Coffee desserts

Method

1. Into a small bowl, add the gelatin and water to a small saucepan and let it bloom for 10 minutes. 

2. Into a medium saucepan, add the cream, espresso, coffee grounds and beans from the fresh vanilla pod. Place it over a medium heat until steaming. 

3. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until combined. 

4. Pour the hot cream over the egg mixture, whisking to combine, then add it back into the saucepan. Place it over a medium heat. 

5. Cook to 80-82C on a digital thermometer, then immediately pass it through a sieve, on top of a tall measuring jug. 

6. Scoop in the bloomed gelatin and blend till smooth with a hand blender. Sprinkle in a pinch of flaky sea salt and stir it through with a spatula. Pour the mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours. 

7. For the financier, preheat the oven to 160C/320F non-fan assisted (145C for fan assisted). Lightly grease a 35x25cm baking tray with soft butter and line it with parchment paper – alternatively use a silicon sponge roll mat. Add the chocolate and butter to a medium bowl and melt this over a pan of gently simmering water. Once melted, set it to one side to cool slightly. 

8. Meanwhile, sift together the flour, icing sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the ground almonds on top and whisk to combine.

9. Pour the cream and egg whites on top and whisk by hand just until combined and there are no streaks of dry ingredients.

10. Pour in the melted chocolate mixture and whisk again to combine.

11. Pour the smooth batter into the lined tray and bake in the oven for 15-17 minutes.

12. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 30 minutes before refrigerating for at least 1 hour. You can also freeze this.

13. For the coffee hazelnut praline, into a medium saucepan, add the sugar and water. Place it on a medium heat, and cook the mixture until it reaches 116C/240F on a digital thermometer. 

14. Once at temperature, pour in the hazelnuts, pecans, coffee beans and the beans from a fresh vanilla pod. Stir constantly with a spatula. The mixture will initially look quite clumpy, then the sugar will crystallise, but eventually, as you keep stirring, the sugars will caramelise and you should have a deep golden caramel surrounding the nuts. It will take around 3-5 minutes. 

15. Immediately remove the pan from the heat, and tip the caramelised nuts onto a baking tray lined with a silicon mat. Sprinkle some sea salt flakes on top and let it set completely at room temperature for 30 minutes. 

16. The praline should then be completely cool and solid to the touch. Break it into pieces and add it into a high-powered food processor. Blend for 3-4 minutes, scraping it down every so often, until you have a smooth, nutty paste. Store in an airtight container. 

17. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, add all of the ingredients for the streusel. 

18. Mix on a low speed until the butter has broken down and the mixture is sandy in texture. 

19. Transfer this to a baking tray, lined with a silicon mat and spread it out. Place it into the freezer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 175C/345F non-fan assisted.

20. Place the chilled mixture into the oven and bake for 30 minutes. After around 15 minutes it should be slightly golden around the edges. Remove it from the oven and stir it all together with a spatula then place it back in the oven to bake until it is an even golden colour. 

21. Once baked, allow it to cool at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. 

22. For the recomposed streusel, add the chocolate, butter and praline into a bowl and place this over a pan of simmering water. Stir it together until the chocolate and butter have completely melted. Remove it from the heat. 

23. Tip in the cooled streusel and stir to combine. Ensure if there are any large pieces of streusel, that you crush them slightly so they are smaller, before adding them in. 

24. Pour the mixture onto a sheet of parchment paper and place a second sheet on top. Use a rolling pin to roll it relatively thin, then place it into the freezer for 30 minutes. 

25. To assemble the dessert, remove the coffee cremeux from the fridge and whisk it to a medium peak in a stand mixer – avoid whipping it too stiff. Add the mixture into a piping bag. 

26. If your coffee bean silicon mold has a cutter, use this to cut the out inserts from the recomposed streusel and financier. Sandwich them together with a little bit of cremeux. If you don’t have a cutter, then you can use a sharp knife to cut the required shapes that will fit your coffee bean mold. You can also freeze this dessert in any silicon mold you have!

27. Take the coffee bean silicon mold (or any silicon mold) and pipe the cremeux into the mold, filling it up about ¾ of the way. Use a spatula to press the cremeux to the edges, then place the financier/streusel insert into the cremeux. Top up the mold if needed with cremeux and then smooth the top with a palette knife. Repeat this for all of the molds you have. Place the molds onto a tray and freeze them for at least 12 hours.  

28. Once frozen, remove them from the molds then place the desserts back in the freezer on a tray lined with a silicon mat for a further hour.

29. For the glaze, add the chocolate, cocoa butter and oil into a medium bowl. Place this over a pan of gently simmering water and stir it until it is completely melted. 

30. The glaze needs to be at 45C/113F when you dip the desserts. Pour the mixture into a small, deep container that is just slightly larger than your dessert.

31. Remove one dessert at a time, and place a knife into the base. Dip the dessert into the so that it is covered right to the edge, then lift it up and hold it at a 45 degree angle until the dripping slows. Then lift it upright until it has set.

32. Dip a pastry brush back into the glaze and quickly brush this all around the bean to ‘rough’ it up slightly.

33. Finally, dust a thin layer of cocoa powder on top of the coffee bean then very quickly and carefully blow torch it to darken the cocoa powder slightly. Lift it onto a small serving dish.

34. Repeat this for all the remaining desserts, and then leave them in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight before serving.