La Noisette 2.0, the individual hazelnut, caramel, and chocolate cake by Cédric Grolet
La Noisette is one of the emblematic cakes of the award-winning Cédric Grolet, chef Pâtissier of the restaurant Le Meurice Alain Ducasse (Paris), owner of two establishments and one of the most ascending French pastry chefs. In addition, he is one of the protagonists of the book “50 gâteaux de grands pâtissiers”, published by Editions La Martinière and available in French on our Books For Chefs online store.
To write the book, its author Hélène Luzin interviewed up to 50 great chefs who, in addition to sharing thoughts and experiences, revealed the recipe for their most iconic dessert. In the case of Grolet, La Noissete, which he came up with in 2013 or 2014, he says, “I remember working on it with Maxime Frédéric and Jimmy Boulay at Meurice. The first noisette I created, which didn’t come out, was hazelnut, raw, autumnal, and very classic”.
“Because I am pretty successful on social media,” he continues, “my way of communicating is a bit 2.0. I was an innovator with posts, photos. But, as I always say, when a pastry chef begins to feel proud and confident, that is the beginning of the end. La Noisette, which we showed in so good.. #18, got off to such a strong start, I wanted to make it even better. The first Noisette was fine, but I find the 2.0 much more refined, with less sugar, fresher, with a real hazelnut flavor. I called it 2.0 in reference to my notoriety on social networks. And I made it without dyes, without useless additives”.
La Noisette 2.0
For four to six pieces
Hazelnut Ganache
- 500 g UHT cream
- 25 g powdered sugar
- 50 g egg yolks
- 10 g gelatin
- 200 g mascarpone
- 150 g hazelnut cream
In a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Make a crème anglaise with the sugar and the egg yolks. Pour over the rehydrated gelatin, the mascarpone, and the hazelnut cream. Mix for a long time.
Hazelnut Gel
- 100 g hazelnut milk
- 7 g powdered sugar
- 18 g egg yolk
- 0,5 g xanthan gum
- 15 g hazelnut paste
Make a crème anglaise with hazelnut milk. Let it cool and mix in the Thermomix, adding the xanthan gum and the hazelnut cream.
Chocolate caramel
Photo: Guillaume Czerw- 84 g glucose (1)
- 76 g powdered sugar
- 200 g liquid cream
- 72 g milk (1)
- 40 g glucose (2)
- 72 g chocolate
- 56 g butter
- 300 g hazelnut cream
- 2 g fleur de sel
- 150 g milk (2)
In a saucepan, cook the glucose (1) and the sugar at 190 ºC. Deglaze with the hot cream, milk (1), and glucose (2). Bake at 102ºC, then cool to 70ºC. Add the chocolate, butter, hazelnut paste and fleur de sel. Finish with the milk (2). Mix and pass through a chinois.
Hazelnut Praliné
- 50 g hazelnuts
- 15 g powdered sugar
- 1 g fleur de sel
Toast the hazelnuts in the oven at 165ºC. Make a dry caramel with the sugar. When cold, mix the hazelnuts, the caramel, and the fleur de sel.
Hazelnut crunch
- 50 g hazelnuts
- 20 g hazelnut praline
Toast the hazelnuts in the oven at 165ºC. Crush them and add the praline.
Kappa
- 1 l water
- 150 g powdered sugar
- 100 g glucose
- 15 g kappa
Weigh all the ingredients together. Boil for two minutes.
Milk coating
Photo: Guillaume Czerw- 50 g cocoa butter
- 50 g milk couverture
Melt the cocoa butter in the saucepan. Pour the milk couverture. Stir.
Chocolate coating
- 40 g cocoa butter
- 40 g chocolate coating
Melt the cocoa butter in the saucepan. Pour the chocolate couverture.
Ivoire couverture
- 400 g cocoa butter
- 400 g Ivoire couverture (Valrhona)
Melt the cocoa butter in the saucepan. Pour the Ivoire couverture.
Montage
Inside spherical molds 4.5 cm in diameter, put ¼ of the crunchy, par-dessus the hazelnut caramel, then the hazelnut gel. Finish with the praline. Freeze between each stage. Immerse in 5.5 cm diameter molds with the hazelnut mousse (you can use the Pavoni hazelnut mold). Cover soaking it in the milk coating with marbled ivoire and chocolate. Just a few seconds later, plunge into the 60°C kappa.
