Fudge brownie, hazelnut crunch and raspberry gel encased in a chocolate mousse on an almond base. A sophisticated dessert in the shape of a heart, perfect for valentines day.
Prep Time:120 minutes
Cook Time:60 minutes
Total Time:180 minutes
Yield:81x
Ingredients
Scale
Brownie
30 g Plain flour
125 g Unsalted butter
100 g Dark chocolate, 70% cocoa
40 g Cocoa powder
1/2 tsp Baking powder
180 g Caster sugar
2 g Eggs
Large handful of blanched hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Raspberry Gelee
75 g Raspberry puree
1/2 Gelatin sheet
10 g Sugar
Gavotte
113 g Unsalted butter
100 g Sugar
64 g Plain flour
1 g Egg white
Crunchy Hazelnut Base
33 g Dark chocolate, 45% cocoa
36 g Hazelnut praline, homemade or bought
30 g Gavottes, crushed
Chocolate Mousse
108 g Cream
16 g Glucose
150 g Dark chocolate, semi-sweet
1 tsp Gelatin powder
8 g Water
146 g Whipped cream
Almond Base
30 g Almond meal
30 g Brown sugar
30 g Unsalted butter, softened
30 g Plain flour
Red Mirror Glaze
25 g Water
50 g Sugar
50 g Glucose
32 g Condensed milk
2 Gelatin sheets
55 g White chocolate
Red food colouring
Gold leaf, decoration
Instructions
Brownie
Preheat the oven to 180°C
Melt chocolate and unsalted butter, add hazelnuts
Whisk cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar together in a separate bowl
Add to the melted chocolate mixture
Beat in the eggs one at a time
Pour into a 23 x 10cm rectangular cake tin/ring
Bake for 20-30 minutes- check every 3 minutes after 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few smudges/crumbs
Cool
Cut out 8 hearts using a cookie cutter, ensuring it is approx. 1.5 cm tall
Reserve in fridge until use
Raspberry Gelee
Soak gelatin in cold water
Bring sugar and raspberry puree to a boil
Add gelatin
Pour halfway into 8 cavities of a hemisphere mould and freeze until solid
Gavotte
Cream butter and sugar together
Add flour and mix
Add egg white and mix until well combined
Spread thinly on a silicon mat/baking paper
Bake at 200 degrees for 5 minutes
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
Melt the dark chocolate
Mix in the hazelnut praline and gavottes
Place the mixture between two baking sheets and roll out to 2mm in thickness
Freeze for 10 minutes
Remove and cut out 8 heart shapes with a cookie cutter
Reserve in the freezer
Chocolate Mousse
Bloom gelatin in cold water
Heat cream and glucose until steaming
Pour over dark chocolate, add bloomed gelatin
Cool to 25 °C before folding in whipped cream
Pour into a piping bag
Almond Base
Preheat the oven to 180°C
Place the almond meal, flour, brown sugar and butter in a medium sized bowl
Using your fingers rub the butter into the flours until the dough comes together
Roll between two pieces of parchment paper and freeze for 10 minutes
Remove from freezer and cut out 5cm circles
Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown
Cool
Red Mirror Glaze
Soak gelatin sheets in cold water
Combine water, sugar and glucose together and cook until 103 °C
Mix in the gelatin sheets, condensed milk and white chocolate
Blend with an immersion mixer
Sieve and chill
Rewarm to 37 °C before using
Assembly
Fill heart shaped moulds halfway with chocolate mousse
Place a hemisphere of raspberry gel in each cavity
Fill with more chocolate mousse
Place prepared brownie and chocolate hazelnut crunch on top of the mousse
Level off the mould, removing excess chocolate mousse
Freeze overnight, or for at least 6 hours
Once frozen remove from mould and place on a wire rack
Pour over prepared glaze
After excess glaze has dripped off, remove from wire rack and place on a circle of almond base