I’m well behind with recipe posts, but I do have a good excuse: Diego Lozano. I’ve been so busy with his arrival and the two events we hosted that I just didn’t have enough time to finish this post, given the fact that I write my recipes in two languages. Not to worry though, I will try to catch up with recipes as soon as possible as there’s plenty of things I wanna show you!
But here I am today with the final post of this amazing Banana Dulcey Entremet, a cake that was born from my love for Valrhona Dulcey. I managed to get my hands on a bag of Dulcey recently and I just can’t stop eating it – it’s delicious! I kept delaying the moment of actually using it in a dessert because I was a bit afraid of failure – it’s a pretty expensive chocolate and it tastes so good that I just didn’t want to waste any. I kept thinking what to pair it with for a while and I decided to combine it with banana and a bit of dulce de leche just to emphasize the caramel taste. The cake turned out amazingly delicious, I was impressed!
This banana Dulcey entremet is a cake to impress! The layers look so beautiful and the taste is perfectly balanced so a slice is not enough for those of you with sweet cravings. Mind you, I had two slices at midnight the day I made it! Surely not the healthiest thing I’ve ever done, but sometimes I do feel the need of being spoilt and what better way than a slice of cake, especially when that cake is as tasty and creamy as this one?!
You can easily replace Dulcey with caramelized white chocolate or plain , simple white chocolate, with caramel or milk chocolate, but keep in mind that Dulcey comes with a buttery, toasty, slightly salty, mild caramel taste that is hard to replicate. I’m absolutely smitten by it! Valrhona is said to be one of the best chocolates in the world – now I can’t say I necessarily agree, easpecially for dark chocolate, but they surely made me fall in love with Dulcey! This chocolate makes this Banana Dulcey Entremet truly special!
Ingredients
Banana sponge cake
- 30 g white sugar
- 130 g bananas sliced
- 10 g dark rum
- 100 g dark brown sugar
- 40 g honey
- 125 g butter clarified
- 125 g eggs
- 135 g all-purpose flour
- 6 g baking powder
- 100 g banana chopped
Hazelnut dacquoise
- 90 g icing sugar
- 82 g hazelnut flour
- 30 g all-purpose flour
- 105 g egg whites
- 30 g white sugar
- 60 g hazelnuts roasted and chopped
Banana compote
- 150 g bananas diced
- 50 g light brown sugar
- 50 g butter
- 2 g pectin NH
Extra
- 80 g dulce de leche
Dulcey mousse
- 170 g egg yolks
- 25 g white sugar
- 185 g milk
- 8 g gelatin + 48g water
- 390 g Dulcey Valrhona chocolate melted
- 450 g heavy cream whipped
Dulcey glaze
- 22 g gelatin + 132g water
- 125 g water
- 225 g white sugar
- 225 g glucose syrup
- 225 g Dulcey chocolate/ milk chocolate
- 160 g sweetened condensed milk
- 90 g neutral nappage
Instructions
Banana sponge cake
- Begin by caramelizing the banana slices: melt 30g sugar until golden brown. Add the banana slices and cook on each side briefly then pour in the rum. Remove from heat and place aside until needed.
- Mix the brown sugar, honey and butter in a bowl for 2 minutes. Add the eggs and mix for 1 more minute then stir in the caramelized bananas and mix to incorporate.
- Stir in the flour sifted with baking powder and salt and mix it in the batter.
- Fold in the chopped bananas then pour the batter in a large pan, making sure the layer of batter is about 1cm thick.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 350F for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and it passes the toothpick test.
- Allow to cool down in the pan then cut an 18cm diameter circle and place it in an 18cm round cake ring lined with acetate sheets. This will be the base of the insert.
Hazelnut dacquoise
- Mix the icing sugar, hazelnut flour and all-purpose flour in a bowl.
- Whip a meringue from egg whites and white sugar, mixing it until stiff and glossy.
- Fold in the hazelnut flour mixture then spoon the dough into a pastry bag and pipe a circle of about 22cm diameter on a sheet of baking paper.
- Top the batter with chopped hazelnuts and bake in the preheated oven at 350F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and slightly crisp on the edge.
- Allow to cool down in the pan then cut a 21cm diameter circle then wrap it in foil and place aside until needed.
Banana compote
- Combine the brown sugar, butter and pectin in a saucepan.
- Add the banana and cook for 2 minutes on low heat.
- Pour the compote over the banana sponge and freeze for a few hours.
- Spread the dulce de leche over the compote and freeze again.
Dulcey mousse
- Bloom the gelatin in cold water.
- Combine the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl.
- Heat the milk in a saucepan then pour it over the egg yolks.
- Place the mixture back on heat and cook until thickened and a thermometer reads 82C.
- Remove from heat and stir in the bloomed gelatin then strain it over the melted Dulcey chocolate. Mix until smooth and creamy then allow to come to room temperature.
- Fold in the heavy cream.
Dulcey mirror glaze
- Bloom the gelatin in cold water.
- Combine the water, sugar and glucose in a saucepan and bring the syrup to 103C.
- Remove from heat and stir in the bloomed gelatin sheets, followed by the condensed milk.
- Pour the mixture over the chocolate and blend until smooth and creamy. Add the neutral nappage and mix well.
- Allow to cool down to 30-35C before using.
To assemble the cake
- Line a 21cm diameter cake ring with acetate sheets and place the dacquoise at the bottom of the ring.
- Pour 1/2 of the Dulcey mousse in the cake ring. Remove the frozen insert from the mold and place it in the center of the cake ring, pressing it slightly.
- Pour the remaining mousse over the insert to cover it completely. Freeze the cake for a few hours, preferably overnight.
Notes
More banana desserts:
Buna:). Incep prin a te felicita pentru blog, e f frumos si ai retete f interesante. arata demential acest entrement si chiar vreau sa il fac in weekend.
Am 2 intrebari: ce este pectina nh si daca nu gasesc cu ce pot sa o inlocuiesc? A 2a intrebare este daca folosesc o tava cu diametrul de 26 cm ar trebui modificate si cantitatile de ingrediente?
Multumesc anticipat si iti doresc succes in continuare
Cu drag, Teodora.
Pectina NH este un agent de ingrosare, asemenator amidonului daca vrei, dar diferenta fata de amidon si alti agenti de ingrosare este faptul ca poate fi recongelata, dezghetata si recongelata sau topita/retopita de mai multe ori fara sa-si schimbe textura. Nu prea ai cu ce sa o inlocuiesti – inainte de a cumpara pectina NH, foloseam Gelfix, desi nu sunt chiar acelasi lucru.
In mod cert la o tava mai mare trebuie modificate cantitatile.
thank you for this amazing recipe
could I ask for the glaze you mentioned 22 gm gelatin sheet ..if i will use powder gelatin ..how much it will be
thanks
As long as the gelatin has the same bloom, you can use the same amount.
Bloom is the strength of the gelatin, how much it sets.
Hello! I just read your comment about bloom and would like to ask, if my gelatin (Knox) has 225 bloom,but the recipe calls for 10 grams (5 sheets) of gelatin, how do I recalculate the amount of powdered (Knox) gelatin to get the same result in the dessert?
Thank you
Tortul acesta arata bine, vreau sa il incerc de Craciun si sper sa imi iasa 🙂
Buna, Olguta! Am si eu aceeasi întrebare ca si teodora referitoare la pectina NH, apoi as mai vrea sa te intreb:
1. Cu ce pot inlocui ciocolată Dulcey? nu stiu de unde sa o iau…
2. Cele 22 g foi de gelatina inseamna aceeasi cantitate si in gelatina praf?
3. Făină de alune de pădure inseamna alune de pădure practic măcinate foarte din, da?
Multumesc!
1. Cred ca am scris si in postare, o poti inlocui cu ciocolata alba, cu lapte, neagra. Dulcey e o ciocolata alba caramelizata, practic are gust de ciocolata alba si caramel in acelasi timp.
2. Da
3. Da
Cat despre pectina, am raspuns mai sus 🙂
A fost foarte bun, am avut cereri sa pun si la pachet si sa-l repet cu prima ocazie! Desi nu a iesit chiar cum se fi trebuit, n-am avut pectina si am înlocuit cu gelatina, numai marmelada nu a fost, dar nu stia nimeni in afara de mine cum ar fi trebuit sa fie de fapt…
Multumesc, Olgura si pt aceasta reteta minunata!
Revin in doua săptămâni cu un alt entremet pe care vreau sa il incerc de la tine ?
Hello Olguta…I have been wanting to try the banana entremet from your website . However I would like to know the substitute for pectin. Is it necessary to use it. And what is the substitute if it’s not available.
Also if there is a a substitute for neutral nappage
Thirdly how do we make dulce de leche
You can omit it – just cook the mixture a little bit longer to make it stiffer.
Neutral nappage no, there’s no way to substitute it, but you an try a different kind of glaze from this blog, there are plenty that don’t have nappage in their composition.
Dulce de leche is made from sweetened condensed milk, by reducing it, boiling it for a few hours until caramelized – but I usually buy it already made.
Buna Olguta, de unde as putea cumpara napage neutru in cantitate mai mica on line( am gasit pe ftshop.ro la 5 kg sau 2,5 dar este napage neutru rece, ar fi bun?)si pot inlocui untul clarifiat cu cel normal?
Napaj neutru nu prea se gaseste in cantitati mici.
Trebuie sa fie un napaj care poate fi incalzit.
Buna Olguta!
Aceasta reteta nu mai imi da pace de cand am vazut-o 🙂 Imi doresc mult mult sa fac acest tort, insa am o mare problema: un congelator minuscul, care e deja plin cu cateva pungi de verdeturi si legume. As putea sa pun tortul doar in frigider? S-ar intari suficient mousse-ul de Dulcey sau e nevoie de congelare?
Iti multumesc in avans pentru raspuns, iti multumesc pentru retetele delicioase si aspectuoase si te felicit din inima pentru pasiunea pe care o pui in ceea ce faci!
Anca
Looks so awesome! I would like to try baking this for my husband birthday next week. Can I replace hazelnut with almond and hazelnut flour with almond flour? Appreciate your prompt reply.
Yes, of course you can. I chose hazelnuts for their intense aroma, but almonds or pecans or other type of nuts would work just as fine.
Happy Birthday to your husband! 🙂
Thank you!
What have you used to decorate the bottom of your cake?
Paillete feuilletine
what does “APA” stand for?
From looking at her other recipes written in Romanian that I’ve done it seems to be water. I also put it through google translate and ot confirmed it. Makes sense and it’s mixed with the gelatin.