Dessert Archives - Modernist Cuisine

A Confection Dissection: Love and Tonka Beans

Posted on February 12, 2015 at 10:57 am.

Written by Caren

Love is a particularly difficult emotion to define. If you ask 10 people what love is and how it makes them feel, you’re likely to get 10 different answers. It’s an abstract concept that wraps up any number of emotions we feel because of another person. We soar and then fall. We gain wisdom and then lose ourselves momentarily.

It’s no surprise then that Valentine’s Day elicits a motley crew of reactions. On February 14, some of us celebrate the people we love, while others celebrate their interpersonal independence. We mourn, we embrace, we cry, we reflect, we ignore, and we laugh at what Valentine’s Day has become. What we can all agree on, however, is that it’s a day to enjoy chocolate.

This year we wanted to create something that would appeal to everyone, from die-hard romantics to cynics, and capture the complexity of the holiday. Of course we wanted to do it with a twist. Our literal interpretation of a chocolate heart is a dark wink to all of the heart-shaped confections out there.

We’re incredibly lucky—head chef Migoya knows a thing or two about chocolate, which makes it easy to turn our sweet ideas into a reality. “Let’s make a chocolate model of an anatomical heart,” we joked. And then it happened. The proof of his incredible skill is in the pictures.

The discussion then turned to ingredients and what we could incorporate to continue the literal nature of our theme. Enter the idea of dehydrated red velvet cake for texture. Why? Because red, of course. New questions emerged. What ingredients could we add to play on the duality of the day? What could we do for the bleeding hearts out there? “We should add tonka beans,” chef Migoya suggested. And we did.

Tonka Beans

If Jack and the Beanstalk has any basis in fact, his beans must have been tonka beans. Tonka beans are flat legumes that are roughly the length of a shelled Brazil nut. When cracked, the wrinkled black shell reveals a dense brown fruit. Although these beans will not cause skyward beanstalk growth, their aroma is intoxicating. It’s often referenced as a vanilla substitute; however, this is a bit misleading. Tonka has a beautifully complex scent—spicy with notes of vanilla, tobacco, and smoke, plus a hint of cinnamon. Tonka beans have been used as a tobacco additive, to create perfumes such as Guerlain’s iconic scent Shalimar, and as an aphrodisiac in some cultures. It’s rumored to have mystical properties, used in some traditions as a “love-wishing bean,” in addition to summoning courage and incurring money.

Tonka beans pop up every now and then on menus stateside, but by far it’s not an ingredient you often encounter. It has a rather nefarious reputation, despite its incredible flavor profile.

Tonka beans are the seeds of Dipteryx odorata (commonly called cumaru), a large tree that grows in the rainforests of Central and South America. The seeds contain a chemical compound called coumarin, which we have to thank for the beans’ distinctive aroma and bitter taste. Coumarin was first isolated in tonka beans; however, it naturally occurs in many plants, including cassia cinnamon, vanilla grass, sweet clover, sweet woodruff, strawberries, cherries, lavender, licorice, and even apricots. It’s the source of the sweet aroma of freshly cut grass.

At high enough concentrations, coumarin can be moderately toxic to the liver and kidneys. Tonka beans have relatively higher amounts of the compound, which is why their consumption is regulated. In 1954, the FDA restricted the use of tonka beans as a food additive after a study found that coumarin was hepatotoxic in rats at high doses. More recent studies have not been able to replicate the results in other rodents, such as hamsters, and some researchers have noted that other species of rodents and mammals, including humans, likely metabolize coumarin differently than rats.

Like nutmeg, a little bit of tonka bean goes a long way. Single beans are typically shaved or grated into food, and because small amounts make a big impact, it’s unlikely an individual would consume enough in one sitting to cause medical concern or an adverse reaction. Its use as a food additive is legal in many countries, including Britain and France; however, many have created guidelines for how much coumarin should be consumed each day, though many note that short-term elevated intake is not harmful.

Here’s where the bleeding heart comes in. A common, and persistent, misconception is that coumarin is also an anticoagulant that causes hemorrhaging when high concentrations are consumed. It’s a bit of a culinary myth, but the association is not far off. Coumarin can be transformed into a natural blood thinner, but it takes certain molds and fungi to make that transformation happen. When these organisms feed on plants containing coumarin, it is converted into a chemical substance called dicumarol, an anticoagulant. Dicumarol is the toxin responsible for sweet clover poisoning, which occurs when animals hemorrhage after eating toxic quantities of spoiled sweet-clover hay. The phenomenon was somewhat of a mystery until dicumarol was isolated by biochemist Karl Paul Link and his team. The compound was used as a pharmaceutical to treat and prevent blood clots until it was replaced by synthetic derivatives, such as warfarin and coumadin.

Anatomical Chocolate

Back to our heart. We have a lot of unconventional tools at our lab, such as the fishing-lure molds we use for our Olive Oil Gummy Worms, but no human-heart-shaped mold. So we created one using food-grade liquid silicone. Food-grade liquid silicone actually consists of a base and catalyst that are mixed together just before you’re ready to cast the mold. Mix ratios vary depending on the brand you use—we used CopyFlex, which has a 1:1 ratio. You’ll need a standard kitchen scale to ensure you’re measuring the base and catalyst equally. To start, estimate the smallest amount of silicone needed. You can easily mix and add more if you underestimate; however, you don’t want to be stuck with superfluous silicone. We used a spare can—you don’t need a special container to make the mold in, instead use something that you can discard and recycle afterward.

We wanted the shape to be as realistic as possible, so we found a life-sized teaching model, intended for anatomy classes. To cast the mold, Chef Migoya submerged the model in food-grade liquid silicone and then allowed it to set for 12 hours. Once the mold was ready, it was sanitized with very hot water, and then placed in baking soda to sit overnight so that the chocolate wouldn’t absorb the flavor of the silicone.

For the chocolate, he combined milk chocolate, cocoa butter, oil, tonka bean shavings, and the ground, dehydrated red velvet cake, which he baked the previous day and allowed to dry uncovered overnight in a dehydrator. The fats from the cocoa butter, oil, and milk chocolate make it easy to slice through the finished chocolate and surround the crumbs without rehydrating the cake, keeping the crisp texture intact. The result is a satisfyingly delicate crunch.

We used milk chocolate to complement the flavors of the tonka bean and red velvet cake. We found that milk chocolate was the best conduit for these ingredients—the finished product is pleasantly complex with hints of spiced vanilla, tobacco, cinnamon, and cocoa. To finish, the set heart was coated with a vibrant red cocoa butter and, for effect, plated it with splatters of pomegranate juice that we thickened with xanthan gum.

We think the result is a rather stunning tribute to Valentine’s Day and evidence that the world needs more chocolate offal.

Sweet Tips to Melt Their Heart and Your Chocolate

Posted on February 10, 2015 at 9:32 am.

Written by Caren

Spending time with your sweetheart is lovely, but the best part of Valentine’s Day is the chocolate. At least, it can be. Working with chocolate can be tricky, so we’ve compiled a few tips (and an easy step-by-step recipe) from head chef Francisco Migoya that will make creating homemade chocolates a little easier—no tempering necessary.

Add a little bit of oil, such as olive or canola, to melted chocolate. This will prevent the chocolate from developing unsightly streaks if you’re not tempering it. The fat from the oil will destabilize the polymorphous fat crystals found in cocoa butter, preventing the crystals from arranging themselves. It’s the same principle used in chocolate-dipped ice cream cones, where the chocolate is mixed with coconut oil, and works beautifully to make chocolate-dipped strawberries.

Water and chocolate are not friends, however a tiny bit of water can be a huge boon to manipulating chocolate to work in your favor. Sugar is hygroscopic, meaning it is attracted to moisture and easily binds to water molecules. The sugars in chocolate are no different. When a few drops of water are added to the chocolate, the sugar will want to bind to the water, no matter how little is added. The reaction causes the chocolate to thicken, making it pipe-able.

You need only a small amount of water (think drops, not teaspoons) to thicken chocolate, and this technique works with any type of chocolate. The amount of water you add will vary depending on the viscosity of the chocolate you’re using, so it’s best to start by mixing just one or two drops into the melted chocolate, and then adjust to the desired thickness. To demonstrate, chef Migoya created dark-chocolate pops, covered in dehydrated strawberries.

First, assemble the pop sticks on a flat surface, such as clear plexiglass or a sheet pan, that is lined with an acetate sheet or parchment paper.

Next, add a few drops of water to the melted dark chocolate.

Transfer the thickened chocolate to a pastry bag. We used a round pastry tip, though any shape could be used to create desired effects.

Pipe the chocolate from one end of the stick to the other, overlapping to create a free-form chocolate latticework.

Once all of the chocolate is piped onto the sticks, add a topping for extra flavor and a punch of color. We used dehydrated strawberries, inspired by the classic combination. Immediately transfer the finished chocolate pops to a refrigerator until you’re ready to serve them. Refrigerating your chocolate will prevent sugar bloom, which creates a white powdery look on the surface of the chocolate.

If you’re still craving more, chef Migoya shared more sweet tips with chef Jamie Gwen. Stay tuned to our blog for even more heartbreakingly good chocolate later this week.

A Gingerbread Tribute to Antoni Gaudí

Posted on December 18, 2014 at 9:08 am.

Written by Caren

The idea was simple enough—build a gingerbread house for the holidays. Less than a month later, our house transformed into a gingerbread homage to Spanish Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and Casa Batlló, his kaleidoscopic masterpiece in Barcelona, Spain.

Everything about the structure is edible, from the luster on each chimney and spire to the blanket of snow dusting the roof and ground. After creating a blueprint, we used a laser cutter to replicate the organic, serpentine curves of Casa Batlló in gingerbread and to etch the delicate, bonelike details of the balconies in fondant.

Jolly Rancher glass covers each window, created by crushing the candies with a meat cleaver, placing the shards in each window of the gingerbread facade, and then baking it on a Baking Steel, topped with a Silpat, in our bread oven. The radiant heat from the top of the oven melts the Jolly Ranchers without burning the bottom of the gingerbread

Decorative touches were carefully added: tiles made from Jolly Ranchers, prismatic scaled shingles of icing, edible gold luster dust, rice paper snowflakes, and finally, a powdering of tapioca maltodextrin.

We hope you enjoy watching our tribute to Antoni Gaudí come to life. And, above all, wish you a wonderful holiday season.

– The Modernist Cuisine Team

A triple-almond pie with cherries on top

Posted on October 8, 2013 at 9:18 am.

Written by Caren

BY W. WAYT GIBBS
Associated Press

By late summer, the fruits hanging from vast groves of Prunus amygdalus trees in California have withered and split. Through cracks in their leathery rinds, you can see glimpses of the pale teardrop-shaped seeds they protect: almonds, ready for harvest.

By early autumn, fresh almonds are pouring into markets by the ton. It’s the perfect time of year to make this recipe for almond cherry cream pie, which works the subtle and complex flavor of almonds into all three layers: a crispy crust, a custard filling, and a sweet, crunchy topping.

The chefs in our research kitchen tested more than 40 versions of sweet and tart crusts to find the combination that, thanks to a bit of almond flour and powdered sugar, produces a container for the pie that has just the right balance of sweetness, strength, and buttery give. A thin coat of cocoa butter holds the cream filling away from the crust, so it stays crisp from the first bite to the last. And a dash of almond extract enhances the flavor of the almond flour.

The pie is filled with a simple pastry cream flavored by amaretto, the almond-flavored liqueur. Cooking the custard in a temperature-controlled pot of water ensures that the texture turns out right every time.

You can top the pie with caramelized almonds, which are easy to prepare and make an addictive snack on their own. And for a splash of color and a dash of tartness, we add canned Amarena cherries. Fresh cherries are even better, but hard to come by this time of year. Slices of fresh fig also work well as a topping.

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The crust, filling, and caramelized almond topping for this pie can each be made separately and stored until you are ready to assemble the pie. The crust will keep for up to three months if you vacuum seal it and then freeze it before it is baked. The pastry cream filling will keep for up to two days in the refrigerator. The caramelized almonds will keep for up to a week when stored in an airtight container. If you are making the pie all at once, you can save time by making the pastry cream and caramelized almonds while the dough for the crust rests in the refrigerator.

TRIPLE-ALMOND CHERRY PIE

Start to finish: 3 hours, including 2 hours of unattended cooking, to make the crust, filling, and topping, and to assemble the pie

Makes one 12 inch pie

12-inch Double Almond Pie Crust, baked

4 cups (1 kg) Amaretto Pastry Cream

½ cup (60 g) Caramelized Almonds

12 Amarena cherries or fresh cherries, halved

2 Tbsp cocoa butter

Melt the cocoa butter over low heat or in the microwave, and brush a thin coat of the oil onto the interior of the baked pie crust. Allow the fat to solidify at room temperature, and then fill the crust with cold pastry cream. Smooth the surface of the filling with a spatula, and refrigerate the pie until it becomes firm, at least one hour. Top the pie with the crumbled caramelized almonds and cherry halves. Serve it cold.

DOUBLE ALMOND PIE CRUST

3-1/2 tablespoons (50 g) blended egg yolks (from 3 to 4 eggs)

1-1/2 cups (200 g) all-pupose flour

¾ cup (165 g) unsalted butter, very cold

¾ cup (80 g) powdered sugar

3/8 cup (30 g) almond flour

1 tsp (4 g) salt

¾ tsp (2.5 g) almond extract

½ tsp (2 g) baking powder

baking beads or dry beans, as needed

Fill a large stock pot with hot water, and preheat it to 153 F. Clip a digital thermometer to the rim of the pot, with the tip well submerged, to monitor the temperature. Place the blended egg yolks in a zip-closure bag, and slowly lower the open bag into the preheated water until the top is nearly at the surface of the water, and then seal it. The goal is to use the water pressure to squeeze as much air as possible out of the bag. Once sealed, the bag should sink.

Submerge the bag of yolks, and let them cook in the 153 F water for 45 minutes. Keep an eye on the thermometer and adjust the heat as needed to keep the temperature at or near 153 F.

While the yolks cook, dice the chilled butter, and combine it in a food processor with the flours, powdered sugar, salt, and baking powder. Pulse the food processor until the mixture takes on the texture of cornmeal.

Add the almond extract and cooked egg yolks gradually, while continuing to pulse the food processor. Continue processing until the dough starts to bind. Although it may look quite dry, it will cohere eventually.

Shape the dough into a ball, flatten it into a thick disk, and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Put the wrapped dough into the refrigerator and let it rest for an hour. As it rests, the butter in the dough will harden and the gluten will grow more elastic. While the dough rests, you can make the pastry cream and caramelized almonds from the recipes below.

Preheat an oven to 375 F. Roll the rested dough into a circle that is about 1/8 inch think and about 2 inches larger in diameter than the pie pan. If you find that the dough is too sticky to roll, either chill it again or place it between two pieces of plastic wrap or parchment, and then roll it.

Line a 12 inch pie pan with the dough; do not trim off the excess. Instead, let the edges drape over the sides of the pan. Press the dough firmly into the pan interior. If you don’t need to use the crust right away, cover the unbaked crust in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator. For longer-term storage, vacuum seal it, and stick it in the freezer.

To prepare the crust for baking, prick it with a fork all over, and then press parchment paper over top to protect it during baking. The fill the pan with baking beads or dry beans, and press them against the walls so that the dough doesn’t droop while it is in the oven.

Put the pie pan on a baking sheet, and bake it in the preheated oven until it turns golden brown, about 12 minutes. Midway through the baking, rotate the pie pan a half turn so that it browns evenly.

Carefully remove the beans and parchment paper. If the crust still looks a little wet, return it to the over for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Cool the crust to room temperature, and then use a knife or vegetable peeler to trim any excess crust from the edges of the pan.

AMARETTO PASTRY CREAM

¾ cup (200 g) egg yolks, blended (11 to 12 yolks)

½ cup (110 mL) heavy cream

½ cup (100 mL) whole milk

¼ cup (50 g) unsalted butter, softened

5 tablespoons (64 g) sugar

1¼ tsp (6 mL) amaretto liqueur

pinch of salt

Fill a large stock pot with hot water, and preheat it to 176 F. Use a thermometer clipped to the pot to monitor the water temperature.

In a saucepan, combine the cream, milk, sugar, and salt. Whisk the mixture over medium-low heat until the sugar and salt have completely dissolved.

Strain the blended egg yolks into a zip-closure bag. Remove the air from the bag by slowly lowering it into the stock pot until the surface of the water almost reaches the seal, and then close it. The bag should sink into the water. Allow the egg yolks to cook in the water bath for 35 minutes; adjust the heat as needed to keep the temperature at or near 176 F.

The yolks should now be firm and fully set. Transfer them immediately from the bag into a blender, and puree them at low speed. Do not allow the yolks to cool before blending, or the pastry cream will become grainy.

While the blender is running, gradually add the amaretto and the warm cream mixture.

Increase the blender speed to high, and gradually add the softened butter. Blend until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy.

If you will not be using the pastry cream right away, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming, and store it in the refrigerator.

CARAMELIZED ALMONDS

½ cup (50 g) sliced almonds

2-1/2 tablespoons (25 g) sugar

2-1/2 teaspoons (10 g) egg white, blended

pinch of salt

Preheat an oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix the almonds, sugar, egg white, and salt well, and then spread them evenly across the paper.

Bake until golden brown, about six minutes. The color of the almonds can change quickly, so keep an eye on them.

Cool the almonds to room temperature, and then crumble them into large pieces. If you will not be using them immediately, store the almonds in an airtight container.

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Photo credit: Melissa Lehuta, Modernist Cuisine, LLC

5 Tips for Culinary Deception

Posted on April 1, 2013 at 5:00 am.

Written by Caren

What better time to trot out our favorite deceptive culinary tricks than April Fool’s Day? We devoted a section of Modernist Cuisine to trompe l’oeil because it is particularly suited to the Modernist movement. Though it has a long history, dating back to dishes such as mock turtle soup in the 19th century, culinary deception has been embraced in recent years by chefs such as Wylie Dufresne, Andoni Luis Aduriz, and René Redzepi.

The key in each of the tips below is to both surprise and delight the senses. There are no malicious tricks here. These tips serve to enhance the senses, present food in creative ways, and keep guests living in the moment. It wouldn’t serve our purposes to develop recipes that don’t taste good!

Raw “Eggs”: One of our favorite culinary tricks to play on visitors to our lab is to convince them that we are serving them a raw quail egg. Anjana Shanker, development chef, who usually whips up this recipe, has gone so far as to make up a story that we discovered a nest of quails on the roof, and started domesticating them for their eggs. In reality, we serve spherified passion fruit and lemongrass in a real quail egg shell. Watch the video above to see what happened when the guys from Tested.com dropped by. Anjana’s technique is included in the video as well.
Mystery Meat: Trompe l’oeil dishes have a long history of substituting one food for another. Besides being just for fun, this is often due to economic reasons (such as mock turtle soup or surimi) or dietary restrictions (as in veggie patties). Sometimes, it can be both! This April Fool’s Day, enlist a vegetarian friend to help play a trick on party guests by casually eating what appears to be meat. Our favorite and most convincing dish is to creating bulgogi out of watermelon, originally designed by Andoni Luis Aduriz at Mugaritz. Cut 2.5 cm / 1 in “steaks” out of seedless watermelon (leave a little bit of the white part of the rind in as a fat cap). Soak the watermelon in a brine (20% water and 1% salt) for two hours. Pat the watermelon dry and dehydrate the slices at 55 °C / 130 °F until dry and leather-like, about 812 hours.
Eat Dirt: In the video below, we use chocolate cookies to make fake dirt to go along with our fishing-lure-molded gummy worms. This is the fastest and easiest way to make fake dirt, but in Modernist Cuisine we have a savory version using black bread, chicory root, mushroom powder, and a few other ingredients. We’ve also made fake coals out of cassava roots, simmered with fish stock and squid ink (another recipe inspired by Aduriz).
Impregnated Fruit: Sometimes it’s not the eyes that play tricks, but preconceived notions. When your guest bites into an apple, they expect it to taste like an apple, but by using Modernist techniques, you can impregnate said apple with flavors, such as curry, for a delightful surprise. Vacuum seal a peeled and cored apple with apple juice and spices for 12 hours. Then place the bowl in a chamber vacuum sealer and pull the vacuum three times, holding for 15 minutes the final time. If you don’t have a chamber vacuum sealer, you can also achieve this effect with a whipping siphon. One favorite combination is to infuse celery with apple juice. Place the celery in the siphon, and cover it with apple juice. Then charge with two cartridges of nitrous oxide. Chill it for two hours before serving.
Healthier Substitutes: Sometimes a bit of culinary deception can improve your health. At El Bulli, Feran Adrìa once served grated cauliflower in lieu of couscous. Use a microplane to grate the cauliflower until it is the size of grains. This surprise is especially effective after serving your family real couscous three nights in a row.

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Three Desserts You Can Make with a Whipping Siphon

Posted on February 14, 2013 at 8:28 am.

Written by Caren

Whipping siphons are easy and fun to use. This Valentine’s Day, try wowing your special someone with a Modernist dessert created with nitrous oxide or carbon dioxide. Use our suggestions below for tasty ideas beyond the realm of whipped cream.

Lemon Curd: Try using a whipping siphon instead of a pastry bag for piping your lemon curd. This will give it a foamy texture. Serve it atop raspberry sablé cookies or to make a pie using the flaky pie crust from Modernist Cuisine at Home.
Microwaved Cake: This dessert is a cinch to make. You can use our recipe in Modernist Cuisine or Modernist Cuisine at Home or even just use a boxed mix. Dispense the batter from the siphon into a paper cup, microwave, and serve!
Fizzy Fruit: We love using carbon dioxide to make fizzy grapes, but we’ve also used it to carbonate lychees and cranberries.

For most baking and savory applications, such as the Lemon Curd recipe, the Microwaved Cake recipe, and making whipped cream, you’ll need nitrous oxide (N₂O) chargers. For carbonation applications, including the fizzy fruit technique, you’ll need carbon dioxide (CO₂) chargers. Nitrous oxide dissolves into fats and is flavorless, as opposed to carbon dioxide, which dissolves in water and imparts a sharp flavor of carbonation. If you were to use CO₂ instead of N₂O when making whipped cream, for instance, the tangy carbonated flavor would fool your brain into thinking the cream had spoiled, which is not a pleasant sensation!

For more great dessert ideas, check out the Custards and Pies chapter of Modernist Cuisine at Home.

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5 Dessert Tips from Modernist Cuisine at Home

Posted on December 6, 2012 at 10:00 am.

Written by Caren

The last chapter in Modernist Cuisine at Home is devoted entirely to custards and pies, and is comprised of 55 recipes, including more than 40 variations. Here are some of our best tips for turning out delectable desserts every time this holiday seasons. Follow our advice to not only save but enhance your sweet creations.

Give Your Eggs the Sous Vide Treatment: Just as we suggest cooking eggs for omelets and scrambles in controlled temperatures in order to achieve the perfect viscosity of this fickle ingredient, we believe that egg-based desserts need the same treatment. We fill ramekins with crème brûlée, seal them, and cook them in a water bath to a core temperature of 80 °C / 176 °F. When making a pastry cream, crème anglaise, lemon curd, or sabayon, we first cook the egg yolks sous vide (using different temperatures, depending on the dish) to fully pasteurize them, avoiding the fuss of double boilers and curdling. In Modernist Cuisine at Home, we propose eight variations of our pastry cream alone, like Amaretto, cheese, and pressure-infused coffee. Trust us, you’ll never face a boring cream pie again.
Calculate Your Gelatin: Reviving the Jell-O wreath or planning a fancy panna cotta this holiday season? We use Knox gelatin in our panne cotte, firm pastry creams, apple foam, and fruit jellies because you can find it in most grocery stores. Gelatins are measured by what is called their Bloom strength (usually labeled as bronze, silver, gold, or platinum). Knox brand has a bloom strength of 225. If you are making a recipe (not just one of ours, but any recipe), be it a Jell-O wreath or a pâté, you can use a different Bloom strength than what the recipe calls for, but you’ll have to do a little math. You can convert the recipe to use whatever gelatin you have on hand if you know the weight (MA) and Bloom strength (BA). For gelatin A, you can find the equivalent weight of gelatin B (MB) with a Bloom strength of BB by using the formula MB = MA × BA ÷ BB. For example, if a recipe calls for 2.6 g of Knox gelatin, you could use 3.7 g of silver gelatin, which has a Bloom strength of 160 (2.6 × 225 ÷ 160 = 3.7). To make a vegetarian panna cotta, we substitute 0.8 g agar and 0.65 g xanthan for the 4.3 g gelatin the recipe normally calls for.
Keep Your Pie Crust Flaky: You can’t have a great pie if your crust is soggy, so we tested more than 40 versions before nailing down our Flaky Pie Crust recipe. But even the best crust needs a little extra help when acting as the foundation for a pastry cream. To keep your crust crisp, let it cool and then brush a thin layer of melted cocoa butter on top of it. Let the butter solidify at room temperature before filling the pie with pastry cream. This coating of cocoa butter creates a barrier between the crust and pastry cream, which will prevent the moisture of the cream from draining into the crust, turning it to mush.
Make Freeze-Dried Raspberry Powder: A great way to finish any dessert is with freeze-dried raspberry powder sprinkled on top. Pulse store-bought, freeze-dried raspberries (or any other freeze-dried fruit) in a food processor, blender, or coffee grinder until a powder forms. This powder has myriad uses. You can blend it into your pie crust, mix it with a little sugar and rim a cocktail glass with it, or sprinkle it over lemon curd, just to name a few ideas.
Microwave a Cake: If you are stymied by unexpected visitors, skip our Custard and Pie chapter and thumb back to the Microwave chapter. Making individual cakes is a snap with a whipping siphon and a microwave. Siphon the batter into paper cups and microwave them for 50 seconds until thoroughly cooked. To watch Scott demonstrate this technique in a CHOW Tips video, click here.

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New Recipe in the Library: Pistachio Gelato

Posted on October 14, 2011 at 1:15 pm.

Written by Caren

EMUL6_Pistachio Gelato_MG_8551 (4) — A quenelle scoop adds dramatic flair to this delicious dessert.

It may be October, but despite the weather, we refuse to give up our favorite frozen treat: pistachio gelato. We take a good look at the recipe, complete with tips and a video, in our newest installation in the Recipe Library. Because this recipe calls for locust bean gum and carrageenan, Nathan has taken the opportunity to explain what’s so great about hydrocolloids. Plus, we’ve included a table about the stabilization properties of hydrocolloids.

Stephen Colbert liked our dairy-free, egg-free gelato; we’re sure you will, too.