Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Apple Jelly Inserts
- Soak the gelatin in cold water to soften, then drain. Combine the sugar and pectin; set aside. In a saucepan, warm the apple juice, Manzana Verde, ginger, and vanilla. Add the sugar-pectin mixture. Bring to a boil and cook on low for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the bloomed gelatin. Transfer the apple mixture onto a small baking tray lined with plastic wrap. Let cool, then chill completely. Meanwhile, peel and slice the apples. Cut them into batonnet, then into cubes (brunoise). Toss the apple cubes in the lemon juice and refrigerate. In a food processor, pulse the chilled apple jelly. Add about 2 oz/60 g of the apple cubes; pulse a couple more times. Transfer the apple mixture to a bowl and add the remaining apple cubes. Fill a mini-sphere silicone mold and freeze overnight. Unmold the apple inserts and assemble them to create 12 one-ounce/30 g spheres. Keep them frozen until ready to use.
White Chocolate Mousse
- Soak the gelatin in cold water to soften, then drain. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream to medium-soft peaks, then refrigerate. Meanwhile, gently melt the white chocolate over a bain-marie. Avoid overheating the chocolate; remove it from the heat as soon as it's melted. In a saucepan, bring the milk and vanilla to a quick boil. Remove from the heat and add the bloomed gelatin. Add the melted white chocolate and mix with an immersion blender. Let cool to 86ºF/30ºC. Then fold in the whipped cream. Use immediately. Save any leftover mousse for eventual touch-ups.
Montage
- Fill each apple mold cavity a little more than half way full with the mousse. Add the frozen apple insert, and gently press down. The insert shall not touch the bottom of the mold. Fill molds with the remaining mousse ensuring that the insert completely surrounded by the filling. Freeze cakes overnight.
Chocolate Shell Glaze (Enrobage)
- In a tall, narrow container, place the chopped white chocolate. In a small saucepan, melt the cocoa butter (cocoa butter can boil). As soon as it is melted and at about 60–70 degrees Celsius, pour it over the white chocolate. Let stand for a minute, then mix with an immersion blender without incorporating too much air, and sieve. Use the white chocolate glaze at 113ºF/45ºC. Place a baking tray in the freezer.
Mirror Glaze
- Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water for about 5 minutes or more; drain and set aside. Cook the water, sugar, and corn syrup to 218ºF/103ºC, and add the gelatin, condensed milk, vanilla, and turmeric (as food coloring) to create dots. Pour over the white chocolate, let sit to melt, and blend without adding too much air. Pass through a fine sieve, tap over the counter to remove any remaining air bubbles, and chill completely. Rewarm before using. Store the mirror glaze for up to 6 weeks in the refrigerator. Mirror glaze can be kept frozen for months.
Apple Stems
- To make edible apple stems, pulse some dark chocolate with about 30% warm glucose or corn syrup in your food processor until it forms a workable paste, and shape like using play dough. For the leaves, use real apple leaves or make some out of green marzipan.
Unmolding Procedure
- To ease unmolding, gently and without scratching out the mousse, run the tip of a small offset spatula around the edges of each aperture first. Remove the silicone part from its sturdy base and manage to pop each cake out. Arrange them on the frozen tray, and keep frozen until ready to glaze.
Glazing Apples
- Carefully insert a piece of bamboo skewer (about an inch deep); keep frozen. Rewarm the chocolate enrobage to 113ºF/40–45ºC. Meanwhile, warm the mirror glaze to 88ºF (35-38ºC). Carefully immerse the frozen apple cake in the chocolate enrobage first. Rotate it in, then lift it up to drain. Once the chocolate shell sets, dip it into the mirror glaze. Let the glazed cake stand on a baking tray lined with a baking mat or parchment. Repeat with the remaining cakes. Remove the skewers carefully, and insert the stems and leaves (attach them with a dot of glucose/corn syrup or melted white chocolate).Let apple desserts thaw for at least 6 hours in the refrigerator before eating. The dessert should eaten within 24 hours. Bon appétit!