Vanilla and mango entremet

Me and my husband are going to Paris for my birthday in two weeks and I'm so excited I can hardly wait. Paris is probably the best city for desserts. I have been researching all kinds of pastry shops and patisseries we are going to visit. One of the most famous French pasty chefs is Pierre Herme and he is a master of macarons and pastries. His pastry shop is first on my list to visit and I can't wait to try all of his amazing creations. The one that caught my eye the most was the vanilla tart or "tarte infiniment vanille". It looks amazing and I have heard that it is also very delicious.

The vanilla tart was my inspiration when I was making my vanilla and mango entremet. I have found the recipe for Pierre's vanilla tart and I was tempted to try and recreate it. The recipe is complex, quite long and it requires a lot of ingredients that are unavailable in Slovenia. Instead of recreating his tart I decided to make my own interpretation of the dessert but with the addition of mango. Mango gave the dessert some freshness and texture.
The main element is the vanilla mousse and the whipped vanilla-mango ganache. The ganache was probably the best ganache I have ever had, it was sooth and creamy with a hint of mango flavor. The vanilla mousse also turned out great but, because I used a lot of vanilla, the vanilla seeds were clustered together at the top of the mousse and the mousse didn't look that appealing. Luckily the white chocolate glaze covered the black seeds.

For the base of the entremet I made a pistachio meringue discs, the recipe makes more discs than needed but they are so delicious that you can eat them like cookies and are even better if you smear some of the leftover vanilla-mango ganache on them.

I made mango gelee and ganache with canned mango because it is very difficult to find ripe and sweet mangoes here. The gelee could have more flavor and would be probably better if you use fresh mango if possible.
I also made a white chocolate glaze, which gave a nice sheen and taste to the vanilla mousse. I colored the glaze with orange food coloring. I used americolor gel paste for coloring, I use the same for my macarons and I'm very happy with them.

There are a few components in this recipe, but the effort is payed off when you taste and see what you have created. The recipe is not difficult, all you need is good time management and quality ingredients and you can easily accomplish it.

Vanilla and mango entremet

(Makes about 6)

   Time:

     Preparation: 2 hours

Cooking: 45min

Baking: 15min

Setting: a few hours and overnight

For the mango gelee:

• 140g mango (I used canned, but use fresh if you can)
• 1 teaspoon lemon liqueur (optional)
• 2 gelatin sheets
• 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar

For the vanilla mousse:

• 100ml milk
• 30g granulated white sugar
• 1 vanilla pod
• 1 big egg yolk
• 2 gelatin sheets
• 140g heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla rum/dark rum (optional)

For vanilla and mango ganache:

• 225g heavy cream
• 1 vanilla pod
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 250g white chocolate
• 100g mango

For the pistachio meringue:

• 70g ground pistachio
• 100g icing sugar
• 3 room temperature egg whites
• 35g white granulated sugar

For the white chocolate glaze:

• 135g white chocolate
• 1 gelatin sheet
• 85g heavy cream
• 20g water
• 15g glucose syrup
• 12g vegetable oil

Making the mango gelee:

Soak gelatin sheets in cold water and set aside.

Place mango pieces and sugar in a bowl and blend with the immersion blender or use a food processor. 

Blend until smooth and transfer the mixture to a small pot. Cook the mixture until it reaches around 80°C (176°F).

Add the lemon liqueur, squeeze the excess water from the gelatin and add to the hot mango mixture. Stir and pour in a measuring cup. 

Pour the mixture in small round silicone molds to set. Once cooled, cover with plastic foil and transfer the silicone mold into a freezer.

Making the vanilla mousse:

Soak gelatin sheets in cold water and set aside.

In a small sauce pan, on low heat, bring the milk to a boil. Meanwhile combine the egg yolk, sugar and seeds from the vanilla bean (place the leftover bean in the milk to infuse) in another pot. When the milk boils pour a small amount of hot milk over the egg yolk mixture while constantly whisking. Continue whisking and slowly pour the remainder of the milk in with the yolk. Place the pot back on medium heat and cook until the mixture boils and it thickens slightly. Take the pot of the heat and stir in the soaked gelatin and stir. Add the rum and strain the mixture to get rid of any lumps and cooked egg pieces. 

Cool the mixture completely (place the bowl with the mixture in a bowl with cold water), it is very important to really cool the mixture down so that the whipped cream doesn't melt. Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Gently fold 1/3 of the cream in the vanilla mixture. Fold the vanilla mixture back into the cream until combined. Pour in the piping bag and set aside. The mousse will be quite loose but it will firm in the freezer.

Unmold the frozen mango gelee. 

Pour a small amount of mousse into medium sized round silicon molds, place the frozen mango gelee on the mousse and top with the rest of the mousse. Cover with plastic foil and place the mold in the freezer. 

Making the pistachio meringue:

Prepare two baking sheets and, according to the size of your silicon molds for the vanilla mousse, draw circles on the parchment paper. Flip over the parchment paper and set aside.

Preheat oven to 160°C (320°F). 

Sift ground pistachios and icing sugar together in bowl.

Whisk the egg whites until foamy, then start adding the granulated sugar in small additions. Whisk until stiff peaks form.

Fold the dry ingredients gently into the meringue until combined.

Pour the mixture in a big piping bag fitted with a round attachment. Pipe the meringue on the parchment paper in a circle. Start piping from the middle and go all the way around until you reach the edges of a circle that you have drawn on the parchment paper. It is not as easy as it seems and the circles were not perfect but with more practice they will get there.

Place the sheets in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the meringues cool completely in the oven. After they are cool they should easily come of the parchment paper. Store them in the airtight container.

Making the vanilla-mango ganache:
Split open the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Place the seeds and the bean in a pan with heavy cream. Bring the cream to a boil and take off the heat. Let the cream cool and infuse for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile chop the white chocolate into small pieces and melt it over a pot of simmering water and set aside. Take the vanilla bean from the cream and add the vanilla paste. bring the cream to a boil again. Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate in three additions.

Mix and set aside.
Place mango pieces in a bowl and blend with the immersion blender or use a food processor. Once you have a smooth mango puree pour it in the white chocolate mixture. Gently mix until fully combined. Place in the fridge to set.

After the ganache is fully set, place it in the bowl of you electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whip the ganache until stiff. Be careful not to over whip, because it could split. Spoon in a piping bag with your favorite attachment (I used star) and set in a fridge.

Making the white chocolate glaze:
Place the gelatin sheet in a bowl of cold water.
Chop the white chocolate and melt it over a bowl of simmering water. Pour the heavy cream, glucose, water and oil into a pot and bring to a boil.

Place the mixture off the heat and stir in the soaked gelatin. Pour the hot mixture over the melted chocolate and stir to combine. Add orange food coloring (if using) and stir.

Pour the glaze into a measuring cup and set aside to cool.

Assembly:
Unmold the vanilla mouse and place on the wire rack over a large bowl. Pour over the cooled white chocolate glaze. I poured two layers of the glaze, to cover up the vanilla seeds in the mousse.

Take the pistachio meringue and pipe a small amount of vanilla-mango ganache on top. Smear the ganache and carefully place the glazed vanilla mousse on top.

 Pipe the additional ganache on the edges of the pistachio meringue.

Let it sit at room temperature to defrost or you can put it in the fridge if you're not in a hurry. Before serving decorate with tempered chocolate or any decorations of your choice. I made two different presentations, here you can really have fun and let you imagination run free.