Easter Egg Recipe, Number Cake Style

Joconde Biscuit (to be made twice). The day before as well, prepare the Joconde biscuits. Preheat the oven to 190°C (fan oven). Beat the four eggs with the icing sugar until the mixture whitens. Add the almond and hazelnut flour, and the regular flour. Gently mix, then incorporate the melted butter followed by the four egg whites beaten with the granulated sugar.

Spread the batter onto two baking trays lined with parchment paper. Adjust the size of your egg-shaped template; you will have scraps, but they are delicious for breakfast. Place in the preheated oven for 14 minutes. Once out of the oven, wait 10 minutes before removing the Joconde cookies and let them cool on a wire rack. Once both cookies are cooled, place your egg template on the sponge cake and carefully cut out two eggs using a fine knife, then set them aside.

Lemon Cream. The day before, prepare the lemon cream. Soak the gelatin sheets in a large glass filled with cold water for 10 minutes. Whisk the eggs with the sugar and cornstarch. Add the juice of the pressed lemons (200 ml) and a bit of zest. Place everything over low heat and thicken while constantly whisking. Off the heat, add the softened and drained gelatin sheets, mix, and let it cool before adding the softened butter in pieces. Blend with an immersion blender to achieve a smooth cream. Let it cool, cover the cream with plastic wrap touching the surface, and refrigerate until the next day.

Pastry cream. Soak the gelatin sheets in a large volume of very cold water. Heat the milk. Add the scraped vanilla pod. Let it melt gently. In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar until the mixture whitens. Add the cornstarch and whisk again. Pour the milk in a thin stream over the eggs while whisking vigorously, then return the mixture to the saucepan and cook while stirring until boiling. Add the chocolate (and possibly a little butter) and mix gently for a few moments. Let it melt for 1 to 2 minutes without stirring. Whisk and mix vigorously until you achieve a beautiful, shiny, homogeneous, and creamy chocolate pastry cream.

Off the heat, add the softened and well-wrung gelatin and mix vigorously. Grate the tonka bean and mix again. Pour the pastry cream into a large clean dish, cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface, and refrigerate until completely cool or overnight if possible.

Diplomat Cream
Retrieve the cooled pastry cream and whip it vigorously to regain its softness and smoothness. Set aside. Whip very cold heavy cream to a soft peak and gently fold it into the pastry cream using a silicone spatula to achieve a smooth and homogeneous diplomat cream. Place the diplomat cream in a piping bag, preferably with a straight tip of 10mm in diameter. Refrigerate.
Soak your cake. Mix lemon juice, water, and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil until the sugar dissolves. Let the syrup cool, then, using a brush, generously soak the two sponge cakes; this will make your cake softer.

To finish, assemble the Easter egg cake. Pipe two rows of small, even mounds of ganache around the edge of the first egg cookie. Fill with lemon cream. Cover with the second egg cookie and pipe small, even mounds again. Then decorate with various treats (such as chocolate sticks, chocolate eggs, white and dark chocolate chips) according to your preferences, creating or not creating an Easter egg pattern.