trompe le monde

sometimes it is all about appearances. 
watching top chef last night was quite interesting.  the quickfire challenge was to create a dish that was visually appealing and would be judged on looks alone.  it was interesting how the "savory" chefs conceptualized that idea. 
i think within the sweet world, that is always a factor.  mainly in part because most of what we put on the plate we make ourselves.  if i make a bavarois, i have to think about how i want it to look before i even begin to make the recipe.
 the shape, the mold, the size. 
in stating that, how do we move beyond our ordinary perceptions of what "the shape, the mold" should be.
without rambling on too much, i will eventually get where i want to go...

here is the chocolate cremeux recipe i have been using for awhile:
180g  72% Valrhona Araguani
400g  cream
 70g  glucose
70g  water
1.2g  agar
2 gelatin sheets
bring water and agar to boil, reserve warm
simmer cream and glucose, emulsify with chocolate little by little
add softened gelatin sheets, add water/agar mixture, emulsify

usually this is poured into a mold or onto a tray and cut, but this time i wanted to try for a different look.
i wanted to give the appearance of something solid, like stone, when really it is creamy and melts in the mouth.
cremeux poured on a tray, frozen, broken, then tempered.
earl grey ice cream, kumquats, kumquat croquant, tangerine sauce, cocoa paper, wood sorrel, chocolate streusel

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow


David said...

If you go with the mold, do you freeze them to pop them out and then let them temper?

How much can you move them around once they're at fridge temp?


ron. said...

david,
i pour the cremeux onto a tray, fleximolds will work also, freeze them, then pop it out and temper it on a tray, i use a small offset to pick it up. the texture is almost like a chocolate truffle. it is creamier if you don't freeze it, i do that when i use metal tube molds,but i can't break it into shards.


David said...

sweet. I like it.


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