Magnolia & Almond Easter Dessert

To celebrate Easter I made this lovely magnolia & almond Easter dessert! It’s a chocolate egg filled with a magnolia cremeux, an orange amaretto gel and an almond honey praline. The egg is placed on a toasted white chocolate birds nest with an almond cake and a magnolia creme. All lovely Easter flavors.

The orange & amaretto gel

7 to 8	oranges
20 g	sugar
2 g	salt
2.5 g	agar powder
50 g	amaretto

Begin by peeling the oranges with a super thin peeler. You only want the peel and not the white pith. That is very bitter. In total you need 100 grams. Now blanch the peels 3 times for a minute. After each time you need to refresh the water. We do this to remove the bitter notes in the peels. Then take the peels out of the water. After that cut 3 of the peeled oranges in half and juice them for 150 grams of juice.

Now mix the blanched peels with the 150 grams of orange juice, the sugar, the salt and the agar powder. Blend it till smooth. Once smooth pour it into a pan and while stirring bring it to a boil. Be sure to stir it well to prevent it from burning. When it has properly boiled you can add the amaretto and mix it. Then pour it into a bowl and let it cool down completely. When it has set you can transfer it into a blender and blend it into a smooth gel. Once smooth pour it into a piping bottle and fill your desired mold. I use a medium sized sphere mold. Freeze this till the gel is completely frozen. Be sure your freezer is at least -20 degrees Celsius. Then remove the gel spheres from the mold and keep them in your freezer for later.

The almond praline

50 g	sugar
100 g	almonds
50 g	honey
2 g	flaky salt

Begin by caramelizing the sugar on a medium heat. Once a nice golden color has formed add the almonds and continue caramelizing it for another 3 to 4 minutes. Keep on stirring to prevent it from burning. In the end this is the color we’re looking for. Then add the honey and bring it to a boil once more. After that you can pour it on a silicon sheet and let it set completely.

Now break it into more manageable pieces and transfer it into a blender together with the flaky salt. Now blend it till smooth. It takes some time, but just keep on blending and you’ll end up with this lovely texture. Then pour it into a piping bottle and fill your desired mold. I use the bottom of a large sized sphere mold. Let it cool down before pressing the frozen gel spheres in the praline. Now close the mold and fill it all the way. Also freeze these till completely frozen. Then remove them from the mold and keep them in your freezer for later.

The eggshell

First melt 100 grams of white chocolate till the temperature is 45 degrees Celsius. Then we need to temper it. When I use the chocolate to brush a mold I prefer to use the seeding method. For this add around 30 to 40 grams of white chocolate and mix it till the temperature is 32 degrees Celsius. Add a bit more chocolate if needed. Because we need a bit more time to process the chocolate I keep the temperature a bit higher then normal. Plus we serve it from the fridge, so the chocolate will set anyway. Now cover the inside of an egg mold with a little paint brush. You need to do this in multiple layers to cover it completely. I did it in 3 layers. Now keep this out of the fridge for later.

The magnolia cremeux

150 g	cream 35%
100 g	milk
15 g	sugar
50 g	magnolia paddles
1 leaf or 1.6 g	gelatin
40 g	egg yolk
10 g	corn starch
100 g	white chocolate

Mix the cream with the milk and the sugar. Bring this to a simmer. Meanwhile clean some magnolia flowers. You only want the flower paddles. I directly cleaned enough for the other recipes in this video as well. Now weigh 50 grams of paddles and submerge it in the cream mixture. Cover it with some wrap and let it infuse overnight in your fridge. The next day first soak the gelatin. Then pass the magnolia liquid through a fine sieve and use a spoon or ladle to press out any liquid. Now add the egg yolk with the corn starch and while stirring bring this to a low simmer.

Then turn off the heat and dissolve the gelatin. Also add the white chocolate and blend it till smooth. Now pour it into a piping bottle and let it cool down till it’s at room temperature before filling one half of the egg molds halfway. Press the orange and almond spheres in the cremeux and then press the two halves together. Don’t press on the egg part of the mold, only the space in between. Otherwise the chocolate will break. Now fill the eggs completely with the cremeux and then freeze them till solid. Once frozen remove them from the mold. On the day of serving you can let them defrost in your fridge. Once defrosted I also stamped them with my logo, just a cool personal touch. The stamp is custom made by Mold Brothers, a partner of the channel. Now keep them in your fridge for later.

The magnolia cream

150 g	milk
150 g	cream 35%
50 g	magnolia paddles
50 g	egg yolk
20 g	corn starch
30 g	honey

Begin by mixing the milk with the cream and bring this to a simmer. Once it’s simmering turn off the heat and add the magnolia paddles. Cover it with some wrap and let it infuse overnight in your fridge. Then pass the magnolia liquid through a fine sieve and use a spoon or ladle to press out any liquid. Now weigh 250 grams into a pan and also add the egg yolk with the corn starch and the honey. Mix it well and then while stirring bring it to a low simmer. You’ll end up with a lovely thick cream. Then pour it into a bowl and while covered keep it in your fridge for later.

The toasted white chocolate birds nest

First spread 200 grams of white chocolate on a silicon sheet and toast the chocolate at 160 degrees Celsius for around 10 minutes. This is the color we’re looking for. Then transfer it into a blender and blend it till smooth. Scrape the sides of the blender if needed. Now pipe this on a frozen natural stone and trim the sides on the lines. Then scrape the chocolate off the stone and directly shape it into a lovely birds nest. I use a round cutter to get a consistent end result. Beware that you do need to work quickly and just keep in mind: practice makes perfect. Now keep them in your fridge for later.

The almond cake

190 g	almond flour
100 g	butter
190 g	egg
2 g	salt
1	orange
125 g	cane sugar
25 g	honey
50 g	milk

Spread the almond flour on a metal tray and toast it at 160 degrees Celsius for around 25 minutes. Mix it every now and then for an even color. Once toasted let it cool down completely. Meanwhile melt the butter on a low heat and then also let it cool down out of the fridge. After that mix the eggs with the salt, the zest from the orange, the cane sugar and the honey. Now start beating it till it’s a thick fluffy mixture. This is the consistency we’re looking for. Then add the toasted almond flour, the melted butter and the milk. Fold everything together till it’s an even batter. It’s still quite runny.

Now pour it into a cake tin that’s lined with some parchment paper and bake it at 160 degrees Celsius for about 50 to 60 minutes. Once baked let it cool down completely. After that remove it from the tin and also remove the parchment paper. Then you can portion it to the desired size. I portioned mine in thin slices and cut those slices with 2 different round cutters. Later we’ll fill the center with the magnolia cream. The trimmings are a great chefs snack! Keep them covered in your fridge for later.

The magnolia & almond syrup

150 g	water
100 g	cane sugar
50 g	magnolia paddles
100 g	amaretto

Mix the water with the cane sugar and bring it to a boil. Once it’s boiling turn off the heat and add the magnolia flower paddles. Make sure all the leaves are submerged before adding the amaretto. Now cover it and let it infuse overnight in your fridge. The next day you can drain the syrup and press the paddles with a spoon or ladle so you don’t waste a single drop. Keep it in your fridge for later.

How to finish the dessert

First place a piece of the almond cake on a plate and brush some of the syrup on top. Now fill the center with the magnolia cream and gently place the birds nest on the almond cake.

Decorate the nest with some lovely flowers. I use marigold paddles and white Alyssum flowers. Then the dessert it served with the egg on the side.

On the table the guest can place the egg on the nest and it’s ready to be enjoyed!