These petits gâteaux are inspired by the flavours and spices of a fruit hot cross bun, in a delicious chocolate shell. Allowing the raisins to soak overnight before blending them helps get a much smoother jam, so make sure you allow the extra time into your bake schedule when making these Hot Cross Buns.
Hot Cross Buns Recipe
Makes 24
Hot cross bun spice
Ingredients:
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
Method:
Mix all the spices together and store in an airtight container in the pantry.
Spiced mousse
Ingredients:
1½ sheets gelatine
100g caramelised white chocolate
30g water
30g sugar
200g cream
2 tsp hot cross bun spice
Method:
Soak the gelatine sheets in cold water until soft. Drain and put in a bowl with the chocolate. Bring the water and sugar to a boil and pour over the gelatine and chocolate. Whisk until all the chocolate is melted and you have a smooth base. Whip the cream and spice together to medium peaks. Once the base has reached about 30°C, or body temperature, fold in the cream until just combined. Spread over the frozen jam and level off with a palette knife. Freeze overnight, or until solid.
Spice cake
Ingredients:
75g brown sugar
75g water
60g golden syrup
45g canola or other flavourless oil
1 egg yolk
80g flour
⅛ tsp baking soda
2 tsp hot cross bun spice
Brownie tin (16 x 26cm, and 3.5cm deep), lined with baking paper and spray – Anything roughly the same dimensions will work.
Method:
Preheat the oven to 160°C and line the tin. Whisk the sugar, water, golden syrup, oil and egg yolk together until well combined. Whisk in the flour, baking soda and spice until you have a smooth, runny batter. Pour into the lined tin and bake
for 12–15 minutes, until set to the touch.
Once baked, leave the cake to cool completely while you make the raisin jam.
Raisin jam
Ingredients:
250g water
200g golden raisins
Method:
Bring the water to a boil. Pour over the raisins. Cover and leave overnight to soak at room temperature. The next day, blend the raisins and water together to form a paste. Push through a sieve to get a smooth paste. Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes or until the paste has reduced by a third. It will splutter a lot as it cooks, so be careful not to burn yourself. Pour over the cake and freeze for 1 hour before making the spiced mousse.
Portioning
Portion the gateau into 24 pieces that are 4 x 4cm squares. Store in the freezer until ready to finish. Follow the Portioning Instructions.
Chablon
Ingredients:
300g milk chocolate
30g canola or other flavourless oil
Method:
Melt the chocolate and oil together, stirring until smooth. Use the chablon when its temperature is between 30 and 35°C, or as directed in the recipe. All chocolate brands contain differing amounts of cocoa butter, so sometimes the
chablon can be too thick for dipping with only 30g of oil. Add more oil as needed to get the chocolate to a smooth, pouring consistency.
Dip each gateau in the chablon, for fully coating.
Pierce each gateau portion with a toothpick, and use the toothpick to dunk the gateau into the chablon. Dip the entire gateau in the chablon mix, coating the sides, top and bottom.
Because your gateau is frozen, it will immediately start to set the chablon. You will need to work quickly: dunk your gateau in and allow any excess to drip off for a few seconds. Scrape the base on the edge of the bowl to get as much of the liquid chocolate off as possible. You’ll then need to scrape the base across a sheet of baking paper, to allow more of the chablon to drip off, leaving you with as thin a layer as possible.
Store in the freezer until ready to finish.
To finish
100g caramelised white chocolate
Melt the chocolate, stirring until smooth, then allow it to cool to 30°C, or body temperature. Pour into a piping bag and cut a small 1mm hole. Pipe a cross of caramelised white chocolate on each gâteau. Allow to defrost fully before serving.
This recipe extract is from Patisserie Made Simple: The Art of Petits Gâteaux by Maxine Sheckter, available April in NZ and AUS. Photography by Amber-Jayne Bain.
