In Vietnam’s southern dining capital, Ho Chi Minh City, La Villa is one of the few French restaurants listed in the MICHELIN Guide Vietnam 2024 edition. More to the point, it is a beloved fixture in the city’s dining scene, where classic French cuisine is not just served but revered—including, of course, its French patisserie by Chef Thierry Mounon.
“The chocolate and hazelnut entremets with salted caramel ice cream embodies tradition and innovation, comfort and refinement, blending rich chocolate, nutty hazelnut and deep caramel with a hint of salt – making it an excellent dish to impress your significant other or family,” shares the French chef, who honed his culinary skills extensively at Chef Christian Etienne’s restaurant in Avignon, as well as MICHELIN-recognised establishments in London, across France, and in Bora Bora.
“Chocolate and hazelnut have always been a classic pairing, but at La Villa, we’ve taken it to new heights. A hazelnut dacquoise melts in your mouth, followed by a silky praline mousse and a dark chocolate crémeux for depth. Finished with a quenelle of salted caramel ice cream, its smooth texture and subtle saltiness elevate the whole experience—familiar, yet surprisingly complex. In many ways, this dessert represents the essence of La Villa: precision, patience, and the art of crafting flavours that feel both eternal and ever-new,” he shares, explaining what makes this dish the crème de la crème when it comes to dishes designed to impress.
Chef Mounon is sharing his (not-so) secret recipe for you to master at home.
Hazelnut Chocolate Entremets (1-2 servings)
Ingredients for shortcrust pastry (base):
500 grams, flour270 grams, butter190 grams, icing sugar4 eggs70 grams, almond powder
Instructions for shortcrust pastry:
Mix flour, butter, icing sugar, eggs, and almond powder until the dough forms.Chill for 30 minutes, roll out, and cut to size.Bake at 160°C (320°F) for 15-20 minutes.Cool completely.
(© La Villa)
Ingredients for salted caramel:
300 grams, sugar70 grams, glucose60 grams, water30 grams, butter6 grams, salt300 grams, warm cream
Instructions for salted caramel:
In a pan, cook sugar, glucose, and water until golden.Remove from heat.Carefully add butter, salt, and warm cream.Cool slightly and keep the mixture pourable.
Ingredients for hazelnut cream:
2 gelatin sheets200 grams, cream30 grams, sugar50 grams, hazelnut paste45 grams, white chocolate
Instructions for hazelnut cream:
Soak gelatin sheets in cold water.Heat cream and sugar, then add hazelnut paste and white chocolate.Stir in gelatin until dissolved.Cool slightly.
Ingredients for milk chocolate glaze:
7 gelatin sheets420 grams, sugar290 grams, cream80 grams, water150 grams, milk chocolate
Instructions for milk chocolate glaze:
Soak gelatin sheets in cold water.Heat sugar, cream, and water in a pan.Remove from heat.Add gelatin, and stir in milk chocolate.Cool to 35°C (95°F) before glazing.
Ingredients for hazelnut ice cream:
500 milliliters, milk100 grams, sugar150 grams, hazelnut paste5 grams, Stab2000
Instructions for hazelnut ice cream:
Heat milk and sugar.Stir in hazelnut paste and Stab2000.Cool, churn in an ice cream machine, and freeze.
Ingredients for hazelnut sponge cake (for decoration):
120 grams, egg whites80 grams, sugar80 grams, egg yolks80 grams, hazelnut paste25 grams, flour
Instructions for hazelnut sponge cake:
Whip egg whites with sugar until soft peaks form.Mix yolks and hazelnut paste, then fold into the meringue.Sift in flour and gently fold.Spread in a tray and bake at 170°C (338°F) for 10-12 minutes.Cool, then cut into elegant shapes for decoration.
Ingredients for chocolate tuile (for decoration):
5 grams, icing sugar50 grams, flour50 grams, cocoa powder50 grams, egg whites50 grams, melted butter
Instructions for chocolate tuile:
Mix icing sugar, flour, cocoa powder, egg whites, and melted butter.Chill the batter, then spread thinly on a silicone mat.Bake at 160°C (320°F) for 8-10 minutes.Shape while warm for an artistic effect.
Instructions for hazelnut chocolate entremets:
For assembly:
Place the shortcrust base at the bottom of the mould.Spread a thin layer of salted caramel and freeze for 30 minutes.Pour hazelnut cream over the caramel layer and freeze overnight.
For glazing:
Unmould the frozen entremet.Place on a wire rack and pour the milk chocolate glaze at 35°C.
For decorating:
Place a rectangle of hazelnut sponge cake on top.Add toasted hazelnuts, almond flakes, and chocolate tuile.Sprinkle crumbles for extra texture.
For the final touch:
Place a quenelle of hazelnut ice cream on a small bed of crumble.
Chef Mounon’s secrets:
“One of the key elements that make this dessert exceptional is our aged hazelnut praline paste. Unlike most pralines, which are used immediately, ours is left to mature for two weeks, allowing the natural oils to develop and intensify their nutty depth.”“Then, there is the salted caramel ice cream that we make in-house, with a touch of fleur de sel to bring out the best in the chocolate and hazelnut while preventing any single element from overwhelming the palate.”
Illustration image: © La Villa
Written by
Pruepat ‘Maprang’ Songtieng
After nearly two decades of polishing her prose for Marie Claire, ELLE, Vogue, GQ, and THE STANDARD, this Bangkokian finds herself as the Digital Editor of the MICHELIN Guide Thailand and Vietnam. She enjoys exchanging cultural views over a Gin Rickey. When not at the beach, she’s lifting spirits at the gym, catching a flight, or getting lost in the mysteries of an Agatha Christie novel, plotting her next great escape.
Dining and Cooking