Lemon & Salted Caramel Star Entremets

Before starting this Lemon and Salted Caramel Star Entremets recipe, organise the necessary ingredients for the lemon sponge fingers.

For the lemon sponge fingers: Place the egg yolks in the stand mixer bowl.

Add 55 grams of castor sugar...

... and beat with a whisk for 5 minutes.

The preparation should double in volume and become pale and foamy.

Place the egg whites in a separate bowl...

... and start beating until foamy.

When the eggs start to blanch, add 55 grams of castor sugar in 3 or 4 batches.

Whisk the egg whites and sugar...

... until they are firm, but still soft. Set aside.

Zest half a lemon with a Microplane Classic grater over the blanched egg yolks.

Using a fine sieve, sift the flour and potato starch over a sheet of greaseproof paper.

Pour some of the sifted mix over the blanched egg yolks...

... and combine with a rubber spatula. There should still be traces of flour in the preparation.

Add half of the egg whites.

Combine gently with the rubber spatula until the whites are completely incorporated.

Add the rest of the sifted mix...

... and combine gently with a spatula.

Add the rest of the egg whites...

... and combine until smooth and homogeneous, making sure not to stir excessively so the preparation doesn't collapse.

Pour the lemon preparation over a sheet of greaseproof paper (cut to 40 x 30cm) placed over a baking sheet.

Spread the preparation with a cranked spatula to create an even surface...

... and a regular thickness.

Bake in a fan-assisted oven at 180°C (gas 4) for 10 to 12 minutes.

When cooked, remove from the oven...

... and leave to cool at room temperature.

For the lemon crumble: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Place the soft butter into the stand mixer recipient.

Zest half a lemon over the butter.

Add the soft brown sugar...

... the flour...

... and combine with the flat beater.

Beat for a few minutes...

... until you get a crumbly consistency with chunks of different sizes.

When the crumble dough is ready...

... pour over a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper.

Spread the crumble over the baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Remove the crumble from the fridge and bake in a fan-assisted oven preheated to 160°C (gas 3) for 20 minutes.

When cooked, remove from the oven...

... and leave to cool at room temperature.

For the lemon confit: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Pour the water in a saucepan...

... then add the salt and bring to a boil.

Cut the lemons into thin slices, making sure to remove the seeds.

Place the lemon slices in the saucepan and blanch for 3 minutes in boiling water.

Strain the lemon slices and rinse with cold water. Strain again.

In a saucepan, heat the apricot purée with lemon juice.

Add half of the castor sugar and combine with a whisk.

In a separate recipient, combine the pectin NH coating with the rest of the castor sugar.

When the preparation is warm...

... add the pectin and sugar mix and combine.

Add the lemon slices...

... and cook over low heat...

... until you get a marmalade. Leave to cool at room temperature.

For salted caramel Bavarian cream: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Place the gelatine in 35 grams of water...

... then combine and set aside.

In a saucepan, heat the milk and the cream.

Place the sugar in a separate saucepan...

... and cook without water...

... until you get a brown caramel (don't wait until the caramel turns dark, which will give a bitter taste to the caramel).

When the caramel gets to the desired colour, pour the warm milk and cream (it should not be boiling). Take extra precautions as you might get burnt with splashes of hot caramel.

Combine with a whisk until completely incorporated. Add the fleur de sel and whisk. Watch the pan closely as the preparation might overflow.

Place the egg yolks in a mixing bowl.

Pour the caramel sauce over the egg yolks and whisk vigorously.

Transfer the preparation into the saucepan used to cook the caramel and cook 'à la nappe' (i.e. until the consistency is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon) up to 83°C.

Take the pan away from the heat when the cream is cooked and add the hydrated gelatine. Combine gently.

Pass the preparation through a fine sieve over a food tray...

... into a thin layer so it cools down faster.

Place the lemon confit in a processor bowl...

... and mix finely until you get a marmalade with no chunks.

The result should be as shown in the photo.

Transfer the confit into a bowl and cover the surface with cling film. Reserve in the fridge.

For the lemon syrup: Combine the lemon juice, water and syrup 30° baumé. Set aside.

For the lemon crumble (continued): Place the crumble in a mixing bowl. Get the white chocolate and Mycryo cocoa butter ready.

Melt the Mycryo cocoa butter and white chocolate in a saucepan.

When the preparation is melted and smooth...

... pour over the crumble into a thin stream...

... and stir until the crumble is coated with chocolate.

Transfer the crumble on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper.

Spread the crumble...

... and leave to set in the fridge.

Using a pastry brush, steep the lemon sponge biscuit with the lemon syrup.

Over half of the biscuit, spread the lemon confit...

... into a thin layer with a small cranked spatula.

The thickness should be regular. Spread right to the edge of the biscuit.

Cut two small discs of biscuit with a mousse ring Ø 8cm (one plain, one with lemon confit) and two big discs with a mousse ring Ø 12cm (one plain, one with lemon confit).

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

... making sure the texture is still smooth and soft.

Transfer the caramel cream into a mixing bowl. It should be at room temperature (do not refrigerate as we don't want the gelatine to set).

Add half of the whipped cream...

... and combine with a whisk.

Add the rest of the whipped cream...

... and combine gently with a whisk, making sure the preparation doesn't collapse. Make sure lumps of whipped cream don't remain.

Transfer the preparation into a piping bag.

Place the Silikomart star silicone mould on a baking sheet.

Pipe the caramel Bavarian cream into the tip cavities, halfway up.

Cut the large biscuit disc (coated with lemon confit) and divide in 8 quarters.

Repeat the operation with the plain disc and cut into 8 portions.

Steep the plain biscuit with lemon syrup...

... and place one quarter over the caramel cream into each tip cavity.

Fill the star mould with caramel cream. Cut a small disc of plain biscuit and place it over the caramel cream.

Fill the rest of the moulds with the caramel cream.

Take the biscuit triangles coated with lemon confit...

... and place them in the tip cavities over the caramel cream, with the lemon side facing down. Bury the triangles a little so they get right to the same level as the mould rim.

Even the surface with the cranked spatula and remove the cream excess.

Cut the small disc with lemon confit to the shape of the star mould...

... and place the biscuit in the star mould over the caramel mould.

Even the surface with the cranked spatula and remove the cream excess.

The result should be as shown in the photo.

Apply the lemon syrup with a brush over the biscuits (star and triangles).

Pipe a drop of Bavarian caramel cream over each biscuit...

... and spread with a cranked spatula.

Using a knife, chop the crumble coarsely when it has cooled down...

... and arrange it carefully over each cavity. The crumble should be as flat as possible to create a stable base.

This is what the result should look like this.

Cover the surface with cling film and place in the freezer. Up to this stage, this recipe can be prepared in advance and stored in the freezer. If you're equipped with a freezer with boost function, I recommend using it to make sure the cake is really cold when you take it out.

For the finish: I recommend making the sugar paste decorations the day before to leave them enough time to dry, or at least 3 hours beforehand. Roll out the white sugar paste to a thickness of 2 or 3 mm.

Using a snowflake plunger cutter, create white sugar paste snowflake shapes. Push on the cutter to release the snowflake shape.

The result should be as shown in the photo. One snowflake is enough for this recipe, but they will make great decorations on your Christmas table (they will keep well for several months at room temperature).

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

Pour the melted Mycryo cocoa butter over the melted caramel white chocolate. Let the chocolate melt in the hot cocoa butter for a few seconds without stirring.

Combine with a whisk...

... until smooth and homogeneous.

This icing should be used between 35 and 40°C.

Pour the icing into the LM25 chocolate spray gun recipient...

... and screw the gun back on.

Remove the cake from the freezer and release carefully from the mould. The cake should be really cold.

This is what the result should look like.

Release the cake from the star mould as well.

Trim the crumble base if needed.

Make sure the crumble is flat enough so the base is stable. If needed, grate the crumble a little with a Microplane grater.

Place the baking sheet in a airbrush spray booth, then spray the surface of the frozen cake with the chocolate icing until you get a pearl velvet effect.

Rotate the tray to make sure all sides of the cake are coated. The layer of velvet icing should be thin, otherwise the surface might crack while in the fridge.

Assemble all the elements into a star shape on a serving plate.

The result should be as shown in the photo.

Fill the gap on the surface of the star with salted butter caramel cream (Salidou). Preheat the cream beforehand and pipe using a decorating bag.

This is what the result should look like.

Place a dried sugar paste snowflake over the caramel cream, in the centre of the star.
Leave to defrost in the fridge until ready to serve.