Nougat Mousse with Black Currant Froth and Verbena Jelly
Christian Petz. Flavors of Austria. Total time: more than 2 hours. Preparation time: 40 minutes. Cooking time: Under 30 minutes. Chilling time: 1 to 2 hours. Difficulty: Requires a certain dexterity. Chef's Note: Here's a combination you'll find at ice cream makers: nougat-pistachio-black currant-lemon. Now think of these flavors in an unusual version consisting of a mousse made in a bain-marie, whipped, and made into jelly to create contrasting textures that delight the senses. Sommelier: Moscato d'Asti.
⏱️ Prep: 40 min
Ingredients
| 1 | sheet of gelatin or 1 1/2 packets of powdered gelatin | |
| 60 g | milk chocolate | |
| 70 g | nougat | |
| 1 | egg | |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | milk |
| — | Granulated sugar | |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | hazelnut liqueur |
| 250 ml | whipping cream | |
| — | Salt | |
| 2 | egg whites (for the pistachio cake) | |
| 1.5 tsp | 7.5 ml | granulated sugar (for the cake) |
| 70 g | shelled pistachios | |
| 50 g | shelled almonds | |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | flour |
| 110 g | powdered sugar | |
| 2 | leaves of gelatin or 3 g of powdered gelatin (for cassis foam) | |
| 150 ml | Moscato d'Asti (for cassis foam) | |
| 60 ml | sugar syrup (for cassis foam) | |
| 60 ml | cassis (blackberry) liqueur | |
| 60 ml | sugar syrup (for verbena jelly) | |
| 1 | small bunch of fresh Verbena | |
| 1 g | Agar-agar | |
| 150 ml | Moscato d'Asti (for verbena jelly) |
Instructions
*Sugar syrup:
- Boil together equal quantities of water and granulated sugar to form a syrupy consistency.
**Almonds and pistachios:
- Grind the nuts to a powder in a food processor. You can also buy bags of already ground almonds and pistachios.
Nougat mousse:
- Soften the gelatin in cold water.
- Cut the chocolate into pieces. Melt the chocolate and nougat in a double boiler.
- Whisk the egg, milk and sugar together over the steam; break up the gelatin and blend it into the mixture; add the liqueur, off the heat. Stir until cooled.
- Whip the cream with a few grains of salt to form peaks; gently fold in the preceding mixture (3). Pour into a bowl and let cool.
Cake:
- Beat the egg whites with the sugar.
- Blend in all the other ingredients.
- Pour evenly into a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 8 minutes at 180° C (350° F).
Black Currant Froth:
- Soften the gelatin in cold water.
- Whisk the Moscato d'Asti, sugar syrup and cassis liqueur in a double boiler.
- Break up the gelatin and dissolve in mixture 2.
- Pour into a bowl and place over crushed ice; whisk until the mixture cools and thickens somewhat.
- Pour into a deep dish - the mixture should be about 3 cm (1 1/4") high; refrigerate immediately.
Verbena Jelly:
- Rapidly boil the sugar syrup and verbena; remove from the heat and strain.
- Boil the sugar syrup again with the agar agar. Stir in the Moscato d'Asti. Pour into a cup and let set in the refrigerator.
- Cut the jelly into small dice.
Presentation:
- Cut the cake into 6 portions.
- Cover each portion with cassis foam.
- Cover the sides with nougat mousse.
- Garnish with the verbena jelly dice, berries, chocolate shavings, wafers and edible flowers.