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Lenôtre’s Chocolate Mousse with the Pâte à bombe technique
2016-09-24
- This Recipe
- Chef: Lenôtre
- Cuisine: French Cuisine
- Course: Dessert, Mousse, Cake Mousse, Chocolate Mousse
- Difficulty: Experienced
- Category: Course
- This Post
- Author : FX (François-xavier)
- Category: Recipe
- Posted on: Saturday September 24, 2016
- Comments : 27 Comments
-
Languages :
English | 
Français
- Ingredients
- Chocolate, Whipping cream, Egg yolks, Eggs,
- Print This Recipe
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La version Française se trouve ICI |
A magic recipe of Lenôtre for Chocolate Mousse lovers, this one makes mousses light and frothy but also solid so they can hold a long time at room temperature as well as in layer cakes Don't forget to share your photos once you tried this recipe! HERE |
About this recipeSince I tried this recipe I ditched my old chocolate mousse recipes, as this one beats them all ! This recipe makes extremely fluffy and tasty chocolate mousses |
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 | Source of the recipeI got this recipe from the Lenôtre cookbook "Ecole Lenôtre : Pastrymaking (French/English)". Lenôtre is one of the top pastry schools and pastry chefs in Paris. If you can, stop by their shop, school and restaurant on the Champs Elysées in ParisTo purchase online, see HERE |
 | I bought this book while studying in their school |
 | See the article I wrote about their school HERE |
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 | The recipe is on page 140 |
Modifications to the original recipeI modified only a few things...
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Ingredients
 | With 520 g (1 lbs 2 oz ) of CreamPâte à Bombe 4 Tablespoons Water (50 grams)⅔ Cup Sugar (150 grams)½ Cup Egg Yolks (100 grams)⅓ Cup Eggs (150 grams)Whipped Cream 2 ⅓ Cups Whipping Cream (520 grams)Chocolate 11 oz Dark Chocolate (300 grams) |
With 700 g (1 ½lbs ) of CreamPâte à Bombe ⅓ Cup Water (67.3 grams)1 Cup Sugar (201.9 grams)½ Cup Egg Yolks (134.6 grams)½ Cup Eggs (201.9 grams)Whipped Cream 3 Cups Whipping Cream (700 grams)Chocolate 1 lbs 14 oz Dark Chocolate (403.8 grams) |
With 400 g (1 lbs 14 oz ) of CreamPâte à Bombe 3 Tablespoons Water (38.4 grams)½ Cup Sugar (115.3 grams)⅓ Cup Egg Yolks (76.9 grams)⅓ Cup Eggs (115.3 grams)Whipped Cream 1 ¾ Cup Whipping Cream (400 grams)Chocolate ½lbs Dark Chocolate (230.7 grams) |
With 1 kg (2 ¼ lbs ) of CreamPâte à Bombe ½ Cup Water (96.1 grams)1 ¼ Cup Sugar (288.4 grams)¾ Cup Egg Yolks (192.3 grams)¾ Cup Eggs (288.4 grams)Whipped Cream 4 ½ Cups Whipping Cream (1 kilogram)Chocolate 1 ¼ lbs Dark Chocolate (576.9 grams) |
You will need...
Steps
Prepping the ingredients |
1. 
Place the
2. Place the bowl and the whisk what you will use to whip the cream, in the freezer. It is important that you beat the cream when it is cold and when the mixing bowl is cold too
3. Let the the
Place the Whipping Cream
(2 ⅓ Cups or 520 g) in the refrigerator2.
Place the bowl and the whisk what you will use to whip the cream, in the freezer. It is important that you beat the cream when it is cold and when the mixing bowl is cold too3. Let the the
Egg Yolks
(½ Cup or 100 g) and the theEggs
(⅓ Cup or 150 g) warm to room temperature for30 minutes
The "pâte à bombe" |
The "pâte à bombe" is a French name for a mixture that will serve as the base for the chocolate mousse.
It is a mix of beaten eggs with a hot syrup that will create thousands of bubbles while it is cooling down, while making the mousse "solid" : It's magical as the "pâte à bombe" makes mousse fluffy while making it sturdy as well... your chocolate mousse will be so fluffy, and will hold at room temperature
I'is an ideal technique for mousses that must hold at room temperature, but also for mousses that must be used inside layer cakes (to resist heavy weight of layers)
It is a mix of beaten eggs with a hot syrup that will create thousands of bubbles while it is cooling down, while making the mousse "solid" : It's magical as the "pâte à bombe" makes mousse fluffy while making it sturdy as well... your chocolate mousse will be so fluffy, and will hold at room temperature
I'is an ideal technique for mousses that must hold at room temperature, but also for mousses that must be used inside layer cakes (to resist heavy weight of layers)
The Syrup |
4. We start with the hot syrup : Pour in a saucepan the
5. Stir to combine
6.
Heat your sugar syrup over a medium-high flame
7. Bring to a boil
Water
(4 Tablespoons or 50 g) and theSugar
(⅔ Cup or 150 g)5. Stir to combine
6.
Heat your sugar syrup over a medium-high flame7. Bring to a boil
8. There is always a risk in making a syrup : Wash down the sides of the pan with a brush dipped in cold water to prevent crystallization...
9. In a mixing bowl, combine the
10. Beat at maximum speed using an egg beater or a stand mixer like the 'kitchen aid' appliance I'm using, the eggs must become light and frothy
11. Wait until the syrup temperature reaches 245 °F / 121 °C : remove the saucepan from the heat
Egg Yolks
(½ Cup or 100 g) and theEggs
(⅓ Cup or 150 g)10. Beat at maximum speed using an egg beater or a stand mixer like the 'kitchen aid' appliance I'm using, the eggs must become light and frothy
11. Wait until the syrup temperature reaches 245 °F / 121 °C : remove the saucepan from the heat
12. Pour the hot sugar syrup by streaming it into your egg whites as they continue to whip on low to medium speed
13.
Try to pour between the whisk and the side of the bowl, not on the whisk !
13.
Try to pour between the whisk and the side of the bowl, not on the whisk !
14. Once the syrup is poured, keep whipping on maximum speed for
15. The eggs become fluffy
16. Keep whisking for at least
17. You will obtain a perfect "pâte à bombe", ready to be used
a few minutes
to cool it down15. The eggs become fluffy
16. Keep whisking for at least
10 minutes
: you may stop only when the mixing bowl is not hot anymore17. You will obtain a perfect "pâte à bombe", ready to be used
The Whipped Cream |
18. Whisk the
19. You may use either a stand mixer (like a Kitchen Aid appliance) or an electric beater
20. We want to whisk for a brief moment...
21. You want a whipped cream that is not too stiff otherwise you won't be able to combine it easily with the rest
22. Once it's done, keep aside in the refrigerator
Whipping Cream
(2 ⅓ Cups or 520 g) in the mixing bowl that was set aside in the freezer19. You may use either a stand mixer (like a Kitchen Aid appliance) or an electric beater
20. We want to whisk for a brief moment...
21. You want a whipped cream that is not too stiff otherwise you won't be able to combine it easily with the rest
22. Once it's done, keep aside in the refrigerator
23. Do not whip the
24. The cream must hold to the finger, but must be soft and not too stiff
25. Place the bowl with the whipped cream in the rerfigerator
Do not whip the Cream
too long ! If the whipped cream is too stiff, it will be difficult to mix with the next batter24. The cream must hold to the finger, but must be soft and not too stiff
25.
Place the bowl with the whipped cream in the rerfigerator
The chocolate |
26. Lenôtre recommends a dark and quality
27. I then decided to mix in Milk Chocolate and found the taste much better
28. It's really up to you, but trust me, the taste is better when you combine half Milk Chocolate ( 5 oz or 150 g) and half Dark Chocolate( 5 oz or 150 g)
Dark Chocolate
at 70%, which I tried but I found it too .... much in chocolate as far as I'm concerned27. I then decided to mix in Milk Chocolate and found the taste much better
28. It's really up to you, but trust me, the taste is better when you combine half Milk Chocolate ( 5 oz or 150 g) and half Dark Chocolate( 5 oz or 150 g)
29. 
Melt the chocolate ( 11 oz or 300 g) in a double-boiler
Melt the chocolate ( 11 oz or 300 g) in a double-boiler
Mixing |
31. Mix in a bit of whipped cream
32. Whisk
33. Add in the pâte à bombe and do not whisk, but gently fold in the mixture
34. Whisking would break the fluffy structure of the mousse, you do need to fold using a rubber spatula
32. Whisk
33. Add in the pâte à bombe and do not whisk, but gently fold in the mixture
34. Whisking would break the fluffy structure of the mousse, you do need to fold using a rubber spatula
35. Gently fold and do not whisk to keep the pâte à bombe texture
36. At the end, fold in the
37. You will use a rubber spatula to gently fold
36. At the end, fold in the
Whipping Cream
in 3 times37. You will use a rubber spatula to gently fold
38. Repeat twice
39. Gently fold
39. Gently fold
40. The batter won't look so fluffy, but don't be discouraged, it now needs to rest in the fridge
41. Refrigerate for at least
41.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours
ResultYou may use this recipe for individual Mousse dessert, or use it in a layer cake.Enjoy !! |
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The result and the pix
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4 Tablespoons Water (50 g)
⅔ Cup Sugar (150 g)
½ Cup Egg Yolks (100 g)
⅓ Cup Eggs (150 g)
2 ⅓ Cups Whipping Cream (520 g)
11 oz Dark Chocolate (300 g)
Comments for This Recipe
Use a large tip with the pastry bag, to keep the airy texture
Both pate a bombe and whipped cream can wait in the fridge
Yes, this mousse can be frozen a few hours, will become hard,
- Then glaze with a mirror glazing while frozen, but not warmer than 80 °F / 25 °C,
- and then thaw in the fridge a few hours
i would use it right after making it, finish the dessert and then refrigerate.
Many chocolates I buy in American supermarkets do not work well when melted. They do not contain the right ratio of cocoa butter, and above all, they are added with nasty ingredients that makes it hard to melt and work in this mousse.
Try to buy a professional grade chocolate like Valrhona or Cacao Barry. It will not only work better but also taste much better.
Yes, Callebaut is a very good brand too. I am not using it, but chocolatiers (chocolate professionals) like this brand.
Though I am fond of chocolate, I usually use half milk chocolate and half dark chocolate
The recipe with 720g cream makes enough to frost two of 4-layer 7-inch cakes (which is A LOT haha). The pic I've attached is frosted using about half of the 720g cream recipe.
I made this without a kitchen thermometer and hand-whisked the sugar and egg mixture to form the pate a bombe. Took about 25 mins of vigorous whisking. Hope my comments will help future makers of this recipe.
First of all I wanted to say thank you for all the information you had post in your entire blog. I loved your honesty about changing- modifying a recipe, not a lot of people will be this transparent.
I am curious to know why you have decided to use 100grs. less than the original recipe. Also curious on why you decided yo ad milk chocolate in your final ratio? That was a particular reason, for example "taste-texture" or perhaps a technical-culinary reason?.
Thanks in advance for your answer.
Wishing you a Happy New Year Chef.
Thanks
I use 100 g (¼ lbs ) less, for 2 reasons :
- Although I like chocolate, I found that it was too intense.
- By decreasing the amount of chocolate, I find that the mousse is more fluffy/airy, which is something that my guests appreciate
Happy new year !
So I tried your recipe. I have to say that like you say this chocolate mousse is : "light and frothy but also solid so they can hold a long time at room temperature as well as in layer cakes"
Yes it tasted great, its light and frothy, but it had a lack of structure, so I won't recommend this for layer cakes as this formulation is not capable to hold the weight of a layer cake. I
It is different when you pour a mousse in a glass and let it crystalize there as it has a vessel to hold its shape, but using this for layer cakes is a big No-No.
Possibly due to that you are using a chocolate with a lower content of cocoa butter than its original recipe.
For this recipe to work you should use some gelling agent to have a stronger structure if you are intended to use the mousse in a cake.
If you are using this recipe to be in a glass it is fib=ne as you had formulated it.
Thanks
How far in advance could this be made and refrigerated before eating it, maybe a number of days before it loses its freshness?
Well actually it is best if you wait a full day before eating it