Coconut and orange dessert

Before I went to Paris I researched the best pastry shops and the best pastry chefs to visit. I came across a fantastic chef Christophe Michalak and his website. On the website there are many recipes of his masterpieces, they all look amazingly delicious. Because the recipes are in French, I had a bit of difficulty translating them, but it all worked out fine in the end.

I chose to make his coconut and orange creation. It looked very elegant and the recipe was not too complicated. You can find the original recipe here. I didn't make the sorbet because I don't have an ice cream machine, instead I whipped some heavy cream with Malibu and made a nice quenelle.

The first component of the dessert is orange juice jelly, which gives nice freshness and goes well with coconut flavors. The jelly is very simple to make, all you need is fresh orange juice and agar-agar. The second component is a coconut mousse, the recipe for the mousse called for coconut puree, but I couldn't find any, instead I used coconut cream. The mousse was creamy and full of coconut flavor. The third component is a coconut dacquoise biscuit. The biscuit is similar to the pistachio meringue I made for vanilla and mango entremet. The pistachios are replaced by coconut flakes and almond powder. The biscuit gives the dessert some texture and additional coconut flavor.

I was very happy with the recipe and the finished look of the dessert. The mousse is my favorite part of the dessert, it is deliciously creamy and not too sweet. The orange jelly is just acidic enough and the biscuit is crunchy and sweet. This is a very light and small dessert, perfect after lunch or dinner.

Coconut and orange dessert

(Makes about 10 small plates)

Time:

Preparation: 1 hour

Cooking: 10min

Baking: 15min

Setting: several hours or overnight

For the coconut biscuit:

• 75g icing sugar
• 30g almond powder
• 45g coconut flakes
• 85g room temperature egg whites
• 22g white granulated sugar

For the coconut mousse:

• 180g coconut cream/puree
• 2 gelatin leaves
• 30g egg whites
• 20g white granulated sugar
• 140g heavy cream

For the orange jelly:

• 110g orange juice
• 10g white granulated sugar
• 25g water
• 1/4 teaspoon agar-agar
• 1/2 teaspoon orange liqueur (optional)

For the spiked whipping cream:

• 100g whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon Malibu liqueur 
• 1 teaspoon icing sugar
• orange zest
• coconut flakes for garnish

Making the coconut biscuit:

Preheat oven to 180°C (356°F).

Sift the icing sugar with the almond powder, add the coconut flakes and mix.

Place the egg whites in a bowl of your electric or hand mixer and whisk until foamy. 

Add the granulated sugar one spoon at a time while constantly whisking. Whisk until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites. Fold until incorporated.

To make small discs, draw circles onto a parchment paper. Pour the egg white mixture in a piping bag fitted with a round tip attachment. 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. 

Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Making the orange jelly:

Heat orange juice and water in a small sauce pan. In a small bowl, mix together sugar and agar-agar. 

Add the agar-agar mixture to the warm juice/water mixture and bring to the boil. Boil for a couple of minutes then pour the mixture in a container (thickness about 2mm). Leave at room temperature until slightly set, then transfer in a fridge to set completely, about 2 hours. 

Making the coconut mousse:

Bloom the gelatin in cold water until soft. Pour the coconut puree(cream) in a small pot on medium heat. Warm the puree, add the bloomed gelatin and stir until completely melted. Let the coconut puree cool completely. Meanwhile whisk the egg whites until foamy then add the granulated sugar a spoon at a time and whisk until stiff peaks form. 

Separately, whisk the cream to soft peaks.

Add the egg whites to the coconut mixture and mix gently. Add the whipped cream and mix. Pour the mixture in silicone molds (I used a spherical mold, 3cm diameter). Cover with plastic foil and place in the freezer to set for couple hours. 

Making the whipping cream:
Pour the cream, sugar and Malibu in a bowl of your electric or hand mixer and whisk until soft peaks form.

Assembly:
Cut the orange jelly in 5cm and 1cm diameter circles.

Unmold the coconut mousse and place together two spheres (leave for a minute to soften, gently press them together). Roll the ball in coconut flakes. Place the coconut ball on a 5cm orange jelly circle.

Place the coconut biscuit on a plate and top with a quenelle of cream. Sprinkle coconut flakes and orange zest on the cream. Place the 1cm orange jelly circle on the plate. Decorate with tempered chocolate.