Praline Mousse Terrine

Celiac disease? Who cares when you can indulge in desserts like this one? As the saying goes around here, if nobody can tell it’s gluten free, it’s been a good day at the office. Take the cake in steps and you will see that it is actually very, very simple. As I mentioned before, I’m continuing my education on all things chiffon at the moment because it really is a gorgeous cake to play around with. As I showed you with the Pistachio Coconut cake, the chiffon base can be the foundation for multiple disciplines from a simple traditional layer cake, or tweak it ever so slightly and suddenly you have a dramatic terrine on your hands.

The almond praline gives this cake just the right amount of contrasting crunch to the super moist, feather light cake and the rich chocolate mousse; in other words, it’s pretty much perfect. Oh, and the mousse is exceptionally devilish all on its own.

ENJOY!

Praline Mousse Terrine

Praline Mousse

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate
¼ cup +1 tablespoon unsalted butter, diced
4 yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon Kahlua

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup sugar
1 cup whole almonds

First make the praline:
Spray a cookies sheet with non-stick and set aside.

Pour the sugar and whole almonds into a non-reactive sauce pan and heat until the sugar begins to melt and caramelize. Shake the pan often to keep the sugar from burning and to keep the nuts moving. Do not stir as the sugar will clump and make the praline imperfect.

Pour the molten sugar onto the pan, moving quickly to get the praline as even as possible.

Allow to cool completely.

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and the butter, stirring often, until very smooth. Remove the bowl of chocolate and butter from the simmering water; set aside. In another glass bowl, using an electric mixer, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar over the simmering water until thick and shiny, about 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and fold in the melted chocolate. Fold in the Kahlua. Set aside to cool.

Whip the cream on medium speed until it holds firm folds, about 3-5 minutes. Fold into the chocolate mixture.

Chop 1 cup of the praline to a fine size and fold into the mousse.

Set aside.

Vanilla Chiffon

40g. or ¼ c. glutinous rice flour
30g. or 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon sweet sorghum flour
30g. or 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
40g. or 3 tablespoons potato starch
25g. or 3 tablespoons tapioca flour
2 teaspoons guar gum
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ¼ cups sugar

1 yolk
½ cup pure olive oil
½ cup water
4 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

6 egg whites
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and a jellyroll sheet pan with butter and line with parchment paper; grease the paper.

Combine all the dry ingredients, including ¾ cup sugar with a whisk in a large mixing bowl until uniform.

Whisk together the yolks, olive oil, water, and vanilla until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. The batter should be somewhat thick.

In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until they begin to foam and then add the kosher salt, beat until opaque, and then add the remaining ½ cup sugar. Continue to beat until the egg whites are doubled in size and have a shiny finish.

Fold the egg whites into the wet batter in three batches.
Pour into your prepared pan and bake for 10-15 minutes. The cake is done when it shrinks from the sides of the pan.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Invert onto a cutting board.

Measure the cake into four sections, 3” in width. Cut each section.

Place the bottom layer onto your serving platter. Line with a layer of the praline mousse, using an offset spatula to level the mousse. Repeat until all the cake layers have been used, finishing with a layer of mousse on top. The sides should be flush and the cake should be level.

Place the cake in the fridge to set while you make your seven minute icing.

Divide the icing in half and reserve one half for another purpose. Take the remaining half and cut in half again.

Fold in 1/3 cup shifted cocoa powder to one half until you can no longer see any of the dry cocoa.

Remove the terrine from the fridge and top with a thick layer of the white icing. Using an offset spatula, ice the sides with the chocolate icing.

Take a vegetable peeler or chocolate shaver and make large curls of semi-sweet chocolate for garnish.

Refrigerate until ready to serve. Slice with a serrated knife so you don’t end up squishing the cake and squeezing the mousse out from between the cake layers.

Serves 10

IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE HERE, THEN PLEASE CONSIDER A FAMILY RECIPE YOU WOULD LIKE TRANSFORMED INTO IT’S MODERN, GLUTEN FREE VERSION TO BE INCLUDED IN THE FIRST EVER GLUTEN FREE COMMUNITY COOKBOOK!