Black forest verrines

The past month was full of activity!  First I had my move to Discovery Bay right before Christmas, then it was Christmas and New Year celebrations... in mid January a major deal at work finally closed (something I've been working on for months so that was a huge relief).  I also managed to squeeze in a snowboarding trip to Niseko (plenty of amazing fresh powder everyday!)... And in a blink Chinese New Year is now almost here!

 

With plenty going on, I've not had the chance to spend much time in my new kitchen which is strange given it was really the kitchen that sold the apartment.  Its an open kitchen which gives me much more working space compared to my previous one - great for all sorts of baking and cooking projects!  This weekend I made up for my absence in the kitchen by working on something that's been swirling around in my head for some time - Black forest verrines.

The black forest cake is such a traditional favorite that I thought it might be fun to give it a not-so-traditional twist.  I laid the chocolate gateau, chocolate mousse, dark cherries and cream mousse layers down in a small cup rather than building it up as a full cake.  Pre-soaking the dark cherries in rum gives this dessert a real oomph! 

Recipe below makes 10 verrines

Chocolate gateau layer:

- 3 eggs

- 60g sugar

- 55g plain flour

- 10g cocoa powder

- 30g melted butter

Chocolate mousse layer:

- 80g dark couverture

- 130g whipping cream

Dark cherries layer:

- 20 pitted dark cherries (from a can)

- 25g rum

Cream mousse layer:

- 15g sugar

- 170g whipping cream

Soak cherries in rum. 

Line a square cake tin that is around 7 by 7 inch.  Sieve plain flour and cocoa powder together and set aside. Hand whisk eggs and sugar over bain marie till it reaches 40C.  Using an electric whisk, beat till egg mixture becomes light and frothy.  Fold in flour and cocoa powder mixture.  Fold melted butter into mixture.  Bake in preheated 170C oven for 25 to 30 minutes.  When cooled, cut cake into 2 layers and into small pieces that would fit into cups used for the verrines. Each verrine would need 3 layers of chocolate gateau.

Whisk 130g of whipping cream till soft peaks forms.  Melt dark couverture over bain marie before folding into whipped cream until an even mousse forms.

Whisk remaining whipping cream with 15g sugar till soft peak forms.

To assemble the verrines, place 1 layer of chocolate gateau at the bottom of a small glass cup.  Top with a layer of chocolate mousse followed by a 2nd layer of chocolate gateau.  Place 2 dark cherries into each cup on top of the 2nd chocolate gateau layer and distribute any remaining rum mixture among all cups, allowing it to soak into the 2nd chocolate gateau layer.  Fill in the spaces between the cherries with cream mousse, followed by a 3rd chocolate gateau layer.  Top the cups with remaining cream mousse.  Sprinkle some cocoa powder over top of each verrine.  Once the cream mousse has firmed up in the fridge, a cherry (or other fruits) may be added on top as desired.

Cherry hazelnut financiers

I recall the first time I came across financiers a few years back. It looked very much like a cupcake, in fact, I did think it was a cupcake until I bit into it and was pleasantly surprised at its texture - somewhat of a cross between a sponge cake and a moist cookie. The one I had was made with almond flour topped with berries.... yummy!

A little bit of research about financiers taught me that they are traditionally made flourless and baked in ingot-shaped pans, hence the name. A classic french petit four, no good baker should ever mistake it for a cupcake, so I'm told! The must-have base ingredient of a classic financier is beurre noisette, or brown butter, giving it a wonderful and distinct buttery & nutty flavor. These days financiers are commonly baked with fruit toppings.

Over the weekend I got my hands on a big bag of cherries. Perfect for a hazelnut financiers recipe I've been wanting to try out. I love financiers with almonds, but I love it even more when its with hazelnuts!!

Recipe below adapted from FCI's Fundamental Technique of Classic Pastry Arts (makes about 18).

Ingredients:

- 190 unsalted butter (for the beurre noisette)

- 30 g cake flour

- 30 g bread flour

- 190 g sugar

- 135 g hazelnut paste

- 150 g egg whites, at room temperature

- cherries for topping

Method:

1. Place butter in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the milk solids have separated out in the bottom of the pan, and the butter has turned a light, golden brown and has a very nutty aroma. Set aside to cool.

2. Combine the cake and bread flours in a mixing bowl, stirring with a wooden spoon to blend. Add the sugar and hazelnut paste, stirring until very well blended.

3. Then, add the egg whites, a bit at a time, beating well and scraping down on the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition.

4. Stir in the cooled beurre noisette, beating until the batter is smooth.

5. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate the batter for 1 hour, or until well chilled.

6. Preheat the oven to 177 C.

7. Fill cupcake baking cups (up to 2/3 full).

8. Bake financiers for 10 minutes.

9. Remove financiers from oven and top each financier with a cherry, pressing the cherry halfway into the dough.

10. Bake financiers with cherry for another 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Best served warm.