Chocolate Dacquoise with Cappuccino Sauce

by Chef Bob Kinkead

Serves 8

Ingredients

for Mousse

• 1.5 cups heavy cream
• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 3 eggs, separated
• 0.25 cup sugar
• pinch cream of tartar

for Meringue Base

• 4 large egg whites
• pinch salt
• pinch cream of tartar
• 0.5 cup sugar
• 0.25 cup toasted, peeled, chopped hazelnuts
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons gianduja (hazelnut-flavored chocolate)

for Espresso Creme Anglaise

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup light cream
• 0.5 cup sugar
• 2 whole vanilla beans, split and scraped
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee
• 0.25 cup espresso
• 6 large egg yolks

for Ganache

• 7 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1.5 cups heavy cream
• edible gold leaf, for garnish (optional)

Directions

for the mousse

1. To make the mousse, whip the cream to soft peaks and refrigerate. Melt the chocolates together in a bain-marie over a hot-water bath. Cool down slightly. Beat the egg yolks with 1/3 of the sugar to ribbon stage. Beat the whites with the tartar. Add the remaining sugar gradually and whisk for about 2 minutes, until stiff but not dry.
2. Add the yolk mixture to the melted chocolate and mix rapidly. Add the whipped cream in 3 parts. Stir in one third of the whipped egg whites to loosen the mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the remaining whites. Pour into a container and chill for 2 hours or overnight.

for the meringue

1. To make the meringues, preheat the oven to 250°F. Beat the egg whites, salt, and tartar. Add the sugar gradually and whip to medium peaks. Fold in the hazelnuts and cocoa powder. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Using a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip, pipe 8 to 12 circles of meringue, 3 to 3 ½ inches across, onto the parchment (extra meringues will be used for garnish).
2. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until the meringue gives when pressed gently; they should be crisp on the outside and a little chewy in the interior.
3. Melt the gianduija, brush it onto 8 meringues, and let dry. Using a pastry bag, pipe chocolate mousse onto the meringue circles in the shape of a tapered dome; it should look like a chocolate beehive. Freeze.

for the creme anglaise

1. To make the creme anglaise, in a saucepan, combine the heavy and light creams, the sugar, and the vanilla beans and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
2. Dissolve the instant coffee in the espresso. In a stainless steel bowl, whisk the yolks with the espresso mixture until blended. Temper the yolks by gradually whisking in a cup of the warm cream mixture. Pour the yolk mixture back into the pan with the cream and cook over medium heat until the anglaise is thick enough to coat a spoon. Strain the custard into a bowl set over an ice-water bath and cool completely. Store refrigerated.

for the ganache

1. To make the ganache, place the chocolate in a stainless steel bowl. Place a sauce pan over medium-high heat and bring the heavy cream to a boil. Pour it over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted and blended. Let cool to room temperature.
2. Place the frozen dacquoise on a rack on a baking sheet. Pour about 3 tablespoons room-temperature ganache over each. Garnish with gold leaf. Chop up the leftover baked meringue in a food processor. Coat the bottom of each dacquoise with the crumbled meringue.
3. To serve, pour some creme anglaise on 8 plates and plate a dacquoise on each. Use the leftover ganache to decorate the plate. Serve any extra creme anglaise on the side.

 

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