Merveilleux Christmas Recipe

To make the chocolate shavings, melt the chocolate over a bain-marie, then pour into a container. Let set for at least 3 hours at room temperature (ideally below 18–20°C) until hard, then unmould. Hold the chocolate bar at a slight angle with one hand and, using the other hand, scrape the chocolate with the blade of a vegetable peeler to make shavings. Transfer to a plate and refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the dacquoise, preheat the oven to 150°C fan. Put the ground hazelnuts and icing sugar in a bowl and mix to combine. Put the egg whites in another bowl and whisk until frothy and firm enough to cling to the tip of the whisk, then gently whisk in the sugar a meringue consistency is formed. Fold in the icing sugar mixture, then transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 10 mm round nozzle.

Using a pencil, draw 16 x 6 cm circles on baking parchment, then place upside down on a baking tray. Pipe half the dacquoise mixture in spirals on top of the drawn circles to form the bases, then pipe the other half into 6 slightly smaller domes. Sprinkle with icing sugar, let settle for a few minutes, then sprinkle with icing sugar again. Bake for 30 minutes. In the meantime, clean the 10 mm round nozzle.

To make the chocolate mousse, melt the chocolate over a bain-marie to 45°C, then remove from the heat. Pour the cream into a large bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Add a quarter of the whipped cream to the chocolate and whisk vigorously. Using a spatula, fold in the remaining cream. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with the cleaned 10 mm round nozzle.

To assemble, pipe a layer of chocolate mousse in a spiral onto the flat base of a disc of dacquoise. Place a dome of dacquoise on top. Pipe a generous amount of mousse on top, then use a small spatula to spread the mousse evenly over the entire surface to cover the dacquoise and create a rounded shape. Stick the chocolate shavings all over the surface of the merveilleux. Repeat with the remaining dacquoise. Refrigerate for 2 hours, then dust with icing sugar and serve.