FROM MONACO TO JOHANNESBURG THREE SPECIAL RECIPES TO CELEBRATE MOTHER’S DAY

by Silvana Rivella – Deputy Director of Montecarlotimes Editions – silvana.rivella@gmail.com

MONACO. On June 7, celebrate and surprise your mothers by preparing a special dessert for them. You have the choice between two recipes offered by SBM – Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer – plus a special one concocted in Johannesburg, home of HSH the Princess Charlene of Monaco

Marcel Ravin, chef at the Michelin-starred Blue Bay restaurant at the Monte-Carlo Hotel and Resort, shares his recipe for a pineapple and coconut entremet full of sweet, fragrant flavors that transport your taste buds to sunnier climes.

PINEAPPLE AND COCONUT ENTREMETS by Marcel Ravin

1. Genoise ingredients: 4 eggs, 125g sugar, 125g flour, 20g butter.

Method: Add the eggs and sugar to a pan and heat to 35°. Transfer to a stand mixer and whisk. Continue until the mixture is cool and reaches the “ribbon stage”. Combine gently with the flour and melted butter. Spread the batter onto a parchment-lined baking tray and bake at 180°C for 7-8 minutes. Set aside.

2. Pineapple cremeux ingredients: 100g pinapple (peeled and stoned), 30g egg yolks, 34g eggs, 25g sugar, 34g butter, ½ leaf of gelatine, ¼ lime.

Method: Soak the gelatin in cold water and squeeze out any excess. Transfer the softened gelatin to a bowl and add all other ingredients except the butter. Stir the mixture as you bring it to a gentle simmer and continue until it reaches a gel-like texture. Remove from the heat and cool to 35°/40°C, then incorporate the butter and blend to an emulsion. Transfer to a ring and freeze immediately.

3. Coconut mousse ingredients: 125g cream, 1/4 vanilla pod, 175g coconut puree, 60g egg whites, 50g sugar, 2 leaves of gelatine (softened), 14g Malibu.

Method: Start by heating the sugar with some water. Whisk the eggs and add the sugar once it has reached 121°C. Leave to cool. Whisk the cream until light and fluffy. Heat the coconut puree and add the softened gelatin. Fold the meringue into the puree and finish by gently combining with the cream.

4. Syrup ingredients: 150g water, 75g sugar, rum to taste

Method: Heat the ingredients together until they reach a syrupy consistency.

5. Assembly

Method: Prick the genoise and soak it with the rum syrup. Place the genoise into a lined 14cm ring. Add the disc of pineapple cremeux on top, then pour a little coconut mousse around the disc of genoise. Cover with coconut mousse. Smooth and transfer to the freezer. Once frozen, remove the entremets and arrange with some pineapple slices. Decorate as desired or follow the picture as below.

Frank Cerutti, executive chef of all the Hôtel de Paris restaurants (le Grill, le Côté Jardin and la Salle Empire) delivers Le Grill’s traditional dessert, the recipe for chocolate soufflé: its melting cocoa heart, its slightly crunchy texture and its lightness always lights up the face of the guests. 

TRADITIONAL CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉ by Frank Cerutti

1. Pastry cream ingredients 5 egg yolks, 50 cl whole milk, 100 g caster sugar, 65 g all-purpose flour
2. Soufflé Batter ingredients 400 g egg whites (1 egg white = 30 g), 200 g caster sugar, 20 g butter, 85 g cocoa powder, 400 g pastry cream, 10 g icing sugar & cocoa powder at the end on the top

Method: Bring the whole milk to boil in a pan. Mix egg yolks, caster sugar and the floor, pour the boiling milk into this mixture and replace it over low heat. Take two cake molds, butter it and sugar it. Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. At the last moment, adding caster sugar to strengthen egg whites.  Add to the pastry cream: cocoa powder and smoothly the egg whites. Pour the mixture into cake molds and bake it directly for 13 minutes at 200°C.  Right out of the oven, sprinkle with icing sugar and cocoa powder.

Architect and gourmet Paul Visagie love to delight his friends inviting them at his table in his splendid home in Dunkeld Johannesburg. Here he shares a wonderfully decadent dessert also to honor one of his most famous compatriots, South African HSH princess Charlene of Monaco.

PASSION FRUIT AND ORANGE CURD TART by Paul Visagie for Princess Charlene

1. Tart Base ingredients: 370 g butter, at room temperature, 250 g caster sugar, 3 large eggs,700 g plain flour, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 0.5 tsp salt

Method: Make the pastry base, beat the sugar and butter, until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and mix through. Beat the eggs in, one by one. Sift the flour and salt together. While beating, add the flour and salt to the butter mix, bit by bit, till you have a crumbly dough. Gather the dough by hand and gently kneed till smooth. Be careful not to overwork it. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, before rolling out between two layers of clingfilm to a thickness of 3mm (to a circle a bit bigger than a 28cm flan tin with a removable base).

2. Filling ingredients: 8 ripe passion fruit, 450ml orange juice, 350g caster sugar, 8 eggs, 300ml double cream, 60g chocolate

Method: Cut 8 passion fruit open and scrape the pulp into a pan. Add the orange juice and bring to the boil until reduced by halve. Strain through a fine sieve and set aside. To make the filling, in a large jug beat the reduced fruit juice, cream, eggs and sugar until smooth. Put the tart base back into the oven, on the middle shelf. Carefully pull the shelf out a bit to allow access to pour the filling mixture into the tart case in the oven. Fill to the top of the tart case and carefully push the shelf back in. Close the oven and bake for 40 minutes, until slightly set. Remove the tart from the oven and let it cool. The filling will firm up as it cools. Place in the refrigerator till ready to serve.

3. Passion Fruit Coulis ingredients: 2 ripe passion fruits, 50g icing sugar,1 tbs water

Method: To make the passion fruit coulis, cut open the remaining 2 passion fruit and scrape the pulp into a small mixing bowl. Add the icing sugar and 1 tbs water and whisk till combined and the sugar is dissolved.

4. Assembly: Butter the flan tin. Place the rolled pastry in the tin and tuck the corners and sides  in nicely. Trim the pastry level with the top. Prick the base, and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Line the tart case with aluminum foil and fill with baking beans.  Place in the oven and bake blind for 15 minutes. Take out of the oven, remove the foil and beans, and return to the oven for a further 7 minutes. Remove the tart case from the oven and leave to cool a bit. Reduce the oven temperature to 150 degrees C. Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt in a heatproof bowl and over a pot of simmering water. Using a pastry brush, paint the bottom of the baked tart case with the melted chocolate. Place in the refrigerator to set. To serve, take the tart from the refrigerator, remove the loose side from the flan tin, cut into slices and serve with the coulis, some whipped cream, and a dusting of icing sugar, following this article cover’s Image.

Happy Mother Day! Enjoy!