Spooky Entremet by Lasheeda Perry

(This recipe appeared in the Fall 2020 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)

My niece and nephews love Halloween. Unfortunately, I don’t think they’ll be able to go trick-or-treating this year, so I’ve been thinking of fun and creative ways to keep them entertained for Halloween. And of course, I had to come up with a dessert, and here it is!

Yield: 18 servings

Chocolate Sablé

• 139 g cocoa powder
• 174 g all-purpose flour
• 2 g salt
• 206 g unsalted butter
• 366 g granulated sugar
• 52 g whole eggs
• 3 g coffee extract

1. Mix together dry ingredients; set aside.

2. Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and coffee extract gradually, scraping bowl down well. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients until just combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill.

3. Sheet dough to #3, then cut out desired size (it should be the same size as the cheesecake mold). Bake at 325˚F for about 10 minutes.

Matcha Cheesecake

• 918 g cream cheese
• 538 g granulated sugar
• 25 g cornstarch
• 12 g matcha (culinary grade)
• 612 g sour cream
• 306 g whole eggs
• 10 g vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 275˚F. Cream the cream cheese for about 4 minutes.

2. Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and matcha, then add it to the cream cheese.  Mix for an additional 3-4 minutes. Stop and scrape down the bowl, making sure that there are no lumps. Add sour cream and scrape down the bowl again. Combine the eggs and vanilla extract then add to the batter in three additions. Mix on speed 1 to fully incorporate.

3. Pour batter into the cavities of the mold, filling to the top. Bake in a water bath for 35-40 minutes, or until the cheesecake is set with a slight jiggle. Allow to cool at room temperature, then freeze.

Orange Blossom Napoleon Cream Mice

• 459 g whole milk
• 115 g granulated sugar
• ¼ vanilla bean
• 36 g cornstarch
• 86 g egg yolks
• 57 g unsalted butter
• 2 gelatin sheets
• 230 g heavy cream
• 47 g confectioners’ sugar
• 11 g orange blossom water

1. Make a pastry cream with the first six ingredients by bringing the milk, sugar, and vanilla bean to a scald. Create a slurry with the cornstarch and some of the scalding milk. Add the slurry to the yolks then whisk into the milk mixture. Cook and whisk continuously until thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter. Cool until lukewarm.

2. Bloom gelatin.

3. Whip cream and confectioners’ sugar to soft peaks.

4. Add the bloomed gelatin to the pastry cream, then add the orange blossom water. Fold in the whipped cream. Immediately pipe into mice mold.  Freeze completely.

5. Unmold and spray with chocolate spray (230 g dark chocolate and 230 g cocoa butter). Air-spray the mice at a 45 degree angle. Place back into the freezer until ready to assemble dessert.

White Chocolate Glaze

• 21 gelatin sheets
• 148.5 g water
• 297 g granulated sugar
• 297 g glucose
• 198 g sweetened condensed milk
• 299 g white chocolate
• White Satin Cocoa Butter, as needed
• Red Cardinal Cocoa Butter, as needed

1. Bloom gelatin in cold water. Drain and set aside.

2. Cook the water, sugar, and glucose to 216˚F. Stir in the bloomed gelatin and sweetened condensed milk. Pour over the white chocolate and allow it to sit and melt. Blend well then pass through a fine sieve.

3. Color 3/4 of the glaze with White Satin Cocoa Butter and the rest with Red Cardinal Cocoa Butter. Glaze should be used at 84-86˚F.

Assembly

• Pomegranate seeds
• Gold leaf

1. Glaze the frozen Matcha Cheesecake with the white glaze, then drizzle abstractly with the red glaze. Carefully place the cheesecake on the Chocolate Sablé. Place the mousse on top of the cheesecake.

2. Garnish with a few pomegranate seeds and gold leaf. Allow dessert to thaw completely in the refrigerator before serving.

About Lasheeda Perry

Lasheeda Perry is a Freelance Pastry Chef and the owner of Queen of Flavor in Los Angeles, California. At the end of her freshman year at Johnson & Wales University, she was introduced to Chef Kimberly Davis Cuthbert, who became her mentor until today. She gets ideas for new recipes in unexpected places and in a variety of ways.