A friend had recommended the chantilly recipe a few months back, so when I found these tuile cookie cups it just seemed like a nice, classy, pairing. Besides, I wasn't about to spend 1200 yen on a tiny pack of strawberries and in a tiny block of cream cheese to make the recommended filling in the tuile cup recipe. There are just some things you don't try in Japan out of financial responsibility.
I made the cookies the night before (first half of the recipe only). While the technique was complicated enough to cause me some stress (you know me, I often fear the unknown), I was surprised to find that it really was a simple recipe once you got the hang of it. I also knew I wanted to make lemon curd the next week, so having a bunch of egg yolks leftover to throw in my fridge was a happy coincidence.
A tuile cookie is a French egg white cookie that bakes soft and hardens as it cools, which creates a lot of possibility for 3D shapes like edible spoons and bowls. The goal this time was cups, so I inverted and greased up a bunch of my conical coffee mugs and set to work. Having nothing but my small oven-range from hell, I could only make two cookies at a time. I was afraid they wouldn't come off the pan, so I baked them on parchment paper. I imagine a silpat would be perfect (but I don't have one). One of the recipe reviewers said she liked hers thicker and it made them keep their shape better, so I erred on the side of thickness. Another said that overcooking them also helped. I aimed for that too.
Spreading the batter was a bit difficult, especially spreading it so the edges were attractive and just as thick as the middles, but I learned that with this recipe all you need is a little confidence. Don't be afraid to push the batter around. Don't be afraid to pull the cookies off the tray. The dough is more resilient than it looks and unless it's really under-baked the cookies come up like crepes. They're hot, but it's not so hard to throw them on the back of the cup and make some pleats before they set. Additionally, after they've cooled they pop right off the mold as long as you've applied enough grease. At the end I tried experimenting with scalloped edges and such, but unfortunately I just couldn't do it. I'll try again if I make them again, but I make no promise of success.
I made a batch of the cookies and then realized it was so easy and I had enough ingredients, so making another batch just made sense. They kind of had a consistency like fortune cookies - but mine were not as crisp. They did, however, taste excellent! Overall I was quite pleased with everything about them except for the texture. I've never had a tuile cookie before, so I'm not sure how they're supposed to be, but they look short and hard in pictures, and yet mine were super chewy. In other words, I think I did something wrong.
I used the chantilly recipe for the chocolate layer, which produced a very dark and rich mousse, being nothing but 70% cacao chocolate, a few tablespoons of sugar, and water. The preparation of it seems to go against everything you've ever heard about chocolate, but it's easy if you truly do understand how to temper chocolate. This is also one of those times you buy blocks of real chocolate instead of chocolate bars or coating chocolate (there is a difference, read up), and of course, you follow the recipe EXACTLY.
I was terrified to be working with real chocolate at first (expensive for mistakes and I do not have a proper double boiler!) but I've read enough about chocolate and the recipe was good, so I pushed through it. I had a moment of panic when my mixture started getting grainy and I thought it might seize, but it turned out it just wasn't done tempering yet, in another instant the molecules snapped into "form V" and made me a beautiful mousse that not only set, but stayed set, and piped beautifully! It's a true keeper for my recipe file! My dad, who loves dark chocolate, will love this.
I knew I wasn't going to have enough chantilly to fill the cups properly, so I also made a peanut butter mousse by hybridding a few shitty recipes together to make a good one. I figured I'd made enough things from scratch, so I could cut some corners and not make this mousse from eggs and all that craziness. I whisked together 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1 1/4 cups milk, and a teaspoon of vanilla until blended. Then I added 1 small package of instant vanilla pudding and whisked it until it was smooth (and super thick). Finally, I delicately folded in just under half of the bowl of whipped cream I'd prepared from 1 small carton of whipping cream sweetened with powdered sugar.
Finally, I made peanut butter ball dough from peanut butter, milk powder, a smidge of honey, and powdered sugar. All the pieces prepared, it was time to put it together. I piped the mousses into the cup and garnished with peanut butter balls, a sliced-up piece of peanut butter chocolate candy, and a dusting of cocoa.
The flavors matched even better than I thought, particularly in terms of bitterness/sweetness ratios. Clearly, I've learned enough that my intuition is getting pretty good! After making this, I couldn't help but feel like I'd leveled up a bit!
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