Karamelna mousse torta s poširanimi hruškami

1. Poached pears (you can make a day ahead):
Combine the water and spices in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Gently peel the pears and remove the core. Drop the pears into the hot water and cook them on low heat for 30 minutes or more, depending on their side and how firm they were.
To check if they are done, insert a knife in one of them. If the knife goes through easily, they are done.
Remove them from heat and let them cool down in the syrup then drain well.
Cut the poached pears into cubes.

2. Biscuit:
Preheat the oven to 230°C
Line the pan with baking paper.
Put the T.P.T. (almond powder and icing sugar) together in a medium bowl.
Pour the egg (egg whites and yolks) into the bowl and beat until light.
Whip the egg white and sugar to make the meringue.
Fold 1/2 of the meringue into the T.P.T. mixture, fold the flour mixture.
Fold in the rest of the meringue until combine and pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 7 minutes, or until spring back when touch lightly.
*Repeat for the second layer (just one was definitely not enough)

3. Mousse au café:
*make a double batch!!!!
Bloom the gelatin in cold water.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a small saucepan, boil the milk with the vanilla bean and slowly whisk it into the egg yolk mixture.
Put the saucepan over low heat, stir all the time and heat until 82°C.
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the gelatin, stir until melt.
Let it cool completely and mix in the rum.
Whip the whipping cream until soft peak form.
Fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into the Crème anglaise.
Pour the mixture back into the whipped cream bowl and fold until combine.
Pipe the mousse into the ring, add poached pears and another layer of cream than
place the biscuit on top, sprinkle with syrup.
Freeze until ready to use.

4. Mousse au caramel:
Bloom the gelatin in cold water.
Put the 125g of cream and vanilla paste in a second small saucepan, and heat until warm (or put in the microwave proved measuring cup, put the cup in the microwave and heat for 1 minutes).
Put the sugar and corn syrup into a saucepan, place over medium heat and stir occasionally so that the sugar melts and caramelizes evenly. Add cream to the caramel at arm’s length, averting your face—the caramel will boil up and may splatter out of the pan.
Stir over low heat until smooth.
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the gelatin.

5. Pâte à bombe
1. Put the sugar, water in a thick based pan, and place over a moderate heat and stir until it boils
2. When the syrup temperature reaches 100 °C start beating the egg yolk.
3. When the syrup temperature reaches 115°C slowly whisk it into the egg yolk in a thin stream taking care not to let it run onto the whisk
4. Continue beating until completely cold.
Pour the Pâte à bombe into the caramel and stir until combine. Let it cool completely and stir in the cognac.
Whip the whipping cream until soft peak form.
Fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into the caramel mixture.
Pour the mixture back into the whipped cream bowl and fold until combine.
Pipe into the mold and place the biscuit on top and sprinkle with syrup.
Freeze until firm.

6. Caramel glaze:
Mix the gelatin with 65ml water and let it bloom at least 10 minutes.
Bring the heavy cream to the boiling point in a saucepan.
Combine the sugar, water, glucose and lemon juice in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook this syrup for a few minutes, washing the sides of the pan with a brush soaked in cold water to prevent crystals from forming.
Keep cooking the syrup until it has an amber color then add the hot heavy cream and keep on heat until the sauce is smooth.
Remove from heat and stir in the gelatin then add the chocolate.
Mix until melted and smooth then allow the glaze to come to room temperature before using it.

7. To glaze the cake, place the cake on a wire rack over a platter. Begin pouring the glaze from the center of the cake to the edges, pouring more on the edges to cover them well. You might need to pour the glaze twice to get a full coverage. As a tip to the perfect glazed cake, freeze the cake a few hours before glazing it. This way the glaze will set faster and thicker on the cake and might not need a second coating after all.

8. Caramel decoration
To decorate the cake, melt 100g sugar until it has an amber color then remove from heat and allow to cool down for a few minutes.
Dip a fork into the melted sugar and quickly move it over a baking sheet to form fine strands of caramel. Dip again and form strands until you are happy with the result then gather the strands into a cone or a ball and finish the decoration with a few hazelnuts.

9. Serve the cake chilled.

10. *torta je super, ravno prav trda, vse stoji kot je treba. Preliv je fantasticen. Edino hruske niso prisle toliko do izraza kot sem upala, mogoce kaksno drugo sadje. Ali pa dejansko poleg hrusk se kaksna plast iz oreskov, da je se neka druga tekstura. Pa plasti biskvita so bile morda za malenkost pretanke za tako veliko torto (kot manjse tortice bi bilo pomoje boljse)