BRIOCHE MOUSSE CAKE WITH NUTELLA^®

by Dominique Ansel, the World’s Best Pastry Chef of 2017

Set Up

Line your brioche pans with acetate on the bottom the sides.

Praline Feuilletine

In mixing bowl, combine your Feuilletine pieces with almond praline and melted cocoa butter. Stir together with your heat resistant mixing spoon until the Feuilletine pieces are fully covered.

Add in the melted butter and mix thoroughly.

Using a spatula, transfer the Feuilletine onto a silicone mat. Place a second silicone mat on top. And using a rolling pin, roll out the sheet of Feuilletine to roughly 0.1 inch thin.

Remove the top silicone mat. And using a ruler, measure out a rectangular slightly smaller than 3 and 6 inches. Gently use a paring knife to cut a rectangle for each cake. If using later, wrap and store at room temperature.

Nutella^® Heart Core

Cut out 4 strips of acetate that is roughly 5 inches long and 2 ¾ inches. Two strip are used for each cake.

Take two strips of acetate together lengthwise. Fold the two opened ends towards the center so it makes a heart shaped tube. Tape this together.

Use a small piece of plastic wrap to close off one end of the acetate tube.

Using a piping bag, fill the inside with Nutella^®. Standing up, place it into the freezer to freeze for several hours until it is hard enough to unmold.

Toasted Brioche Mousse

In a medium pot over medium heat, bring the milk up to a boil. Once boiled, take the pot off the heat, combine the toasted brioche pieces with the milk. Cover the top of the pot with plastic wrap and let it sit for 15 minutes to infuse.

After the brioche has infused, use a hand mixer to now mix in the pieces of toasted brioche completely for 1-2 minutes until fully incorporated.

Strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove all the pieces of brioche.

In a small bowl filled with ice water, place in your gelatin sheets so that they are fully submerged. This allows them to “bloom” and properly hydrate.

Return the now brioche-infused milk back into a medium pot and bring it to a boil.

Whisk your milk together with the sugar in a medium bowl.

Gently add in the milk to the eggs, whisking as you pour. Once you’ve poured half the milk into the egg mixture and it is tempered, pour the egg mixture completely into the remaining milk in the pot. Over medium heat, cook the egg and milk mixture until it has reached 185°F, whisking consistently. It will just coat the back of a spoon. This is now a crème anglaise.

Remove the gelatin from the ice water, squeezing out any excess water. And add it to the crème anglaise mixture.

In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the cream on medium until it reaches soft peak.

Using a spatula, fold the cream in three additions into the crème anglaise mixture until it is fully incorporated. 

Once the mousse is done, it needs to be used immediately.

Assembly:

Place the rectangle of Feuilletine on the base of each brioche pan that is already lined with acetate.

Fill in the mousse 1/3 of the way by transferring it with a spatula and pressing it close to the sides of the acetate to avoid air bubbles. Place it in the freezer quickly for 3 minutes to let it half set.

Remove the acetate from the Nutella^® Heart Center and place it into the center of the mousse with the tip of the heart touching the Feuilletine base.

Fill the rest of the mousse to about ½ inch from the top of the brioche mold. Sprinkle toasted hazelnuts halves on top (about 12 halves per cake). Place into the freezer to lightly set for about 3 minutes.

Transfer some of the brioche mousse into a piping bag fitted with a 0.6 inches tip. Pipe six large domes on the top of cake, symbolizing the six small balls of brioche.

Repeat for the second cake.

Place the entire cake into the freezer and freeze until solid. This can take several hours.

Once solid, remove gently from the brioche mold.

Using a spray gun filled with orange and brown food coloring and melted cocoa butter, lightly spray so it resembles a golden brioche.

Let the cake temper in the fridge for a few hours.

Let the cake come to room temperature for ca. 15 minutes for optimum Nutella^® texture. Slice to serve.