Scarlett WPraline Cake (Pralinette)
July 26th 2007 10:59
Praline Cake
About Praline
In French cookery praline is a powder or paste made of caramelized almonds and / or hazelnuts. American cookery refers to a candy consisting of caramel and pecans.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 12 (12 individual serving cakes)
24 marjolaine sponge cake disks (7 cm / 2¾ in. in diameter)
680 gm Light Praline Cream
600-800 gm milk chocolate couverture
cocoa powder as needed
For the marjolane sponge cake
120 gm confectioners’ sugar
120 gm powdered almonds
100 gm egg yolks
210 gm egg whites
90 gm sugar
90 gm pastry flour, sifted
For the Light Praline Cream
200 gm butter, softened
100 gm praline paste
40 gm Cognac
340 gm Italian Meringue
For the Italian Meringue
500 gm / 1 lb sugar
125 ml / 4 oz water
250 gm / 8 oz egg whites
1. To prepare the sponge cake, combine the confectioners’ sugar, almonds, and egg yolks. Beat well.
2. Add 60gm of egg whites. Whip until thick and light.
3. Whip the remaining 150 gm of egg whites with 90 gm of sugar to make a common meringue. Fold into the egg yolk mixture.
4. Fold in the flour.
5. Line sheet pans with parchment paper. Fit a pastry bag with a medium plain tip. Mark 24 X 7-cm diameter circles on a sheet of parchment and pipe the batter in a spiral to fill the circle.
6. Bake for 10 minutes at 180ºC.
7. To prepare the Italian Meringue, heat 500 gm of sugar and water in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture boils. Boil until a candy thermometer placed in the syrup registers 117 ºC.
8. While the syrup is cooking, beat the egg whites in a mixing machine until they form soft peaks.
9. With the machine running, very slowly beat in the hot syrup.
10. Continue beating until the meringue is cool and forms firm peaks. Set aside.
11. To prepare the Light Praline Cream, whip together the butter and praline paste until smooth and light.
12. Whip in the cognac.
13. Mix in 340 gm of the Italian Meringue. Set aside.
14. To make the Praline Cakes, for each cake, place one sponge disk in the bottom of a ring mold 7-cm in diameter and 4-cm in height.
15. Using a pastry bag with a large plain tip, fill the mold with praline cream to within 1-cm of the top.
16. Remove the ring mold, using a blowtorch to help release the sides.
17. To prepare chocolate, melt the milk chocolate couverture.
18. Heat three clean half-size sheet pans at 160 ºC for 4 minutes. The tray should be warm but not too hot to handle. (The purpose of warming the pans is to enable you to spread a thinner coat of chocolate; be careful, however, not to get the pans too hot. Some prefer to use cold trays)
19. Turn the sheet upside down and spread melted milk chocolate in a thin, even layer on the bottom of the pan. Let stand until the chocolate looks cloudy, then refrigerate until set.
20. Remove from the refrigerator and let warm to room temperature.
21. To make chocolate strips, push the scraper against the tray and, with the other hand, lift off the strip of chocolate as it is released by the scraper.
22. Handle the strip of chocolate as little and as lightly as possible, wrap it around the pastry.
23. Fold the top edge of the chocolate over the top of the pastry. Decorate the top with additional narrow strips of chocolate.
24. Sprinkle very lightly with cocoa powder.
**From “Professional Baking” and “Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia”**
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