Champagne Orchard Entremet

Of all the creations to emerge from the patissier’s kitchen, Le Verger Champenois is perhaps the most poetic—a celebration of elegance in edible form. Its name, evoking a champagne orchard, hints at the delicate marriage of fruit and fizz that awaits. The journey begins at the base with a layer of thin pistachio sponge, its color a muted earth-green and its crumb impossibly fine. Upon this, a vibrant stratum of red fruit coulis lies like captured summer. Enveloping it all is the champagne mousse: a cloud of effervescent delight. Whipped to a consistency that is both substantial and weightless, it carries the sophisticated, dry notes of champagne, teasing the palate with a festive sparkle that is felt more than tasted. The mousse binds the nutty base and the fruit core in a cool, luxurious embrace. But the crowning glory is the torched Italian meringue. On y va ?

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Le Verger Champenois is perhaps the most poetic—a celebration of elegance in edible form...

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Red Fruit Puree

Red fruit puree is a blend of three or four fruits—typically strawberry, raspberry, cherry or blackcurrant and sometimes red currant—that are processed and strained without being cooked. It may contain ≈10% added sugar and citric acid. You can find it at some grocery stores or online retailers, often in the frozen aisle or in shelf-stable packaging.

Champagne vs Sparkling Wine

Consider first the king, Champagne. Its complex character, born of specific grapes from a hallowed French region and a secondary fermentation in the bottle, is a bold declaration. Then comes its spirited cousin, crémant, prosecco from Italy, and other sparkling wines from Napa California. They are all great for musses and accessible.

Cake Ring vs Rimmed Tray

While heavy-duty stainless steel square rings are ideal for square entremets, a rimmed baking sheet is a good home alternative. Its shorter height—typically half that of a ring—requires a different assembly method. In both cases, the finished Champagne orchard entremet should measure 2-inch/5cm in height (without the Italian meringue topping).

Pistachio Sponge Sheets

The pistachio sponge recipe yields 3 sheets. However, 1.5 sponge sheets are required for this recipe.

Red Fruit Soft Jelly

Place your gelatin sheets in cold water. Let them soak for about 10 minutes. Drain the bloomed gelatin and squeeze out excess water; set aside.
Prepare the rimmed baking tray: Oil it lightly and line it with a sheet of acetate or a large freezer bag, smoothing it out to avoid wrinkles. Avoid plastic film.
In the small saucepan, bring to a boil the fruit puree with the sugar. Cook for a minute. Remove from the heat, and add the bloomed gelatin. Pour the red fruit mixture in the prepared baking tray. Let cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight. Make sure that your refrigerator is perfectly leveled, otherwise you may end up with one side thicker than the other.

Mimosa Cocktail

In a bowl, combine Champagne with limoncello. Reserve in the refrigerator.

Champagne Mousse

Place your gelatin sheets in cold water one at a time, ensuring they are fully submerged. Let them soak for about 10 minutes. Drain the bloomed gelatin and squeeze out excess water; set aside.
In the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cold heavy cream to soft-medium peaks. Transfer the supple whipped cream to a large bowl, and refrigerated. Keep aside the mixing bowl and whisk uncleaned for the Champagne mousse.
Sabayon: In the large saucepan, gather the Champagne along with the lemon juice, sugar and egg yolks. Cook on medium heat until your digital thermometer reads 185ºF/85ºC.
Transfer sabayon champagne to the mixing bowl.
Beat sabayon on full blast for about 8 minutes until light and fluffy, and the temperature reaches 85ºF/26ºC. Lower the mixer speed.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan heat the heavy cream to 113ºF/45ºC. Melt the previously bloomed gelatin for a few seconds in the microwave, or over a bain-marie (avoid overheating it).
Add the liquified gelatin to the warm heavy cream.
When temperature of the gelatin-cream mixture has dropped to 95ºF/35ºC, add it to the sabayon mixture. Increase mixer speed and whip for 5 seconds. Stop mixer. If the mixture deflates a bit it's normal.
When the sabayon champagne is at 77-81ºF/25-27ºC, and with the mixer, incorporate one-third of the whipped cream into the sabayon. This initial fast incorporation helps to lighten the base and stabilize the emulsion. Stop mixer. Then, fold the remaining whipped cream by hand, and with the whisk.

Montage 1

Use 950g of Champagne mousse for the entremet. Save leftovers mousse to make extra dessert cups. Spread the mousse over the chilled red fruit layer and smooth it into an even surface.
Enclose the cake with a pistachio sponge sheet.
Brush the sponge lightly with the mimosa cocktail.
Cover the cake with plastic wrap and a baking tray, and gently press down. Freeze cake overnight.

Demolding

First, run the tip of a small offset spatula all around the edges.
Next, top cake with a large cutting board or cake board, and reverse. To ease un-molding, warm up the bottom tray baking using your hair dryer. Remove the baking tray and the plastic that touches the red fruit soft jelly.

Montage 2

Slice the frozen cake in half. Return it to the freezer for a minimum of one hour before assembling the layers.
Carefully, place one half on top of the other (red fruit layer side up).
Top the cake with another pistachio sponge sheet cut in half. Brush with some mimosa cocktail. Now, your cake has 2 layers of mousse, 2 layers of red fruit jelly and 3 layers of pistachio sponge.
Trim off edges and divide cake into 3.5X7X2-inch/9X18X5cm tall portions. Each cakes serves 6 persons. Keep cakes in the freezer.
Pipe out Italian meringue on top of each cake.
Torch the meringue. Let thaw the cake overnight in the refrigerator. Decorate cake with red fruits if desired.

Storage

Refrigerate cake for up to 2 days. In the freezer: Up to 3 months wrapped in cling film (preferably without the meringue). Enjoy!

Dessert Cups

Like most large cakes, any recipe can be adapted into dessert cups. Whether you create them in series or simply use leftovers, these portable desserts are perfect to grab-and-go in cups or to serve elegantly in glasses at a restaurant.
Note: In cups the amount of gelatin in the red fruit soft jelly should be reduced by half. Layers are: 55g mousse, 15g red fruit soft jelly, 10g sponge, 20g meringue and toasted crushed pistachios. Enjoy!