Chocolate Espresso Charlotte

Coffee desserts have become my favorite lately since I had that sumptuous drop dead coffee ice cream at Cafe G, during the Blogger’s Table visit. I just can’t forget that last spoonful of that velvety ice cream which consummated our dinner that night.

I am completely smitten by the strong aroma of coffee in a dessert, so and so that it is inspiring me to cook/order coffee desserts, whenever I am getting chance. Like, I suggested one of my friend to order for a mocha cake for her hubby’s birthday. Now you see the influence the tiny yet potent beans have got onto me {and that influence is quite contagious, I must say}.

Last Saturday, A potluck dinner for our chatty bunch of people at Blogger’s Table was organized at sweet Ruchira’s place. But sadly, it couldn’t happen. Damn this changing weather. Few of the members called in sick. Viral has kind of gripped the whole city. Every now and then, people are missing work, events by staying at home under medication. Okay, I have no more intention to bore you by my commentary on this gloomy subject of  disease.

So, for the potluck {as being my first meetup with most of the members}, I decided to do some dessert with coffee again{my new found love}. And what else could be better than a Charlotte filled with Espresso Bavarian Cream, topped with some shiny smooth chocolate glaze. I was captivated by the sheer beauty of these mini cakes, the moment I saw them on Martha’s site. Unfortunately, I just have one adjustable food mold{a friend of mine brought this for me from US}. I was cursing myself that why didn’t I ask him to bring more of them. Anyway, that didn’t stop me from baking this gorgeous dessert. I decided to bake this in an 8 inch springform cake tin instead, for which I adjusted the proportion to the best of my amateurish baking skills.

Ingredients

Pate a Cigarette Batter

25 gm unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 large egg white, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

Jaconde Cakes

Pate a Cigarette Batter
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoons packed almond meal
1/8 cup plus one tablespoon cake flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
2 large egg whites, room temperature

Espresso Syrup

1/4 cup freshly brewed strong espresso
1/8 cup sugar
1/8 cup water

Chocolate Jaconde Cake

3 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3/4 cup fine almond flour, packed
1/4 cup cake flour, sifted
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 large egg whites, room temperature
3 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling

Milk Chocolate Ganache

100 gm milk chocolate chips or cut into pieces
1/2 cup low fat cream

Milk Chocolate Espresso Creme Anglaise

3/4 cup low fat cream
3/4 cup whole milk
2 tablesppon espresso beans, coarsely ground
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
80 gm good-quality milk chocolate, melted

Mocha Bavarian Creme

3 tablespoons cold water
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
1 cup Milk Chocolate-Espresso Creme Anglaise, room temperature
1 teaspoons coffee extract
1 1/2 cups low fat cream, whipped to medium peaks

Shiny Dark Chocolate Glaze

40 gm good-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup low fat cream
1 tablespoons honey

Instructions

Assembly

1. Line cake tin with acetate, secure with tape, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
2. Line interior of the ring with a strip of joconde cake {recipe follows}, piped side facing out (trim strips to fit exactly into the mold if needed; the ends should meet).
3. Brush interior of joconde strips with espresso syrup{recipe follows}.
4. Brush bottoms of chocolate joconde cake {recipe follows} rounds with syrup, and fit one, syrup side up, into bottom of each mold.
5. Pipe a layer of ganache {recipe follows} onto chocolate joconde rounds, and smooth with a small spoon.
6. Pipe Bavarian cream {recipe follows} onto ganache layers, filling each mold about two-thirds full.
7. Pipe a layer of ganache onto Bavarian cream, and then top with a chocolate jocande round, syrup side down. Refrigerate until cream is firm, at least 4 hours (or up to 12 hours).
8. To glaze cakes before serving, carefully unmold, remove acetate, and place on a wire rack set over a piece of parchment. Using a small spoon, pour just enough glaze on cake to cover top.
9. Do not let it drip down sides. Let stand until set, 20 to 30 minutes.

Pate a Cigarette Batter

1. Whisk butter and confectioners’ sugar using hand whisk until fluffy. Gradually add egg whites and vanilla, and scrape down sides of bowl. Add flour, and Whisk until combined.
2. Stir in cocoa powder with a rubber spatula. For piping, transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/16-inch plain round tip.

Jaconde Cake

1. Line one 8 inch x 1o inch baking sheet with parchment, then place monogram pattern under parchment as a guide. Pipe pate a cigarette batter on parchment, tracing pattern. Transfer to freezer until firm, at least 15 minutes (or up to 2 hours). Carefully transfer each piece of parchment with piping to a clean work surface, remove monogram pattern, and coat baking sheets with cooking spray. Return parchment to baking sheets, and place in freezer while preparing batter.
2. Preheat oven to 220 C. Using a mixer with the whisk attachment, beat eggs, flours, sugar, and the salt on medium speed for 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add butter. Raise speed to high, and beat for 5 minutes.
3. Whisk egg whites in a clean mixer bowl until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. By hand, whisk a third of egg-white mixture into the flour mixture, then gently fold in remaining egg-white mixture in 2 batches. Pour batter onto prepared baking sheets, and smooth tops with an offset spatula.
4. Bake until tops are pale golden brown and bottoms are set but still pale in color, lifting corner to check, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes.
5. Run tip of a paring knife around edges of cakes. Sprinkle tops generously with sugar to prevent sticking, and invert cakes onto a wire rack set over a piece of parchment, being careful not to let cakes tear or to get sugar on the piped sides. Let cool for 3 minutes, then carefully peel off parchment. Let cool for 10 minutes more, then trim each cake into strips.

Chocolate Jaconde Cake

1. Preheat oven to 200 C. Grease a 8 inch springform cake tin with butter, and line with parchment. Using a mixer with the whisk attachment, beat eggs, confectioners’ sugar, flours, cocoa powder, and salt on medium-high speed for 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add butter. Raise speed to medium-high, and beat for 1 minute.
2. Whisk egg whites in a clean mixer bowl until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. By hand, whisk a third of egg-white mixture into the cocoa mixture, then gently fold in remaining egg-white mixture in 2 batches. Pour batter into prepared cake tin, and smooth top.
3. Bake for about 8 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. Run tip of a knife around edges of cake. Sprinkle top generously with granulated sugar to prevent sticking, then invert cake onto a wire rack set over a piece of parchment. Peel off parchment. Reinvert cake, and let cool for 10 minutes.
4. Cut the cake in two halves running knife horizontly.

Espresso Syrup

1. Bring espresso, sugar, and water to a boil in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Let cool.

Milk Chocolate-Espresso Creme Anglaise

1. Bring cream, milk, espresso beans, and salt to a simmer in a pan. Remove from heat. Cover, and let stand for 30 minutes.
2. Prepare an ice-water bath. Whisk together egg yolks and sugar.
3. Pour cream mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into another saucepan, and then return to a low simmer. Add half of cream mixture to yolk mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisking to combine. Add remaining cream mixture, whisking to combine. Return cream-yolk mixture to saucepan, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.Whisk in melted chocolate.
4. Pour through a sieve into a bowl set in the ice-water bath. Let cool, stirring often.

Mocha Bavarian Cream

1. Prepare an ice-water bath. Put the cold water into a heatproof bowl, and sprinkle with gelatin. Let soften 5 minutes.
2. Set bowl of gelatin over a pan of simmering water, and whisk until dissolved. Add half the creme anglaise, and whisk to combine. Whisk in remaining creme anglaise, and then coffee extract.
3. Place over the ice-water bath, and whisk constantly until cooled and beginning to thicken. Remove from the ice-water bath. Whisk in a third of the whipped cream, then fold in remaining whipped cream in 2 batches.

Milk Chocolate Ganache

1. Heat cream in a saucepan until starts to boil. Mix in chocolate chips. Let stand for few minutes. Whisk to combine.

Shiny Dark Chocolate Glaze

1. Heat cream and honey together in a saucepan until starts to boil. Mix in chocolate chips. Let stand for few minutes. Whisk to combine.