COUP DE CŒUR

Warm the almond paste in the microwave oven. Heat to 35°C
the eggs and the sugar over a bain marie. Pour little by little the
eggs into the mixing bowl fitted with a whisk. Add the melted
hot (45°C) butter, the cubes of orange confit and the orange
purée. Fold through the flour and the baking powder sifted
together. Pour into a frame of 18.5 × 27 cm, 2cm high. Cook in a
fan forced oven at 160°C for approximately 15 minutes.

Reduce the purée with the sugar to obtain 520 g of concentrated
purée. Add the gelatin previously soaked in cold water and
drained; cool the mixture in a bowl over ice. When the mixture
thickens pour approximately 10 g into the dome shaped silicon
molds ; over the confit apricots and place in the freezer.

Mix the apricot halves with the sugar. Allow to rest for one night
in the refrigerator. The following day, boil for 2 to 3 minutes
and then place on a baking tray lined with a sulfurised paper
and cook in a fan forced oven at 120-130°C to extract the
humidity from the apricots. After cooling, cut into small pieces
and spoon 10 g into each small dome before to pour over the
mandarine jelly.

Heat the milk and the cream and add the gelatin, previously
soaked in cold water and drained. Cool down the mix. When
the mix is at 30°C approximately, add the Cointreau®. Boil the
sugar, water and inverted sugar and pour over the egg yolks
while whisking. Heat over a bain-marie at 840°C then whisk in a
mixer to make a «pâte à bombe». When the mixture Cointreau®
resembles a texture «yaourt», add the cooled «pâte à bombe»
and whipped cream at the same time with a spatula.

Pour the Cointreau® mousse half way into each heart shaped
silicon mold. Insert the mandarin jelly and the apricots. Follow
with a little more Cointreau® mousse and finish with a orange
biscuit «pain de Gênes». Freeze.

Whip the cream and the sugar lightly until a liquid texture as
for a glaze. Glaze the individual hearts over a grill then finish
to decorate as you wish. Or, glaze with a ready to use white
glazing.