The Split-open Christmas Bauble

It's up to you.

10 detailed steps, from preparation to service.

1. Shirting the bowl

   Tap the 18 cm bowl of cling film, letting the edges go past. Put 200 g of cream in the refrigerator. Pour the 80 g of milk into a hollow plate; keep the biscuits next to each other so as not to soak them in advance.

2. Making the black ganache

   Chop the 220 g of dark chocolate in a bowl. Heat 150 g of cream until the first bubbles, pour on the chocolate and wait 2 minutes. Stir gently until a smooth ganache is obtained, then let cool down to about 30 ° C: it should be barely warm on the finger.

3. Make the mousse

   Whisk the 200 g of cold cream in soft Chantilly, until it forms tips that fold. Incorporate a third into the warm ganache, then the rest into the spatula by lifting. Do not use a hot ganache, which would cause the cream to droop.

4. Line with biscuits

   Very quickly soaks one side of each cookie in the milk, less than a second. Place the cookies tight against the sides of the bowl, dry side against the film. Cut them if necessary to close the spaces; reserve about a third of the 220 g for the bottom.

5. Filling the Dome

   Pour half of the mousse, then put 180 g of cherry jam in the center keeping 2 cm without jam on the edges. Cover with the remaining foam. Close with reserved cookies, just moistened with the remaining milk. Turn the film down and refrigerate for 5 hours.

6. Unmold without heating

   Open the film, place the serving dish on the bowl and return the two together. Remove the bowl and film. If the bowl resists, wait 2 minutes; do not heat it. The dome should stand alone, with a firm biscuit surface.

7. Make the white shell

   Melt the 150 g of white chocolate in a very soft bain-marie in a dry bowl, then let cool for 5 minutes. Reserve 15 g on baking paper in small rectangle of 3 x 2 cm for a ball attachment. Pour the rest on the dome and spread in a thin layer with a spatula. Leave to freeze for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.

8. Fracture the ball

   With the tip of a small knife, open an irregular hole of 5 cm on the front of the dome by cutting shell and biscuit; remove a small amount of mousse. Put the pieces of shell on the foot. It is a stable dome, never an entire sphere in balance.

9. Creating the cracks

   Mix 20 g of cocoa with 20 g of the remaining jam. Trace with cornet four large brown cracks starting from the hole, without fine pattern. Place the small rectangle of white chocolate at the top, slightly sunken, to evoke the attachment of a Christmas ball.

10. Overcome the cherry

    Pour the remaining 50 g of jam into the hole and let it go down to the plate. Keep visible white chocolate chips and biscuit. Replaces 20 minutes in the refrigerator and then serves with a knife passed under hot water and wiped.