Les Entremets de la Gourmande: 2009.11

Chocolate: Final Exam

30 Caramels -Turtles

40 Polycarbonate Molds- Amaretto ganache

50 Piped ganache- Coffee ganache pyramids

50 Framed ganache- Hazelnut Latte- Praline and Coffee Ganaches

Amaretto Ganache

150 g cream

50 g glucose

40 g almond paste

450 g milk chocolate, unmelted, tempered, chopped

40 g amaretto liquor

-combine cream, glucose, and almond paste in pan- bring to a boil- stir to break up almond paste

-pour cream mixture over unmelted, chopped, tempered chocolate and let sit for a minute allowing chocolate to melt
-stir with spatula from center out

-stream in liquor and stir until fully combined

-let set up or table depending on when going to pipe
-pipe into molds

Coffee Ganache

180 g heavy cream

10 g coffee beans

milk as needed

60 g glucose

400 g dark chocolate, tempered, chopped, unmelted

40 g soft butter

40 g coffee liquor

-combine cream and roughly chopped coffee beans
-bring to boil, remove from heat, and cover with plastic, let steep at least 5 minutes
-pass cream through moistened cheese cloth; replace any missing cream with milk to bring it to desired weight
-add glucose to cream and bring to boil
-pour hot cream over chopped, unmelted, tempered chocolate
-let sit a minute to allow chocolate to melt
-stir with spatula from center outwards until all chocolate melted
-stir in softened butter until no lumps remain
-stream in coffee liquor until mixture is homogenous

Chocolate: PB + J

Pate de Fruit
300 g raspberry puree
30 g sugar
8 g pectin
300 g sugar
60 g glucose
4.6- 5 g tartaric acid

-mix small amount of sugar and pectin together, breaking up any clumps of pectin
-whisk into warm puree on stove
-add sugar gradually, in 4 stages, so granules dissolve fully
-bring to boil
-acid sets pectin- makes it gel- add at very end
-once boiling add glucose

-cook to 225 degrees
-whisk really well when add the acid- want evenly dispersed
-pour immediately into lined quarter sheet pan

Gianduja
450 g milk chocolate tempered to 86 degrees
250 g praline paste or peanut butter

-add nut paste to tempered chocolate and stir to combine well

-table to cool down slightly

-pour over pate de fruit layer in sheet pan

-let set up
-spread thin layer of tempered chocolate on top to serve as base when cut

Chocolate: Practical Exam

15 Mendiants
15 Trois Freres
15 Dipped Trois Freres
15 Pipped Ganache Truffles- Apricot Butter Ganache

Apricot Butter Ganache
160 g soft butter
80 g apricot jam
430 g milk chocolate, melted, tempered at 86 degrees
40 g apricot brandy

-mix butter and jam until combined and no lumps remain
-add chocolate to butter, stir
-add brandy and mix until homogenous
-table ganache to cool until good working consistency
-pipe into small balls
-let set up
-roll into balls with gloved hands
-let set in cooler, re-roll
-give pre-coat to truffle by wiping tempered chocolate on it, this helps for dipping
-dip and garnish accordingly

Chocolate: Caramels

Caramelized Nuts
-similar to the super saturation of rock sugar- same thought
-take sugar and water to 220 degrees, add nuts

-use untoasted nuts- the caramelizing process cooks them

-stir- added a contaminant – sugar crystallizing
-looks sandy

-sugar will melt then caramelize- this part toasts the nuts
-can use cereal to make caramelized/ croquant to add crunch to a dessert
-can add salt or spices once caramelizes

-to make dragees, coat nuts in tempered chocolate and then toss in powdered sugar

Fleur de Sel Chewy Caramel
1 1/3 c /9.8 oz heavy cream
10.5 oz granulated sugar
½ c / 5.5 oz corn syrup
1/3 c / 3.8 oz honey
6 T / 3 oz soft butter
1 t vanilla paste
2 t salt

-bring cream to a boil; add sugar, corn syrup, and honey

-bring back to boil and stir constantly with wooden spoon until boils- don’t want to incorporate air so don’t need to whisk, don’t want dairy to scorch, constant stirring encourages even evaporation

-rigorous stir is best
-cook to 257 degrees- it wont get that dark
-remove from heat and add butter, vanilla, and salt

-pour into silpat between bars or quarter sheet pan lined with parchment and lightly sprayed

-spread thin layer of tempered chocolate on top; this will serve as the base when dipping the caramels
-cut into 1" squares
-dip into tempered chocolate

Turtles
12 oz sugar
3 oz water
2 oz glucose
9 oz cream
pecans/ cashews as needed

-toast nuts and position on silpat in little 1” clusters

-cook sugar, glucose, and water to an amber caramel
-add the cream

-cook to 245 degrees
-remove from heat and let cool slightly

-spoon onto nut piles

-let the caramel set up a bit then form the cluster into a cohesive mass/flattened out ball
-let cool fully
-dip in tempered chocolate, let set on silpat
-garnish accordingly

Chocolate: Ganache filled Polycarbonate Molds

Polycarbonate Molds
Ganache- Toucan passion fruit filling and Pumpkin Caramel, ½ recipes

Toucan- White Chocolate Passion Fruit
80 g heavy cream
20 g glucose
80 g passion fruit puree, reduced by ½
300 g white chocolate, tempered
20 g soft butter

-combine cream and glucose, bring to a boil
-heat the puree in separate pan
-pour hot cream and puree over chopped chocolate, let sit allowing chocolate to melt

-stir from center outward until well combined

-stir in soft butter until smooth

Pumpkin Caramel
1/8 t lemon juice
50 g sugar
30 g glucose
100 g cream
50 g pumpkin puree
½ t gingerbread spice mix
250 g milk chocolate, tempered
25 g brandy

-add lemon juice to sugar, stir until begins to boil
-bring to amber caramel
-add glucose to caramel

-boil cream and add to caramel, continue cooking on low heat

-add gingerbread spices
-bring back to boil

-pour mixture over chopped chocolate and let sit to let chocolate melt

-stir from center outward to combine

-if all chocolate is not melted, put over water bath and stir, don’t let it go above 93 degrees
-add brandy and stir until fully emulsified

Polycarbonate Molds
Ganache- toucans and pumpkin caramel, ½ recipes

Preparing and Filling Molds
-buff it- use cotton balls, or paper towels, and wipe out the inside of the mold, final buff with towel- rubbing to ensure a clean and shiny surface on final chocolate
-more time spend on it before hand the better, about 5 minutes each mold
-to paint/decorate molds use fat soluble powdered colors, can add gold or silver dust
-combine color with cocoa powder and melt down- liquidy paste, like crepe batter
-paint or splatter/ fleck with brushes, use finger, etc.

-scrape excess off with spackler/scraper or large offset spatula
-temper chocolate, for dark have at 88-90 degrees
-pour chocolate over mold to fill cavities
-tap side to get any air bubbles out, with spatula or on table