Thin buttery sponges with red currant, limoncello white chocolate mousse, lemon curd, crispy crumbs and a red currant glaze. All the things you need for a perfect refreshing summer dessert.
This recipe was created for a baking challenge, I did with Chili. We had the first one a bit more than a year ago, then I made a lemon raspberry lavender mille feuille. You can find the recipe and a bit more about the challenge here.
It was super exciting to come up with a recipe for this challenge. I got three ingredients: chocolate (any type), red currant and some alcohol. The dessert needed to has at least 3 different textures, a creamy part and only one part of it could be something I had made before.
To be honest the most difficult part for me was the alcohol since I don’t like the taste of it at all. I haven’t tried a lot of alcoholic drinks before but I haven’t like any. So it was a huge challenge for me to come up with something that actually tastes good even for me.
I choosed limoncello only because it looked like something I might like. I tried a sip before using it but I didn’t like it at all. So that was a good start. :D
You might have guessed that I like simple and quick recipes. But every now and then I like to challenge myself and try to make something fancy. Like this entremet. Even though it looks super complicated it doesn’t take that long to make. The only important thing to have is a rectangular cake ring. So you can get hose really sharp edges.
So the base is a thin sponge with red currants. Then a layer of white chocolate limoncello mousse that turned out pretty good and not that alcoholic at all. While I was doing it I tried it and first I tought oh god the alcohol taste is too strong but somehow after cooling it down you can’t even taste it.
Then another sponge, a thin layer of lemon curd, more mousse but this time I hid some crispy crumbles in it. Then a thin layer of red currant glaze.
I think the overall result was amazing. Really refreshing and not too sweet. The perfect dessert on a hot summer day. And we need to admire the outlook too because I think it looks pretty nice.
I know it sounds super complicated but if you prepare the lemon curd and the crumbles in advance it doesn’t take that much time. But it’s really important to let it chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours preferably overnight.
And now let me talk about Chili’s creation which was the winner of the challenge. She made donuts and served them with homemade sour cherry swirl ice cream and hot chocolate sauce. It was sooooo delicious the warm donut with the cold ice cream is one of my new favorite combination.
I loved this baking challenge and can’t wait the next one!
Limoncello Red Currant Entremet
Prep Time: 1 hour Baking Time: 15 min. Total Time: 4+ hours Portions: 8 slices
Ingredients:
Red Currant Buttery Sponges: (for two 8 inch x 10 inch or 20 cm x 30 cm rectangle layers)
100g butter (room temperature)
100g powdered sugar
½ tablesponn vanilla sugar or vanilla extract
100g (around 2 eggs) eggs (slightly beaten with a fork)
100g all-purpose flour
70g red currants
Crispy Crumb:
60g milk powder
40g all purpose flour
12g or 2 tablespoons cornflour
25g granulated sugar
½ teaspoons kosher or sea salt
55g butter (melted)
Lemon Curd:
1 large lemon (zest and juice)
1/8 cup or 25g granulated sugar
1 whole egg
2 tablespoons or 20g butter (cubed)
1 teaspoon gelatin powder
1 teaspoon water
White Chocolate Limoncello Mousse:
4 gelatin leaves (or 12g gelatin powder)
130g milk
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons limoncello
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200g white chocolate (chopped)
200g heavy cream
Red Currant Glaze:
250g red currant
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons gelatin powder
Directions:
Red Currant Buttery Sponges:
Preheat your oven to 355 F or 180 C. Draw a 16 inch x 10 inch or 40 cm x 30 cm rectangle onto a parchment paper then fold it up side down to a baking sheet.
In a large bowl beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla until pale and fluffy.
Add the slightly beaten eggs in 2-3 portions.
Fold in the flour.
Spread the batter on the parchment paper to get a slightly bigger layer. Evenly spread the red currants on the top and bake it for 15 minutes. Let it cool down completely.
Crispy Crumb:
Preheat your oven to 265 F or 130 C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl mix together the milk powder, flour, cornflour, sugar and salt.
Add the melted butter and toss together until small crumbs start to form.
Spread it onto the baking sheet and bake for 20 min. Let it cool down completely.
Lemon Curd:
Put the lemon juice, zest, sugar in a metal or glass bowl. Start cooking it on a bain-marine. ( Fill a pot with water and start boiling it. Then put the metal or glass bowl on top of the pot. Be careful and make sure that the bottom of the bowl isn’t in the water and the bowl is big enough. When you stir the curd use a kitchen cloth to hold the bowl because it can be hot.)
Stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Mix in the cold butter.
When all the butter is melted, take it off from the stove and add the egg while you stir it with a whisk or a spoon. (Make sure you stir so the egg doesn’t cook. Nobody wants crumbled eggs in their curd)
In a small bowl mix the gelatin powder and water together and let it sit for 5 minutes. Add it to the curd.
Put the curd back to the stove and stir continuously until it’s cooked and thickened.
If you curd has some cooked egg pieces pass it through a sive with a spatula.
Let it cool down a little bit. Cover it with some plastic wrap and put it in the fridge until completely cold.
White Chocolate Limoncello Mousse:
Soak your gelatin leaves in some water or add a few teaspoons of water to your gelatin powder and let it set.
Add the milk, egg yolks and limoncello into a pot and heat it up. Cook until it thickens. Stir constantly.
Squeeze the excess water from the gelatin leaves then add it to the milk mixture. Or add your soaked gelatin powder. Stir in then add the chocolate pieces and the vanilla extract. Mix until everything is disolved.
Whip up your heavy cream.
When your white chocolate mixture is at room temperature fold the whipped cream into it, in 2 portions.
Assembling the entremet and Red Currant Galze:
With the cake ring, cut your sponge to two 8 inch x 10 inch or 20 cm x 30 cm rectangles. Then put your cake ring onto a serving plate or a cake board. Put the first sponge to the bottom then pour half of the white chocolate mousse on top of it.
Place the other sponge on top of the white chocolate mousse. Spread the lemon curd on it then half of the leftover mousse. Sprinkle the curmbs on top of the mousse then cover it with the rest of the mousse. Put it in the fridge again for 30 minutes.
While the entremet is in the fridge make your glaze.
Add a few teaspoons of water to your gelatin powder and let it set.
In a small pot warm up your red currants and sugar. When all the sugar is disolved and the currants are soft use a food processor to blend it up.
Pass it through a sive with a spatula so you can separate the seeds from the puree.
While it’s still warm stir in the gelatin. Let it cool down for 5 minutes then pour it over the entremet.
Let it cool in the fridge for 4 hours or over night. Carefully remove the cake ring. Use a sharp knife to slice it into 8 even rectangles.
