Perfect pear & chocolate dessert

We’re going to make a very delicious winter chocolate & pear dessert. It’s a whiskey & chocolate cream with a dulcey de leche cremeux, chocolate feulletine, a pear & cardamom sorbet and a beautiful caramelized pear & whiskey gel.

The dulce de leche

Submerge a can of condensed milk in a pan filled with water and bring this to a boil for 3 hours. We do this to caramelize the condensed milk. If necessary add more water to insure it stays submerged. After the three hours gently take the can out of the water and let it cool down. Don’t open the can before it has cooled down completely, otherwise the pressure will be too high and it will spray out. After, you can open it and keep it in your fridge for later.

The pear and cardamom sorbet

900 grams	pear juice
120 grams	glucose
180 grams	sugar
10 pieces	cardamom
4 grams	sorbet stabilizer (or 2 grams xanthin gum)

Pour 400 grams of pear juice into a saucepan together with the glucose, the sugar and the cardamom seeds. Now bring this to a bowl for 1 minute. Then pour it into a bowl, add 4 grams of sorbet stabilizer or 2 grams of xanthan gum. Blend this for a minute. Then add 500 grams of pear juice and mix it. After let it set overnight in your fridge. The next day you can pass it through a fine sieve into an ice cream machine and turn it into a beautiful sorbet. Then keep it in your freezer for later.

The caramelized pear and whiskey gel

4	pears
100 grams	water
100 grams	sugar
1	vanilla pod
1	cinnamon stick
6	cardamom seeds
100 grams	pear juice
100 grams	whiskey
4 grams	agar powder

First peel the pears. Then cut them in half and use a pommes parisienne to remove the core and use a small knife to remove the stem. Now pour the water into a big pan together with the sugar. Then cut a vanilla pod in half, scrape out the seeds and add them to the pan together with the cinnamon stick and the cardamom seeds. Now also add the cleaned pears flat side down and turn on the heat to caramelize the sugar till golden brown. Turn the pears every now and then. Once caramelized deglaze the pan with the pear juice and let it simmer on a low heat for around 1 hour. Add some parchment paper to ensure the juice doesn’t vaporize to quickly and it will burn. It’s going to take some time, but you’ll end up with some beautifully cooked pears. Then remove the spices and transfer the pears into a saucepan. In total they weigh 300 grams. Now also add the whiskey and the agar powder. Then blend it till completely smooth. After that while mixing bring it to a boil for 1 minute. Now when it has boiled pour it into a bowl and let it cool down in your fridge. Then transfer it into a blender and blend it till smooth. Once smooth transfer it into a piping bottle and keep it in your fridge for later.

The chocolate & whiskey cream

250 grams	cream
60 grams	sugar
20 grams	cornstarch
100 grams	egg yolk
10 grams	whiskey
100 grams	dark chocolate

Pour the cream into a saucepan together with the sugar, the cornstarch, the egg yolk and the whiskey. Then mix it well and while mixing bring it to a boil to cook and thicken it. Once boiled add the dark chocolate and mix it till completely smooth and emulsified. Now pour it into a bowl and let it set in your fridge. Once it's set beat it for 15 seconds with a whisk. Then transfer it into two piping bags. One fitted with a round nozzle and the other one fitted with a st honore nozzle. This recipe works great for fillings, decorations and it’s super stable.

The sable biscuits

120 grams	flour
80 grams	icing sugar
30 grams	almond powder
4 grams	salt
30 grams	beaten egg
110 grams	butter

Transfer the flour on your worktop and use the bowl to make a well in the middle. Fill the well with the icing sugar, the almond powder, the salt, the beaten egg and the butter. Then mix it and knead it into a soft dough. You can always use a dough scraper to clean your worktop in between. After that transfer it on a silicon sheet and put another sheet on top. Then roll this until it’s around 2 to 3 millimeters thin. Now let it freeze in your freezer. Then remove the top sheet and cut the dough with a round cutter. Cut those rounds with a smaller cutter remove any excess dough. Transfer the rings on a silicon sheet and let it set in your freezer once more. Then bake the sable at 150 degrees Celsius for around 20 minutes till golden brown. Now let it cool down completely and then keep them dry and covered for later.

The feulletine

30 grams	egg white
2 grams	salt
30 grams	butter
40 grams	icing sugar
30 grams	flour
	Dark chocolate

Mix the egg white with the salt, the butter, the icing sugar and the flour. Now blend this till smooth. Then pour it on a silicon sheet and spread it with a pallet knife. After, bake it at 150 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes till golden brown. Now let it cool down completely. Then remove the silicon sheet and break the tuillle in smaller pieces. Transfer it into a bowl and crunch it a bit more. For every gram of tuille bits you need to add 1 gram of melted dark chocolate that’s 35 degrees Celsius. Mix this well. Then transfer it on a silicon sheet and put another sheet on top. Now like before us a rolling pin to roll out the feulletine into a thin sheet. Then let it set out of the fridge. After remove the top sheet and gently portion the feulletine into the desired shape. Then keep them dry and covered for later.

The dulcey de leche cremeux

3 leaves or 5 grams	gelatin
200 grams	milk
100 grams	pear juice
10 pieces	cardamom seeds
120 grams	dulcey de leche
100 grams	egg yolk

First soak the gelatin in cold water. Meanwhile mix the milk with the pear juice and the cardamom seeds. Then heat this up till it starts to steam. Now turn off the heat and let it marinade for 30 minutes. After that add the dulcey de leche and the egg yolk. Mix this well and then while stiring cook the cremeux till it’s 85 degrees Celsius. Then dissolve the gelatin and mix it once more. Now cover the bottom of a tray with a piece of foil and pass the cremeux through a fine sieve onto the tray. Tap the tray a couple of times to level it and remove any air bubbles. Then let it set in your fridge. Once set remove it from the tray and portion it into the same size as the feulletine. Keep it in your fridge for later.

The dulcey de leche jelly

1 leaf or 1.6 grams	gelatin
200 grams	milk
100 grams	dulcey de leche
1	orange
2 grams	salt
2 grams	agar powder

First soak the gelatin in cold water. Then mix the milk with the dulcey de leche, the zest from half an orange, the salt and the agar powder. Now mix this well and then while stirring bring it to a boil for 1 minute. Then turn off the heat and dissolve the gelatin. Now pass it through a fine sieve. After weigh 60 grams of the jelly on some oiled trays and tap the trays a couple of times to spread it and remove any air bubbles. Then let it set in your fridge. Once set also portion it to the same size as the feulletine.

How to finish the dessert

First lay the jelly on the side and place the cremeux on top. Then put a piece of feulletine on there and use the cream with the round nozzle top pipe small dots on top. Now pipe some beautiful waves with the st honore nozzle on another piece of feulletine. Put it on top and decorate it with the caramelized pear gel. Then pipe some of the gel on the other side and put the sable on top. And then finish the dessert with a beautiful quenelle of the pear sorbet.