Strawberry and Vanilla Bunny Crème Légère Entremets

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the monk fruit, salt, and egg yolk and beat again until light and fluffy. Add in the almond powder and baking powder and beat until the batter comes together (It should have the consistency of play dough and be very smooth – add a bit of water if it breaks when you try to roll it and a bit more almond powder if it is too soft).

Press into a ball and then roll to 1/8-inch thickness between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Using a cookie cutter, cut cookies from the dough. Re-roll and cut as needed until you have 8 cookies (I like to also bake any remaining scraps as they can be crumbled and used for other desserts – just store them in a freezer sage bag in the freezer until needed). Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Bake for 8-12 minutes at 350ºF, or until the edges are just golden and the pastry is firm. Cool completely and set aside (these can be made up to a week ahead of time and stored at room temperature for frozen for up to 2 months).

Combine berries and glucomann in a glass bowl and stir to distribute evenly. Cover the bowl with a plate and microwave for 3 minutes. After the 3 minutes, stir and microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring after each one until desired consistency is reached. Stir in lemon and vanilla, if using and refrigerate or use warm. Will keep one week refrigerated. Note that you can also cook this on the stovetop, simmering to desired thickness. Off heat add the lemon and vanilla, if using.

Add 1/2 cup cream and milk to a large pot on medium heat and bring to a simmer then reduce the heat to low.

Whisk the yolks together with the stevia, salt, and glucomann in a large heat proof bowl.

When the milk and cream are at a low simmer, slowly pour the hot mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly to keep the eggs from overcooking to temper them. Then pour the tempered yolks back into the pot of cream. Cook while whisking slowly and constantly until thickened, about 4-5 minutes. As the mixture becomes more thick, whisk vigorously to keep the cooking even, watching for bubbles. When you see a couple of bubbles, remove from heat. Do not boil as it will cause the eggs to overcook and scramble.

Remove from heat and whisk in the rehydrated gelatin until smooth, about 1 minute. Then whisk in the butter, another 30 seconds or so.

Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer and into a storage container. Immediately press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until completely cold, about 2 hours and up to 3 days.

Once cold, make the whipped cream to fold into the pastry cream. If using coconut cream, see notes. Beat the cream for 2-5 minutes, or until it becomes light and fluffy and doubles in volume. Sprinkle the xanthann gum in while mixing, if using.

Beat the chilled pastry cream until smooth and light and then fold in the whipped cream.