Mendl's Courtesan au Chocolat

🥗 Ingredients

For the Puff Pastry Layers:

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

For the Pastry Cream:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon butter

For the Chocolate Ganache:

• 4 oz dark chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon butter

For the Finishing:

• 8 oz pink fondant (or white fondant with pink gel coloring)
• 2 tablespoons apricot jam, warmed
• 2 oz white chocolate, for "M" decoration
• Dark chocolate, melted, for drizzle

📋 Instructions

1. Bake the puff pastry: Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut the puff pastry into 18 small rounds (about 2 inches). Sprinkle with sugar and bake on parchment-lined sheets for 12-15 minutes until puffed and golden. Cool completely.
2. Make the pastry cream: Heat milk until steaming. Whisk yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until pale. Slowly pour hot milk into yolks while whisking. Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly, until thick. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and butter. Cover with plastic touching the surface and chill completely.
3. Make the ganache: Heat cream until simmering. Pour over chopped chocolate, let sit 1 minute, then stir until smooth. Add butter and stir until incorporated. Let cool until spreadable but not set.
4. Assemble the layers: Place one pastry round on your work surface. Spread with a layer of pastry cream, then a layer of ganache. Add a second pastry round and repeat the layers. Top with a third pastry round.
5. Cover with fondant: Brush the top pastry with warm apricot jam (this helps the fondant stick). Roll out the pink fondant very thin and drape over the top, smoothing gently. Trim excess from the sides.
6. Decorate: Melt white chocolate and pipe an elegant "M" on top of each pastry. Drizzle with dark chocolate in decorative lines. Let the chocolate set completely.
7. Serve with style: Present in a pink box tied with string for the full Mendl's experience! Best served the same day, but will keep refrigerated overnight.