Gateau of apple with croquant biscuit and caramelised mint leaves
Ingredients
(serves twelve)
For the apple mousse 100g butter
100g sugar
1 vanilla pod
1kg cooking apples
4 leaves of gelatine
300ml double cream, lightly whipped
10ml Calvados
For the croquant 360g sugar cubes
120g glucose
360g nibbed almonds
For the sauce: 200ml apple purée
150ml stock syrup
Lemon juice to taste
For garnish Vanilla ice-cream
Sugared mint leaves
Method
Melt the butter and add the sugar. Scrape out the seeds of the vanilla pod and add to the butter, then add the apples and stew slowly on top of the stove until soft. Cut one of the softened apples into four slices and reserve for the centre of the mousse.
Scoop out the centre of the remaining apples. Blend and pass through a chinois. Reserve 200ml of the purée to make the sauce. Soften the gelatine in cold water and add to the hot purée. When almost cold, fold in the whipped cream and the Calvados.
Half-fill the moulds with the pur‚e, add a reserved apple slice to each one and fill with the remaining purée.
Cook the sugar and glucose until golden and add the almonds. Pour into a tray and spread out. Leave until almost set, then cut into shapes.
To make the sauce, add a little stock syrup to the reserved purée and a few drops of lemon juice.
Dust the apple mousse with a little icing sugar and score the top with a hot knife. Put the apple mousse on the plate, then the croquant topped with a quenelle of vanilla ice-cream and decorate the plate with a little sauce and the sugared mint leaves.