Valentine's Day Petit Gateau

Brownie

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C
2. Melt chocolate and unsalted butter, add hazelnuts
3. Whisk cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar together in a separate bowl
4. Add to the melted chocolate mixture
5. Beat in the eggs one at a time
6. Pour into a 23 x 10cm rectangular cake tin/ring
7. Bake for 20-30 minutes- check every 3 minutes after 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few smudges/crumbs
8. Cool
9. Cut out 8 hearts using a cookie cutter, ensuring it is approx. 1.5 cm tall
10. Reserve in fridge until use

Raspberry Gelee

1. Soak gelatin in cold water
2. Bring sugar and raspberry puree to a boil
3. Add gelatin
4. Pour halfway into 8 cavities of a hemisphere mould and freeze until solid

Gavotte

1. Cream butter and sugar together
2. Add flour and mix
3. Add egg white and mix until well combined
4. Spread thinly on a silicon mat/baking paper
5. Bake at 200 degrees for 5 minutes
6. Repeat with remaining batter
   *This makes about 4 full thin layers, reserve extra in an airtight bag in the freezer for other bases or eat it as it is! (it’s really good…)

Crunchy Hazelnut Base

1. Melt the dark chocolate
2. Mix in the hazelnut praline and gavottes
3. Place the mixture between two baking sheets and roll out to 2mm in thickness
4. Freeze for 10 minutes
5. Remove and cut out 8 heart shapes with a cookie cutter
6. Reserve in the freezer

Chocolate Mousse

1. Bloom gelatin in cold water
2. Heat cream and glucose until steaming
3. Pour over dark chocolate, add bloomed gelatin
4. Cool to 25 °C before folding in whipped cream
5. Pour into a piping bag

Almond Base

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C
2. Place the almond meal, flour, brown sugar and butter in a medium sized bowl
3. Using your fingers rub the butter into the flours until the dough comes together
4. Roll between two pieces of parchment paper and freeze for 10 minutes
5. Remove from freezer and cut out 5cm circles
6. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown
7. Cool

Red Mirror Glaze

1. Soak gelatin sheets in cold water
2. Combine water, sugar and glucose together and cook until 103 °C
3. Mix in the gelatin sheets, condensed milk and white chocolate
4. Blend with an immersion mixer
5. Sieve and chill
6. Rewarm to 37 °C before using

Assembly

1. Fill heart shaped moulds halfway with chocolate mousse
2. Place a hemisphere of raspberry gel in each cavity
3. Fill with more chocolate mousse
4. Place prepared brownie and chocolate hazelnut crunch on top of the mousse
5. Level off the mould, removing excess chocolate mousse
6. Freeze overnight, or for at least 6 hours
7. Once frozen remove from mould and place on a wire rack
8. Pour over prepared glaze
9. After excess glaze has dripped off, remove from wire rack and place on a circle of almond base
10. Thaw fully in the fridge before serving