Festuc cake with mousse, mousseline, coating, and pistachio crumble by Ruth Gou
After her brilliant training at the Escuela de Pastelería del Gremio de Barcelona (EPGB), Ruth Gou worked as a bakery manager at the prestigious La Pastisseria de Josep María Rodríguez in Barcelona and later as a pastry teacher at the Basque Culinary Center in the Basque Country.
In 2023, she fulfilled one of her great dreams. Thanks to the partnership with Enara Ferrarons, Gou was able to open her own pastry shop in her native Palafrugell (Catalan Costa Brava), inside a café. This shared business – Nareta Café & Gou Pastisseria – is booming and with increasing activity throughout the year. Here, the chef gives free rein to her philosophy, creating a spectacular assortment of signature pastries and cakes, avoiding traditional preparations that other establishments in the town already serve.
Below we share the recipe for Festuc, a cake in which she shows off the enormous versatility of pistachios, working them in different textures.
Festuc
Pistachio mousse
- 1,114 g 35% MG cream
- 240 g gelatin mass
- 700 g 35% MG cream
- 700 g whole milk
- 280 g pasteurized egg yolks
- 140 g sugar
- 840 g 60% pistachio praline
- 2 g salt
Semi-whip the first cream and keep in the refrigerator. Make a traditional crème anglaise with the second cream, the milk, the egg yolks, the salt, and the sugar. Add the gelatin. Emulsify with the praline. Assemble with the first cream when the cream is above 30ºC.
Pistachio mousseline
- 45 g water
- 180 g sugar
- 120 g pasteurised egg whites
- 240 g butter
- 216 g pure pistachio paste
Make an Italian meringue with the syrup at 120ºC which will be poured over the egg whites while being beaten. At the same time, cream the butter together with the pure pistachio paste. When the meringue is ready, combine with the previous mix.
Pistachio coating
- 600 g 35% Ivoire white couverture
- 400 g cocoa butter
- 200 g sunflower oil
- 680 g pure pistachio paste
- 3 g salt
Melt all the ingredients and keep at 40ºC.
Gluten-free pistachio crumble
- 277 g rice flour
- 277 g pistachio
- 166 g sugar
- 277 g butter
- 1 g salt
Blend the pistachios with the rice until you get a floury texture. Blend in the machine with the rest of the ingredients until you get the desired texture. Store in the freezer until you use it.
Reconstructed pistachio crumble
- 960 g gluten-free pistachio crumble
- 210 g 35% Ivoire white chocolate
- 105 g butter
- 127 g pure pistachio paste
Place the butter, chocolate, and pure paste in the bowl of the machine. Cook the crumble at 160ºC for about 10 minutes. Once the crumble is cooked, and still hot, blend it in the machine with the rest of the ingredients. Measure out into discs of the desired size and thickness.
Assembly
Mold the pistachio mousse. Freeze, unmold, and cover. Place a disk of the same size as the reconstructed crumble on top. Using a turntable, pipe the mousseline on top.
