Spike Recipe
Makes 20
When Spike featured on Instagram my fans said that it looked like my hair! I just thought it looked sexy. A yoghurt lime cremeux is inserted in a ball of glazed mousse and decorated with crunchy meringue kisses.
Meringue kisses
60 g (2¼ oz) egg whites, at room temperature
60 g (2¼ oz) caster (superfine) sugar
30 g (1 oz/¼ cup) pure icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted
Preheat a dehydrator to 60°C (140°F) or an oven to 40°C (104°F). Line two dehydrator trays or baking trays with baking paper.
Put the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on a high speed for 3–5 minutes, until soft peaks form. Reduce the speed to medium and gradually add the caster sugar, until all the sugar is combined.
Return to high speed and whisk until the meringue is thick and glossy and the sugar has dissolved. Rub a little meringue between your fingers. If it is still gritty with sugar, continue to whisk until the mixture no longer feels gritty.
Use a large metal spoon to fold in the sifted icing sugar.
Put the meringue in a piping (icing) bag fitted with a plain size 9 or 10 nozzle. Pipe 2.5 cm (1 inch) wide meringue kisses onto the prepared trays. You’ll need about 150 tiny kisses.
Put in the dehydrator for 3 hours or in the oven
overnight or until the kisses are completely dry.
Cool on the tray, then store in an airtight container
until required.
Sable biscuit
50 g (1¾ oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar
75 g (2¾ oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg
½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped
150 g (5½ oz/1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
Put the icing sugar and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and start beating on low speed. Increase to medium speed and beat until pale and creamy.
While still beating, add the egg, then the vanilla seeds and the sifted flour until a smooth dough forms.
Gather the dough into a ball. Shape into a flat rectangle, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F). Line a baking tray with baking paper.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll the chilled dough out to 5 mm (¼ inch) thickness. Use a 3 cm (1¼ inch) round cutter to cut 20 small discs.
Transfer the discs to the prepared tray and bake for 15–20 minutes until golden. Cool on the tray and reserve in an airtight container until needed.
Blueberry glaze
260 ml (9¼ fl oz) blueberry purée
250 g (9 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
100 g (3½ oz) trimoline (see glossary)
100 ml (3½ fl oz) glucose syrup
8 sheets titanium-strength gelatine, softened in cold water
100 g (3½ oz) cocoa butter
Combine the blueberry purée, caster sugar, trimoline and glucose syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Use a thermometer to measure when the mixture reaches 70°C (158°F).
Remove from the heat. Squeeze excess water out of the gelatine and whisk in the gelatine and cocoa butter.
Pass through a fine sieve into a container, laying plastic wrap on the surface to prevent a skin forming.
Chill in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.
Yoghurt mousse
2 teaspoons caster (superfine) sugar
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 sheet titanium-strength gelatine, softened in cold water
60 g (2¼ oz) plain yoghurt
60 ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) pure (pouring) cream (35% fat), lightly whisked
Combine the sugar and lime juice in a small saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat.
Remove from the heat.
Squeeze excess water out of the gelatine and stir through the hot syrup. Cool.
Whisk the lime jelly mixture into the yoghurt, then gently fold the cream through.
Transfer the mousse mixture to a piping (icing) bag. Set two sheets of 20 silicone sphere moulds measuring 3.5 cm (1½ inch) in diameter on trays and pipe the mousse into the moulds.
Freeze until needed.
Blueberry mousse
160 ml (5¼ fl oz) blueberry purée (see glossary)
1 sheet titanium-strength gelatine, softened in cold water
80 g (2¾ oz) white chocolate (28%), chopped or buttons
170 ml (5½ fl oz/⅔ cup) pure (pouring) cream (35%), lightly whisked
In a small saucepan, bring the blueberry purée just to the boil. Remove from the heat.
Squeeze excess water from the gelatine and stir it into the boiling purée until completely combined.
Put the white chocolate into a medium heatproof bowl and use a fine sieve to strain the purée over the chocolate. Stir to combine, making sure all the chocolate is melted. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and cool to 40°C (104°F) or just above body temperature.
Meanwhile, lay two sheets of twenty 4.5 cm (1¾ inch) diameter sphere moulds on trays and set aside.
When the berry mixture has cooled, fold in the lightly whisked cream.
Put the blueberry mousse in a piping (icing) bag.
Remove the 3.5 cm yoghurt mousse moulds from the freezer and release the domes from the moulds.
Pipe the blueberry mousse halfway up the side of each 4.5 cm mould and place a yoghurt mousse dome in the centre, pushing it down gently so that the mousse comes up the sides and is level at the top but not overflowing.
Freeze, making sure the tray is completely level, for 2–3 hours or until firm.
To assemble
When ready to glaze, heat the glaze to 45°C (113°F) in the microwave. Slowly stir the mixture until it cools down to 40°C (104°F) and is smooth. Set aside.
Remove the frozen mousse domes from the moulds. Use your hands to slightly soften the flat surfaces of two of the domes and then stick them together to assemble a sphere. Place the sphere on a wire rack set over a tray. Work quickly so the mousse doesn’t start to melt. Repeat with the remaining domes.
Pour the warm glaze over the domes to completely cover. Allow the excess glaze to drip off the dome and then carefully transfer each dome onto a vanilla sable biscuit.
Use a skewer and palette knife to transfer the domes to a serving plate. Apply the meringue kisses around the ball, making sure the spikes are facing out.
High life twist
Make sure the mousse is frozen solid so that the glaze sticks to it. Assemble the spheres, glaze them and store them in the freezer for up to 1 week, then add the meringue kisses to serve.