Chocolate Passion Fruit Heart Cake

Yield 2 cakes. Amor heart shape.

In a food processor, cream butter, salt, sugar and almond meal. Mix in egg and the flour – blend until just combined. Wrap up and chill completely. Roll out into a 3mm thin, 7''/18cm disk for one cake. Prick the dough with a fork and place it onto a baking tray line with a silicone mat or parchment, cut with a 6''/15cm diameter pastry ring. Chill.

In a food processor, cream butter, and add sugar, flour and almond meal. Mix until homogenized. Add the egg and vanilla; smooth out. Pipe out almond cream onto the chilled crust, and chill.

Bake for about 25 min at 350ºF/180ºC. Cool to room temp. Use the red template-cutter that comes with the silicone mold (small side) and cut the almond-crust into heart shape and set aside.

Heat up cocoa butter until completely melted (cocoa butter can boil). Disolve in the white chocolate. Microwave a few more sec if necessary and blend and add food coloring and blend again. Use at 45ºC/113ºF. Can be stored at room temp for up to 6 months.

Soak gelatin in cold water to soften, and drain. Cook water, sugar and corn syrup to 215ºF/102ºC. Pour into the chocolate, let sit for a few sec to melt and blend gently. Add condensed milk, vanilla and blend. Add gelatin and the food coloring. Blend well keeping the nozzle down to prevent from air bubbles to form. Sieve and chill overnight before using. Rewarm and use at 100ºF/38ºC. Can be refrigerated for up to 3 weeks or kept frozen for months.

Heat up water and lemon juice. Meanwhile mix sugar and agar-agar and whisk in the hot liquid. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 min on low. Chill to set completely. Blend the chilled lemon agar-agar mixture to smooth out, and fold in the fresh passion fruits seeds along with the ginger. Fill up the red template cutter that (smaller side, up to 0.9''/2.3cm high); freeze completely.

Soak gelatin in cold water to soften, and drain. Heat up half of the cream and pour in chocolate and blend. Add gelatin, and blend. Pour in remaining chilled heavy cream, passion fruit puree and ginger. Blend well and refrigerate overnight. Whip chilled mixture to soft peaks before using.

This cake is built upside down. If using a regular pastry ring, reverse the steps. Fill the silicone mold with the passion fruit ginger mousse; more than half way through. Place the frozen passion ginger insert in and press down leaving just enough space for the almond based crust to fit (crust side up) – scrape out excess mousse; freeze for at least 4 hours. Unmold the frozen cake and put it back in the freezer until ready to glaze.