Strawberry Delights

Strawberry Delights

(For 4 to 6, 3 inch round delights)
Create 12 (or more) 3inch round Almond Dacquoise:

Draw 3inch circles on the underside of a piece of parchment paper. Place the paper onto a flat sheet pan. Create a medium to stiff peak French meringue by whipping 50g of egg whites with 50g of granulated sugar. Fold into the meringue 50g of almond flour. Use some meringue to hold down the corners of the parchment, and pipe the meringue just inside of the drawn circles. Bake immediately at 225ｰF (professional convention oven) until lightly browned and completely dry (this bakes for more than an hour and can be held for a few days if kept in an air tight container).

Create a Biscuit Joconde:

Mix 185g of almond flour with 85g of granulated sugar and 45g all-purpose flour. Add 5 whole eggs one at a time until light and fluffy. Create a medium to stiff peak French meringue by whipping 125g egg whites, 100 grams of granulated sugar and a pinch of salt. Fold the meringue into the first mixture and spread evenly onto a large parchment paper lined sheet pan.

Bake at 375ｰF until it is evenly browned and springs back to the touch (approximately 7 minutes). Once baked, dust with powdered sugar and remove immediately from the parchment on which it was baked. Allow to cool then cut 4, 3inch disks from the Joconde (the remainder of the Joconde can be wrapped and saved for later use).

Prepare the Strawberries:

3 medium strawberries thinly sliced

25mL (approximately) Benimosu (purple sweet potato vinegar) Place sliced strawberries into a small bowl and pour Benimosu so that the majority of the strawberries are mostly covered. Set aside to marinade.

Prepare Italian-Meringue Buttercream:

Heat 300g of granulated sugar with 150mL water in a small pot until the sugar reaches softball stage. Meanwhile start a French meringue by whisking 150g egg whites with 75g granulated sugar. Simultaneously bring the sugar to softball stage and the meringue to medium peak. Pour the sugar down the side of the bowl while the meringue is being mixed on low speed. Increase the speed to bring the meringue to body temperature then add 450g cubed (European style) butter mixing until smooth.

Prepare white chocolate ganache:

Bring 50mL of heavy cream to a boil then pour over 50g of chopped white chocolate. Allow to sit for a few minutes undisturbed so that the chocolate melts, then stir to create a homogeneous mixture.

Prepare simple syrup:

Bring 50g of granulated sugar to a boil with 50mL of water. Remove from heat. Flavor the syrup by adding 2tsp of the juice from the marinating strawberries, and mixing thoroughly Prepare white chocolate Cr鑪e d丹r:

Whip 50mL heavy cream to medium peak and fold into 50g of melted white chocolate.

Flavor 175g of Italian-Meringue Buttercream:

Add 2tbs of the juice from the marinating strawberries to 175g of buttercream and mix until homogeneous.

Assemble the Delights:

Brush the Joconde circles with the simple syrup mixture. Spread a thin layer of ganache onto the Joconde. Place a thin layer of marinated strawberries over the ganache. Place a Dacquoise circle on top of the strawberries. Cover the disk with Cr鑪e d丹r. Place a thin layer of marinated strawberries on top of the Cr鑪e d丹r. Place another Dacquoise circle on top. Crum coat the Delights with a thin layer of the flavored buttercream and chill. Once the buttercream is set frost the Delights with the flavored buttercream. Create a small boarder with sliced almonds around the bottom of the Delight. Plate with strawberries and a puree made of the left over marinated strawberries, marinade and simple syrup.