Apple Bavarian Entremets

Before starting this Apple Bavarois Entremets recipe, organise the necessary ingredients for the apple compote.

Peel the apples, remove the core...

... and cut into cubes.

In a frying pan, melt 30 grams of butter.

Add the apple cubes...

... and sprinkle with 60 grams of castor sugar.

Cook until the preparation turns into a compote. Transfer 650 grams of compote in a different bowl. Smash with a fork until you obtain a fine purée. Set the rest of the apple compote aside.

For the pastry case: Roll out the inside-out puff pastry to a thickness of 3 mm. Preferably, use a home-made puff pastry.

Cut a sheet of greaseproof paper to the dimensions of the puff pastry baking tray and drizzle with icing sugar.

Arrange the puff pastry rectangle over the baking parchment with icing sugar.

Drizzle icing sugar over the pastry...

... and arrange another sheet of greaseproof paper on top.

Slide both parts of the tray together to enclose the dough.

Bake at 170°C (gas 3) for 25 or 30 minutes, in a fan-assisted oven.

The puff pastry should be golden and caramelised.

Using a stainless steel ring (diameter 16cm), cut the puff pastry into a round shape. Warm puff pastry will be easier to cut.

For the apple Bavarian cream: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Soak the gelatine sheets in a bowl filled with cold water.

Squeeze the lemon juice.

Pour the lemon juice in a saucepan...

... and bring to a boil.

Strain the gelatine...

... then dissolve into the hot lemon juice.

Combine until completely melted.

Add the lemon juice to the compote (at room temperature).

Combine well and add the vanilla extract.

Combine again.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites...

... until firm peaks form.

Add 60 grams of castor sugar...

... and beat until stiff.

Add the beaten egg whites to the apple compote.

Fold gently.

Place the wave-shaped Pavocake mould on your worktop surface.

Fill with the apple preparation.

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

This will help get rid of air bubbles.

Arrange the apple pieces (set aside earlier) in the centre.

Fill with the apple Bavarian cream...

... and even the surface with a spatula. Leave a gap of 0.5cm at the top...

... to insert the puff pastry disc. Press gently for the puff pastry disc to stick to the cream. The cream should come up a little around the biscuit.

Even the edges with a spatula. Cover with cling film and place in the freezer overnight.

Using a half-sphere silicone mould, fill two cavities with apple Bavarian cream and apple cubes. Even the surface and freeze overnight.

For the chocolate leaf decorations: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Melt the dark couverture chocolate (for instance Ocoa) in the microwave on medium power, working by periods of 30 seconds. When the chocolate is melted and has a temperature of about 35 or 40°C (make sure it doesn't exceed 40°C)...

... add the Mycryo cocoa butter.

Combine well until dissolved, then let cool down to 31°C. The chocolate is now tempered: the temperature should remain the same the whole time you're using the chocolate.

I used the flower casting set by Magyfleur to make the chocolate leaf decorations. The day before, place the bronze stamps in the freezer.

Dip the cold stamp into the tempered chocolate, making sure to dip only the printed side...

... then lift the stamp and shake gently for the excess chocolate to drip off.

The chocolate should start to set already.

Place the stamp on your worktop surface until the chocolate has fully set.

Carefully the chocolate leaf from the stamp with the tip of a knife.

The chocolate shape should come off easily.

Repeat the above steps with the other stamps. Don't forget to place the stamps in a bowl filled with ice water between uses. Make sure you dry them thoroughly with a clean cloth before dipping them in chocolate. Reserve the chocolate leaf decorations.

A total of 12 or 14 chocolate leaves should be plenty.

Apply metallic green colouring powder on the chocolate leaves with a brush.

Remove the excess.

Repeat the same operation with all the chocolate decorations. Set aside in a cool room (do not refrigerate).

For the meringue decorations: Follow this recipe for the meringue decorations. Pipe the meringue into small balls of different sizes on a Silpat mat.

Sprinkle with coloured sugar (details in recipe above) or cocoa powder and bake at 100°C in a fan-assisted oven for at least one hour. Set aside. Store these meringues in an airtight container.

For the apple-shaped sphere: When frozen, remove the half-sphere silicone mould from the freezer.

Remove the cling film.

Slightly reheat the flat surface of one shape with a blow torch.

Assemble the two shapes together...

... and place in the freezer to set.

For the chocolate icing: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Place the gelatine in 18 grams of water. Combine well and set aside.

Pour water in a saucepan to make the syrup.

Add the glucose syrup...

... and the castor sugar.

Bring to a boil. The temperature should reach 103°C. The use of a laser thermometer is essential for this operation.

At 103°C, add the unsweetened condensed milk...

... and the rehydrated gelatine. Combine well.

Pour the hot preparation over the white chocolate pistoles.

Combine with a small whisk.

Mix with a Bamix hand blender until homogeneous.

Add green colouring until the colour is similar to an apple.

Combine well until the colouring is completely dissolved. Cover the bowl and refrigerate.

For the velvet pearl green icing: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Melt the white chocolate in the microwave by periods of 30 seconds at medium power so the chocolate doesn't burn.

In the meantime, melt the cocoa butter and add to the melted chocolate.

Combine well with a whisk and add green colouring. Start with a small quantity of colouring to make sure the green colour isn't too intense.

Combine with the hand blender...

... until perfectly homogeneous.

Pour the preparation (temperature should be 30°C) into the LM25 spray gun container.

Take the cake out of the freezer. Remove the cling film.

Flip the cake onto a plate...

... and lift the silicone mould gently.

For an easy release, make sure the cake is frozen.

Place the cake on your worktop surface (I used an airbrush spray booth for this operation)...

... and spray the cake on all sides until it is coated with a thin layer of icing. Reserve in the fridge.

Remove the frozen sphere from the mould.

Transfer on a cooling rack, which has been placed on a deep tray.

Pour some green mirror icing over the sphere.

Let set in the fridge for a few minutes.

Transfer the take onto a serving dish.

Using a kitchen fork, carefully lift the sphere...

... and arrange it in the centre of the entremets.

With the remaining mirror green icing...

... stick the chocolate leaves around the cake...

... making them overlap slightly.

At this stage, your cake should look like this.

For the finish: Cut the pear into thin slices.

Arrange the pear slices around the central sphere.

Arrange a few meringue decorations around the sphere.

Using a decorating bag, , pipe drops of different sizes of coloured mirror glaze (green and orange) on the surface of the cake.

Using decorating tweezers, finish the decoration with caramelized cocoa nibs, Atsina Cress shoots (with flavours of liquorice and fennel) and toasted almond flakes. Prick the tip of a vanilla pod at the top of the sphere to imitate the stem of the apple.
Let defrost slowly in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Enjoy!