MENDL' S

Happy Saturday, my birds, 

I'm doing this week at my own pace, finding the time to write to you sitting on a pile of moving boxes, and yet I'm not letting go, the urge to write to you is stronger! Especially as I've still got a lot to tell you! Today I'm giving you a crazy little recipe! Also for our special week, I've reinterpreted one of the film's star pastries. Zéro, the Lobby Boy of the Grand Budapest Hotel, falls madly in love with Agatha, the pretty pastry chef at Mendl's, who excels at making the house specialty, "La Courtisane au chocolat". Okay, I'll admit that I'm not much of a chocolate fan, it's not my passion at all, but I make up for it in other ways, don't worry... So here's my version of the white chocolate courtesan! 

For the base of your courtisane, here's a classic muffin recipe: ( for about 9 muffins, you'll have enough for breakfast...)

• - 3 eggs,
• - 100g butter,
• - 180g flour,
• - 1 pinch salt,
• - 90g sugar,
• - 3 tablespoons milk,
• - 1 sachet yeast,
• - 1 capful rose syrup.

Start by heating your oven to 200°C. Sift the flour and yeast together and set aside. Beat in the 3 eggs and sugar, the mixture will turn white, at which point add the milk, salt and rose syrup, then mix well. Gradually add the powder, flour and baking powder. Finally, add the melted butter and mix until the dough is smooth. Pour the batter 2/3 of the way into the moulds, and bake for 10 minutes, checking with the blade of a knife.

For the choux pastry : 

• - 150 g flour,
• - 75 g butter,
• - 4 eggs, 
• - 1/4 liter water,
• - 1 pinch salt,

Start by preheating your oven to 190°C. Pour the water, salt and butter into a saucepan and heat over medium heat. As soon as the liquid starts to boil and the butter has melted, remove the mixture from the heat and pour in the flour all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough is perfectly smooth, and comes away from the sides of the pan, then leave to cool. Add the eggs one by one, waiting for the previous one to be well incorporated before adding the next. Check the dough: if it's shiny and comes away slowly from the spoon, it's ready to bake; if it's thick, add another egg. Place small balls of dough on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Glaze and garnish! 

• - 20 cl whipping cream.
• - One bar of special dessert white chocolate,
• - 170g powdered sugar and one egg white, 
• - red, green and blue coloring (cosmic!)
• - and a few macadamia nuts or almonds.

Once your muffins and choux have cooled, you're ready to assemble your courtisane... Start by melting the white chocolate in a bain-marie. Once the chocolate has melted, place your choux on a wire rack and leave the chocolate to harden for 20 minutes... Keep some of the melted chocolate for later - you can add a few drops of crème fleurette - and set aside. Meanwhile, whip the cold crème fleurette until stiff, then add a little powdered sugar as soon as it begins to set. Using a piping bag filled with whipped cream, fill the choux pastry with the whipped cream. Keep a little whipped cream and add a little blue coloring, which will act as a binder between the different elements of the courtisane. In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and egg white. The mixture should be opaque and coat the top of your muffins. Separate the rest of the mixture in two and add a few drops of green to the first part of the royal icing and a few drops of red to the second... Now coat the tops of your choux puffs in green and red. Leave to dry in a cool place for a few minutes. Using a needle-less syringe filled with the remaining liquid white chocolate, you can draw a few arabesques on the tops of your choux and muffins before assembling the courtisane with the remaining blue chantilly! Garnish with a macadamia nut and enjoy!  

And as you've all been clamoring for, here's the template to make this adorable box! The secret is to print in red on pink paper! 

visual MENDL'S and the box bossI love you!