Pastry Chef Morgan Wilson
Bijoux | Dallas

Morgan Wilson plays with classic pastry forms and flavors in his delicately built desserts at Bijoux to create clean, modern plates. His espresso mascarpone trifle is both English trifle and Italian tiramisu, yet refused to be defined as either one. His carrot cake is a dainty deconstructed version of the classic with every element actually refined and more delicious than in its original form of frosting and sponge - with Morgan's high-level technique and focus of flavor, his revisions of the classics are always thoughtful improvements on the original. His commitment to his purveyors is so strong that when his strawberry farmer suffered a bad harvest, he rethought his menu rather than buying from someone else. Morgan’s biggest inspiration came from books like Oriol Balaguer’s Dessert Cuisine and working with chefs Arnold Wong and Scott Mezola.

Espresso and Wisconsin Cheese Mascarpone Trifle
Pastry Chef Morgan Wilson of Bijoux – Dallas, TX
Adapted by StarChefs.com

Yields: 5 Servings

Ingredients:

• Coffee Syrup:
• 500 grams strong coffee
• 150 grams sugar
• 100 milliliters Kahlua liqueur
• 100 milliliters dark rum
• 100 milliliters Marsala Wine

Method:

For the Coffee Syrup:
Mix ingredients together and reserve.

For Lady Finger Sponge:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Whip egg yolks with half the sugar to maximum volume. Sift flour and corn starch together. Whip egg whites with remaining sugar to firm peaks. Fold whites into yolks, and then fold in flour. Spread evenly on a full size sheet pan and bake until set, about 5-7 minutes. Cut to size and soak with coffee syrup using a pastry brush.

For the Mascarpone Mousse:
Whip mascarpone and heavy cream together to soft peaks and reserve. Bloom gelatin in cold water and melt over a bain marie. Whip egg yolks in an electric mixer on high to full volume. Cook sugar and water to soft ball stage (240°F) and pour in a steady stream over the whipping yolks (pate a bombe). When yolks have cooled and attained a maximum volume turn the mixer speed down and pour the melted gelatin in a steady stream. Fold pate a bombe into whipped mascarpone and cream mixture and pipe into molds immediately. Press a soaked disc of ladyfinger sponge into the top of each mold and smooth the cream over. Freeze until firm enough to unmold cleanly and reserve wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator.

For the Espresso Succes:
Pre-heat oven to 200°F. Sift almond meal with powdered sugar and small sugar quantity. Mix milk with extract. Whip egg whites with large sugar to firm peaks. Fold dry into egg whites, and then fold in milk and extract. Using a medium sized plain piping tip, pipe parrallel cylanders of the mixture two by two. Place in oven for about an hour. Cookies will still feel slightly soft when done. Allow to cool and test to see if they have crisped up. If not return to the oven for some more time.

For the Tia Maria Gelée:
Bloom gelatin in Tia Maria. Mix sugar into coffee and then stir in Tia Maria. Pour into a shallow pan and refridgerate.

For the Espresso Anglaise:
Heat cream with half of sugar. Whip egg yolks with other half of sugar. Pour hot cream over yolks while whisking vigorously. Whisk yolk mixture back into remaining cream in pot and return to stove. Cook over a low flame stirring consantly until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Reomve for the stove, strain and cool. Whisk brewed espresso into sauce once cool.

For the Chocolate Sauce:
Heat cream and pour over chocolate. Stir together and keep warm to serve.

To Assemble and Serve:
Dust the top of the mascarpone mousse dome with a bit of cocoa powder. Put a small dot of chocolate sauce into the base of a bowl and pour espresso anglaise around until the base is full around the dot. Lay one mousse dome slightly touching the chocolate sauce. Place three pieces of Tia Maria gelee around the dome. Insert an espresso succes through some chocolate rings and lay over the front of the mousse.