Passion Fruit Recipes so good #21 Spanish Pastry Chefs Xavi Donnay

White chocolate and passion fruit roche bonbon by Xavi Donnay

The Pastry chef of the three starred Lasarte, Xavi Donnay, combines two of his main passions. One is the art of the plated dessert, transient and suggestive, often incorporated into a gastronomic menu that equally shares creativity, innovation, sensitivity, intensity and a taste of homeland. The other of his passions has more to do with the trade of a pastry shop’s owner, with chocolaterie and traditional pastry creations. In this case, he worries about launching them in an especially mini format as petit fours at the end of the menu. For Xavi Donnay the mini format is in fashion, it is seen more and more, and it is also going to be more demanded by the consumer not only in a gastronomic restaurant -where it is also the last flavor which is recorded into the clients’ minds before leaving-, but also in other places and ahead of individual or family formats.

Besides the white chocolate roche, other varieties served in the restaurant are made of dark chocolate with different textures and also of milk chocolate with caramel and soy.

White chocolate mousse

250 g milk
500 g semi-whipped cream
465 g white chocolate
4 u gelatin sheets

Heat the milk and add the gelatin sheets, previously hydrated. Strain and pour over the non-melted white chocolate. Emulsify. When the mixture is at 28¼C, gently fold in the cream and use immediately. Transfer the mousse to a piping bag and pipe into ‘micro-stone’ molds. Deep freeze, unmold and dip into a tempered mixture of chocolate and almond. Allow to drain and leave to crystallize on a silicone mat. Reserve in the refrigerator.

White crémeux

Créme anglaise

250 g milk
250 g cream
100 g egg yolks
50 g sugar

Make a conventional créme anglaise and scale the needed amount for the preparation of the crémeux.

Crémeux

250 g crème anglaise
2 u gelatin sheets
135 g white chocolate, 40% cocoa

Whisk the previously hydrated and drained gelatin into the créme anglaise. Gradually pour the cream over the chocolate and emulsify with the help of a handheld blender. Pipe into round molds to make the bases.

Passion fruit cream

360 g sugar
150 g passion fruit juice
90 g lime juice
338 g eggs
525 g butter
3 u gelatin sheets

Mix the sugar, eggs and juices and heat until just below the boiling point. Remove from the heat and add the gelatin, previously hydrated in ice water and drained. Allow to cool until the temperature of the cream is between 40 and 45¼C and emulsify with the butter by using a handheld blender for 5 minutes. Strain and reserve in the refrigerator. Mold.

White coating

350 g white chocolate
200 g Inspiration passion fruit couverture
25 g sunflower oil
125 g almond, coarsely crushed

Melt the chocolates in the microwave oven, add the oil and temper to 29¼C. Add the almond bits and use.

Velvet spray

700 g white chocolate
300 g cocoa butter
6 g natural white coloring

Separately melt the chocolate in the microwave oven and the cocoa butter in a pan. Combine both and apply onto the frozen mousse at 40¼C.

Montage

Once the bases have been coated, place a dot of passion fruit cream and lay the velvet-sprayed mousse on top. Finish with chocolate pop rocks tossed in silver powder.