Manjari Chestnut Log
Valrhona Manjari dark chocolate mousse centred with a chestnut cream and marrons glacés layered with Alhambra biscuit and hazelnut dacquoise
Ingredients
(Makes two logs)
For the dark chocolate mousse
450g Valrhona Manjari chocolate (64% cocoa solids)
90g sugar
45g water
150g egg yolks
570g whipping cream
For the chestnut mousse
14.4g gelatine
600g double cream
250g vanilla syrup
350g chestnut purée
60g rum
For the Alhambra biscuit
50g flour
50g corn flour
60g cocoa powder
400g whole eggs
100g egg yolks
160g caster sugar
200g unsalted butter, melted
100g hazelnuts, chopped
For the hazelnut dacquoise
200g ground hazelnuts
175g ground almonds
115g unsalted butter
390g egg whites
300g caster sugar
75g corn flour
Extra ingredients and garnish
Rum syrup
Chocolate and praline feuillantine
Marrons glacés
Chocolate icing
Chocolate decoration
Method
For the chocolate mousse, melt chocolate in a bain-marie to 40ºC. Whisk egg yolks. Simultaneously, boil the sugar and water. Cook to 121ºC. Slowly pour syrup over egg yolks and whisk to a thick sabayon. Whisk mixture until cool. Whisk the cream to the ribbon stage. Fold both cream and sabayon together. Fold one-third of mixture into chocolate. Then fold in the remaining mixture.
For the chestnut mousse, soak gelatine in ice-cold water. Whisk double cream until ribbon stage. Warm vanilla syrup. Add gelatine. Melt. Add chestnut purée and blitz. Cool. Add rum and mix in, sieve, fold together. Refrigerate.
For the Alhambra biscuit, sieve together flour, corn flour and cocoa powder.
Mix together egg, yolks and sugar over a bain-marie. Heat to 40ºC. Whisk to ribbon stage. Fold dry ingredients into sabayon. Add a small amount of sabayon to melted butter to bind. Add the butter mixture.
Spread on to Silpat mat. Sprinkle over the chopped hazelnuts. Bake at 180ºC for 15-18 minutes.
For the hazelnut dacquoise, roast the ground hazelnuts and almonds and allow to cool. Melt the unsalted butter to blood temperature. Whisk the egg whites and sugar to a stiff meringue. Sieve together the hazelnuts, almonds, sugar and corn flour. Fold the dry ingredients into the meringue at the three-quarter stage. Add the melted butter. Ensure the mixture is a homogeneous mass. Spread on to a Silpat mat or baking sheet. Bake at 170ºC for 18-20 minutes.
To assemble, line the terrine moulds with the Manjari mousse. Pipe the chestnut mousse down the centre of the terrine. Press the marrons glacés into the mousse. Cut the Alhambra sponge into strips and place on top of the chestnut mousse. Soak with the rum syrup. Spread a layer of the Manjari mousse on top and place the chocolate and praline feuillantine wafers in the mousse. Cut the hazelnut dacquoise into strips and place on the base. Allow the log to set. Remove from mould, glaze with chocolate icing and decorate.
