Chocolate | Apricot

Hand blender

Baking paper

Food processor or hand mixer

Piping bag with plain nozzle ø15 mm

½ vanilla pod

scraped-out seeds

300 ml full cream

75 g white chocolate

35%

50 g apricot purée

e.g. e.g. by Boiron

3 g gelatine

approx. 2 leaves

50 g apricot purée

40 g Jam sugar

1 orange

1 strip of peel and ½ juice

½ vanilla pod

250 g apricots

stoned, diced

50 g white flour

15 g unsweetened cocoa powder

70 g butter

soft

70 g brown sugar

100 g water

100 g milk

85 g butter

pinch of salt

1 tsp sugar

100 g white flour

15 g cocoa powder

unsweetened

4 eggs

180 g

Slice the vanilla pod in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Put apricot purée, jam sugar, orange zest, orange juice, vanilla pod and seeds into a pan and bring to the boil. Add the diced apricots and simmer over a medium heat for approx. 2 minutes. Remove the vanilla pod. Place the apricot compote in a shallow dish and leave to cool quickly.

Soak the gelatine in ice-cold water for approx. 10 minutes. Cut the vanilla pod in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Add the vanilla pod and seeds to a pan with half of the cream. Heat until the cream just comes to the boil. Remove the pan from the hob, cover and leave to infuse for 20 minutes. Remove the vanilla pod. Reheat the vanilla cream. Place the white chocolate in a tall mixing beaker. Pour the warm vanilla cream over it and leave to stand briefly until the chocolate is soft. Add the apricot purée and the squeezed-out gelatine. Blend finely with the hand blender until a smooth, glossy mixture forms. Add the remaining cold cream and mix briefly until everything is well combined. Put the ganache in a bowl. Cover the surface directly with cling film and chill for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Mix the flour and cocoa powder. Cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the flour-cocoa mixture and work into a smooth dough. Roll out the dough to about 2 mm thickness between two sheets of baking paper. Freeze until the dough is firm. Cut out round discs approx. 5.5 cm in diameter and freeze until use.

Bring the water, milk, butter, salt and sugar to the boil in a pan. Mix the flour and cocoa powder and add all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms that comes away from the side of the pan. Continue heating the dough over a medium heat for 1–2 minutes so that excess liquid evaporates. Place the dough in the bowl of the food processor and allow it to cool slightly. Add the eggs gradually and stir until a glossy, pipeable dough forms. Fill the dough into a piping bag fitted with a 15 mm plain nozzle. Preheat the cooking space with hot air to 200 °C. Line the baking tray with baking paper. Pipe portions of dough about 5 cm in size onto the prepared baking trays, leaving enough space between them and pulling slightly upwards as you do so. Place the frozen craquelin discs on top and press down lightly. Place in the cooking chamber and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 160 °C and bake for a further 10 minutes. Do not open the cooking space during baking. Leave the choux to cool completely.

(Pre-)heat cooking space to 200 °C with Hot air

Preheating completed. Insert cookware.

Hot air 200 °C for 20 Mins

Reduce the temperature.

Hot air 160 °C for 10 Mins

Cut a 2–3 cm opening in the base of the choux. Pour in approx. 1 tbsp of apricot compote and top up with apricot ganache. Place the choux on a plate with the opening facing downwards.