Pistachio Trompe L’Oeil Dessert

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Let's dive into the world of one of the best nuts ever created: the pistachio. At the end of this video and recipe, you will be able to create an extraordinary trompe l'œil dessert from scratch and without a mold. You name it: the pistachio. A sensational contrast of flavors and textures. The insert is a combo of pistachio butter, crispy praliné, and toasted pistachios, wrapped in a soft pistachio sponge. The whole thing is surrounded by a luscious vanilla-pistachio mousse and then glazed with a thin green marbled chocolate shell that gives the famous snap these desserts are known for. An unbelievable dessert that can be put on display in your bakery, served in your restaurant as a plated dessert, or simply impress your guests at home. Let's get started.

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Welcome to the red fruit trompe l'oeil plated dessert—a masterpiece where illusion meets flavor...

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Let these amazing beauties thaw for 6 hours at least in the refrigerator before enjoying them.

Pistachio Paste

Pistachio paste is also known as pistachio butter. Lightly toast the pistachios over the stove or in the oven. Let them cool. Using your food processor, turn the toasted nuts into a paste. The process will take at least 5 minutes. Add a drizzle of neutral oil during mixing to reach the desired consistency. A tablespoon of honey can also be added.
The final texture should be like corn syrup: neither too runny nor firm. Note that if using blanched pistachios (more expensive) or even pistachio meal, your paste will end up with a more vibrant green. Keep it at room temp.

Pistachio Ganache Montée

Soak the gelatin sheets in ice water to soften, then drain and squeeze out the excess water. Meanwhile, melt white chocolate over a bain-marie on a gentle heat. Remove from the heat once just melted. In a saucepan, bring to a quick boil heavy cream and vanilla. Remove from the heat and pour over the melted white chocolate. Blend with the an immersion blender. Add in the pistachio paste, then the bloomed gelatin, blend and then add the remaining chilled heavy cream. To get a greener color, add some green food coloring. Add a couple of drops of almond extract to taste. Mix well and refrigerate the ganache montée overnight to set completely before whipping.

Pistachio Sponge

Line the rimmed baking sheet with parchment and lightly grease with oil or cooking spray. For the meringue, in the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the room-temperature egg whites along with a few drops of lemon juice or ¼ tsp of cream of tartar and a third of the sugar on medium speed until foamy. Meanwhile, scale the remaining ingredients needed for the batter. Increase the mixer speed to high and beat egg whites until firm peaks, adding the remaining sugar gradually. Preheat a fan oven to 330ºF (160ºC). Transfer the meringue to a large pastry bowl; do not clean the mixing bowl.
With the paddle attachment, beat the whole eggs, yolks, almond meal, flour, sugar, and pistachio paste together on low speed. Once combined, beat on medium-high speed for 4 minutes. Incorporate the melted butter on low speed.
Turn the mixer off and fold in the meringue.
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared rimmed baking tray.
Pop it in the oven and bake the pistachio sponge for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Then, place the sponge in the refrigerator or freezer. To unmold: Place a parchment on top of the sponge, and flip it over the countertop. Remove parchment, and cut into fifteen 2.16-inch (5.5 cm) Ø rounds. Keep them frozen.
Save any leftovers to make these amazing pistachio dessert cups.

Crispy Praliné

Fold the dry crepes into the room-temperature praliné and set mixture aside.

Half-Sphere Pistachio Inserts

With a teaspoon, fill each cavity halfway full with the pistachio paste/butter.
Add 3 toasted pistachios and finish with the almond praliné to the top. Cover with parchment and freeze overnight.
Demold the 30 frozen half-sphere pistachios and keep them frozen.
Immediately, sandwich 2 frozen pistachio half-sphere inside each round of pistachio sponge to form a compact oval form.
Each insert should now weight 1.8 ounce / 50 grams. Keep them frozen.

Pistachio Trompe L'Oeil Assembly

Whipping ganache montée: Whip half of the chilled pistachio ganache montée to medium peaks (keep the other half refrigerated). Fill the piping bag half way full, and chill the mixing bowl with what's left of the pistachio mousse.
Prepare a 6-inch (15cm) square plastic wrap. Grab a frozen pistachio insert—work one at a time. Position it in the center. Pipe a thick 50 grams dollop on top of it.
Meticulously enclose the whole cake into the plastic film.
To get the boat shape, simply stretch out the plastic film on both sides chasing the air out like you would when wrapping a bonbon.
Now, and before locking both extremities, create an uneven narrow channel with your finger to somehow mimic the shape of the pistachio nut.
Lock the cake so the mousse wont have a chance to spread out. If some air pockets are trapped in anyway, pierce plastic cling to let them escape. To grab it, in a gentle motion, slide under a dough scraper or an offset spatula and transfer to a frozen baking tray. Do likewise with the remaining frozen pistachio inserts. It seems challenging, but after a couple, it'll come out so easily!
Unglazed pistachio trompe l'oeil cake should measure 11x4cm tall, and weight 3.3 ounces (100 grams). At this point, wrapped pistachio cakes can be kept frozen for up to 3 months. Unwrap a day before you plan to glaze them.

Unwrapping Pistachio Cakes

After at least 6 hours in the freezer, unwrap the pistachio cakes. If they show any imperfections, no worries—pistachio nuts are not perfectly shaped. However, if there is a crack or a piece of missing pistachio mousse, patch it with some of the reserved mousse. Once a cake is unwrapped, quickly smooth the mousse out with the palm of your hand. Arrange the cakes onto a frozen tray and freeze.

Chocolate Glaze

To prepare the chocolate enrobage mixture, follow the chocolate spray tutorial.
To make the main chocolate glaze (enrobage), melt the cocoa butter separately and add it to the chopped white chocolate. Let it stand, then mix with an immersion blender. Then, in separate deli containers, set aside the portions needed for the 3 colored chocolate glazes (light green for the cake, red, and a stronger green for the marble effect). Note that the amount of fat-based food coloring is an approximation.
Always begin with half of what is suggested and add more until you reach the desired color. Food coloring is just like salt in cooking: you can always add more, but you can't remove it. Also, never use water-based food coloring in melted chocolate. Once prepared, set them aside at room temperature.

Glazing Procedure (three-color marble effect)

Gently rewarm the 3 colored chocolate glazes enrobage in a bain-marie to 97ºF (40ºC). Use them at 35-38 degrees celsius. Wipe off water each time it comes out of the steam. Chocolate hates water.
To get a marble effect that mimics the colors of the green nut, with a teaspoon, drizzle a light strip of the two chocolates (the red and the strong green) over the main tempered green chocolate enrobage.
Right before glazing your first cake, grab one at the time from the freezer. Insert a short bamboo skewer about an inch deep into the bottom of the frozen cake. Completely submerge the cake in a quick motion just like a bouncing canoe (do not rotate it), and drain it immediately by lifting the cake, bottom up and nose down.
Let the extra chocolate dripping, it will set after about 20 seconds. Repeat once, and add strips of the 2 colored chocolate again. Follow the same procedure until finished. If the main glaze thickens, rewarm it to 38ºC max. Save chocolate enrobage for later use for up to a year in the refrigerator.
Lay the glazed pistachio cakes onto a frozen tray lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Storage

Once glazed, pistachio trompe l'oeil desserts should be consumed within a month. Otherwise, once the trompe l’oeil is thawed slowly in the refrigerator, it should be eaten within 48 hours.

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