Serves 6:

Syrup:

200 g sugar
200 g water

Bring the water and sugar to boil for 5 minutes or until the sugar is completely disolved.
Remove from heat and let it cool down.

Sponge cake:

5 eggs
117 g sugar (33 g + 84 g)
83 g wheat flour
50 g cornstarch

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC.
Grease and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Seive the flour with the cornstarch. Set aside.
Whisk the egg yolks with 33g of sugar until thick. Set aside.
Whisk the egg whites and add the sugar until firm and glossy.
Gently fold in the yolks mixture into the whites’ mixture.
Gently fold in the flours.
Spread a thin layer of the dough over the pan.
If needed use a spatula to make it even.
Bake for 5 minutes.

Strawberry mousse:

75 g strawberry pulp
5 g gelatin (2.5 sheets)
80 g sugar
325 g cream
Bloom the gelatin.
Heat a part of the pulp with sugar and dissolve the gelatin.
Semi-whip the cream and gently fold it into the previous mixture.
Pour this mixture into a pastry bag.

Strawberry jelly:

500 g strawberry jam
8 g gelatin (4 sheets)

Heat the jam without boiling.
Sieve and fold in the blossomed gelatin.
Use while warm.

Presentation:

Line the interior of the cake rings with food-safe acetate.
Cut stripes of the sponge cake the size of the cake rings and circles for the bottom.
Line the cake rings (bottom and sides) with the sponge cake.
Brush generously with the syrup the inner side of the cake.
Fill the ring with the strawberry mousse.
Top with the strawberry mousse.
Freeze.
Remove the acetate while the cake is still frozen.
Refrigerate until serving time.

My words rained over you, stroking you.
A long time I have loved the sunned mother-of-pearl of your body.
I go so far as to think that you own the universe.
I will bring you happy flowers from the mountains, bluebells,
dark hazels, and rustic baskets of kisses.
I want
to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees.

Pablo Neruda

My spring inspiration brought me this Black Forest combined with a tiramisú…

Tiramisú

Flourless chocolate cake

Syrup:
200 g water
200 g sugar
60 g Kirsch

Bring the sugar to boil with the water until it’s completely dissolved.
Let it cool down and add the kirsch.

Mascarpone mousse:
4 egg yolks
80 g sugar
3 gelatin sheets
250 g mascarpone
125 ml semi-whipped cream

Bloom the gelatin.
Whisk the egg yolks with sugar in a bain-marie until the mixture reaches 85ºC.
Add the gelatin and combine until completely dissolved.
Add the mascarpone and combine until smooth.
When the mixture reaches 20º C gently add the cream.
Pour the mixture into a pastry bag and set aside.

100-200 g cherries, pitted and diced
50 g dark chocolate, grated
Cocoa

Assembly:

Soak the cake with the syrup.
Sprinkle with the cocoa and the dark chocolate.
Place the cherries on top of the cake.
Spread the mascarpone mousse.
Repeat this operation.

I’ve decorated with a thin circle of dark chocolate.

When I’ve started “flagrante delícia” I had no idea about all this things worked and I didn’t realize immediately the extreme importance of pictures in a world where we also “eat with the eyes”.

Later I was forced to do some work on my blog and some of the first posts were left in “stand-by” waiting for the light that could make them live again.

So I go back to flagrantedelicia’s first recipe and recover the black and white film from my premiere:
- Lights, camera, action!… here we go for the mousse remake!

Dark chocolate mousse

Serves 4:

170 g. 70% dark chocolate ( Valrhona, Green & Black’s, Lindt…)
80 ml cream
1 egg yolk
4 egg whites
20 g. de caster sugar

Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie.
Bring the cream to boil and set aside.
Remove chocolate from the bain-marie and add the cream stirring constantly until smooth.
Fold in the egg yolk and stir.
Whisk the egg whites until firm peaks form and add the sugar slowly.
When the chocolate is at 40ºC, gently fold in 1/3 of the egg whites with a tongue.
Fold in the remaining egg whites.
Refrigerate at least for one hour.
(It’s very importante to use 70% chocolate).

White chocolate mousse

Serves 4:

67,5 ml + 500 ml cream
67,5 ml milk
25 g sugar
300 g white chocolate, finely chopped
3 egg yolks
1,5 gelatin sheets

Bring the 67,5 g. of cream to boil with milk and sugar.
Pour this mixture into the egg yolks stirring constantly.
Bring this mixture to 85ºC in a bain-marie, strirring constantly.
Let it cool down until 25ºC.
Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie.
Add the chocolate and gelatin (previously hydrated).
Stir well.
Whip the remaining cream (firm but not stiff).
Gently fold in 1/3 of the cream and then the remaining cream.
Refrigerate.

To combine together both mousses, use immediately.
Decorate with white rose’s petals and a chocolate drop.

Today I had my first dinner in two days… The raviolis tasted like the exhaustion of the culinary school days’ when my back and my legs asked for rest.
On the other hand, my refrigerator looks like a true patisserie full of desserts and as much as I try, they seem to last forever… I even lost 2 pounds… wasn’t supposed that all these things had sugar on them? wasn’t I supposed to gain weight?
I’m so excited that I don’t have any time to think about it:

“- It’s a miracle!”

Passion fruit cold soufflé

Serves 4:

200 ml passion fruit pulp, seived
5 eggs
5 gelatin sheets
350 ml cream
130 g caster sugar

Cut 4 strips of aluminum foil with a sufficient length to cover the perimeter of the ramekins.
Put the foil around the ramekins and tie with a string.
Grease the ramekins with vegetal oil and sprinkle with caster sugar.
Hydrate the gelatin with some pulp.
Whisk the egg yolks with sugar until the mixture gets white and thick.
Heat the pulp with the gelatin, until it dissolves.
Add the gelatin to the egg mixture, stirring constantly and the remaining passion fruit pulp.
Refrigerate to slightly thicken the mixture (10 minutes).
Combine with the semi whipped cream, then with the whipped egg whites.
Pour the mixture into the ramekins and refrigerate ( hours minimum).
Sprinkle with powdered rose sugar before serving.

Strawberry and youghurt mousse

Serves 8:

250 g strawberry pulp
250 g yoghurt
120 g caster sugar
½ l semi whipped cream
4 gelatin sheets

Hydrate the gelatin.
Heat a portion of the pulp to dissolve the gelatin.
Add the remaining pulp, yoghurt and sugar.
Mix with cream.
Refrigerate.

Serve with strawberries and a strawberry coulis.