Caramelized Banana Feuilletée With Chocolate Sauce
Mille Fleurs’ Chef Martin Woesle is a prize-winning magician in the kitchen. Here’s his scrumptious recipe, which we’re calling Puff, the Magic Feuilletée.
Serves 4
1 pound puff pastry sheet
3 ripe bananas*
White Chocolate Mousse
8 ounces white chocolate
4 gelatin sheets
2 eggs
1 teaspoon Grand Marnier
2 cups cream
Chocolate sauce
6 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup milk
Powdered sugar, mint leaves
1. Roll out the puff pastry as thin as possible and transfer it to a large sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Cover pastry with another layer of paper and set one sheet pan on top (to prevent the pastry from rising as it bakes).
2. Bake the pastry at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Take off the top pan and paper and bake for another five minutes, or until golden brown. With a round 3-inch-diameter cookie cutter, cut out 12 circles while the pastry is still warm. Set circles aside and seal them in an airtight container, if not using them right away.
3. To prepare mousse, cut chocolate into small pieces and melt in a medium-size stainless-steel bowl over a pot with boiling water. Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water for 2 minutes. In another bowl, beat the eggs and the Grand Marnier together. Add the gelatin and heat the mixture slightly over boiling water to dissolve the gelatin sheets. Add the egg mixture to the melted chocolate and mix together well. Whip the cream to a soft peak and fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour the mousse into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours.
4. To assemble the feuilletée lay out a puff pastry circle on a sheet pan. With a pastry bag, pipe a layer of white chocolate mousse on the circle. Layer 1/4-inch-thick banana slices on the mousse. Slice a banana into 1/8-inch- thick slices and layer over another pastry circle. Dust the top of this circle with powdered sugar and then caramelize the circle with a blowtorch. Set the caramelized circle on top of the mousse circle and garnish with a mint leaf.
5. For the chocolate sauce, chop the chocolate and place in a stainless-steel bowl. Add the milk and place over a pan with hot water. Over medium heat, stir the chocolate and milk mixture until they are combined and melted.
6. To serve, make a pool of chocolate sauce on a dessert plate. Set the feuilletée in the center and dust with powdered sugar.
Bon appetit from Chef Martin.
*Instead of bananas, other sliced fruit may be used.
Caramelized Banana Feuilletée With Chocolate Sauce
