Mango Trompe-l'oeil

Melting mango/passion fruit centre: To make this Mango trompe l'oeil recipe, start by making the insert. Peel the mango with a paring knife.

Slice the mango on a mandoline to obtain slices about 4 or 5mm thick. Watch out for the central stone, which is quite large.

Here are our mango slices.

Cut these slices into fine strips 4 to 5mm thick. You can speed up the process by stacking 2 or 3 slices and cutting them at the same time.

Then cut these batons into small cubes, still 4 to 5 mm thick.

Prepare all the ingredients for making the mango passion fruit melting core.

Pour the mango purée into a saucepan.

Add the passion fruit purée.

Also add 3/4 of the caster sugar and heat gently.

Add the remaining quarter of the sugar to the pectin NH coating and mix well.

When the purée is hot (around 50°C), sprinkle in the sugar and pectin mixture. This should be added while whisking to prevent lumps from forming.

Bring to a boil and maintain this boil for about 1 minute (to activate the properties of the pectin).

Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the lemon juice. Mix well.

Finally, add the mango pieces cut into small cubes. Mix again.

Pour this preparation into a piping bag (no nozzle).

Fill the cavities of a silicone half-sphere mould Ø 4cm.

Smooth the surface with a mini cranked spatula.

This is what the result should look like.

Cover with cling film directly on the surface and place in the freezer. This preparation can be made in advance and kept in the freezer.

Light mango mousse: Prepare all the ingredients. Mix the powdered gelatine with the hydration water (tap or mineral water) and let it hydrate for 15 minutes.

Heat the mango purée in a saucepan with the caster sugar.

Mix well with a whisk and bring to a boil.

When the preparation reaches a boil...

...add the seeds from a vanilla pod, previously split in half and scraped...

...as well as the gelatine mass (powdered gelatine or hydrated sheets) prepared in advance.

Then blend the preparation with a hand blender to combine everything and to disperse the vanilla seeds evenly through the mass.

Transfer the hot preparation into a rectangular food container to a shallow depth for rapid cooling.

When the mango preparation reaches about 30/35°C, beat the whipping cream in the stand mixer.

The texture we want is a soft whipped cream to ensure an easier moulding process without air bubbles.

Transfer the purée at 30/35°C into a mixing bowl.

Add half of the whipped cream...

...then mix quickly with a whisk without needing to be particularly gentle...

...until the mixture is perfectly smooth and homogeneous.

Add the remaining whipped cream.

Mix gently with a whisk (without actually whipping). The goal is to obtain a homogeneous preparation without losing volume.

This what the result should look like. Transfer this mango mousse into a piping bag (no nozzle). Set aside, outside of the fridge.

Assembly: Take the 12-cavity mango silicone mould and place it on a baking tray.

Take the inserts out of the freezer and remove the cling film.

Fill the cavities up to 3/4 with the light mango mousse.

Bring the mousse up the sides using the mini cranked spatula, so as to coat the walls of the cavities.

If necessary, add a little more mousse...

...and repeat the operation with the spatula, spreading the mousse up the edges.

Ideally, the black mould should not be visible.

Release the mango inserts...

...and place them straight into each of the cavities. Flat side on top, rounded side underneath.
Bury them sufficiently so that the insert is well-centred vertically.

Fill the remaining empty space with the rest of the mango mousse...

...leaving a slight cavity of 3 to 4mm at the surface to insert the praline crunch.

Once all the inserts are covered...

...cover with cling film directly on the surface and place in the freezer.

Almond/yuzu crunch: Prepare all the ingredients.

Melt the white chocolate in the microwave in 20 to 30-second intervals, mixing every time to prevent burning. Then pour this melted white chocolate over the almond/yuzu praline.

Mix well...

...until homogeneous.

Add the speculoos crumbs. If you don't like cinnamon biscuits, you can replace them with pailleté feuilletine flakes.

Mix again.

Add the fleur de sel last and mix thoroughly.

Take the entremets out of the freezer. Remove the cling film. They must be completely frozen for the next stage of the recipe.

Fill the small cavity of each entremets with the speculoos crunch. This operation must be done quickly because the crunch will crystallise rapidly upon contact with the frozen mango mousse.

Smooth the surface to flatten it completely. The crunch must cover the entire base. If it overflows slightly, it does not matter; you can adjust it after unmoulding.

Cover with cling film directly on the surface and place in the freezer.

Yellow chocolate glaze: Pour the white chocolate and the cocoa butter pistoles into a container. Heat in the microwave in 20 to 30-second intervals until completely melted.

Mix with a hand blender. When the mixture is homogeneous...

...add yellow colouring until you get the desired shade. You can use the Power Flowers app (available for download on the App Store only).

Decide on your colour using the app or follow the quantities recommended above.

Take the silicone mould out of the freezer and remove the cling film.

Release the entremets gently by pressing from underneath the silicone mould. They must be frozen through for optimal results.

Pierce the base with the tip of a knife to a depth of about 1 cm, so that the entremets is firmly held.

Dip the frozen mousse into the yellow chocolate. Do not immerse the entire entremets, only the mousse part!

Quickly withdraw the entremets from the chocolate so that the layer forms a thin coating, and let it drain for a few moments.

Gently slide the entremets off with your fingers, handling it from underneath.

Place it on a tray, which is set on a turntable for an easier coating operation.

Finish: Once the yellow chocolate has crystallised, which will happen very quickly since the entremets is frozen, spray the mangoes with the red velvet effect spray, creating a light mist on one side.

Rotate the tray and spray a light mist of green velvet effect spray on the other side of the mango.

Refine the look of the mangoes with either a blowtorch or a heat gun. If you do not have a heat gun, you can also use a hair dryer.

To do this, stand 30 cm away from the entremets and pass over it quickly. The colours will blend together to give a more realistic effect.

This is what the result should look like. Do the same for all the mangoes. Leave to thaw in the fridge for at least 3 to 4 hours before serving. Enjoy!