Three Chocolate Plaisir

Sucré
May 20, 2018

" CAKES, PÂTISSERIE CAKES # 10

The blog is still so young and I’m already writing

another post about another brilliant creation by the
French chef Pierre Hermé. This time it’s not about
macarons. This time it’s about a cake that carries the
name plaisir sucré, which means “sweet pleasure”. The
chef couldn’t have chosen a more accurate name for
this delicacy.

Plaisir sucré consists of 7 layers of happiness, with a

small nutty decoration on top that was probably put to
draw attention away from the great amount of
chocolate that’s inside this tiny little cake.

In fact, this plaisir sucré is one of four cakes that are

chosen as a final exam at the end of my pastry class at
“Bishulim” school. I was hoping that it would be chosen
for me, but I wasn’t lucky enough. Maybe it’s for the
best, I’m not so sure it would have survived the wait for
the examiners. It’s too tempting not to eat it.

Instead of using milk chocolate only, as is used in the

original recipe, I decided to use all three varieties of
chocolate (Dark, milk & white). This way I got a nice
chocolaty color gradient from the base up. To do this, I
had to temper three di!erent types of chocolate (learn
all about chocolate tempering in the previous post). If
it seems like too much work (which it is), I suggest you
pick your favorite chocolate and just work with it.

A note about pailleté feuilletine (caramelized crêpes

flakes): You can find it in most specialty baking shops
or you can make it at home. Buy round wafer sticks
and crumble the outer crunchy layer that surrounds
the filling. Also, you can make a gluten-free version
of this plaisir sucré recipe if you replace the feuilletine
flakes with pu!ed rice.

Ingredients for plaisir sucré

Milk chocolate chantilly

100 g milk chocolate
150 g heavy cream

Hazelnut dacquoise
105 g peeled hazelnuts
115 g powdered sugar
115 g egg whites
40 g sugar
45 g peeled hazelnuts

Hazelnut praliné feuilletine

75 g hazelnut praliné
40 g dark chocolate
15 g butter
40 g pailleté feuilletine*

Dark chocolate ganache

150 g dark chocolate
150 g heavy cream
15 g honey

Chocolate sheets
200 g dark chocolate
200 g milk chocolate
200 g white chocolate

(Or 300 g chocolate for one type of chocolate)

Decoration
10 peeled hazelnuts (whole pieces)
50 g white chocolate

Equipment
A square baking ring (size: 18×18 cm, height: 5
cm at least)
3 acetate sheets (size: approx. 40 x 30 cm)**

* Replace with 20g pu!ed rice for a gluten-free

version.
** You can use plastic wrap instead of acetate sheets.
The final product won’t come out perfect, but it’s not
such a big deal.

The recipe makes 10 personal Plaisir

sucré

Milk chocolate chantilly

It’s recommended to prepare the chantilly the night

before
before. However, t’s possible to do it on the same day.
If so, it should be put in the freezer for about half an
hour to an hour, then moved to the fridge until it sets.

Break the chocolate into small pieces and put them in

a measuring pitcher. Bring the heavy cream to a boil
and pour over chocolate. Mix a little bit with a spatula
and then use a hand blender to blend it to a uniform
consistency. Pour into a bowl and cover the surface of
the chantilly with plastic wrap. Keep in the fridge
overnight.

Chocolate sheets

Take a flat baking sheet and wipe its surface with a

damp towel. Place an acetate sheet (or plastic wrap) on
the damp surface (moisture allows it to stick to the
surface). Go over the top with a dry paper towel to
remove air bubbles and to straighten it.

Temper dark chocolate. Once the chocolate is

tempered, pour it to the center of the sheet. Using a
large angled frosting spatula, spread the chocolate
across the sheet (up a bit, down a bit, and then
sideways) to get a thin and uniform layer. Avoid
moving the spatula over the chocolate more than once
or twice.

Give the chocolate a few minutes to set, just until it’s

almost dry to the touch. Using a long ruler and a sharp
knife, cut a horizontal line at the top and another
horizontal line at the bottom. Make a small mark every
8 cm on each line and then cut lines connecting the
markings. Cut a vertical line on the left side end and
another vertical line on the right side. Make a small
mark every 3 cm on each line and then cut lines
connecting the markings. This way you get chocolate
sheets the size of 3X8 cm.

Cover the chocolate with baking paper and place a

large and a heavy book on top. This will prevent the
chocolate from curling as it cools. Let the chocolate set
at room temperature.

Repeat the process for milk and white chocolate,

unless you decide to use one type of chocolate only.

Hazelnut dacquoise

Put 105 g hazelnuts and powdered sugar in a food

processor and grind together for about half a minute
until it becomes a powder. Be careful not to over-grind
otherwise it will become hazelnut butter.

French meringue:

In a stand mixer, whip the egg whites on medium

speed until thick white foam is formed. Keep whipping
on the same speed and add sugar gradually. Once all
the sugar has been added, increase the speed to high
and whip until firm peaks.

Preheat oven to 165 °C (330 °F). Add a third of the

hazelnut meal to the meringue and fold with a spatula.
Add the rest of the hazelnut meal and continue to fold
until uniform.

Line a baking sheet with baking paper and place the

square ring on top. Transfer the batter into the ring
and flatten the surface using a small frosting spatula.
Distribute the rest of the hazelnuts on top. Put it in the
oven and bake for 30 minutes, lower the temperature
to 150 °C (300 °F) and bake for another 10 minutes.

Allow the dacquoise to cool for a few minutes outside

the oven. Separate the dacquoise from the sides of the
ring, preferably using a wide spatula. With a plastic
card (or any flat tool that has corners) gently push the
sides of the dacquoise down to flatten its surface.
Leave the dacquoise inside the ring and let it cool
completely at room temperature.

Hazelnut praliné feuilletine

Melt chocolate and butter together on a double boiler.

Remove from heat, add praliné and mix well. Add the
pailleté feuilletine flakes (or pu!ed rice) and mix again
until uniform. Spread an even layer of it over the
dacquoise surface. Keep in the fridge to let it set.

Dark chocolate ganache

Break the chocolate into small pieces and put them in

a measuring pitcher. Put the heavy cream and honey in
a saucepan. Bring them to a boil and pour over
chocolate, making sure all the chocolate is covered.
Mix a little bit with a spatula and then use a hand
blender to blend it to a uniform consistency. Pour into
a bowl and cover the surface of the ganache with
plastic wrap. Keep in room temperature.

Do not keep in the fridge so it won’t harden. To speed

up the process, flatten the ganache on a tray and
cover with plastic wrap. If it’s still not stable enough for
piping when the time comes, put in the fridge for
about 5 minutes.

Put it all together!

Take the dacquoise out of the fridge and release it

from the ring. Turn it over, remove the baking paper,
and turn it back again. Similarly to the chocolate
sheets, mark a horizontal line at the top and another
horizontal line at the bottom. Make a small mark every
3 cm on each line and then mark lines connecting the
markings. Mark a vertical line on the left side end and
another vertical line on the right side. Make a small
mark every 8 cm on each line (which is basically just
one mark in the middle) and then cut a line connecting
the markings.

Using a large serrated knife, saw the crunchy layer

along the marked line and then cut the bottom layer
with one stroke.

Marking the dacquoise

Back to the chocolate sheets. Turn over the baking

sheet and peel the acetate sheet o! the chocolate
sheets. Set aside.

Back to the chocolate ganache. Make sure it’s set and

ready to pipe. If it’s still too runny, put in the fridge for
about 5 minutes. Once set, fit a pastry bag with an 8
mm smooth tip and fill it with ganache.

Pipe a bit of ganache on each dacquoise rectangle and

place a dark chocolate sheet on top of it. If the
chocolate sheet looks slanted, fix it by piping some
more ganache under the sloping area to straighten the
sheet. Pipe 2 rows of drop-shaped ganache on top of
the dark chocolate sheet. Allow to set for about a
minute or two and then place a milk chocolate sheet
on top.

Back to the milk chocolate chantilly. Remove from the

fridge and whisk by hand until you get a yogurt-like
texture. Be careful not to over whisk, otherwise the
cream might separate or become grainy while piping.
Here’s how you know it’s ready: throw the batter from
the whisk back to the bowl. If it flattens immediately,
Whisk a little more. If it takes time to flatten, it’s ready.

Fit a pastry bag with an 8 mm smooth tip and fill it

with chantilly. Pipe 2 rows of drop-shaped chantilly on
top of the milk chocolate sheet. Allow to set for about
a minute or two and then place a white chocolate
sheet on top.

Decoration

Temper white chocolate. It might be di#cult to temper

such a small amount of chocolate without “mycryo”
powder. Either temper a larger amount using a
di!erent method and just store the remaining
chocolate, or just choose a di!erent type of
decoration.

Once the chocolate is tempered, grab a hazelnut

(tweezers are a big help here) and dip half of it in the
melted chocolate. Place the hazelnut on top of the
white chocolate sheet. Hold for a bit until the
chocolate sets. Store the plaisir sucré cakes in the
fridge in a sealed container until it’s time to serve.

Plaisir sucré

! 2

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10 Comments

Oshi March 10, 2021 at 15:41

Hi is it possible to freeze the

decqouize with the crunchy layer for
future use?

! Reply

Cake Lab March 10, 2021 at 18:51

Mmm, I am actually not sure about it. I

usually just eat it all up. The crunchy layer
can be definitely frozen. I also don’t see a
problem with freezing the dacquoise. So,
it might work out, I just never tried it and
don’t have enough info to tell you for
sure.

! Reply

Sana shaik July 17, 2020 at 23:05

I made this recipe and it turned out just

prefect! Thank you for sharing.

! Reply

Cake Lab July 19, 2020 at 7:20

Thank you! Glad to hear you liked it

! Reply

Kapil Tomar June 7, 2019 at 3:21

waooo… this is looking yummy please

guide us to di!erent egg less cake for
our bakery, we want to serve best quality
cakes for our costumers. Thanks

! Reply

cake lab June 7, 2019 at 18:19

Thanks! Hopefully in the future

! Reply

Kristin Sauder July 22, 2018 at 19:28

How far in advance can these cakes be

made? Or how far in advance could you
make each of the constituent parts?

! Reply

Cake Lab July 22, 2018 at 20:42

Hey Kristin!

The cakes are best within the first 2 days,

but they keep well enough for a few days
more in the fridge. It could be a hassle to
make everything within a day, that’s why
I usually make it easy on myself and
prepare the chocolate sheets a few days
in advance (if stored properly, you can
actually make them weeks in advance).