A few month's back, my good friend Ruby invited me to her house for chocolate. Quite why, I wasn't sure, for chocolate is rarely the main event in our social schedule. (Though my domestic schedule is a little different...) But I was quickly put in my place. Ruby handed me a single chocolate truffle, enrobed in white chocolate with a dusting of sweet coffee over the top. I bit in to reveal a smooth coffee centre, nutty cappuccino notes marrying with the not-to-sweet white chocolate. This was surely the taste of love.
Said truffle was a Charbonnel et Walker Cappuccino Truffle and has since become a mainstay of my frequent trips down to New Bond Street. Instead of oggling shoes and diamond jewelry, I stop off at Charbonnel for my hit of fancy chocolate. Forget macarons. Forget cupcakes. This single truffle is all I need to feel pampered, at ease, and a little bit indulgent.
When we received our Daring Bakers challenge for this month, a wave of panic took over. "We're supposed to make a joconde imprimé/entremet? I can't even translate these words, though I speak French pretty well!" said my brain. I didn't know what to do. So I took a break from the computer, put the kettle on, and took a bite of a cappuccino truffle.
It hit me. This was the flavour. Coffee. White chocolate. And something else. In a cake, it would need something else. I remembered Pierre Hermé's vanilla tart, which I'd been trying to get up the nerve to make for months. I remembered it had this incredible, silky smooth vanilla glaze. So I started sketching ideas. The cake would have a cocoa joconde stripe around the sides with a coffee genoise cake inside, layered with vanilla and coffee mousse. The glaze would be Pierre Hermé's, minus the whitening titanium dioxide. White chocolate would marry the mousse and the glaze, creating a cake-sized ode to the cappuccino truffle.
In truth, the cake was no where near as good as the truffle itself. The genoise wasn't great, and I probably won't use that recipe again, but I loved the mousse and the glaze. The joconde was surprisingly delicious, and a few rings of it would have made a much nicer cake filling than the genoise. But was it worth it? Yes, yes, yes. The glaze was a marvel to behold, though not for the faint-hearted, and I'll be looking for ways to make it again all year long. The mousse was so delicate and vanilla-flecked, without too much sweetness. The final dusting of coffee with sugar and cocoa added the most indulgent touch to the whole cake, a bit like eating the chocolatey bit of a tiramisu, but infinitely more refined. And the plus? In the end, I just had to go down to Charbonnel to buy some truffles, because I couldn't very well talk about it and not show you a picture, right?
The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.
*****
White Chocolate Mousse (to which I added a splash of coffee) is here: http://www.pastrypal.com/2010/12/white-chocolate-raspberry-tart-and-how-i-pissed-off-the-whole-town/
The Coffee Genoise is here: http://www.passionateaboutbaking.com/2010/11/baking-espresso-coffee-cream-cake-happy-birthday-to-me.html
Pierre Hermé's Vanilla Glaze is here: http://kitchenmusings.com/2009/07/pierre-hermes-vanilla-tart.html
Joconde Sponge
YIELD: Two ½ size sheet pans or a 13” x 18” (33 x 46 cm) jelly roll pan
Ingredients:
¾ cup/ 180 ml/ 3oz/ 85g almond flour/meal - *You can also use hazelnut flour, just omit the butter
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons/ 150 ml/ 2⅔ oz/ 75g confectioners' (icing) sugar
¼ cup/ 60 ml/ 1 oz/ 25g cake flour *See note below
3 large eggs - about 5⅓ oz/ 150g
3 large egg whites - about 3 oz/ 90g
2½ teaspoons/ 12½ ml/ ⅓ oz/ 10g white granulated sugar or superfine (caster) sugar
2 tablespoons/ 30 ml/ 1oz / 30g unsalted butter, melted
*Note: How to make cake flour: http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/09/how-to-make-cake-flour/
Directions:
In a clean mixing bowl whip the egg whites and white granulated sugar to firm, glossy peeks. Reserve in a separate clean bowl to use later.
Sift almond flour, confectioner’s sugar, cake flour. (This can be done into your dirty egg white bowl)
On medium speed, add the eggs a little at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix until smooth and light. (If using a stand mixer use blade attachment. If hand held a whisk attachment is fine, or by hand. )
Fold in one third reserved whipped egg whites to almond mixture to lighten the batter. Fold in remaining whipped egg whites. Do not over mix.
Fold in melted butter.
Reserve batter to be used later.
Patterned Joconde-Décor Paste
YIELD: Two ½ size sheet pans or a 13” x 18” (33 x 46 cm) jelly roll pan
Ingredients
14 tablespoons/ 210ml/ 7oz/ 200g unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups plus1½ tablespoons/ 385ml/ 7oz/ 200g Confectioners' (icing) sugar
7 large egg whites - about 7 oz / 200g
1¾ cup/ 420ml/ 7¾ oz/ 220g cake flour
Food coloring gel, paste or liquid
COCOA Décor Paste Variation: Reduce cake flour to 6 oz / 170g. Add 2 oz/ 60 g cocoa powder. Sift the flour and cocoa powder together before adding to creamed mixture.
Directions:
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (use stand mixer with blade, hand held mixer, or by hand)
Gradually add egg whites. Beat continuously.
Fold in sifted flour.
Tint batter with coloring to desired color, if not making cocoa variation.
Preparing the Joconde- How to make the pattern:
Spread a thin even layer of décor paste approximately 1/4 inch (5 millimeter) thick onto silicone baking mat with a spatula, or flat knife. Place mat on an upside down baking sheet. The upside down sheet makes spreading easier with no lip from the pan.
Pattern the décor paste – Here is where you can be creative. Make horizontal /vertical lines (you can use a knife, spatula, cake/pastry comb). Squiggles with your fingers, zig zags, wood grains. Be creative whatever you have at home to make a design can be used. OR use a piping bag. Pipe letters, or polka dots, or a piped design. If you do not have a piping bag. Fill a ziplock bag and snip off corner for a homemade version of one.
Slide the baking sheet with paste into the freezer. Freeze hard. Approx 15 minutes.
Remove from freezer. Quickly pour the Joconde batter over the design. Spread evenly to completely cover the pattern of the Décor paste.
Bake at 475ºF /250ºC until the joconde bounces back when slightly pressed, approx. 15 minutes. You can bake it as is on the upside down pan. Yes, it is a very quick bake, so watch carefully.
Cool. Do not leave too long, or you will have difficulty removing it from mat.
Flip cooled cake on to a powdered sugared parchment paper. Remove silpat. Cake should be right side up, and pattern showing! (The powdered sugar helps the cake from sticking when cutting.)
Cutting and Assembling the Joconde:
Trim the cake of any dark crispy edges. You should have a nice rectangle shape.
Decide how thick you want your “Joconde wrapper”. Traditionally, it is ½ the height of your mold. This is done so more layers of the plated dessert can be shown. However, you can make it the full height.
Once your height is measured, then you can cut the cake into equal strips, of height and length. (Use a very sharp paring knife and ruler. Make sure your strips are cut cleanly and ends are cut perfectly straight. Press the cake strips inside of the mold, decorative side facing out. Once wrapped inside the mold, overlap your ends slightly. You want your Joconde to fit very tightly pressed up to the sides of the mold. Then gently push and press the ends to meet together to make a seamless cake. The cake is very flexible so you can push it into place. You can use more than one piece to “wrap“ your mold, if one cut piece is not long enough. The mold is done, and ready to fill.
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