In this serie of articles, we will analyze high-end pastries to understand the secrets behind unequaled tastes.
This week, we're tackling a classic : Philippe Conticini's praline-chocolate tart.
STRUCTURE
This pastry is made up of 5 layers:
a very crispy and light cocoa sweet paste
a layer of pure praline
a smooth chocolate ganache
a ganache made with chocolate free praline
caramelized nuts covered by pure praline
TASTY OVER BEAUTY
Disclaimer : the recipe has never been revealed and official. 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:
The sweet cocoa paste is particularly light and very crispy like a crumble that is not too floury. Philippe Conticini is used to making sweet pasta that is quite crispy, avoiding mixing the dough too long in the baking mixer. Do not overwork the flour, as it may become more elastic. The more you work on a dough, the more proteins work to activate the gluten in the flour. All you need is just to homogenize the ingredients. To homogenize the dough by hand, you have to "fraiser" the dough. The dough is crushed forward with the palm of the hand so that all the ingredients can be incorporated. Your final dough should not be smooth but still sticky and visually not much kneaded.
The pure praline layer is quite simple to make. The purpose is to remove the oil from the nuts to make a paste. The chef is used to prepare his praline by the technique of “sablage”. Have a look at the article about “sablage” to understand why is this technique interesting. When it’s done, the caramelized nuts are mixed until the whole thing is very shiny and smooth. What is important to know is that praline will keep the sweet dough dry. As water and oil are not miscible, the tart crust will not be soft during tasting and will keep its crispness. I wrote an article to make homemade praliné : check that out !
For the chocolate ganache, the goal is to have a smooth and mellow texture. To do so, it is necessary to make what we call an "emulsion". It's like making a mayonnaise. The purpose is not to incorporate air but to mix the chocolate with the heated cream. The amount of cocoa butter contained in your chocolate will affect the cold-set and elasticity of the ganache. Always stay in the middle of your mixing bowl and stir until the mixture is homogenous. Then add butter to help the ganache to set and for more taste. When the butter is added (at 35°C), it is left to melt on its own so we don’t break the emulsion and its elasticity. Once the whole is homogeneous, they can be moulded directly so that it crystallizes directly in the tart crusts.
For the praline ganache, the chef replaces the chocolate with cocoa butter combined with praline. The process is the same as for chocolate ganache, however it will be whipped to electric whisk, which means that the ganache must be cold before whipping it. We can see that the texture is good because small air bubbles are setting up and the ganache is holding well. (see photo)
Finally, for caramelized nuts, you can once again read the article about the “sablage” technique to obtain gourmet nuts. However, the nuts are not roasted here. Cover it all with pure praline tips for more taste.
BETTER THAN OTHERS
Basically, I hate chocolate tarts. Most of them are unbalanced, too chocolatey and the ganache too thick and not meltingly soft. This one, completely changed my mind.
What makes the difference:
It is not entirely chocolate, it’s still gourmet, textures are perfectly balanced in quantity. Above all, we are not bored because there is different tastes and textures. What could be change, would be the amount of sugar in this dessert. Do not hesitate to find a strong cacao concentration in your chocolate to be able to balance with the sugar in the praline, on the nuts and in the sweet paste.
KEY POINTS
To make an exceptional cake:
Find quality ingredients (a chocolate you appreciate, quality nuts...)
Combine different textures, without overdoing it. Here, chef Conticini diversifies layers with the light crispy sweet paste, the soft ganache, the crunchy nuts, the melt-in--the-mouth praline.
Know how to quantify flavours in a cake (mix the praline with the chocolate). There is no point in adding flavours just to add colour or an artistic effect. Each component must tastefully bring something magical to the cake
Know how to quantify each element in a cake.
Each element must be delicious to taste in itself
And to complete this article, you can find the complete recipe here
Now, it is up to you to make good cakes. Have fun and stay safe.
Lea from The Paris-Best
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