Mirabelle plum and pistachio petit gateaux

Instructions

Gluten-free pistachio and lemon biscuit Joconde

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C, static mode. Grease a 32,5 x 32,5 cm silicone swiss roll mat (Silikomart tapis roulade) and place it onto a perforated baking tray.
2. In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients: almonds flour, pistachios flour, brown rice flour, cornstarch, natural food coloring and salt. Mix with a fine whisk and set aside.
3. Mel the butter and add in the pistachio paste. Stir with a spatula to obtain a smooth mixture. Add in the lemon zest and stir once again. Set aside at room temperature.
4. In the bowl of a free-standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment whip the egg whites until foamy and frothy. When a light, soft foam is formed, add in the cane sugar in 3 times, always whipping on medium-low speed. Once all the sugar is added, increase the speed and whip until obtain a shiny and thick meringue.
5. Meanwhile, break the eggs into a jug and beat them slightly with a fork, just to combine yolks and whites together. In this way, you are sure that the eggs will be perfectly incorporated into the meringue.  
6. Once the meringue is formed, reduce the speed to medium-low and add the eggs slowly and a little at a time. Whip until the eggs are fully incorporated and the batter looks pale and fluffy. 
7. Once the eggs are fully absorbed into the meringue, add the dry ingredients in 3 times, continuing to whip at medium-low speed. 
8. Once the dry ingredients are fully incorporated, add to wire the lukewarm (30-35°C) butter-pistachio mixture, continuing to whip at medium-low speed. The batter is ready when it looks homogeneous, smooth and airy. 
9. Pour the batter into the greased silicone mat and spread it out evenly with a palette knife, so that it is level with the top of the mat (I mean, 1 cm high, as the height of the silicone mat).
10. Bake for 20 minutes, until the biscuit Joconde is puffed, lightly golden in color, soft and dry to touch. Remove from the oven and allow to cool down completely before cutting 12 circles with a Ø 7 cm cookie cutter. You need 2 discs of biscuit Joconde for each petit gateaux.
    I suggest to place the baked and still warm biscuit Joconde in the freezer for about 1h (or 30 minutes in the blast freezer) before cutting it, so that it will be easier to cut. Store the biscuit Joconde discs wrapped in clingfilm in the freezer until assembly.

Gluten-free pistachio praliné croustillant

1. Melt the Almond Inspiration couverture in the microwave to 45°C.
2. Add in the pistachio praliné and stir well with a rubber spatula.
3. Add in the gluten-free granola and stir, ensuring that the granola are well coated with the chocolate mixture. 
4. Follow the instructions described in the "Assembly and decoration" step. 

Mirabelle plums compote 

1. In a saucepan, bring to 30°C the Mirabelle plums compote with the honey. 
2. In a small bowl, mix sugar and pectin NH. Add this mix into the warm compote when it is 30°C, stirring constantly with a fine whisk to let the mix of sugar-pectin NH dissolve into the liquid.
3. Bring to boil and cook for around 1 minute to medium heat. The pectin NH is activated at the temperature of 70°C, so it's very important to bring the mixture to boil.
4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
5. Transfer the compote into a flat container (a baking dish, for example), cover with clingfilm touching the surface and place in the fridge for about 1h, until thick.
6. Follow the instructions described in the "Assembly and decoration" step. 

Almond and pistachio crémeux 

1. Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water.
2. Heat the almond milk in the microwave, without bringing it to boil (heat up to 70°C approximatively), then add in the soaked gelatin sheets and stir until dissolved.
3. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave to 45°C. Add in both the pistachio paste and the pistachio praliné and stir to obtain a smooth mixture.
4. Add the warm almond milk to the melted chocolate in three times, stirring vigorously with a rubber spatula into circular pattern, in order to obtain a smooth and fluid cream.
5. Transfer the cream into a mixing glass and blend with the immersion blender to stabilize the emulsion.
6. Add to wire the cold heavy cream, always emulsifying with the immersion blender, in order to obtain a smooth and homogeneous cream. Finally, add in the Matcha green tea to enhance the green color of the crémeux and emulsify once again.
7. Transfer the crémeux into a flat container (a baking dish, for example), cover with clingfilm touching the surface and chill overnight (12h). 
8. Follow the instructions described in the "Assembly and decoration" step. 

Lemon and vanilla whipped ganache

1. Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water.
2. Chop the white chocolate into small chunks and transfer them into a mixing glass. 
3. Heat 132 g of heavy cream in the microwave, without bringing it to boil (heat up to 70°C approximatively), then add in the soaked gelatin sheets and stir until dissolved. Pour over the white chocolate and immediately emulsify with the hand blender to let the chocolate melt and to obtain a smooth and fluid ganache. 
4. Add to wire the 133 g of cold heavy cream, always emulsifying with the immersion blender. 
5. Add to wire the lemon juice, always emulsifying with the immersion blender. Finally, add in the vanilla seeds and emulsify once again.
6. Transfer the ganache into a flat container (a baking dish, for example), cover with clingfilm touching the surface and chill in the fridge overnight (12h). 
7. Follow the instructions described in the "Assembly and decoration" step. 

Assembly and decoration

1. Making the assemblage of the petit gateaux. Line a baking tray with Silpat mat and place onto 6 stainless steel cake rings of Ø 7,5 cm x H 5,5 cm. Do not need to line the edge of the ring with the acetate. 
2. Spread a thin layer (about 2mm thick) of the croustillant into each cake ring, pressing it with the back of a teaspoon, so that it is even and flat. Place on top a disc of biscuit Joconde and press it down gently, ensuring that it adheres well to the croustillant.
   Arrange the 6 remaining discs of biscuit Joconde onto the baking tray, too. 
3. Once the Mirabelle plums compote is chilled and thickened, transfer into a mixing glass and blend with the immersion blender until obtaining a smooth and soft gel. Transfer the gel into a piping bag. Pipe a thin spiral on top of each disc of biscuit Joconde, including the ones left outside the cake rings. Smooth out the compote, using a small palette knife or the back of a teaspoon.
   Place the baking tray in the freezer, until the compote is frozen (for about 40 minutes in a domestic freezer or for about 20 minutes in a blast freezer).
4. Transfer the chilled and thickened almond and pistachio crémeux into a piping bag. Remove the baking tray with the cake rings from the freezer and pipe an even layer of crémeux on top of the frozen compote, to about 1 cm in thickness. Smooth out the crémeux, using the small palette knife or the back of a teaspoon. Place the remaining discs of biscuit Joconde on top of the crémeux, with the side of the compote upwards, and press it gently down, ensuring that it adheres perfectly to the crémeux. Place the petit gateaux back in the freezer, until you have whipped the ganache. 
5. Transfer the chilled lemon and vanilla whipped ganache into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whip on medium-high speed to a piping consistency or until medium peaks forms. Transfer the whipped ganache into a piping bag. Remove the petit gateaux from the freezer and pipe an even layer of about 1 cm in thickness on top of the compote. Smooth it out with the small palette knife or the back of a teaspoon. Freeze the petit gateaux for at least 3 hours in a domestic freezer or for about 1h in a blast freezer. You can easily leave the petit gateaux in the freezer overnight, before unmoulding.
6. Making the decoration. Temper the yellow-colored white chocolate, following this tempering curve: 45°C (melting chocolate in the microwave or in water-bath) - 26/27°C (cooling 2/3 of chocolate over a marble table or granite table) - 28/29°C (the chocolate is ready to use). Tempering chocolate is an essential step for making smooth and glossy chocolate decors. The tempering process takes chocolate through a temperature curve, a process which aligns the cocoa butter's crystals to make the chocolate look smooth, silky and glossy an to prevent the chocolate to get a dull and grayish color. 
7. For the flexible chocolate band that wrap the petit gateaux, you need:

   * a stainless steel cake ring of Ø 7,5 cm x H 5,5 cm (it is the same ring you used for assembling the petit gateaux);
   * two acetate strips of H 6 cm and long enough to cover the ring;
   * a kitchen paring knife;
   * a small palette knife; 
   * tape and toothpick. 

   First of all, wrap the cake ring with the first acetate strip of H 6 cm and secure the ends with sticky tape. This strip will act as protection between the chocolate and the cake ring.
   Pour a line of tempered chocolate lengthwise over the second acetate strip and smooth the surface of the chocolate with the small palette knife until it runs over the end of the strip. Spread out the chocolate in a thin and even layer. Lift the strip by using the tip of the paring knife and place the strip in one clean side of the work surface. Allow to set slightly until the strip is pliable and not fully set (about 1-2 minutes, depending on the room temperature).
   Once the chocolate is almost dry to touch, use a toothpick to engrave a wave pattern on the chocolate, starting from the top-left corner and ending to the opposite corner.
   Wrap the flexible chocolate band around the cake ring, with the chocolate side touching the ring and, therefore, the acetate strip. Secure the ends with sticky tape and allow to set completely at room temperature (18-20°C) overnight. 

8. Wrap the flexible chocolate band around the defrosted petit gateaux. Arrange the fresh Mirabelle plum in a radial pattern on top of the whipped ganache. Garnish with edible flowers and edible golden leaf.