Kate: Mont Blanc

I ended up following the recipe from the book. It was such a long time between reading Elaine’s original post and starting the recipe that I didn’t notice the difference in technique.
There was no piping involved in this recipe, you had to partially freeze it then dig out the inner, unset mousse leaving a rim around the edge. What you dug out became the ‘surprise’ and covering mousse.
My walnut brittle didn’t set by the time the mousse was partially set which resulted in caramel centre rather than brittle. So I didn’t process just chopped the nuts a little so they were chunky rather than ground. I was disappointed about the brittle thinking I lost on texture, which I suspect I did, but my guests didn’t notice and all loved the caramel/coffee centre. Following Elaine’s method would have avoided brittle-caramel issue.
The rest of the method I followed was straightforward and the digging out and reinserting was easier than I imagined.
Unfortunately I removed it from the freezer too early and by the time I brought it to the table to dish out it had really softened around then edges. I was again quite disappointed especially having come so far to make such a silly mistake but it didn’t appear to bother anyone. Next time I would take it out a couple of minutes before serving instead of ten.
The book suggests serving with candied peel that was the perfect match and helped divert attraction form my not so firm edges. (The recipe is one that Elaine posted with Soufflé a l’orange)
Elaine this was one of the tastiest desserts and has huge 'wow' factor with guests.