All-Chocolate Entremets

Before starting this All Chocolate Entremets recipe, organise the necessary ingredients for the chocolate biscuit.

For the chocolate biscuit: Place the egg whites in the stand mixer recipient...

... and start beating.

When the egg whites have a foamy consistency, add the granulated sugar and beat until the egg whites form soft peaks. The egg whites should have a soft consistency (not firm).

Pour the egg yolks in a food processor.

Add the almond powder...

... icing sugar...

... and mix for 2 or 3 minutes until foamy and homogeneous.

This is what the result should look like.

Transfer the mix into a mixing bowl.

Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds to make sure the chocolate doesn't burn.

When the dark chocolate is completely melted, add the soft butter (at room temperature)...

... and combine carefully...

... until the consistency is similar to a chocolate spread.

Add the butter and chocolate mix to the egg and almond preparation...

... and combine well with a rubber spatula...

... until smooth and homogeneous.

Add the cocoa powder...

... and combine with the rubber spatula.

Add the beaten egg whites to the preparation...

... and combine gently with a rubber spatula.

When almost incorporated, add the whipping cream...

... and combine carefully.

Place a stainless steel square frame 16 x 16cm on a perforated baking sheet lined with a silicone mat. Slightly grease the inside of the frame with an oil spray. Pour the chocolate preparation in the square frame...

... and even the surface with a small cranked spatula.

Bake in a fan-assisted oven at 190°C (gas 5) for 12 minutes.

When cooked, remove from the oven...

... and leave to cool at room temperature.

When the biscuit has almost completely cooled down, slide a knife between the cake and the frame...

... and release from the frame.

The chocolate biscuit is ready.

If you find the biscuit too thick, trim the top part to remove the hard crust.

This is what the result should look like at this stage.

Trim the sides with a serrated knife to the dimensions of the Jupiter silicone mould (16 x 15cm). Set aside.

For the streusel crumble: Organise the necessary ingredients.

In a mixing bowl, place the butter, castor sugar, flour and ground hazelnuts...

... and knead with your fingers...

... until you obtain a crumbly consistency.

Continue kneading until you get the consistency of a dough.

Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat.

Using a cooling rack...

... grate the streusel dough against the wires to create small chunks of dough.

Spread the crumble over the silicone mat...

... and bake in a fan-assisted oven at 150°C (gas 2) for 20 to 25 minutes.

This is what the result should be like once cooked.

For the crunchy biscuit: Organise all the necessary ingredients, including the streusel crumble.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds to make sure the chocolate doesn't burn, until completely melted.

Measure 113 grams of streusel crumble using a kitchen scale. Reserve the remaining crumble for the decoration.

Add the melted dark chocolate to the crumble, then the brown sugar...

... and combine carefully with the spatula until homogeneous.

On a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat, place the square frame used earlier.

Pour the crunchy biscuit preparation at the bottom of the frame...

... and press with the small cranked spatula to make it compact.

This is what the result should be like.

Bake in a fan-assisted oven at 170°C (gas 3) for 8 minutes.

When cooked, remove from the oven.

The crunchy biscuit is ready.

Straight out of the oven, place the chocolate biscuit over the hot crunchy biscuit.

Leave to cool at room temperature.

For the chocolate insert: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Hydrate the gelatine powder with 12.5 grams of water. Combine and set aside for 15 minutes.

Pour the glucose syrup into a saucepan...

... add the milk...

... and bring to a boil. Make sure the glucose completely dissolves in the milk.

Add the rehydrated gelatine to the hot milk and combine carefully.

Pour the milk and glucose mix over the chocolate chips. Cut the chocolate feves into smaller chunks to facilitate the melting process.

Combine until you get a chocolate ganache.

Add the whipping cream (heated until warm into a saucepan beforehand).

When homogeneous, transfer into a pouring jug...

... and mix with a Bamix hand blender.

Stretch a sheet of cling film over a second square frame (16 x 16cm). Make sure the film is stretched tight with no folds.

Place the frame on a baking sheet, the side with cling film facing down.

Pour the chocolate insert preparation to a thickness of 1cm.

This is what the result should look like at this stage. Reserve in the freezer.

When the biscuit has cooled down completely, release it gently...

... and remove the frame.

Cut the biscuit to the mould dimensions, i.e. 16 x 15cm. Reserve in the freezer so the two biscuits merge into one.

For the chocolate mousse: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Pour the egg yolks in the stand mixer bowl.

Add the whole eggs...

... water...

... castor sugar...

... and beat with a hand whisk.

Place the bowl over a bain-marie...

... and bring the temperature up to 70°C. Make sure you're constantly whisking to prevent the eggs from coagulating. The use of a laser thermometer is essential.

When the preparation has a temperature of 70°C...

... place the recipient in the mixer and beat until cooled down completely.

The preparation should be pale and foamy.

Beat the whipping cream until you obtain a whipped cream with the whisk...

... making sure it is not too firm. It is best if the cream is a little too soft, even if this means you need to use a hand whisk to finish.

In a saucepan, bring the milk to a boil.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds to make sure the chocolate doesn't burn.

When the chocolate has melted, add the hot milk and stir vigorously to create an emulsion.

Continue beating the ganache with a rubber spatula.

Add 1/3 of the egg, water and sugar mix prepared earlier...

... and combine gently.

Add this preparation to remaining 2/3 of the egg, water and sugar mix...

... and fold gently with a rubber spatula.

When the preparation is cold or lukewarm...

... finish beating the whipping cream with the hand whisk.

Add 1/3 of the whipped cream to the chocolate preparation...

... and combine carefully.

Add the rest of the whipped cream...

... and fold gently with a rubber spatula.

The chocolate mousse is ready.

Fit a piping bag with a plain nozzle (diameter 15mm)...

... and fill with the chocolate mousse.

Place the Jupiter mould on a baking sheet.

Pipe the chocolate mousse at the bottom of the mould, to a thickness of 2cm.

Using a palette knife, create a volcano shape so that the mousse goes all the way up the rim.

Take the chocolate insert out of the freezer and slide a knife blade between the insert and the frame to release the insert.

Remove the square frame carefully.

Using a graduated ruler, cut the insert to a length of 16cm and a width of 15cm to match the rectangular dimensions of the mould.

Arrange the chocolate insert in the silicone mould...

... and bury it slightly in the chocolate mousse.

Cover with the rest of the chocolate mousse...

... and even the surface with the cranked metallic spatula.

Take the biscuit out of the freezer and arrange it over the chocolate mousse, side with the streusel crumble in contact with the mousse.

Make sure the streusel side is facing down. Press on the biscuit and even the sides with the cranked spatula.

Cover the surface with cling film and place the mould in the freezer.

Up to this stage, this recipe can be prepared several days (or weeks) in advance and stored in the freezer.

For the decoration: Place the square frame on a sheet of greaseproof paper and draw the sides with a pencil.

This is what the result should look like.

Place a polyethylene sheet over the baking parchment.

Pipe drops of chocolate mousse (in different sizes) over the polyethylene sheet. Use the drawing as a guide, making sure the chocolate shapes don't come outside the drawing.

Place another polyethylene sheet over the chocolate drops...

... and flatten the chocolates drops a little to get a flat surface, using a cranked spatula.

This is what the result should look like at this stage. Store in the freezer. We'll use the chocolate drops for decorating the cake later in the recipe.

For the chocolate icing (make the day before): Prepare all the necessary ingredients.

Hydrate the gelatine with 60 grams of water at room temperature...

...and combine. Set aside for at least 15 minutes at room temperature,

Pour the water in a saucepan.

Add the castor sugar, then bring to a boil.

Sift the cocoa powder into a separate bowl.

When the syrup starts boiling and the sugar is completely melted (shortly after the first boil)...

... turn off the stove and add the cocoa powder to the syrup. It is essential that the sugar is totally melted for this operation.

Combine with a whisk until the cocoa powder is completely dissolved.

Bring the whipping cream to a boil...

... and add to the chocolate preparation.

Add the hydrated gelatine (melted in the microwave for a few seconds beforehand). Combine carefully...

... and transfer the icing in a pouring jug.

Mix with a hand blender until the icing is smooth and homogeneous.

Cover the surface of the icing with cling film and refrigerate.

The next day, take the icing out of the fridge. The icing should be completely set. The cling film should come off easily from the surface.

Reheat the icing in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds with a rubber spatula.

Repeat until the icing is smooth enough to mix with a hand blender. The texture should be homogeneous with no bubbles.

Check the temperature of the icing (ideally 35°C).

Place a rack on a deep tray.

Take the cake out of the freezer and remove the cling film.

Gently release the cake from the silicone mould. This will done straight after taking the cake out of the freezer.

Pour the chocolate icing over the frozen cake in one stroke, starting from one side to the other.

Even the surface with the metallic cranked spatula to get rid of the chocolate icing excess.

Let the excess icing drip off.

When the icing has set, lift the cake carefully with two cranked spatulas and arrange it over a serving dish.

Take the chocolate mousse decoration out of the freezer. Work quickly as it won't take long before the chocolate mousse goes back to room temperature.

Gently remove the polyethylene sheet on top. Transfer the chocolate decoration over a sheet of greaseproof paper to protect your workbench.

Shake the velvet spray bottle until you can hear the metal ball moving inside the can.

Spray the velvet icing over the whole surface of the chocolate mousse decoration.

Don't hesitate to rotate the chocolate decoration to make sure all sides are coated.

Lift the decoration carefully while it is still frozen...

... and arrange carefully on the surface of the cake, diagonally.

This operation should be performed as quickly as possible.

To complete the decoration, I prepared small chocolate rectangles with tempered chocolate (see our quick method with the seeding technique). I also used the rest of the streusel crumble.

Arrange a few chunks of crumble around the central chocolate velvet decoration.

Prick a few chocolate chocolates over the surface of the entremets.

Pour some leftover chocolate icing into a decorating bag made of greaseproof paper...

... and pipe a drop of icing at the tip of each chocolate rectangle.

Place a small piece of gold leaf directly over the fresh drops of chocolate icing, using decorating tweezers (the gold will stick to the icing). Defrost for at least 3 or 4 hours in the fridge before serving. Enjoy this exceptional chocolate dessert!