Ripomelle Yule Log by Rémi Poisson

(This recipe appeared in the Fall 2022 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)

The main flavors of this log – rice pudding, caramelized apples and Calvados – go perfectly with the Valrhona Tanariva milk chocolate, and the whole is a nod to the Normandy region of France.

Yield: 6 large logs

Caramel Biscuit

• 620 g granulated sugar
• 760 g heavy cream, 35% fat, hot
• 4 g salt
• 120 g clarified butter, melted
• 200 g T55 flour
• 10 g baking powder
• 100 g ultra-fine ground almonds
• 100 g roasted hazelnut powder
• 100 g potato starch
• 480 g eggs

1. Use the sugar to make a dry caramel. Deglaze with the hot cream and salt. Add the melted butter. Leave to cool to 105°F (30°C).

2. Mix together the dry ingredients and combine them with the eggs and caramel base. Spread 1100 g of the batter onto a silicone baking sheet in a 22.4ʺ x 14.5ʺ (57 x 37 cm) frame. Bake at 340°F (170°C) for 10-12 minutes.

Apple & Caramel Compote

• 4200 g red winter apples
• 1570 g granulated sugar, divided
• 262 g clarified butter, melted
• 160 g lemon juice
• 40 g pectin NH
• 175 g water (for hydrating gelatin)
• 35 g gelatin powder
• 90 g Calvados

1. Dice the apples finely.

2. Use 1530 g of the sugar to make a dry caramel. Deglaze with the clarified butter and add the apples. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and pectin combined with the remaining 40 g sugar. Place this mixture in a container with a slotted cover and finish off by baking it for approximately 35-40 minutes at 300°F (150°C). Once it is cooked, you should be left with 4,800 g of compote.

3. Hydrate the gelatin in the water, mix it with the compote and add the Calvados. Leave it to cool to 105°F (40°C) in a container with a slotted cover and then use it immediately. 

Tanariva Calvados Cremeux

• 350 g granulated sugar
• 130 g clarified butter, melted
• 680 g heavy cream, 35% fat
• 45 g glucose syrup DE38/40
• 2 g organic Madagascar vanilla bean, split
• 2 g fleur de sel
• 460 g Tanariva Lactée 33% couverture
• 25 g Calvados (optional)

1. Make a dry caramel using the sugar. Add the melted butter, then deglaze using the hot mixture of cream, glucose, scraped vanilla bean and fleur de sel. Gradually incorporate the chocolate. Add the Calvados (optional). Immediately mix using an immersion blender to make a perfect emulsion.

2. Leave to rest in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Basic Rice Pudding

• 600 g round-grained Camargue rice
• 370 g granulated sugar
• 12 g organic Madagascar vanilla beans, split
• 3000 g whole milk

1. If you are using a rice cooker, cook the rice, sugar, scratched vanilla pods and whole milk for an hour at 205°F (97°C). If you are cooking it the traditional way, put all the ingredients in a saucepan on a medium heat and stir it regularly. After cooking, place the rice pudding in a container with a slotted lid and leave it to cool in the refrigerator. 

Basic Custard

• 840 g whole milk
• 840 g heavy cream, 35%
• 340 g egg yolks
• 170 g super-fine granulated sugar

1. Boil the cream together with the milk and pour this over the eggs previously mixed with the sugar (not whitened). Cook the mixture to 180-183˚F (82-84°C) until it coats the back of a spoon. Strain through a fine strainer and use immediately, or cool rapidly and store. 

Rice Pudding Mousse

• 15 g gelatin powder
• 75 g water (for hydrating gelatin)
• 2400 g Basic Rice Pudding (above)
• 1680 g Basic Custard (above)
• 1680 g heavy cream, 35% fat, whipped

1. Hydrate the gelatin powder in the water.

2. Heat the Basic Rice Pudding to 85°F (30°C.).

3. Add the hydrated gelatin to the hot Basic Custard. Mix the custard into the rice pudding. Cool the mixture to 115°F (30°C) and add the whipped cream. Use immediately.

Buckwheat Shortcrust Pastry

• 177 g T55 flour
• 177 g buckwheat flour
• 65 g cornstarch
• 122 g confectioners’ sugar
• 370 g unsalted butter
• 4 g salt
• 20 g egg yolks

1. Sift the flours, cornstarch and confectioner’s sugar. Mix with the butter, sugar and salt. Add the egg yolks.

2. As soon as you have a homogenous mixture, spread it between two sheets of baking paper. Bake the shortcrust pastry for 15-20 minutes at 300°F (150°C) on a tray lined with a perforated silicone mat.

Buckwheat Pressed Shortcrust

• 935 g Buckwheat Shortcrust Pastry
• 400 g crispy wheat flake cereal
• 425 g Tanariva Lactée 33% couverture

1. Make the pastry. Grind it down and add the crispy wheat flake cereal and melted chocolate. Use immediately.

Apple Calvados Glaze

• 750 g Absolu Cristal neutral glaze
• 50 g apple juice
• 30 g Calvados

1. Heat up the Absolu Cristal and the apple juice. When it reaches boiling point, add the Calvados.

Assembly

1. Spread 780 g of Tanariva Calvados Crémeux onto each sheet of shortcake and freeze them.

2. Place a sheet of shortcake into a frame so that the cremeux is on top. Spread on 4800 g of compote and layer on the second sheet of biscuit so that its cremeux is in contact with the compote. Freeze this, it will be your insert.

3. Cut out 20.4ʺ x 2.3ʺ (52 x 6 cm) strips. Position a strip of frozen insert vertically inside each Yule log mold. Set to one side in the freezer. Then make the Buckwheat Shortcrust Pastry and spread out 6 20.4ʺ x 2.3ʺ (52 x 6 cm) strips, each weighing 250 g. Leave them to stiffen in the refrigerator. Make the Rice Pudding Mousse. Pour the rice pudding mousse down each side of the insert and place a strip of Buckwheat Shortcrust Pastry on top. Freeze.

4. To finish, cut out the Yule logs. Make the apple glaze and spray onto the frozen Yule logs.

About Rémi Poisson

Rémi Poisson is Valrhona’s Pastry Chef Instructor. He maintains his baking style simple by emphasizing technique and keeping taste at the center of his creations. He takes his recipe inspiration from the Valrhona School, where the exchange between school chef trainers is strong and enables the group to grow creatively.