit. The thickness should be 3mm.
Cover the mould with film and set aside in the freezer for 6 hours.
Once frozen, cut into rectangles of 12 x 3 cm.
Put it again in the freezer for one night, always covered with a plastic film.
Icing :
Place a grid on a gratin dish.
Place your hazelnut desserts on the grid and coat them with the icing at 30/35°C or 80°F and 85°F
Remove the excess of glazing on the top with a spatula. To do so, simply run a spatula along your entremets to remove the excess.
Let it crystallize at room temperature.
Whip the cold gianduja ganache with a whisk. The texture should be firm.
Pour the ganache into a piping bag with a bevelled tip.
Form a serpentine on each dessert using the piping bag..
Keep it in the fridge until tasting.
Now, you just have to savour it ! Feel free to tag me on Instagram at @theparisbest_baking, I'll be happy to see your “Hazelnut” cake!
See you soon on the Paris-Best !
Lea from the Paris-Best
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