Chocolate Crème Chiboust
A chocolate pastry cream lightened with meringue, this crème chiboust is an elegant topping for a bowl of warm roasted berries. When I make this to finish Meyer Lemon Tarts (page 121), I freeze it and cut it into disks.
Recipe information
Yield
makes about 3 cups
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
If making the Meyer lemon tarts, line a 9 x 12-inch rimmed baking sheet with a Silpat.
Step 2
Put the milk in a saucepan and bring almost to a simmer. Whisk the cocoa powder and gelatin together and add to the milk. Whisk until smooth.
Step 3
Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl until creamy. Mix the cornstarch with the 2 tablespoons sugar and add to the yolks. Whisk until light. Slowly add about 1/2 cup of the simmering milk to the yolks and whisk for about 1 minute to temper them (keep the pan off the heat while you do this). Then scrape the yolks into the saucepan and whisk well. Return the pan to the heat and cook, whisking just about constantly so the chocolate cream doesn’t scorch. The mixture will become very thick. Watch for the cream to bubble up, almost like lava. Once you see the first bubble erupt, cook for another minute, still whisking. Remove from the heat and mix with an immersion blender, scraping the pan often, until very creamy.
Step 4
Put the egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk. Add the egg white powder, a pinch of cream of tartar, and 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Beat the whites at the lowest speed while you make the sugar syrup.
Step 5
Combine the remaining 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and the water in a small saucepan. Mix with your fingers until the sugar is like wet sand. Cook over medium-high heat until the syrup reaches 250°F. Once the sugar comes to a boil, increase the mixer speed on the egg whites to medium. You want the whites not quite at soft peaks when the syrup is ready.
Step 6
With the mixer still at medium speed, pour the syrup in a steady stream into the whites, avoiding the whisk and the sides of the bowl. Turn the speed to high and beat the whites until the sides of the bowl feel cool.
Step 7
Mix the chocolate cream again with the immersion blender. Mix about one-quarter of the whites into the cream to lighten it, then scrape into a large bowl. Fold in the remaining whites.
Step 8
Spread the chiboust into the baking sheet and even it out. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for about 2 hours.
Step 9
If you are making the chiboust to serve on its own, just put it into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Tempering Chocolate
Step 10
While it isn’t essential for you to temper chocolate or the recipes in this book, the bright, shiny surface of tempered chocolate will give your dessert a beautiful, professional look. Use the best-quality chocolate, preferably Valrhona. Chop 5 ounces (142 g) bittersweet chocolate into small, even pieces. Reserve 1 ounce (28 g). Put the 4 ounces of chocolate into a heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of barely simmering—not boiling—water. Melt the chocolate, stirring often with a heatproof rubber scraper to keep the temperature even. When the chocolate is melted and has reached about 110°F, stir in the reserved chocolate. When the new chocolate has melted—this will happen very quickly—move the bowl to the counter and let the chocolate cool to 88°F to 90°F and keep the chocolate at this temperature. To test it, dip a small offset spatula into the chocolate. The chocolate should set within 4 minutes. If the chocolate has cooled down below 88°F, you can zap it for a second or two in a microwave, but be careful not to bring the temperature above 90°F.
