Pineapple, basil, lime and white chocolate mini mousse

by Chiara

After the coconut, I have a big passion for pineapple. I know that not everyone likes its tropical-fruity aromas and its sweet, fibrous pulp, but I cannot imagine summer without it.
Pineapple is a very good companion for all exotic fruits, of course, but did you know the delightful match with basil?
I effectively played a bit with flavors during this past week, combining the vibrant notes of pineapple with the fresh acidity of lime, the subtle peppery scent of basil and the unique vanilla taste of Waina white chocolate, a Fair Trade chocolate that’s not very sweet due to the presence of blond cane sugar. These little mousse treats are the result and they’re definitely summer served on a plate.
Each of them are composed by:

  • Almonds shortcrust pastry
  • White chocolate and olive oil crunchy layer 
  • White chocolate and basil biscuit sponge
  • Pineapple compote with basil, lime and vanilla
  • Waina 35% white chocolate mousse with lime and vanilla
  • Light green mirror glaze with cocoa butter

They not only taste light, moist and creamy, but they look cheerful and again, they’re full of summer flavors!

If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment or tag me on Instagram. I’d be more than happy to hear from you! And, of course, if you have any questions or doubts, I’m absolutely willing to respond you as quickly as possible. ♡



Pineapple, basil, lime and white chocolate mini mousse

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Serves: 8
Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredienti

Almond sablée shortcrust pastry
60 g butter, plastic (10-14°C)
40 g vanilla icing sugar
⅛ tsp (a pinch) Maldon salt
14 g raw almonds flour
20 g egg, to room temperature
104 g type 2 whole wheat flour (150-180W)

Basil and white chocolate biscuit sponge 
100 g Ivoire 35% white chocolate
80 g soft butter, to room temperature (20-25°C)
2 g fresh basil leaves
50 g egg yolks, to room temperature
40 g type 1 whole wheat flour (150-180W)
⅛ Maldon salt
83 g egg whites, to room temperature
66 g caster sugar

White chocolate and olive oil croustillant
70 g Ivoire 35% white chocolate
35 g crunchy granola
15 g extra virgin olive oil

Pineapple compote with basil, lime and vanilla
200 g fresh pineapple
14 g pineapple puree
½ lime zest
½ vanilla bean
20 g cane sugar
2 g pectin NH
3 g fresh basil leaves

Waina 35% white chocolate mousse with lime and vanilla
1,2 g gelatin sheets gold strength (200 Bloom)
6 g cold water to soak the gelatin sheets
72 g lime juice
90 g Waina 35% white chocolate
1 vanilla bean
150 g heavy cream 35% fat content, cold

Mirror glaze (with cocoa butter)
130 g caster sugar
130 g water
82 g dextrose sugar
110 g sweetened condensed milk
8 g gelatin sheets gold strength (200 Bloom)
45 g cold water to soak the gelatin sheets
65 g cocoa butter
150 g Absolu Cristal (neutral gelatin)
green fat soluble food coloring

Assembly and decoration
pistachio flour
tempered Ivoire 35% white chocolate rectangles (7x1,5 cm)
white chocolate crunchy pearls
fresh basil leaves
edible flowers

Procedimento

Almond sablée

  1. Mix butter, icing sugar and salt in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until the mixture becomes creamy and smooth. For plastic butter I mean the moldable butter. It is neither too much cold (from fridge) nor too much soft (spreadable). To obtain a plastic butter, hit it with a rolling pin until you can bend the butter with your hands.
  2. Add the raw almonds flour (ground 14 g whole raw almonds with a small grinder until obtain a quite fine powder) and the eggs and mix until combined.
  3. Add finally the flour and work until the batter comes together.
  4. Once the pastry has come together, press into a neat flat square and cover in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
  5. Line a perforated baking tray with a perforated silicone baking mat. Roll out the sablée to a thickness of 2/3 mm and cut out 8 circles with a 7 cm round Exoglass cutter. Place them over the baking mat and put in the fridge for 30 min or in the freezer for 15 min.
  6. Preheat the oven to 160°C, ventilation mode. Cover the almond sablée circles with a second perforated silicone baking mat and bake for about 12 minutes, until golden-brown. Take out of the oven and dust with cocoa butter powder (Mycryo) to prevent moisture from the mousse.

Basil and white chocolate biscuit sponge

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C, ventilation mode. Line a baking tray with a 25x20 cm mould, greased and covered with parchment paper.
  2. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave to 45°C. Add the soft butter and stir with a spatula to dissolve. Chiffonade the fresh basil leaves (slice the basil leaves into thin ribbons) and add into the white chocolate-butter mixture. Mix with a hand blender to break up the basil ribbons into thin peaces.
  3. Add the egg yolks and mix by hand with a fine whisk. Add the salt and the sifted flour and mix to obtain a smooth batter.
  4. In the bowl of the freestanding mixer fitted with whisk attachment beat the egg whites just until a bit foamy (not stiff peaks). Add slowly and little by little the caster sugar and beat until obtain a shiny meringue.
  5. Add a small part of the meringue into the batter and fold vigorously with a spatula to soften the batter. Then fold gently the meringue into the batter in two times using always the spatula.
  6. Transfer the mixture into the mould, spread it out evenly with a palette knife and bake for approximately 15 min, until slightly golden. Set aside to cool down, then put in the freezer for about 1h to let it get cold completely.
  7. Cut out the cold biscuit with a 5 cm round Exoglass cutter to obtain 8 circles. Wrap them with cling film and put in the freezer.

White chocolate and olive oil croustillant  

  1. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave to 45°C, add in the extra virgin olive oil and stir with a spatula.
  2. Transfer the melted white chocolate-olive oil mixture into a mini mixer grinder, add the granola and grind slightly to break up any large granola chunks and to obtain a grainy, evenly mixture.
  3. Spread the croustillant on the base of each frozen basil biscuit sponge circle with a small palette knife about 2-3 mm thick. Put in the freezer. Store the leftover croustillant in an opaque airtight container to room temperature and away from light.

Pineapple compotée with basil, lime and vanilla   

  1. Cut the pineapple into small cubes (about 1 cm thickness). Combine the cubes of pineapple, the pineapple puree, the lime zest and the vanilla seeds in a saucepan and heat to 40°C.
  2. In a small bowl mix together with a fine whisk the cane sugar and pectin NH, then add to the hot mix when it is 40°C. Bring to boil and cook for a couple minutes until the pineapple is quite tender.
  3. Remove from the heat and allow to cool down (60°C). Chiffonade the fresh basil leaves, add to the pineapple compote and mix with a hand blender to break up the basil ribbons into thin pieces and to obtain a homogeneous mixture.
  4. Fill 8 Silikomart half-spheres (4 cm wide) and freeze for about 1h.

Waina 35% white chocolate mousse with lime and vanilla

  1. Soak the gelatin sheets in the cold water.
  2. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave to 45°C. Heat the lime juice in the microwave without boiling, then add in the soaked gelatin sheets and stir to dissolve it. Pour the lime juice over the melted white chocolate in three times, stirring with a spatula just to obtain a velvety, glossy cream. Transfer the cream in a mixing glass or a measuring cup, add the vanilla seeds and mix with the hand blender to obtain the best and most silky smooth consistency. Pour the cream in a bowl and cool down to 35-40°C.
  3. Semi-whip the heavy cream and fold it gently into the lukewarm white chocolate cream, using a spatula.
  4. Transfer the mousse to a disposable piping bag and cut a tip off the end. Pipe the mousse halfway into the Stone silicone mould from Silikomart. Use a teaspoon to spread the mousse up the sides to eliminate any air bubbles and to avoid whitespace. Demould the frozen pineapple compote and carefully set it inside the white chocolate mousse and press it down slightly so it is almost submerged in the mousse. Pipe another small layer of white chocolate mousse on top, ensuring you leave a gap to insert the biscuit sponge. Place the biscuit sponge on top of the mousse (with the biscuit sponge touching the mousse and the croustillant upwards) and press gently down until the biscuit sponge is level with the top of the mould. Remove any excess mousse with a palette knife and freeze for at least 2h.

Mirror glaze (with cocoa butter)

  1. Soak the gelatin sheets in 45 g cold water for at least 10 min.
  2. Weigh out the cocoa butter into a measuring cup or mixing glass. Heat the caster sugar, 130 g water and the dextrose sugar in a saucepan to 104°C
  3. Remove from the heat and add in the sweetened condensed milk and stir with a spatula.
  4. Pour into the mixing glass, over the cocoa butter, and emulsify with the hand blender to melt the cocoa butter and without adding air bubbles as little as possible.
  5. Heat the Absolu Cristal in the microwave to 65°C and add into the mixture, followed by the drained gelatin sheets. Emulsify, then add a little bit of green fat soluble food coloring and emulsify once more.
  6. Pour the glaze into a baking dish, cover with clingfilm pressed on top of the glaze and put in the fridge for 12h or overnight
  7. Heat the glaze in microwave until the edges start to melt. Transfer into a measuring cup and emulsify with the hand blender, so that the centre begins to melt too. Keep the blade of the hand blender on the bottom of the mixing glass, to avoid air bubbles.
  8. Once the glaze is 25-27,5°C, unmould the frozen mini mousse and set them on a cooling rack with a pair of clingfilm sheets underneath, to collect the excess glaze. Pour the glaze over the mini mousse.
  9. When the glaze stops dripping, gently place the finished mini mousse in the centre of the almond sablée base by using a small palette knife, then put in the fridge to defrost for at least 2h. The excess glaze can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 weeks or freezer for 2 months and re-heated and adjusted with water if needed.

Assembly and decoration 

  1. When the mini mousse are unfrozen, press the pistachio flour around the base of each mini mousse by using the end of a teaspoon. Remove any pistachio flour from the almond sablée with a small pastry brush.
  2. For the Dulcey chocolate rectangles it is necessary to temper the Dulcey chocolate (you can find here the method). The temper chocolate curve is 40/45°C (melting) - 26/27°C (cooling) - 28/29°C (usage).
  3. Cut the guitar sheet in half lengthwise so it is now 20x60 cm (width x length). Once the chocolate is tempered, pour a line onto one edge of the sheet (on the left side, for example). Place another guitar sheet on top and use a teflon rolling pin or a PVC pipe to roll out the chocolate to the other end of the sheet (on the right side, for example). Spread out the chocolate in a thin and even layer. Allow to set slightly until it is soft to touch but not fully set.
  4. Cut the chocolate into 7 cm length and 1,5 cm width strips by using a stainless steel expandable dough cutter. Allow the chocolate to set completely to room temperature.
  5. Place a rectangle strip on top of one side of the mini mousse and garnish with white chocolate crispy pearls, fresh basil leaves and edible flowers.
12 Comments

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12 Comments

Diana 13 November 2020 - 11:10

Hi! Would you say it is possible to prepare and assemble the sponge, croustillant, compotée and mousse and leave it in the freezer for a few days? I would like to serve this at a dinner party but I will not have the time on the day itself. Thank you!

Reply
Chiara 13 November 2020 - 12:26

Hi Diana!
Yes, of course. You can assemble the petit gateaux in advance and store them in the freezer for up to a month. You can also make each separate component (sponge, croustillant and compotée) and leave them in the freezer until assembling.

Reply
Dimana Yordanova 18 November 2020 - 9:12

Hello, I want to make your dessert it looks amazing!! For the Almond Sablee can I use normal flour, not a whole wheat? I love your blog, keep doing this!

Reply
Chiara 20 November 2020 - 9:44

Hi Dimana!
Yes, sure, you can replace the whole wheat flour with the All Purpose flour or the cake flour.

Thanks a lot for stopping by ❤️

Reply
Kriti Saluja 4 February 2021 - 5:46

Hey!
Super inspired by your recipe! Would love yo know how many petite gateaux does this recipe make. Thank you!

Reply
Chiara 19 February 2021 - 9:49

Hi!
The recipe is for 8 petit gateaux 😊
Thanks for stopping by!

Reply
Vanesa 4 February 2021 - 20:51

I love your recipe and so want to try it. I have a quick question. If I can’t find cocoa butter powder, what can I used instead?

Reply
Chiara 19 February 2021 - 9:46

Hi Vanesa!

I’m happy to hear you want to give my recipe a try 😊 If you don’t have the cocoa butter powder, simply omit it in the recipe for the almond sablée. The cocoa butter powder creates a thin barrier that helps to keep the sablée from getting soggy when it is placed in the fridge.

Reply
LEBEAU genevieve 4 May 2021 - 17:50

Bonjour j aimerait bien avoir cette delicieuse recette mais en français ?
Si cela est possible
Bien cordialement ,
Genevieve

Reply
Chiara 5 May 2021 - 12:46

Bonjour Genevieve!

Merci d’avoir posé la question. Malheureusement, mon français est plutôt mauvais. En option, tu peux utiliser Google Translate.

Reply
Ana 23 February 2023 - 21:57

Hey Chiara,
Do you think this would also work as a full size entremet?
What adjustments would you suggest?
Thanks in advance!

Reply
Chiara 24 February 2023 - 3:34

Hi Ana,
I think it may work well for an 18 diameter mould 😊 I’d double the white chocolate mousse, just to be certain.
Thanks to you for stopping by!

Reply

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