Mini pepper entremets

Hello foodies!

For a little change, this week we're sharing an entremets recipe, but a savoury one this time. :-)

An excellent idea for aperitif bites or as a starter served with a salad — sure to impress your guests!

These little entremets are made up of a pepper mousse, a cream cheese insert, and a savoury shortbread biscuit.

To make 10 mini pepper entremets, you will need:

Cream cheese inserts

- 100gr herb cream cheese (Tartare)

- 3 basil leaves

- 50gr heavy cream

- 1/2 gelatine sheet

- Salt

- Pepper

Pepper mousse

- 100gr red pepper

- 25gr onion

- 1 tsp olive oil

- 2 gelatine sheets

- 100gr heavy cream

- Salt

- Pepper

Savoury shortbread

- 50gr butter

- 1 egg yolk

- 50gr rolled oats

- 100gr flour

- 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 5 basil leaves

- 2 tbsp water

- Coarse salt

Decorations

- Gelatine spray

- Red pepper (the remaining pepper used for the mousse)

- 10 small basil leaves

- Round cookie cutter 1.5 cm in diameter

First of all, we'll start by preparing the inserts as they will need to set for a minimum of 2 hours in the freezer.

Cream cheese inserts

In a jug of cold water, soak 1/2 gelatine sheet and set aside.

Whip 50gr of heavy cream into a firm but not overly stiff whipped cream, so that it blends well with the other ingredients.

In a bowl, place 100gr of herb cream cheese such as "Tartare" and finely chop 3 basil leaves.

Add 2 pinches of salt and 5 turns of the pepper mill then mix.

In a small saucepan, pour 20gr of the previous mixture.

Squeeze out the gelatine and add it to the saucepan. Heat everything until the gelatine is completely melted.

Pour the gelatine and cream cheese into the previous mixture and mix well.

Add the whipped cream and fold gently until you have a smooth, homogeneous mixture.

Transfer everything into a piping bag.

Place the 3.6 cm diameter cylinder mould on a perforated tray.

Pipe the mixture into 20 cavities, smooth and remove the excess with a small offset spatula.

Place everything in the freezer for a minimum of 2 hours.

We will now prepare the pepper mousse.

Pepper mousse

Preheat your oven to 180°C, fan setting.

We'll start by preparing the base of the mousse.

To do so, cut 100gr of red pepper and 25gr of onion.

Place everything on a perforated tray lined with a silicone mat. Add 1 tsp of olive oil and 2 pinches of salt over the vegetables.

Bake everything for 20 minutes in the middle of the preheated oven.

Once cooked, pour the vegetables into a jug and blend everything into a purée using a hand blender.

Place the purée in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.

To continue with the rest of the recipe, it is very important that the purée is well chilled and that the cream cheese inserts are fully set.

If so, resume the recipe by soaking 2 gelatine sheets in a jug of cold water.

Then whip 100gr of heavy cream into a firm whipped cream and set aside in the fridge for a few moments.

In a saucepan, pour 20gr of pepper purée and the 2 squeezed gelatine sheets.

Heat everything to completely melt the gelatine.

Pour the pepper purée and gelatine into the previous mixture and mix well.

Add the whipped cream and fold gently with a spatula to obtain a smooth, homogeneous mousse.

Once ready, taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to your liking.

Transfer the mousse into a piping bag. Use a jug to fill the piping bag neatly.

On a perforated tray, place the Silikomart "Essenziale 30" mould.

Pipe mousse into 10 cavities up to 3/4 full. Spread it with a small offset spatula to avoid air bubbles.

Take the inserts out of the freezer.

We will place 2 per cavity. Stack them on top of each other and press them gently into the mousse so that the pepper mousse rises up along the edges.

Cover the inserts with the remaining mousse. Smooth with a small offset spatula.

Place everything in the freezer for a minimum of 6 hours before unmoulding.

In the meantime, we will make the savoury shortbread biscuits that will serve as the base for the mousse.

Savoury shortbread

In a large bowl, place 50gr of butter.

Using the flat beater ("K") of your stand mixer, mix the butter at medium speed for 1 minute.

Preheat your oven to 180°C, fan setting.

Add 1 egg yolk and mix again for a few seconds with the flat beater until the egg yolk is incorporated into the butter.

Grind 50gr of rolled oats into a powder using a small chopper. In our range, we have the 3-in-1 hand blender-chopper which is perfect for this step.

Return to your mixture and add the ground rolled oats, 100gr of flour and 1/2 tsp of baking powder.

Use measuring spoons to add the baking powder precisely.

Finely chop 5 basil leaves and add 2 tbsp of cold water. Mix again for a few seconds.

By hand, shape the dough into a nice ball and place it on a sheet of baking paper.

Cover it with another sheet of baking paper and roll the dough out evenly using a large rolling pin.

To achieve an even thickness, use the 3 mm biscuit rolling rods.

Then cut out 10 rounds of dough with the 4.5 cm diameter fluted cookie cutter.

For a perfect bake, place them on a perforated tray lined with a perforated mat.

Sprinkle the shortbread with coarse salt and bake them for 12 minutes in the middle of the preheated oven.

Once baked, leave the little shortbreads to cool.

If you make them in advance, store them (once cooled) in a metal tin. They will keep for 4 days.

Once all the elements are ready and well frozen, we can move on to the final step of the recipe: decoration.

Decoration

Take the pepper mousses out of the freezer and unmould them onto a sheet of baking paper.

To give them a shine and to prevent them from drying out, spray the mousses with gelatine spray.

Place the mousses on the shortbread biscuits.

Use a small offset spatula or a toothpick to move them without damaging them.

For the decoration, cut out 10 small circles of pepper with a round cookie cutter 1.5 cm in diameter.

Place a small basil leaf on each mousse along with a circle of pepper.

And there you have it, the mini pepper entremets are complete.

You will then need to let them defrost in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours before enjoying.

I hope you enjoy this savoury mini entremets recipe!

Have a lovely Sunday, foodies.

Sophie

P.S.: All the equipment used can be found at the bottom of the recipe.