Pain d’épices and rum-soaked raisin pudding

Light mousse with Christmas spices

Ingredients for 8 people:

Pain d’épices pudding:
– 250 g milk
– 2 eggs
– 75 g sugar
– 75 g stale farmhouse bread
– 2 g pain d’épices spice mix (5 spices)
– 1 tablespoon of rum-soaked raisins
Cut the bread into small cubes and set them aside. Put the eggs, milk, sugar and spices in the blender. Mix everything together and add the stale bread cubes. Let them soak for about ten minutes then mix them briefly. Pour the mixture into a bowl and add the raisins. Pour the mixture into small silicone moulds (half-spheres or cupcake moulds). Preheat the oven to 170 °C and bake for 18 minutes. Allow to cool and unmould.

Opaline (sugar tile):
– 120 g sugar
– 60 g glucose
– 60 g water
Put all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to the boil until the temperature reaches 165 °C. Pour onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and allow to cool.
When the mixture is cold, crush it into small pieces and blend it finely to make a powder.
Sprinkle the powder on the baking sheet, making 4 circles with a chablon or a cookie cutter.
Put in a preheated oven at 170 °C. Turn off the oven and let the powder melt for 3-4 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool and set aside.

Pain d’épices (for a large cake tin):
– 300 g water
– 300 g honey
– 140 g sugar
– 2 g salt
– 8 g star anise
– 10 g pain d’épices spice mix (5 spices)
– 300 g flour
– 20 g baking powder
– 160 g butter
Put the spices, honey, water and butter in a pan and bring to the boil. Take the mixture off the heat, let it infuse for 1 hour and then strain.

Mix the flour with the baking powder in a bowl and add to the liquid. Stir with a whisk. Pour the mixture into a buttered cake tin. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 °C for 50 minutes. Unmould while still hot and allow to cool completely.

Cut one third of the pain d’épices into small cubes and dry 3 or 4 slices to make powder. Set aside the remaining pain d’épices for another recipe (it can be frozen).

Light mousse with Christmas spices
(using a whipping siphon)
– 5 g pain d’épices spice mix (5 spices)
– 200 g cream
– 200 g milk
– 20 g egg yolk
– 20 g sugar
– 1,6 g gelatinea
Soak the gelatine sheets in cold water.
Put the milk, cream and spices in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Take the mixture off the heat and let it infuse for 15 minutes. Set aside.
Whip the egg yolks with the sugar, then add the infused milk and cream mixture. Heat the mixture again, stirring constantly. When the mixture thickens (at 85 °C), strain into a cold container to stop it from cooking any further. Allow it to cool and pour into a whipping siphon. Add 2 gas chargers and set aside.

Finishing and plating:
Put a pudding on the bottom of each plate and cover it with a nice dome of spiced mousse. Place the opaline on top and decorate with the pain d’épices cubes and powder.