This pistachio strawberry entremet has a great balance between nutty and sweet, creamy and fruity. A delicate mousse cake, this is sure to tantalize your taste buds with every layer!
This is definitely one of the most intimidating things I’ve ever made. Sure, I’ve been wanting to make an entremet for the longest time, but I’ve been very scared to attempt it. I finally got the guts to try, and I think I’ll be doing more of these! It’s very fun to test out different flavor combinations and see which layers make sense, etc.
What is an entremet?
Entremet (ahn-truh-mey) is basically a mousse cake with different layers. However, historically, entremets refer to small dishes that are served in between meals. From French, it literally translates to “between courses.”
Before attempting…
Fair warning: This is a time-consuming project. This particular entremet took me two days, but it’s only because of the chilling time that’s needed for the mousse to set, and I had other things I needed to do. Now that I’ve made my first mousse cake, it actually isn’t that bad to take time to make, especially if you just tackle it one layer at a time.
Before I go through the recipe, here’s a cross-section of this entremet slice so you can be familiar with the layers:
Tools you’ll need
Ingredients
Pistachio sponge
- 50 g almond flour
- 50 g powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 whole egg
- 1 tbsp pistachio paste
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- 50 g egg whites
- 2 tsp sugar
- a pinch of salt
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Strawberry gelée and mousse
- 400 g strawberries (fresh or frozen)
- 120 g sugar
- 2 tbsp gelatin powder
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 180 g heavy whipping cream
Pistachio mousse
- 140 g pistachio paste
- 160 g sugar
- 2 tbsp gelatin powder
- 1/2 cup water
- 540 g heavy whipping cream
Instructions
For the pistachio joconde:
- Preheat your oven at 350 degrees.
- Sift your almond flour, powdered sugar, all-purpose flour, and cornstarch into a mixing bowl.
- Add 1 whole egg, the pistachio paste, and melted butter.
- In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites, sugar, and salt with either a stand mixer or hand mixer until it has medium peaks (between soft and stiff). This is what we call a meringue.
- Fold your meringue into the pistachio mixture in three batches to make sure it's all fully incorporated.
- Pour into a lined baking sheet. It's going to look pretty thin, but don't worry about it. The final sponge will be about 1/3-inch to a 1/2-inch thickness.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes.
- Let it cool then take a 6-inch round cake ring or mold and press it onto the sponge so that you have "cut out" a perfectly round sponge. Set aside.
For the strawberry gelée and mousse:
- Make a strawberry purée by cooking the strawberries and sugar in a small pot until the fruit is soft and tender and the sugar is fully melted.
- While your strawberries are cooking, combine the gelatin powder and cold water in a small bowl. This is what we call blooming.
- Once the strawberries are cooked, pulse it in a blender so that you end up with a purée.
- While the purée is still warm, add the bloomed gelatin (which should be a bit spongy by now) and mix it in thoroughly.
- Take half the purée gelatin mixture into a 6-inch round mold and put in the fridge to set and chill for at least 4 hours. This will become the strawberry gelée.
- In a mixing bowl, whip your heavy whipping cream (either with a hand mixer or stand mixer) until you have whipped cream consistency.
- Fold in the remaining half of the purée gelatin mixture until fully incorporated.
- Pour into another 6-inch round mold and put in the fridge to set and chill for at least 6 hours. This will become the strawberry mousse.
For the pistachio mousse:
- Warm up the pistachio paste with the sugar and then mix well.
- Combine the gelatin powder and cold water in a small bowl until it blooms.
- Once the gelatin is spongy, mix well with the pistachio until there are no more gelatinous clumps.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whip your heavy whipping cream (either with a hand mixer or stand mixer) until you have whipped cream consistency.
- Fold in the pistachio mixture until fully incorporated.
- Put into a big piping bag and chill if the other layers are not yet ready to go.
For the assembly:
- Put an 8-inch cake ring mold on a lined baking sheet. If you have acetate, you can line the mold with it (I forgot to line mine).
- Place the sponge in to the center of the mold first.
- Pipe the pistachio mousse around the sponge. Also pipe a thin layer on top of the sponge and use an offset spatula to smooth it out as much as possible.
- Then, put the gelée and strawberry mousse next.
- Pipe the remaining pistachio mousse on top and smooth everything out.
- Decorate the top with strawberry slices and/or chopped pistachios if you'd like.
- Chill for at least 6 hours.
- Once the mousse is completely set, carefully take the mold off. If you lined with acetate, the sides of the entremet should look smoother than mine.
Notes
Keep chilled and consume within 3-4 days.
// ON THE SCENE
- Back backdrop: Replica Surfaces — White Brick
- Bottom backdrop: Replica Surfaces — Glossy White
- Props: cake stand, strawberries, chopped pistachios, linen towel, cake server