Spring Sweetness by Alexandre Formica

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

This is a modernized version of one of my first pastry creations, which I originally made for a family Christmas dinner. For this dessert, I chose to combine vanilla with mango and passion fruit; the acidity of the passion fruit combines very well with the freshness of the mango and the delicacy of the vanilla. This recipe is therefore an ode to my early pastry making, updated with the modern style that I bring to my pastry today.

Yield: 10 servings

Vanilla Whipped Ganache

• 2 g gelatin sheets
• 520 g heavy cream, minimum of 30% fat, divided
• 2 vanilla beans, split and scraped
• 115 g white chocolate

1. Place the gelatin in a large bowl of cold water for 10 minutes to bloom.

2. In a pan, heat half of the cream with the vanilla beans and let infuse, covered, for 15 minutes.

3. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie or in the microwave.

4. Add the drained gelatin to the hot cream and pour it over the white chocolate one-third at a time to emulsify the mixture. Add the other half of the cream and mix with a hand blender. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.

Mango and Passion Fruit Insert

• 210 g mango pulp
• 90g passion fruit juice
• 2 g pectin NH
• 20 g granulated sugar
• Juice of ½ lemon

1. Heat the mango pulp and passion fruit juice in a pan.

2. Mix the pectin NH with the sugar. When the passion fruit-mango mixture is hot (a minimum 104˚F/40°C), add the pectin-sugar mixture. Bring to a boil for 30 seconds. Pour the preparation into a 7.8ʺ x 5.5ʺ (20 x 14 cm) rectangle, then reserve in the freezer.

3. Once frozen, cut into 0.6ʺ x 4.7ʺ x 0.2ʺ (1.6 x 12 x 0.6 cm high) inserts, or use the cutter supplied with the Silikomart mold (Fashion Éclair #80). Keep the inserts in the refrigerator until ready to use for assembly.

Lemon Madeleine Biscuit

• 75 g whole eggs
• 60 g granulated sugar
• 50 g all-purpose flour
• 2.5 g baking powder
• 25 g whole milk
• 60 g unsalted butter, melted
• 12 g grape seed oil
• Lemon zest

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the eggs with the sugar. Add the flour and the baking powder and mix to combine. Add the milk, melted butter and oil and gently mix with a rubber spatula.

2. Pour into a 7.8ʺ x 5.5ʺ (20 x 14 cm) rectangle mold and bake at 374˚F (190˚C) for 15 minutes. Freeze.

3. Once frozen, cut into 0.6ʺ x 4.7ʺ x 0.2ʺ (1.6 x 12 x 0.6 cm high) inserts or use the cutter supplied with the Silikomart mold. Keep the inserts in the refrigerator until ready to use for assembly.

Almond Sweet Dough

• 100 g tempered unsalted butter
• 65 g granulated sugar
• 37.5 g almond powder
• 30 g whole eggs, lightly beaten
• 150 g T55 flour
• Pinch of salt
• 20 g eggs mixed with 5 g heavy cream, for eggwash

1. Mix the butter with the sugar to obtain a creamy texture. Add the almond powder and the beaten egg and mix until well blended. Add the flour and salt and mix until you have a smooth dough.

2. Spread the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to a thickness of 0.12ʺ (3 mm). Cut out 10 large and 10 small biscuits with the cutter supplied with the Silikomart mold and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Bake at 338˚F (170°C) for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, egg-wash the biscuit, and bake for another 10 minutes.

Mango-Passion Mirror Glaze

• 12 g gelatin sheets
• 200 g granulated sugar
• 200 g glucose
• 65 g mango pulp
• 65 g passion fruit juice
• 110 g heavy cream
• 200 g white chocolate
• Orange food coloring

1. Place the gelatin in a large bowl of cold water for 10 minutes to bloom.

2. In a saucepan, heat the sugar, glucose, mango pulp and passion fruit juice to 217˚F (103°C).

3. Put the cream and white chocolate in a tall container. Pour the sugar syrup at 217˚F (103°C), then add the drained gelatin and a little orange food coloring. Mix with hand blender. Let cool to 95˚F (35˚C).

Assembly

• Passion fruit seeds
• Gold leaf

1. Whip the ganache at medium speed to obtain a bird’s beak peak. Fill molds with ganache and cover the edges. Add the Mango-Passion Insert and a small madeleine biscuit and cover with more ganache. Reserve in the freezer for at least 6 hours.

2. When the entremets are frozen, apply the mirror glaze at 95˚F (35°C) and place each on a large biscuit. Add the passion fruit seeds on the mirror glaze and add the small biscuit on top of the entremets. Using plain tip, pipe dollops of the Vanilla Whipped Ganache on top as decoration. Use a mellon baller to scoop a crater in every other dollop, then pour Mango-Passion Coulis in. Garnish with gold leaf.

About Alexandre Formica

Alexandre Formica is the pastry chef of Les Bon Villers, Belgium. He acknowledges that he is a self-taught pastry chef. Learning the fundamentals of pastry making on his own aided him in becoming the pastry chef he is today. His signature style is classic for tasting flavors, but he takes a modern approach to technique and presentation.