Serves: 8 to 10 
Difficulty: Hard 

This delicious Christmas chocolate log, designed by Pierre Augé, chef at La Maison de Petit Pierre in Béziers, and his pastry chef, Geoffrey Djami, needs to be made several days before Christmas. Using three types of chocolate, we can’t think of a sweeter way to get into the Christmas spirit!   


Ingredients

For the sacher biscuit base  

  • 160g 50% almond paste 
  • 85g caster sugar 
  • 3 whole eggs  
  • 40g flour 
  • 50g dark chocolate (72% cocoa) 
  • 30g butter 

For the hazelnut praline 

  • 500g skinless hazelnuts 
  • 300g sugar 
  • 10 cl water 

Triple chocolate cream:

For the dark chocolate cream

  • 375g 35% fat single cream 
  • 25 ml whole milk 
  • 100g 72% dark chocolate 
  • 1 vanilla pod 
  • 40g icing sugar 

For the milk chocolate cream 

  • 375g 35% fat single cream 
  • 25 ml whole milk 
  • 100g milk chocolate 
  • 1 vanilla pod 
  • 40g icing sugar 

  
For the white chocolate cream 

  • 375g 35% fat single cream 
  • 25 ml whole milk 
  • 100g white chocolate 
  • 1 vanilla pod 

Directions

For the sacher biscuit base

1Melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave. Set aside.

2Separate the eggs.

3Mix the almond paste and 45g caster sugar with an egg yolk to relax the dough. Then add 2 more egg yolks and mix well with a mixer to lighten the dough. Set aside.

4Whisk 3 egg whites with the remaining 40g of sugar to make a meringue.

5Mix the almond paste mixture with the meringue mixture then add the hot melted chocolate and mix gently. Last, add the sifted flour and mix again gently until smooth.

6Roll out the mixture on a baking tray to the size of the log mould at 1cm thickness. Cook at 180°C for 12 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool. Beware the biscuit is very soft and fragile.

For the hazelnut praline

1Bring the sugar and water to a boil and cook over high heat for 3 minutes to make a syrup. Add whole hazelnuts to syrup. Reduce heat to low and stir vigorously until caramelised.

2Spread onto a baking sheet, ensuring the hazelnuts are spread out, and leave to cool.

For each cream

1Melt the chocolate.

2Take 125g of liquid cream and heat with milk, vanilla bean and icing sugar. Pour the mixture in thirds over the melted chocolate to create an emulsion. Once the mixture has come together, add the remaining cold cream. Check again that the mixture is smooth (strain if necessary).

3Cool overnight in the refrigerator.

4The next day, put the mixture in a mixer. Once it has a whipped consistency, pour it into a piping bag.

To assemble

1Alternate the layers of creams to coat the edges of the log mould.

2Alternate the layers of cream and the praline in strips again to obtain a marbling.

3Finish with the Sacher biscuit and let it stand in the freezer overnight to freeze.

4Unmould for at least 4 hours before serving and decorate with melted chocolate.

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