Book of Saint Nicholas

Recipe for 3 cakes

Cake size 18x12cm

1. Gingerbread miserable
2. Milk chocolate buttercream
3. Almond praline
4. Chewy caramel
5. Veliche chocolate decoration

I. Gingerbread miserable

295 g Sugar (1)

295 g Egg whites

295 g Almond powder

50 g Sugar (2)

30 g High fat cocoa powder, Veliche

45 g Flour

10 g Gingerbread spices 

Method:

1. Mix all dry ingredients together (sugar (2), almond powder, cocoa powder, flour, and gingerbread)
2. Whip up the egg whites with sugar (1) until a meringue.
3. Use a spatula to mix the dry ingredients with the meringue.
4. Spread the mixture onto a Silpat (8mm thickness).
5. Bake the miserable, 190°c around 8-10min until light colored.

II. Milk chocolate buttercream

1. 260 g Full milk
2. 210 g Sugar
3. 225 g Egg Yolk
4. 30 g High fat cocoa powder, Veliche
5. 130 g Milk chocolate Intense 35%, Veliche
6. 525 g Butter

Method:

1. Heat up the full milk with half amount of the sugar.
2. Mix the other half of the sugar with cocoa powder and egg yolk until smooth.
3. Bring the milk to a boil and pour in the egg yolk mass. Stir well and pour back in the pan.
4. Heat up the composition (constantly stirring) until it reaches 84°c
5. Get the pan off the heat and add the milk chocolate drops.
6. Pour the composition in a bowl, cover with the plastic, and let cool down in the fridge for at last 12 hours.
7. Whip up the butter, with kitchen machine and paddle, until a smooth and airy butter. 
8. Add in three parts the milk chocolate composition to the butter, and heat with heat gun or fire to keep the buttercream smooth and soft.

III. Almond praline

250 g Roasted Almond

200 g Sugar

60 g Water

1 g Sea salt

Method:

1. Boil the sugar, water, and salt.
2. Add the almond and caramelized the sugar with nuts.
3. After caramelizing, place the nuts on a silicon mat and let it cool down completely.
4. Turn the nuts in a food processor into smooth praline.

IV. Chewy caramel

60 g Water

180 g Sugar

300 g Cream

80 g Butter

325 g Caramel chocolate Euphoria 31%, Veliche

2 g Salt

Method:

1. Boil sugar and water until caramelized.
2. Heat up the cream with salt till a boil.
3. Use the hot cream and add to the caramel when ready.
4. Stir and boil again for 1 min.
5. Add the caramel and mix with the caramel chocolate.
6. Add the soft butter and stir (hand blender) the caramel till smooth.
7. Leave one night at room temperature before using.

V. Veliche chocolate decorations

Cover/back cover: 2 pieces, dark/red chocolate, 19x13cm.

Pages: 2 pieces, white chocolate, 5x13cm + 1-piece 5x19cm.

Spine of the book: flexible chocolate dark red. 5,5x19cm.

Saint Nicholas logo: Flexible chocolate red 5x7,5cm

VI. Assembling

• Cut the miserable sponge in pieces of 18x12cm. You need 4 pieces per cake.
• Start with the first layer (sponge), and pipe milk chocolate buttercream on top. (5mm thickness).
• Place the second layer of miserable on top and divide a thin layer of chewy caramel on top of the sponge.
• Place another (3) layer of miserable sponge on top.
• Make lines of milk chocolate buttercream using a piping bag and keep some space in between.
• Pipe the almond praline in the empty lines and close the cake with last layer (4) of miserable sponge.
• Make the sizes smooth and mask the cake with the buttercream. Place in freezer and when the cake is frozen, make (mask) the spine of the book with buttercream.
• Place the cake into a fridge.
• When the cake is defrosted, stick the cake with buttercream on the back cover.
• Stick the flexible chocolate on the spine of the book, add the chocolate page (sides) and finish with the top cover.
• Decorate the cake like seen on the picture.