Remember we spoke of the siphon gun and how versatile it is in the hands of a pastry enthusiast? If you’re someone who is fascinated with texture, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t try this exquisite recipe handcrafted by Lavonne’s Chef Vinesh Johny. Obsessed with his new-favourite tool, the siphon gun, and with the unusual yet complementary flavours of lemon and chocolate, he has commissioned this scrumptious and absolute eye-candy of a dessert- the Citron Meringue Jardin.
CITRON MERINGUE JARDIN
Sweet Paste
- Flour-120g
- Icing sugar-60g
- Butter-60g (room temperature)
- Eggs-24g
- Vanilla essence-5g
Method
- In a measuring bowl, mix together icing sugar, eggs and butter, using your hand, till the ingredients form a smooth paste.
- Fold in the sieved flour, making sure there are no lumps in the paste.
- Cling wrap the dough and refrigerate it for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Once the sweet pastry is firm enough to roll, take it out of the refrigerator.
- Place half the sweet paste in the middle of a sheet of cling wrap and roll it to a thickness of 4 mm. Place the rolled out sweet pastry on a silicon mat .
- Using a 3 inch cookie cutter to cut out a disc
- Using a fork, dock the base.
- Bake at 170 degree Celsius for 17 minutes.
Lemon Curd
- Lime juice -75g
- Sugar-75g
- Eggs-75g
- Butter-12g
- Gelatine-3g
Method
- In a bowl, heat the lime juice and sugar together till the sugar dissolves
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs
- Now add the hot lime and sugar mix into the eggs and whisk constantly to temper the eggs. (pour the lime and sugar mix in a thin stream into the eggs while whisking) Strain the mixture into another bowl to remove any lumps.
- Cook the mix over a water bath while still whisking. Once the mix has cooked for about 5-8 minutes and has turned pale yellow in colour, add the bloomed gelatine and whisk in the butter.
- Now cling wrap the mix making sure the wrap touches the surface of the curd, and refrigerate it.
- Pipe the lemon curd into spherical silicon moulds and freeze
Italian Meringue
- Egg white – 60g
- Castor sugar-120g
- Water-30g
Method
- In a bowl heat castor sugar and water at a low temperature. (With a pastry brush, drizzle water along the sides of the bowl so that sugar doesn’t recrystallize).
- When the sugar reaches 100 degree Celsius, start whipping the egg whites. When the sugar reaches soft ball stage (118 degrees Celsius), remove it from the heat.
- While continuously whisking the egg whites, in a thin stream, pour the above mixture over the egg whites.
- Add a drop of red colouring to achieve a rose pink colour meringue
- Keep whisking the meringue till it reaches room temperature and forms stiff peaks.
Hazelnut Sponge
- Flour-25g
- Egg white-120g
- Egg yolk -80g
- Hazelnut paste -50g
- Sugar-80g
Method
- In a measuring jar, add all the ingredients and blend well using a stick blender.
- Strain and pour the mixture into a siphon gun.
- Place the siphon gun and the mixture in the fridge for 4 hours
- Charge the siphon gun with two charges and shake well.
- Force the mixture into a disposable cup half way through. Make sure the cup has slits at the bottom and microwave it for 40 seconds. Turn it upside down and allow it to cool.
Baked Meringue
- Egg White -50g
- Castor Sugar-50g
- Icing sugar-50g
- Vanilla Powder – 2gm
Method
- Make French meringue with egg whites and castor sugar. In a deep bowl beat the egg whites until they get light and foamy. Add ¼ of the sugar and continue to beat. Slowly add in small intervals of three. Beat it till it reaches soft peaks.
- Fold in the icing sugar and vanilla powder, making sure there are no lumps.
- Put the meringue into a piping bag and pipe out long strings onto a silicon mat. Bake at 90 degrees Celsius for 1 hour.
Chocolate Mud
- Chocolate -50g
- Water-50g
Method
- In a bowl heat water and add chopped chocolate. Cook till it seizes.
- Continue to cook till it dries out and forms crumbles.
- Cool it on a baking sheet.
Final Assembly
- Place the sweet pastry disc on a white plate
- Arrange the lemon curd spheres to form a flower shape
- Fill in the spaces on the side with chocolate mud
- Using a rosette nozzle, pipe rosettes of meringue along the lemon curd and torch it
- Start placing in random, Hazelnut sponge, baked meringue, edible flowers, and micro herbs
- Finish the dessert with the lemon sphere dipped in toasted sesame seeds and place it in the centre.