Ingredients
For the Coconut Joconde
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
15g granulated sugar
150g ground blanched almonds
75g dried shredded coconut
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
3 large eggs
35-40g all-purpose flour
22g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
For the White Chocolate Mousse
200g Lindt coconut white chocolate
250g + 3 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon coconut liqueur (like Batida de Coco)
For the Coconut Soaking Syrup
125g water
65g granulated syrup
2 tablespoons coconut cream
Additional
250g strawberries, washed, pat dry, hulled and cut into slices
Handful of dried coconut flakes for decoration
Special Equipment: Set
of 6 dessert/pastry rings. If you do not have pastry rings then simply
use small cans e.g. tuna or soup cans. Recycle them to make your own
pastry rings, by cutting out the top and bottom lids and washing them
well. They work perfectly for these kind of desserts
Method
For the Coconut Joconde
- In a small food processor give the shredded coconut and almonds a good whiz, to grid them and to mix them well.
- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. Line a 31 x 39 cm jelly pan with baking paper and brush with some melted butter.
- Using
a handheld mixer, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add
the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy. Set
aside.
- In a separate clean bowl
beat the almonds, icing sugar and eggs with the handheld mixer on
medium speed until light and voluminous, about 3 minutes.
- Add the flour and beat on low speed until the flour is just combined. Be very careful not to over-mix here.
- Using
a rubber spatula, gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture and
then fold in the melted butter. Spread out the batter evenly on the
jelly pan to cover the entire surface of each pan.
- Bake
the cake layers until they are lightly browned and just springy to the
touch. This could take anywhere from 5 to 9 minutes depending on your
oven.
- Remove from oven and put the
pan on a heatproof counter. Run a sharp knife along the edges of the
cake to loosen it from the pan. Cover the pan with a sheet of parchment
or wax paper, turn the pan over, and unmold.
Carefully peel away
the parchment, then turn the parchment over and use it to cover the
cake. Let the cake cool to room temperature.
For the White Chocolate Mousse
- Melt
the white chocolate and the 3 tablespoons of heavy cream in a small
saucepan. Stir to ensure that it’s smooth and that the chocolate is
melted.
- Add the tablespoon of liqueur to the chocolate and stir. Set aside to cool completely.
- In
a clean bowl whip the remaining heavy cream with an electric mixer
until soft peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled
chocolate to form a mousse.
- Transfer the mousse into a piping bag then refrigerate until ready to use.
For the Coconut Soaking Syrup
- Stir all the syrup ingredients together in the saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Assembly
- Using
the pastry rings (or your cans) cut out individual circles from the
joconde. Depending on the size of your rings, you should get approx.
4-6 cake rounds.
- Keeping the pastry
rings around each cake round, begin building up your individual
desserts. Brush the cake rounds with the soaking syrup to moisten the
joconde. You do not want to soak it completely in the syrup, just
enough so that it is slightly moist.
- Line the edges of the cake ring with the strawberry slices.
- Pipe the white chocolate mousse into the cake rings. Using an offset spatula smooth out the top.
- Garnish with coconut flakes and any left over strawberries.
- Refrigerate for an hour before serving.