Plated desserts

Le President

An Original Recipe by L'Ecole Valrhona Chef Sarah Tibbetts
Recipe for 40 portions

6 steps

Immerse yourself in the world of haute cuisine with "Le President," a modern dessert crafted by the talented Chef Sarah Tibbetts at the prestigious Académie Culinaire de France Gala. This delightful creation beautifully blends hazelnut, sour cherry, and GUANAJA 70% chocolate, celebrating the evolving excellence of French cuisine and the legacy of Chef Paul Bocuse.

To learn more about this inspiring event and dessert, visit our Instagram

Recipe Step by Step

Guanaja cremeux

Anglaise

688g Cream

688g Milk

275g Egg yolks

138g Sugar

1500g Anglaise

570g Valrhona Guanaja chocolate

Combine the cream and milk- heat over medium heat. Combine the egg yolks and sugar- mix well. Temper in the hot liquid into the egg/sugar mixture and then return everything to the stovetop. Cook to 85C- strain and use hot.

Use the hot anglaise to make an emulsion with the partially melted chocolate. Immersion blend again and pour into shallow containers. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface and chill. Allow to set overnight. Once crystallized, place in piping bags with tip and refrigerate until ready to use.

Moist Nutty Sponge

57g Hazelnut flour

54g Almond flour, roasted

2g Vanifusion vanilla paste

168g Egg whites

82g Sugar

1.4g Fine sea salt

125g All-purpose flour

140g Whole eggs

90g Water

Roast the almond flour- cook at 300F for 13-15 minutes. Cool.

Combine nut flours with and flour. Mix water with whole eggs and whisk- add to dry mix. Add vanifusion. Combine the sugar and egg whites all together- whisk, then whip on a stand mixer on medium speed until shaving cream consistency.

Fold in whipped whites into nut flour mixture in several additions. Scale and spread on a silpat lined flat half sheet tray. Bake at 350F until cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and is springy in the middle (16-18min).

Remove from oven and cool at room temp. Loosen sides then chill cake. Flip onto parchment and peel off silpat. Freeze and cut into rectangles. Keep frozen until ready to use.

Praline Cremeux

354g Valrhona nutty 60% hazelnut praline

4.3g Sosa gelatin powder

21.5g Cold water (for gelatin)

54g Cocoa butter

268g Whole milk

Bloom the gelatin the water and chill. Melt the cocoa butter and mix with the praline. Heat the milk and add the bloomed gelatin to melt. Slowly add the hot liquid into the praline/cocoa butter mixture to create an emulsion. Immersion blend.

Pour into a shallow container and place plastic wrap on the surface. Refrigerate. When set, place in a piping bag with a tip and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

White Gianduja

350g Opalys white chocolate

150g Hazelnut butter (no sugar added)

10g Sea salt

Melt and temper the couverture. At 84F (29C) stir in the nut butter and salt. Cast into molds and allow the fully crystallize for at least 12 hours.

Shave with a mandolin or peeler and freeze the shavings for easier handling.

Candied hazelnuts

120g Sugar

140g Glucose DE38/40

92g Water

240g Hazelnuts, lightly toasted

Bring the sugar, glucose and water to a boil. Add the nuts and boil gently for 2 minutes. Strain and spread the nuts on a silpat or parchment lined tray. Bake at 320F until golden brown. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Cherry Coulis

400g Adamance cherry puree

100g Simple syrup

25g Sosa Gelcrem Cold

30g Lemon juice

Immersion blend all ingredients. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes, then immersion blend again smooth. Store in piping bags in the fridge until ready to use.

Assembly and finishing

Garnish
Chocolate décor rectangles and shavings
Griotte cherries
Candied cherries
Gold powder or leaf
Dark crunchy pearls

Yield
Guanaja cremeux: 40g per dessert
Moist Nutty Sponge: 700g per ½ sheet, Cake cut 1”x5”
Praline Cremeux: 15g per dessert
White Gianduja: 7g per dessert
Cherry Coulis: 10g per dessert

Temper dark chocolate and spread between guitar sheets. Cut into rectangles (1”x5”) and allow to crystalize. With the same tempered chocolate, make leaves on strips of guitar sheets with a paring knife. Place in a curved mold and allow to crystalize. Pour the remaining tempered chocolate into block molds and allow to fully crystallize. When all chocolate is set, remove the plastic from the rectangles, spray the leaves with gold spray or a piece of gold leaf, and shave the blocks using a knife or peeler.

Cut the cooled cake in to 1”x5” rectangles and place on a plate. Pipe a line of the praline cremeux on the sponge, following by a zig zag line of Guanaja cremeux. Place two rectangles of décor on each side of the cremeux. Top with dark chocolate shavings, then garnish with cherries, candied hazelnuts, chocolate leaves, crunchy pearls and a few curls of white gianduja. Pipe several drops of cherry coulis on the plate and serve.