Lemon pistachio domes
 
Prep time: 1h
Rest time in the freezer: 2 x 4h minimum

Make 8 domes
Ingredients
Lemon curd
  • 2 eggs
  • 100g sugar
  • the zest of ½ lemon
  • lemon juice 8cl (about the juice of 1 lemon), filtered
  • 50g butter, cut into pieces
  • 3g of leaf gelatine
Pistachio dacquoise
  • 150g ground hazelnuts
  • 75g icing sugar
  • 4.5 egg whites (135g)
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 1.5 tablespoons pistachio paste + a few drops of green dye
Lemon Bavarian cream
  • 7g leaf gelatin
  • 50g sugar
  • 190g full-fat milk
  • 70g egg yolks
  • 190g double cream
  • the zest of ½ lemon
Yellow mirror glaze
  • 11g leaf gelatine
  • 75g water
  • 150g sugar
  • 150g glucose
  • 150g white chocolate, crushed
  • 100g sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 pinch of yellow gel food colouring
  • Pistachio slices(I found these sublime sliced pistachios in an oriental store)
Equipment
  • a 5cm semi-sphere silicone mould
  • a 7cm semi-sphere silicone mould
  • a 7cm round cookie cutter diameter
  • a thermometer
Instructions
Prepare the insert of lemon curd:
  1. Soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water. Prepare a water bath, and place a glass or stainless bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. The bowl should be big enough not to touch the water. In this bowl, mix the sugar, eggs and lemon juice. Whisk constantly over medium heat.
  2. When the mixture begins to thicken (it can take some time), gradually add the butter cut into pieces. Whisk constantly until each piece of butter is melted before adding another. Continue with all the butter.
  3. Off heat, add the lemon zest and the drained soft gelatine and stir until completely dissolved. Pour the lemon curd into the 5cm semi-sphere silicone mould. Leave overnight in the freezer.
Prepare the pistachio biscuit:
  1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Mix together the ground hazelnuts and icing sugar. In another bowl, beat the egg whites with the sugar until soft peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites in the hazelnut mix and add the pistachio paste.
  2. Pour into a 25x25cm mould frame (I use an extendable mould frame) placed on a sheet of baking paper, lower the oven to 160°C and bake for 35-40 minutes. Let cool before turning over on a sheet of baking paper. Cut out 8 circle with the 7cm round cookie cutter.
Prepare the lemon Bavarian cream:
  1. Soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water. In a saucepan, mix the sugar, egg yolks and milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the cream thicken slightly (measure the temperature with a thermometer, the cream is ready at 82-84°C).
  2. Once the custard is ready, filter it to remove any lumps and transfer it into a bowl. Stir in the drain soft gelatine and lemon zest. Let cool to 25-30°C, stirring occasionally. Make the whipped cream using a hand mixer and stir in the cooled custard.
Assemble your lemon-pistachio domes:
  1. Fiil the 7cm semi-sphere silicone mould with the Bavarian cream, stopping at 1cm from the top. Then gently drop a semi-sphere of frozen lemon curd in the center of each Bavarian cream semi-sphere (if you've let the cream cool, the lemon curd of the insert should not sink). Let set at least 4 hours in the freezer.
Prepare the mirror glaze:
  1. Soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water.
  2. In a saucepan, boil the water, sugar and glucose. Pour the hot syrup over the crushed chocolate, let the chocolate melt. Stir in the softened gelatine with a spatula (do not use a whisk). Add the condensed milk and color preparation with a touch of yellow food colouring. Filter the glaze to remove any lumps and let it cool until it reaches 32°C.
  3. Meanwhile, remove the domes and put them on the pistachio dacquoise circles and place them on a cooling rack. Put them in the freezer while the mirror glaze is cooling down.
  4. When the glaze is at 32°C, pour it over the frozen domes and let it run down the domes for a few seconds before removing each dome on a square of baking paper. Spread pistachios around each and gently lift the edges of the baking paper to stick pistachios around the dome to hide the dacquoise.
  5. Let the domes thaw in the refrigerator for 2 hours before serving.
Notes
My killer technique to distribute the pistachios evenly: I place each dome on a square of baking paper 3cm larger than the dome. I spread a lot of sliced pistachios around the dome, then I carefully lift the edges of the paper to stick the pistachios around the base. Then I just have to take the dome off the paper, and transfer it to a plate. I can collect all the extra pistachios and use them for the next dome.
Recipe by Anne-Sophie Vidal - Fashion Cooking at https://www.fashioncooking.fr/2016/10/lemon-pistachio-domes/