Vanilla bean composed of
– vanilla mousse,
– vanilla gel
– hazelnut/almond/vanilla praline,
– chocolate shell.
Materials used
– Transparent film
– Cooking thermometer
– Pastry bag
– Hendi kitchen blowtorch
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Ingredients
Almond/hazelnut/vanilla praline
✔100g hazelnuts
✔100g almonds
✔1 vanilla pod
✔100g caster sugar
Vanilla gel
✔ 55g water
✔ 60g sugar
✔ 2g NH pectin
✔ 1 vanilla pod
Vanilla mousse
✔55g single cream
✔1 vanilla pod
✔75g white chocolate
✔150g single cream
✔2g gelatine
Chocolate shell
✔200g dark chocolate
✔200g Cocoa butter
✔Dark colouring
+ a little cocoa powder
The recipe
For 3 vanilla beans
Almond/hazelnut/vanilla praline
✔100g hazelnuts
✔100g almonds
✔1 vanilla pod
✔100g caster sugar
Pour the hazelnuts, vanilla pod and almonds onto a baking tray and place in the oven at 150°C for 15 minutes. Pour the caster sugar into a saucepan and make a caramel. Pour onto a sheet of greaseproof paper and leave to cool. Place the hazelnuts (having first rubbed them to remove as much skin as possible), almonds, vanilla pod and chopped caramel in the bowl of a blender and blend until you have a praline. Store in a sealed container. You’ll have some praline left over for other recipes.
Place some of the praline in a piping bag. Set aside for assembly.
Vanilla gel
✔ 55g water
✔ 60g sugar
✔ 1.5g NH pectin
✔ 1 vanilla pod or vanilla powder
Mix the pectin with a tablespoon of sugar in a small bowl. Bring the water, the remaining caster sugar and the seeds from the vanilla pod or vanilla powder to the boil.
Pour the sugar/pectin mixture into the saucepan, then, without stopping stirring, continue cooking for 2 minutes. Place in a piping bag and set aside until ready to assemble.
Vanilla mousse
✔55g single cream
✔1 vanilla pod
✔75g white chocolate
✔150g single cream
✔2g gelatine
Place the gelatine sheet in a bowl of cold water.
In a saucepan, heat the 55g single cream with the vanilla pod, scraped out with the tip of a knife, or the vanilla powder. Cover and leave to infuse for at least 20 minutes. Return the cream to the heat. Remove from the heat and add the gelatine and melted white chocolate. Remember to remove the vanilla pod. Mix well and set aside.
Whip the cold cream with an electric mixer. Pour in the previous mixture when it is < 35°C and stir gently. Place the mousse in a piping bag fitted with a plain tip for assembly.
Assembly
Lay a sheet of transparent film flat on your table.
Poach about twenty centimetres of the vanilla mousse.
Poach two strands of almond/hazelnut/vanilla praline parallel to the vanilla mousse.
Poach a drizzle of vanilla gel.
Add a dollop of vanilla mousse on top.
Roll up and place in the freezer on a baking tray overnight.
Dark chocolate shell
✔200g dark chocolate
✔200g cocoa butter
✔Dark chocolate colouring
Melt the dark chocolate with the cocoa butter in the microwave or bain marie, and add a little dark colouring, optional to get a more realistic pod colour. Wait until your chocolate is around 32°C or so.
Dip your first vanilla pod quickly into the melted chocolate as soon as it comes out of the freezer (keep the other pods in the freezer to take out at the last minute). As I didn’t have a container high enough, I dipped my bean halfway into the chocolate and then turned it over to make the other half.
Using a fork, score the length of the vanilla pod.
Sprinkle a little cocoa powder over your vanilla pod.
Quickly run the kitchen blowtorch over the cocoa powder.
Proceed in the same way for all your pods.
Chill until ready to eat. I decorated with a daffodil flower or hyacinth flowers.
