White chocolate coffee mousse - anise flavoured dark chocolate ganache tartelettes with cocoa bean meringue

These tartelettes are the smallest I have ever baked! Only 5 cm diameter, but the taste rocks! First you are simply surprised that that white mousse actually tastes like coffee, then from behind a light touch of anise is exploding on your tounge. It is really important to be careful with the amount of anise, because in this case it is more than true: less is more! Dare to try this combination because anise goes perfectly well with both the coffee and the dark chocolate. For me it was love at first bite! The missing excitement comes with he cocoa bean meringue on top of the tartelettes.

Ingredients:
for the pastry:
125 g flour
50 g butter, softened
50 g icing sugar
1 egg
1 pinch of salt

for the white chocolate-coffee mousse:
100 g white chocolate
50 ml cream
1 tablespoon coffee beans
25 g sugar
25 g water
1 egg yolk
1 sheet gelatine
100 ml cream
for the anise-dark chocolate ganache:
75 g room temperature butter
80 g chocolate (70% cocoa)
55 ml milk
1/4 teaspoon anise

for the meringue:
30 g egg white (about 1 egg)
30 g sugar
25 g icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
pinch of ground anise
crushed cocoa bean

Makes 4 tartelettes shells á 10 cm, but for these you have to double (or even triple) the amount of the mousse. The ganache and the meringue should be enough.

For the pastry sieve flour and icing sugar and make a mold into the middle. Add diced butter and salt and crumble butter with flour. As soon as it well crumbled add the egg and knead a smooth dough. Chill for 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 200°C Roll out pastry about 2-3 mm thick and place them into the tartelettes rings and blind bake for 7-11 minutes, then cool on a wrack.

For the coffee mousse bring 50 ml of cream together with the coffee beans to the boil, then let it stand for 15 minutes. In the meantime melt white chocolate over steam, then add sieved cream and mix until smooth. Bring sugar with water to the boil, then let cool. In a water bath whisk together the egg yolk and the syrup and whisk until thick and creamy. Stir in the previously soaked gelatine, then fold it into the chocolate mixture. Finally fold in the beaten cream and chill in a piping bag.

Cream butter with a help of a fork and set aside. Chop chocolate and bring the milk together with the anise to the boil. Pour hot milk through a sieve over the chopped chocolate, then stir until smooth. Finally stir in butter with a help of a wooden spoon.

Beat egg white with a pinch of salt until half stiffm then add sugar gradually and beat until stiff. Fold in icing sugar and cornstarch. Pipe meringue in any shap you like onto a baking sheet and sprinkle with crushed cocoa bean. Bake over 90°C depending on the size and thickness for 90-120 minutes.