Chocolate Basket with Fresh Fruit
Chocolate tuile cups cradle dacquoise rounds and orange cream under a mound of exotic fruit. Colorful mango and raspberry purées are used to decorate the dessert plates. The fruit is sprayed with Grand Marnier Syrup, giving it a gloss. Chef DuBois notes that you can’t tell if a chocolate tuile is done by its color; watch to see when the batter stops bubbling, he says.
Ingredients
- Chocolate Tuile Baskets
- Sugar - 2/3 cup
- Unsalted Butter - 1/2 cup (1 stick ) plus 1 tablespoon, softened
- Vanilla - 1 teaspoon
- Corn Syrup - 1/2 cup
- Pastry Flour - 1/2 cup
- Cocoa - 1/2 cup
- Grand Marnier Syrup
- Water - 1-1/2 cups
- Orange Juice - 1 cup, fresh
- Sugar - Scant 2/3 cup
- Cinnamon - 1 stick
- Vanilla - 1 teaspoon
- Grand Marnier - 1/2 tablespoon
- Mango and Raspberry Coulis
- Mango purée - 2 cups
- Inverted Sugar - 2 tablespoons (alt. pure honey)
- Raspberry purée - 2 cups, strained
- Framboise - 2 tablespoons (raspberry liqueur)
- Hazelnut Dacquoise Cake
- Hazelnut flour - 1-1/8 cup, toasted
- Confectioner's Sugar - 1-1/2 cups
- Granulated Sugar - 1/3 cup
- Egg Whites - 8
- Orange Cream
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 1 cup
- Milk - 1 cup
- Orange Zest - 2 oranges, minced
- Sugar - Scant 2/3 cup
- Cornstarch - 1/2 cup
- Eggs - 2
- Egg Yolk - 2
- Unsalted Butter - 1/4 cup (1/2 stick)
- Vanilla - 1 teaspoon
- For assembly
- Cantaloupe - 1/2, seeded and cut in long thin slices
- Mango - 1, peeled, pitted, and cut in long thin slices
- Papaya - 1, peeled, seeded, and cut in long slices
- Plums - 3, pitted and sliced thin
- Pineapple - 1/2 fresh, skin and core removed, cut into wedges
- Strawberries - 6
- Star Fruit - 1, cut in thin slices
- Kiwi - 3, peeled and cut into thin slices
- Grapes - 1 bunch, green, red, or black, or mixture
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 1 cup, beaten to firm peaks
- Confectioner’s sugar - For dusting
- Chocolate cigarettes - 12 (optional)
- Mint - 6 sprigs
Instructions
To make the baskets: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper. In a bowl, combine the sugar, butter, and vanilla. Stir in the corn syrup. Add the flour and cocoa and blend just until the mixture comes together; do not overmix. The batter will be fudgy. Using a large spoon, place two 1/4-cup-sized balls on the prepared sheet, spacing them so they have room to spread. Bake 8 to 12 minutes, until the batter spreads and stops bubbling. Remove, let cool enough to handle, then lift and drape over an inverted glass or cup to form a basket. Let cool. Repeat to use all the batter; you need to make at least 6 baskets. When completely cooled, the baskets may be stored sealed in a plastic bag until ready to use.
To make the syrup: Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and let simmer until reduced by one-third. Remove from heat and take out the cinnamon stick. Stir in the Grand Marnier. Strain. Chill overnight, then place in a spray bottle.
To prepare the coulis: Combine the mango purée with half the trimoline and blend with a stick mixer. Put in a squeeze bottle. Combine the raspberry purée with the remaining trimoline and blend with a stick mixer; add the Framboise and buzz quickly to blend. Put in a squeeze bottle. Set the purées aside in the refrigerator.
To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 400 F. Spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil spray, blot any excess, and line with parchment paper. Combine the hazelnut flour and confectioner’s sugar and set aside. Combine the egg whites and granulated sugar in the large bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium speed until foamy, then increase speed to high and beat to firm peaks. Fold the flour mixture into the meringue. Spread the mixture evenly over the prepared pan and bake until dried and firmed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and let cool. Cut around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake and turn it out onto a work surface. Cut out six 2-1/2-inch circles. Seal them in a plastic bag until ready to use. The fragments may also be stored and used as a crumbled base for mousse.
To make the orange cream: Reserve about 1/4 cup of the cream. Place the milk, remaining cream, zest, and half the sugar in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat; do not boil. Remove from heat and let stand 30 minutes, covered, to infuse. Strain and return to the pan. Combine the other half of the sugar, cornstarch, and reserved cream in a medium bowl. Add the eggs and egg yolks and whisk until smooth. Put the milk and cream mixture back over medium heat and heat almost to a boil. Stir a large spoonful of the hot mixture into the cornstarch-egg mixture. Quickly add about three-fourths of the cornstarch-egg mixture to the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, until the mixture reaches a boil. If the mixture is not thickened, add a little more of the cornstarch-egg mixture and cook until it boils again; reserving a little of the cornstarch-egg mixture and adding if needed prevents the cream from getting too thick. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Spread plastic wrap across the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator.
To assemble: Place a piece of cake in the bottom of each tuile. Put the orange cream in a pastry bag fitted with no tip and pipe some of the cream on the cake. Arrange the fruit decoratively over the orange cream. Spray with the syrup.
To serve: Paint decorative designs on the plates with the mango and raspberry sauces. Put a dot of sauce in the center of each plate. Anchor a filled tuile in the dot. Put the cream in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe a rosette of cream in the center of each tuile on top of the fruit. Dust the edges of the plates with confectioner’s sugar. Garnish each dessert with two chocolate cigarettes and mint sprig.
