Hazelnut bavarois with banana and yoghurt sorbet

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There are a mind-boggling six elements to this incredible dessert from Greg Anderson, which would put even professional chefs through their paces. The bavarois (which is made up of a thin sponge base, set hazelnut mousse and topped with hazelnut jelly) comes accompanied by a chocolate crumb, white chocolate aero, a chocolate and praline macaron, a scoop of banana and yoghurt sorbet and a chocolate cannelloni.

While this would take a huge effort in the home kitchen it is possible for those who want to really test themselves, but the individual elements are so delicious that you can choose to make just one or two of them and still be left with a wonderful dessert.

First published in 2021

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Banana and Yoghurt Sorbet

White chocolate aero

Sponge

  • 4 eggs
  • 112g of caster sugar
  • 112g of plain flour
  • 32g of unsalted butter, melted
  • Frangelico, for brushing

Hazelnut mousse

  • 1 gelatine leaf, soaked in ice cold water for 10 minutes
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 300g of hazelnuts, toasted until golden
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 100g of sugar
  • 300g of whole milk
  • 300g of double cream, semi-whipped

Hazelnut jelly

  • 125g of water
  • 38g of caster sugar
  • 1/3 vanilla pod
  • 25g of hazelnuts, roasted
  • 25g of Frangelico
  • 1 gelatine leaf, soaked in ice cold water for 10 minutes

Chocolate Cannelloni tube

Hazelnut Macaron

Praline Macaron Filling

Chocolate crumb

Equipment

  • Blender
  • Pacojet or ice cream maker
  • Vacuum bag and machine
  • iSi whip
  • 2 CO2 charges
  • Acetate
  • Stand mixer
  • Cooking thermometer
  • Piping bags

Method

1
There are lots of elements to this dish, many of which can be made in advance. Make sure you have a good read through of the recipe and come up with a plan of action before starting!
2
To make the sorbet, bring the cream and sugar to the boil then leave to cool. Blend with the remaining ingredients then either churn in an ice cream maker and store in the freezer until needed, or, if you have one freeze in a Pacojet container overnight, then blend before serving
3
For the aero, melt the cocoa butter and white chocolate in a bain-marie, then leave to cool to 30°C. Transfer to an ISI gun and charge twice. Spray into a deep tray (which will fit into a chamber vacuum) then place into the chamber and compress. Once the chocolate has aerated to quadruple the size, turn off the machine and leave overnight to set
4
For the mousse, split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds into a pan. Add the toasted hazelnuts and milk, bring to the boil, then chill and leave to infuse for 24 hours
5
For the jelly, bring the sugar, hazelnuts, vanilla and water to the boil then leave to infuse for 24 hours
6
To make the sponge, preheat an oven to 160°C/gas mark 3. Whisk the eggs and sugar together until very pale and light. Fold in the plain flour then stir in the melted butter. Pour the mixture onto a flat tray lined with greaseproof paper and bake for 10 minutes. Once cooked, brush lightly with Frangelico and use 7cm ring moulds to cut out 4 bases. Leave the moulds on, ready to pipe the mousse on top
7
Strain the milk for the mousse and discard the hazelnuts. Bring the hazelnut milk to the boil – meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until thick and pale. Pour the milk over the yolks whilst whisking to avoid lumps or scrambling, then place the mixture back over the heat and cook gently whilst stirring until the custard thickens
8
Squeeze the soaked gelatine leaf to drain any excess water, then stir into the custard to dissolve. Transfer to a bowl and sit that bowl over a bowl of ice. Continue whisking as the mixture cools down and begins to set. At this stage, fold the custard into the semi-whipped cream and transfer to a piping bag. Pipe into the ring moulds on top of the sponge base
9
Strain the liquid for the jelly, then stir in the Frangelico and bring to the boil. Squeeze the water from the gelatine leaf then stir into the pan until dissolved. Leave to cool down then pour on top of the mousse until you have a 5mm layer on top of each dessert. Refrigerate until needed
10
For the chocolate cannelloni, first make the pipe shape moulds. Do this by cutting 8 rectangles of acetate measuring 6cm x 8cm. Spread with a thin layer of the tempered chocolate, then bring the two shorter sides together and tape. Leave to set, then remove the acetate
11
To make the filling, whisk the egg yolks in a stand mixer. Place the sugar in a pan and heat to 121°C. Pour onto the eggs whilst continuously whisking, then add the drained gelatine leaf and continue whisking until the mixture has cooled
12
Melt the milk chocolate in a bain-marie, then fold into the egg yolk mixture, followed by the semi-whipped double cream. Pipe into the cannelloni tubes, then set aside
13
To make the macarons, heat the oven to 140°C/gas mark 1. Sift the icing sugar, ground almonds and cocoa powder into a bowl, then whisk in half of the egg whites to create a paste
14
Whisk the remaining 45g of egg whites and place the sugar in a pan and heat to 121°C. Slowly pour the hot syrup down the side of the bowl into the egg white, whisking as you go. Once all of the syrup has been added, increase the whisking speed again for 1 minute to form an Italian meringue
15
Gently fold the Italian meringue into the ground almond paste a third at a time, mixing gently with a spatula until each third is fully incorporated before adding the next. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe 2cm circles onto a greaseproof lined tray, with plenty of space in between as they will spread. Sprinkle with the crushed hazelnuts, then leave to rest for 20 minutes before baking for 12 minutes. Set aside to cool
16
While the macaron shells bake, make the praline filling. Place the milk and cream in a pan and bring to the boil. In the meantime, whisk the egg yolk and sugar together until thick and pale. Pour a little of the warm cream mixture over the eggs to temper, whisking constantly, then add this mixture back to the pan and whisk until thickened. Remove from the heat
17
Melt the dark chocolate in a bain-marie and stir in the hazelnut and praline pastes. Stir in the warm custard and, once cool, transfer to a piping bag. Once the shells have cooled, pipe in the filling to create the macarons. You can store any spare shells in an airtight container for 4-6 days and the filling in the fridge for the same amount of time, and the shells freeze well
18
To make the chocolate crumb, preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 3. Mix the ingredients together then bake for 12 minutes, stirring halfway
19
You now have all the elements ready to plate up. Use a hot, sharp knife to slice each bavarois in half and place one half on each plate. Place a cannelloni and a neat pile of the chocolate crumb alongside. The macaron rests on the bavarois, a rocher of sorbet tops the crumb and pieces of aerated white chocolate finish the dish. Give yourself a pat on the back and serve!
First published in 2021

Greg is a seriously accomplished chef who after six years at Galton Blackiston's Morston Hall set out on his own with his partner Rebecca Williams to open Meadowsweet in Holt, Norfolk in 2021.

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