Ann Reardon

Entremet Recipe – creme brulee, chocolate mousse, chocolate brownie

chocolate entremet

The perfect dessert for someone who likes a little bit of everything. “This is the yummiest thing I have ever tasted in my life”, was a comment from one of our beautiful dinner guests. Entremets are amazing to eat but can seem complex to make because of the sheer number of elements involved.  Here is my secret…  make the individual components on seperate occassions as individual desserts for guests (chocolate mousse one night, creme brulee another…).  Double each recipe and freeze what you need for the entremet.

What is an entremet?  In pastry chef terms it is a multi layered dessert using different textures – something cakey, creamy, crunchy, jelly and moussey.  Each of these textural components should be chosen to give a perfectly balanced contrast of flavours and of course it should be beautifully presented.

In this recipe we have orange creme brulee (creamy), chocolate mousse (moussey), chocolate brownie (cakey), chocolate wafer pieces (crunch), and chocolate glacage (jelly).  Sometimes I also add a fresh raspberry jelly layer but did not on this occasion. Once you have made a few you will be confident enough to experiment with your own combination of layers, flavours and textures.

If you want to make it quickly follow this order: 1-brulee (freeze), 2-glacage (leave overnight), 3-brownie 4-chocolate crispies, mousse (freeze whole entremet).  You will still need a couple of days, unless you have a blast freezer.

Creme brulee recipe – makes enough for two large entremet centres

3 cups or 714g (25.19 ounces) cream (35% fat)
1/2 cup or 108g (3.81 ounces) sugar
rind of one orange grated
7 egg yolks or 105g (3.7 ounces)

Preheat oven to 150C (302 degrees Fahrenheit).
Bring the cream, sugar and rind to the boil.  Take off the heat and let the flavour infuse for 15 minutes.  Pour through a strainer.  Whisk egg yolks, slowly add the cream mixture, whisking continuously.

Pour into a dish that is ovenproof and the desired shape – I use a dome shaped pasta bowl but you could use a cup.  Place the bowl into a large oven dish with water – ensuring that the water comes up the outside of the bowl to at least the same level as the brulee is on the inside. If you do not do this it will overheat and split – this is where the egg coagulates into little lumps a bit like scrambled egg floating in the oil from the cream. Ensure that you do not get any water in the brulee. If find it easiest the put the whole thing in the oven and then top up the water in the baking dish from a jug.

Bake for approx 25 minutes – depending on the size of you bowl or until it is set but still jiggly in the middle. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely then cover with cling wrap and freeze.

Chocolate Crisps

Often entremet recipes call for feuilletine flakes, I have not been able to get these at a reasonable price here in Australia.  I substitute them for either crushed fortune cookies or crushed wafer sticks.  Apparently you can also use rice bubbles but I think they have quite a distinctive flavour so chose not to. Whatever you are using crush into small pieces (not crumbs) and then mix in a bowl with enough melted milk chocolate to lightly cover every bit. Then pour onto a tray covered in baking paper and allow to set.

Chocolate brownie Base recipe

100g (3.53 ounces) or 1/3 cup plus 2Tbsp butter
2 eggs
1 cup or 216g (7.62 ounces) sugar
teaspoon vanilla and dash marsala (optional)
3/4 cup or 120g (4.23 ounces) flour (for those with coeliac I have tested this recipe with gluten free flour and it works well)
1/4 cup or 30g (1.06 ounces) cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of baking powder

entremet recipe, to die for dessert recipe, yummy

 

Preheat oven to 180C (356 degrees Fahrenheit).

Melt butter in the microwave, beat in eggs, sugar, vanilla essence and a dash of marsala.

Mix in flour, cocoa powder and baking powder.  Mix until just combined.

Pour into a swiss roll pan and bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until just firm to the touch.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Cut a circle the size of your entremet base.

 

Chocolate mousse recipe

This type of mousse based on italian meringue can not be frozen for a longer than a week so if you are making along way ahead use a gelatin based chocolate mousse instead. (makes enough for one entremet)
150g (5.29 ounces) dark chocolate
100g (3.53 ounces) or 1/3 cup plus 2Tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp glucose syrup
2 tablespoons or 30 millilitres (1.01 fluid ounces) water
2 egg whites or 36g (1.27 ounces) egg whites
100 millilitres (3.38 fluid ounces) or 1/3 cup plus 1Tbsp and 1tsp whipped cream
Melt the chocolate and set aside to cool, then fold in whipped cream. Separate egg whites and whip to stiff peaks. Put sugar syrup and water in a saucepan,stir until it boils, wash down sides of the pan with pastry brush and water. Boil unstirred until temp reaches 120C (248 degrees Fahrenheit). Whisk the egg whites on high speed and pour in the sugar syrup in a thin stream. Whisk until cooled.

mousse de chocolat recipe chocolate mousse

mousse de chocolat recipe chocolate mousse

Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg white.  Place into a bowl not quite to the top. Add in the frozen creme brulee and level top with mousse.

entremet recipe chocolate entremet recipe

Sprinkle the top with chocolate crisps and then place a circle of chocolate brownie on top. Double wrap in plastic and put in the freezer.

Chocolate glacage recipe

The glacage needs to be made at least the day before you need it, you can store it in the fridge for up to a couple of weeks.  The entremet should be frozen for glazing and then defrosted in the fridge. (makes enough for 4 entremets, you can make less or store excess in freezer until needed)

Ingredients:

20g (0.71 ounces) or 1Tbsp plus 1tsp powdered gelatin bloomed in 90g (3.17 ounces) or 1/3 cup cold water
200g (7.05 ounces) or 3/4 cup plus 4tsp cream (35% fat)
300g (10.58 ounces) or 1 1/3 cup plus 1Tbsp sugar
90g (3.17 ounces) or 1/3 cup additional water
100g (3.53 ounces) or 3/4 cup plus 1Tbsp cocoa powder (cocoa will effect the flavour – I like to use cadburys)
250g (8.82 ounces) or 2/3 cup plus 2tsp glucose syrup

chocolate glacage glaze glassage ingredients

Directions:

Mix the gelatin with the cold water (90g (3.17 ounces)) and set aside.
Heat the sugar, cream and remaining 90g (3.17 ounces) of water until it boils.
Remove from heat, add glucose and sifted cocoa powder.
Stir in the gelatin and mix well.
Strain through a metal sieve
chocolate glacage glaze glassage mirror glaze entremet recipe how to cook that ann reardon 3

Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight

chocolate glacage glaze mirror glaze entremet recipe how to cook that ann reardon cover in cling wrap

To use the glaze follow video instructions below – melt in the microwave in 10sec bursts until reaches 28-33C (91.4 degrees Fahrenheit)

Cake or entremet to be glazed should be frozen, rub off any ice crystals. Note if you can not get it out of the bowl place the bowl in a sink of hot water to slightly melt the outermost layer- do not allow the water to go into the dessert.

Scoop and pour glaze over entremet allowing excess to drip onto a tray.
Once set transfer to serving plate and decorate.

chocolate glacage glaze mirror glaze entremet recipe how to cook that ann reardon 4a

Glacage recipe credit to: patissierjourney

 

Sugar Decorations

For step by step instructions on making spun sugar decorations see this post spun sugar recipe

spun sugar decoration on chocolate entremet dessert

My Cookbook

ann reardon crazy sweet creations cookbook
Stores that sell my book listed by country: http://bit.ly/ARcookbook
All recipe quantities in the book are in grams, ounces and cups.

69 Comments View Comments

  1. Rating: 4.5

    Feuilletine recipe: if anyone is interested very easy to make
    INGREDIENTS
    100g (3.53oz) unsalted butter, softened
    125g (4.41oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar
    5g (0.18oz) vanilla bean paste
    84g (2.96oz) egg whites (A)
    100g (3.53oz) plain (all purpose) flour
    83g (2.93oz) egg whites (B)
    METHOD
    Line 3 aluminium trays with Silpat mats and set aside. Place the softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla paste and egg white (A) in a food processor or a stand mixer and blend. Once combined, add the egg white (B) and flour and continue mixing until it just comes together as a paste. Once combined, divide the mixture between the Silpat mats and spread it out very thinly with a palette knife. Bake at 160˚C for 8 minutes.
    Chocolate:
    INGREDIENTS
    126g (4.44oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar
    100g (3.53oz) unsalted butter, softened
    5g (0.18oz) vanilla bean paste
    84g (2.96oz) egg whites (A)
    80g (2.82oz) plain (all purpose) flour
    20g (0.71oz) Dutch cocoa powder
    83g (2.93oz) egg whites (B)
    METHOD
    Line two aluminium trays with Silpat mats and set aside.
    Place the icing sugar, softened butter, vanilla paste and egg white (A) in a food processor or stand mixer and blend. Once combined, add the flour, cocoa powder and egg whites (B) and continue mixing until it just comes together as a paste. Once combined, divide the mixture between the Silpat mats and spread it out very thinly with a palette knife. Bake at 160˚C for 8 minutes.
    Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. While still warm, place a sheet of baking paper and a tray on top, flip the tray over and remove the silpat mat. Use as required. Once completely cool, place into sealed container to stay crispy.

  2. 2encountered

  3. Rating: 4

    Made this for my husbands birthday and it was pretty tasty! There were several issues with this recipe though that need to be adjusted. First, The steps are not listed in order. The brownie and crisps need to be made before the mousse and are listed after. Also there are some crucial bits of info missing (what temp to bake the brownie, there were a couple of others that I can’t recall now.) I just gave it my best guess when I came across some questions and it turned out well thankfully! My only other complaint is that the amount of each component are not proportional. The Brulee made enough for 3 medium Entremets, the mousse barely was enough for the one I made and the glacage made enough to cover probably 5 entremets.

    • Thanks for your feedback, this recipe is from a long time ago. I have reordered as per your suggestion, added the brownie oven temp and added a note on amounts the recipes make. The brulee will make enough for 2 large bowls, so if you made three you were using a smaller bowl than I did, which will then mean you’d need more mousse. Ideally it should have the recipe volumes that it makes, but apologies this one was a while ago and I didn’t measure them. Happy Birthday to your husband ?

  4. Hi Ann, I’m from australia as well and its really hard to find feuilletine flakes. I’m planning to include rice bubbles in it however, will this turn soggy when the mousse covers it? I once used a chocolate covered rice bubble as the base of a mousse cake and it went all soggy and watery from the mousse. How can i prevent this?

    • Hi Salina, I would cover the ricebubbles in pure chocolate first, so they are sealed. By the way Ann is Australia and gets the flakes right here in Australia. You can get them from gourmet goldmine or baking pleasure. Both have online stores. Another alternative to rice bubbles would just be crushed cornflakes or frosted flakes which you can get in most supermarkets.

  5. This looks so difficult. As a beginner will I be able to pull it off? Anyway I can make the process shorter?

    • As a beginner it may be better to try each of the elements seperately as a dessert on their own first. It isn’t hard but to build confidence, I would try on element at a time. Start witha chcolate brownie.

  6. I was think to make this for fathers day if I wanted to colour it sky blue it will work ? thank you

    • Hi Lisa, we guess you have trialled this already. How did it turn out!

  7. hi ann could I use store brownies from the box
    .. other people when they make the glaze thay use white chip chocolate so whats the diiferents between using it and not using it thank you

    • Hi Lisa, you could use a store bought brownie mix as a base if you wish.

  8. Hi Ann,
    Great recipe. I made your chocolate cheesecake balls for Mother’s Day and everyone was suitably impressed. Now I want to try an entremet and was looking around on the internet trying to figure out what feuilletine was and found this recipe which may be useful to you….

    • Thanks for the tip TJ.

  9. Dear Ann,
    Thank you so much! My husband likes creme brulee per your recipe more then the classic one) and the chocolate mousse. … wow )
    How do you think is it possible to make it less sweet? theoretically? ) for those who prefer to taste the bitterness of chocolate?
    thank you so much and looking forward for the caramel cream recipy)
    the very best regards,
    Yullia

    • Hi Yullia, This looks sooooo good. Love the chocolate work on the top.

  10. That’s a skillful answer to a difulcfit question

  11. I would like to freeze the entire dome — is there any glaze that will stand up to freezing for two weeks?

    • Hi DD, Glaze will generally freeze but if any ice crystals form they really spoil the finish of the glaze. It is better to freeze inner components if needed and glaze on or close to the serving day.

  12. Hi, been seeing pictures of coloured streaks on mirror glaze. Can you share how can the effecr been achieved. I’m more curious of the science behind. Thank you

    • Hi KM, this effect is achieved by using gold lustre dust either over the top or a little mixed into the glaze to and then used to create the effect you are wanting to achieve.

  13. You call it “creme brulee” though I don’t really see the “brulee” part.

  14. I found this post after watching a baking show and Googling ‘entremet.’ It was very helpful and I did not seem to have experienced the technical difficulties some other readers commented on above. Entremet seems pretty time consuming but you broke the steps down terribly well and made it look easy! Thanks so much!

    • Thanks Jack.

    • I think I just saw the same show. It was a contest. I’m definitely not a baker (though I can make creme brulee when I need a dessert). I haven’t tried making these yet but it looks like fun. As you say, this article really makes it look easy with the way it’s broken down step-by-step. I live in a retirement community in New Hampshire, and the office staff and ground workers are always happy to eat whatever I make.

      • Hi Judy, Do post a photo if you make one. We would love to see how it turns out.

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