M Kathleen Meisinger: The French Pastry School-Week Nineteen

L'Art de la Pâtisserie Week 19

Chef En Ming demonstrating Papillote.

Monday

Roasted Pineapple:

In a pot; light brown sugar, mexican vanilla bean, butter.
Remove the pineapple skin while maintaining its shape.
Trim the pineapple so it is clean but do not worry about the eyes.
Do not gauge the pineapple.
Melt the butter and other ingredients on low.
Put the pineapple in the pan.
Turn and braise the pineapple.
Braise until outside is cooked but does not have too much color.
Add ¾" of (⅓) water and (⅔) pineapple .
Turn the heat up to high.
Bring liquids back up to a boil.
Bake in the pan at 350º for approximately 2 hours.
Turn the pineapple every 10 - 15 minutes.
Check for doneness with a knife. Knife will slide through flesh and stop at the core.
Place pineapple in large deli cup.
Add poaching liquids and vanilla bean pod.
Submerge pineapple.
Cool.
Close.
Cooler.

Fresh pineapple should smell like pineapple on the bottom. Inside leaves should easily pull out.

Chiboust:

Hydrate gelatin.
In a pot; cream, milk and vanilla bean paste.
Mix pastry cream powder thoroughly into 1st sucrose.
In a bowl; egg yolks, 1st sucrose (52g) and pastry cream powder.
Add cold milk and cream to egg mix.
Add sucrose and pastry cream powder to to yolks.
Whisk well.
Strain egg mixture into pot.
Bring to a boil.
Add yolk in 5 additions..
Whisk while bringing it back to a boil.
Add gelatin to the pastry cream. Do not add excess water.
Whisk well.
Pour into metal bowl, spread out, cover with plastic wrap to touch and leave a small vent for steam to escape.
Cool to room temperature.

Chiboust is a core mousse recipe. Pastry Cream + Meringue = Chiboust. The original meringue was a French Meringue but we are using an Italian Meringue which is more stable.

Pastry cream powder is a modified cornstarch with vanillin flavor and food color. There are hot and cold processed pastry cream powders. We use hot process because we have to cook it. Jello pudding comes in hot and cold varieties; instant and cooked.

Pastry cream powder preserves dairy's flavor, cooks fast and makes a silky texture.

The high amount of fat in this recipe makes it necessary to reverse the process.

Meanwhile:

Make the meringue.
In a pot; glucose, water and sucrose.
In a mixer bowl; salt, egg whites, pinch of cream of tartar (2.5g).
Start the sugar syrup.
Pour 118ºc syrup over whipped egg whites.
Increase speed to release steam.
Turn down mixer when the whisk leaves soft, strong marks.
Turn down the speed to cool.

Italian Meringue with a French Meringue ratio.

1 sucrose to 1 water = French Meringue

2 sucrose to 1 water = Italian Meringue

1.5 sucrose to 1 water = Suisse Meringue

Making the Chiboust:

The reverse pastry cream and the meringue should be the same temperature to prevent the meringue from deflating.
Loosen up the pastry cream with a whisk.
Add a little Italian Meringue to loosen it up.
Whisk.
Switch to a rubber spatula.
Add a little more meringue.
Fold.
Add the rest of the meringue in 4 additions.
Fold.
Place Chiboust mixture in pastry bag fitted with a #14 tip.
Pipe, with a lot of pressure, into flexi mold to avoid air bubble.
Use offset spatula to scrape clean and flatten the mixture.
Blast freezer for 20 minutes.
Or, wrap in plastic and place in freezer overnight.

This Chiboust is very sweet and pairs well with berry compote or fruits and sauces that are tart and balance out the sweetness.

Breton style; scoop Chiboust onto sheet pan, sprinkle with 10x and broil under the broiler. Do not use gelatin for this method.

Unmolding Chiboust:

Gloves.
Chiboust should not stick.
Pop out molds.
Wrap in plastic and place in freezer.

Madeleine:

Wash lemon.
Sift baking powder and cake flour.
Whisk in a small bowl to further incorporate the two ingredients.
In a mixer bowl; eggs, vanilla bean paste and trimoline.
Add sucrose to mixer bowl and whisk by hand.
Whisk on medium speed.
In a bowl; melted butter, warm milk and salt.
Whisk.
Zest lemon over butter mixture to retain the essential oils.
Pour egg mixture into plastic bowl.
Add a little warm butter mixture to egg mixture.
Add a little flour.
Whisk.
Add more liquid.
Whisk.
Add rest of four.
Mix with whisk until there are no lumps or streaks.
Place in deli cup.
Rest overnight in cooler.

Tuile:

In a bowl; butter and honey.
Sift 10x.
Soften butter with a spatula.
Blend butter with honey.
Start adding 10x.
Mix with spatula.
Add a little egg whites to loosen it up.
Stir with a whisk.
Add a little more egg white.
Add a little more flour and the ginger.
Whisk.
Add rest of flour.
Gently mix well.
Place in deli cup.
Cooler to rest overnight.

This is a garnish or component that can be eaten. This is a pirouline style tuile. Equal proportions of ingredients make it easier to shape and it holds its shape when baked. This tuile batter likes to rest to firm up not to hydrate.

Pineapple Chips:

In a pot; pineapple syrup.
Very thinly sliced pineapple.
Boil syrup.
Place pineapple in syrup.
Turn off heat.
Let pineapple sit.
Dry pineapple off on paper towel.
Place on silpat in 180 - 200ºf oven overnight.

Candied Orange Zest:

Cut 1½" long, very thinly cut orange zest strips.
Place in 500g water/2.5g salt mixture overnight.

The salt opens up the fruit's pores to eventually accept more sugar. A high sucrose content syrup will make a crunchier candied zest and a lower sucrose content syrup will make a chewier zest.

Tuesday

Recurring Stage

Mix for savory scone.

Floriol- 1220 W. Webster Ave, Chicago, Illinois

7:00am - 12:00pm Owner: Sandra Holl

I

Chiboust Notes:

Chiboust is a light and fluffy mousse that can be served frozen or cold. A high sugar content Chiboust will have a softer set. Gelatin freezes well in this recipe because of the high fat content. If planning to serve frozen, you can omit the gelatin all together.

In the reverse pastry cream method, you are helping to pre gelatinize the starches and hydrating them. The fat retard the cooking of the starches and it can break.

Berry Mixture:

Wash berries.
Cut strips from ⅓ of a lemon.
In a deli cup; 3g lemon juice, sucrose and strawberry purée.
Stir.
Add raspberries.
Add strawberries that are cut into sixths.
Stir.
Place in cooler.
Safe additional fresh berries for garnish.

Wild Strawberries are often referred to as Alpine Strawberries. They are very fragrant.

Almond Flan:

Hydrate gelatin.
Dark roast almonds for good flavor.
In a small pot; milk and cream.
High heat.
Bring to a quick boil.
Turn off heat.
Add almonds.
Cover with plastic.
Let sit while milk/cream absorbs almond flavor.
Tase milk to see if it has a good almond flavor.
Strain almond milk into medium bowl.
Add sucrose and 3 drops of almond essence to the milk.
Whisk.
Microwave for 45 seconds to make it warm enough to melt the gelatin.
Stir with a whisk.
Add hydrated gelatin.
Whisk.
Cool mixture.
Pour into molds.
Torch bubbles.
Place on sheet tray.
Wrap with plastic wrap to touch.
Place in cooler overnight.

This recipe is like a Panna Cotta

Rhubarb Broth:

In a pot; water and wide lemon zest peels from ⅓ a lemon.
Crush Mexican Vanilla Bean Pod Seeds into sucrose. this helps loosen them up and disperses them more evenly.
Add rhubarb, sucrose and vanilla to pot.
Bring up to a quick boil.
Cover with plastic wrap. Leave a vent for reduction.
Simmer for 15 minutes.

Fresh Rhubarb takes a little longer to soften than frozen rhubarb whose membranes are broken down by the freezing process. Fresh Rhubarb is easy to cut into even pieces. Frozen Rhubarb contains varying sizes. This broth is low in sugar so that the entire dessert is not overly sweet.

Poached Rhubarb:

Rub vanilla beans into sucrose.
In a pot; 225 water 225 sucrose.
Bring to a boil.
Add Rhubarb.
Submerge the fruit.
Do not bring fruit to a boil.
Simmer, uncovered until fruit is soft but still holds its shape.
Pour into a deli cup.
Cover.
Cooler overnight.

This recipe is sweeter than the broth. There is no lemon juice in this recipe to contrast the lemon in the broth.

Honey Wheat Tuile:

On a flat silpat; spread tuile batter, freestyle with an offset spatula.
Spread evenly to bake evenly.
Transfer silpat to sheet tray.
Bake in convection oven for 5 minutes with vent open.

Gelatin:

Comes from the cartilage of pigs and cows. FPS uses 160. Bloom strength ranges from 140 - 240 - 260 - 320 (which is very strong). They also come in Bronze, Gold, Silver and Platinum. You must know the company in order to know the strength of the gelatin you are using.

Acid causes gelatin to lose its strength. Gelatin sets over a 24 hour period. Pineapple, papaya, kiwi and some melons eat up the proteins in the gelatin so that it falls apart after a day. Boil pineapple juice to make with work with gelatin. Do not boil gelatin.

Add just enough gelatin for the needs of the recipe. A restaurant dessert does not have far to go so less gelatin is needed. A hot, outdoor event needs to withstand the time and temperature so more gelatin is needed.

Can add 3 - 4% of gelatin to liquid. OR 30 -40g = 1 liter of liquid (1000g)

Converting a recipe for different bloom strengths:

Weight of gelatin A = x gelatin B x 1.25

example:
100g 160 bloom strength
80g 200 bloom strength

100 = 200 x 1.25
160

100 = x gelatin B x 1.25
80 = gelatin B

Chiboust Presentation:

Use deep enough bowl to hold broth.
Sprinkle raw sugar on top of Chiboust to add crunch.
Torch.
Place Chiboust on plate.
Place Berry Mixture around Chiboust.
Add Almond Tuile.
Tiny dusting of 10x.
Clean plate with acidulated water.

Candied Citrus:

Simmer salt water.
Rinse citrus.
Place citrus in a pot of simple syrup.
Boil briefly.
Simmer for 10 - 15 minutes.
Citrus should be translucent.
Place in deli cup.
Cooler.

If not enough sugar is absorbed by the zest, it will ferment or mold.

Wednesday

Spice Tuile (2 textured tuile):

Sift 10x.
Sift flour.
Drop oils into butter.
Work soft butter with a rubber spatula.
Mix in part of the 10x with rubber spatula.
Add a some of the egg whites.
Whisk in rest of 10x.
Add in a little more egg whites but be careful of separation.
Add half the flour.
Add rest of egg whites.
Add rest of flour.
Put batter in a pastry bag fitted with a #5 tip.
Rest at least 4 hours or overnight.
Draw 2.5" circle stencils on parchment.
Place silpat over stencil.
Pipe tuile batter on the line. Keep it round and even.
Fill center of tuile with ¼ teaspoon of tuile filling. It will spread during baking.
Bake in convection at 325ºf for 5 - 8 minutes.

Pirouline style tuile because of its equal proportions of ingredients. Bergamot citrus oil comes from the flower, fruit or petals. Adding the oil directly to the butter helps disperse the oil and traps the flavor. This recipe can be done on the paddle or in a robo coupe. Temperature is important. The ingredients should all be the same room temperature. Adding egg whites too fast will cause separation.

Filling for Tuile:

Add spices to the sucrose to disperse them.
In a small pot; butter and honey.
Melt butter, honey, sucrose and spices on low.
Slowly dissolve sucrose.
Bring to a quick boil.
Take it off the heat.
Add almonds.
Stir.
Pour in deli cup.
Cooler.

This tuile makes a nice cookie for the holidays. Best made in low humidity environment. Batter will last one month in cooler.

Banana Crisp:

Work a little purée onto flat silpat.
Spread evenly for even baking.
Place silpat on sheet tray.
Bake at 200ºf for 30 minutes deck oven vent open.
Put a sample on the table to cool.
Should be crispy.
Shape it while it is hot. Lift and wrinkle.

Banana should be very ripe for flavor and crispiness. Banana purée has acids in it that slows oxidation. The ideal time to use purée from the freezer is after it has sat in the cooler overnight and still has frozen crystals. Blend and spread for crisps.

Finishing the Roasted Pineapple:

Scrape the solidified butter off the top of the roasted, cooled pineapple.
Lift pineapple out of deli cup.
On a cutting board;cut 2" slice.
Cut in half.
Remove core.
Cut into ¼" slices.
Portion into 100g serving sizes.
Add some sauce to the cut pineapple.

Flavored, clarified butter could be used to sauté fruit, financier or for toast. The 100g serving size stored in deli cups is a quick way to be ready for service.

Pineapple Sauce:

Strain juices into pot. Reserve a little of the juice.
Add ⅓ to ½ of flavored butter. Save remainder of butter for Pappillote.
Make a slurry of equal parts cornstarch to pineapple juice.
Stir well.
Bring liquids to boil.
Add enough slurry to thicken the liquids.
Whisk continuously while boiling.
Check for thickness at the temperature it will be served.
Check for texture on a cold plate.
Can add additional pineapple juice if there is not enough pineapple flavor.
Add plain butter at room temperature.

Slurry = 1 part cornstarch + 1 part cold water. Water has to be cold or the starches will start to gelatinize.

Pappillote:

Wash a variety of fresh berries.
On heart shaped parchment; dollop pineapple, clarified butter. Spread it around the center and on one edge.
Spread ¼ of vanilla bean seeds.
Add pineapple, 1" slices of banana, black berries etc. Firm fruits first.
Zest a little lime.
Squeeze a little lime juice to brighten the fruit taste.
Brown sugar and drops of butter.
Pleat small tight pleats around the edge. Make them even and clean.
Bake directly on black pan that has been in oven.
420ºf convection oven for 6 minutes.
Juices will be bubbling.

Extra fine parchment puffs up and then falls down and looks wet. use a heavy duty, thicker parchment. King Arthur sells a reusable parchment. Traditional heart shape is 1 serving size and should fit the plate.

Bake Madeleine:

Soften batter with spatula.
Butter/flour madeleine pans.
Using a #13 tip, pipe molds ½ way full.
Bake directly on hot black baking pans.
Bake at 375ºf in convection for 7 minutes.

Pappillote Presentation:

Acidulated water to clean plate.
Cut paper.
Fold make paper and make it look attractive.
Look for a spoon with a good shape.
Have hot water ready for dipping spoon.
Take excess water off of spoon.
Press spoon down into sorbet and make quenelle.
Use hand to warm spoon and release sorbet.
Lightly dust edges of paper with 10x.
Add tuiles.

Pinapple Plated Dessert Presentation:

Place pineapple first. It is the focus.
Do not plate sorbet directly onto plate or it will slide.
Plate mango sorbet on pineapple.
Drizzle sauce over fruit or plate.
Pineapple chip.
Vanilla bean pod.
Madeleine.
Lightly dust with 10x.
Clean rim of plate.

Warm pineapple.
Warm pineapple sauce.
Mango sorbt.
Pineapple chip.
Madeleine.
Vanilla bean pod.

Rhubarb Plated Dessert Presentation:

Strain poached rhubarb. Do not press.
Chill bowl for rhubarb soup.

In a bowl;
Whole piece of poached rhubarb.
Fresh berries.
Rhubarb broth.
Candied orange zest.
Sorbet.
Dusting of 10x.
Edible flowers (optional).

Thursday

Berry Water:

In a metal bowl; frozen berries.
Sucrose on top.
Cover with plastic.
Over a bain marie; boil briefly.
Take it down to a simmer.
Simmer 30 minutes.
Put in a deli.
Cooler.

This makes a nice pre dessert or 1st dessert but not as a palette cleanser.

Soufflé Base:

Sift flour.
Blend sucrose and bread flour together.
In a mixer bowl on a paddle; add soft butter to flour/ sucrose mixture.
Make a crumble.

In a pan; vanilla paste and milk.
Bring milk to a boil.
Add crumble base.
Cook for 1 minute while whisking.
Whisk batter into egg yolk.
Cover with plastic wrap to touch.
Cool a little.

Combine sucrose and cornstarch.
On a mixer bowl with whisk; egg whites, salt and cream of tartar.
Add sucrose and cornstarch.
Mix well.
Whisk egg whites on low.
Whites should hold their shape.
Increase speed.
Egg whites should have a creamy, strong texture.
Add sucrose/cornstarch in on step.
Increase speed to medium high for 30 seconds.

Whisk batter base to smooth it out.
Add a little meringue into the batter and stir well with a whisk. Do not worry about deflating at this point. Just loosen the batter.
Switch to rubber spatula.
Add ⅓ of meringue to batter.
Fold.
Fold in last two additions of meringue.

Butter ramekins just before filling them with batter.
Brush soft butter on soufflé ramekin.
Get all of the surfaces or the soufflé will stick.
Optional sucrose in ramekin. Evenly, tap, tap, empty excess. Coarse sucrose is good but not raw.

Fill ramekin all the way to the top. Keep edges of ramekin clean.
Tap 1 time firmly on table before they go into the oven.
Bake in convection at 375º or deck oven at 385º with vent open after oven spring.
Convection is faster but deck oven promotes even color.
Bake for 12 - 14 minutes. Check after 5 minutes to see if they are rising.
Rotate pan if necessary.
Make sure to cook soufflé all the way to the center.
The sides should be dry and golden.

This is a very stable base recipe. It is a pâte a choux style base. It hold up well. It is not as airy as some recipes. This recipe is good for staging out for production. Can do a 12x batch. Make the base, scale, freeze and pull as needed. Canned parmesan is good for lining the ramekin for a savory soufflé.

Commercial egg whites have an added stabilizer. Can used aged egg whites to make a stable meringue. Light is going into heavy so the base mixture should be a similar temperature to the meringue. The meringue is 90% water and 10% protein.

Flavor comes from the accompaniments. Add flavor to the base before folding in the meringue. Can add frozen berries to the ramekin before filling with batter. Grand Marnier soaked genoise that are cut into cubes can be folded into the mix. Add cocoa powder to the base. This adds color but not a lot of flavor.

An artichoke fold napkin on a plate makes a nice presentation.

Almond Flan Presentation:

Strain berry water. Do not press on berries.
Unmold flan in hot water for 3 seconds.
Turn mold upside down.
Use finger to break vacuum.

Almond Flan.
Berry water.
Fresh berries.
Candied orange zest.
Edible flowers (optional).
Banana crisp.

Grapefruit Tuile:

Sift flour.
Zest citrus directly into fat.
Stir citrus into melted butter.
Add salt to flour.
Add butter and juice to flour.
Whisk carefully from the center.
Mix well.
Add almonds last.
Place in deli container.
Cooler.

Garnish for citrus dessert. Florentine style. it has a lot of liquid. Rests in cooler overnight so that it can firm up and chill but not for hydration.

Composition:

Base composition on human senses. consider how to look at it. This is an approach for plating desserts and assembling entremet.

This business uses all the sense.

Chemical sense.

Taste (sweet, salt, sour and bitter) and smell.
Use 2 -3 flavors. Highlight one flavor.

Physical senses.

Touch (texture and temperature), hearing and sight (appetizing design, composition and
style).

Use 5 - 7 textures; sandy, grainy, moussy, liquid, crunchy, soft, airy, crumbly, hard and
smooth.

Contrast flavors for interest. Use contrasting textures. Go through the grocery store aisle to see what companies are making and what flavors they are combining.

Pick the flavors, find the recipes, draw a picture and make the recipe.

Friday

Grapefruit Gelée:

Hydrate the gelatin in the grapefruit juice.
Melt gelatin lightly in the microwave.
Add grapefruit juice to the gelatin.
Cooler.

Acids will only hold up in the gelatin for 1 - 2 days. Use 3 - 4% (12g) gelatin to counteract the acids in the grapefruit juice. To foam; let the gelatin set up a little and then hand blend to aerate it.

Poached Pears:

Peel pear.
Keep its shape and stem
Cut pear in half.
Use melon baller to scoop out the center.
Can leave pear whole and take out the center from the bottom.
Cut out the thready middle.
Add vanilla bean, sucrose, spices and cassia cinnamon stick.
Bring to a quick boiled.
Cover with a cartouche.
Bring down to a simmer.
Submerge all of the pears while cooking.
Simmer for 1 hour or more.
Pears will become translucent when ready.
Place pears in deli container.
Cover with poaching liquids.
Cooler.

Bosc pears are a crunchy pear that is not crisp but ripens firm. Other pears are good to poach and eat immediately. They can not take the baking time. Do not poach ripe pears as long. Win is acidic. The best acid to keep pears from oxidizing is ascorbic acid, vitamin c, which does not taste good but is most effective. Use 3g per liter of poaching liquid. In a pinch, crush up vitamin c tablet. Bump up the ascorbic acid to 5g if the fruit is oxidizing a lot.

Poaching solution ideas; red wine, fruit juice or water. Spice suggestions; savory and sweet spices, herbs and wide citrus zest strips.

To make a parchment cartouche; use ¼ of full sheet parchment. Fold in half, again and the diagonally. Cut from the center of pot to get the size. Cut tip to create small vent for evaporation.

Knife Sharpening:

Hone knives daily.
Hold knife at 22º angle.
Run knife from top to bottom of honing steel.

Citrus Soup:

Cut off ends of orange.
Cut side peels. Look at eh bottom of the fruit while cutting and turning the orange.
Clean up of the pith from the orange.
Segment over a container to save the juice.
Clean off any pith or membranes.
Squeeze out all of the extra juice.
Strain the pulp to refine the dessert (optional).
Always chill the plate before serving a citrus soup.

Supremes are citrus segments. Each segment should be nice and clean. A puddle of juice means that the knife is dull.

Bake Grapefruit Tuile:

Soften batter at room temperature.
Spread evenly on a flat silpat.
A 1½" x 9" tuile is a good size.
Bake at 330ºf in the convection oven (360 in the deck oven) for 5 - 7 minutes with vent closed.
Look for all over, even brownness.
Test for doneness on cool table top.
Let rest for 1 minute.
Lift with offset spatula.
Shape.
Cool.

Financier:

Sift 10x.
Sift flour.
Non traditional brown butter method.
In a bowl; baking powder, nut powders, 10x and flour.
Blend well with a whisk.
Add liquids to dry, including trimoline but not alcohol.
Whisk.
Add brown butter a little at a time.
Add Grand Marnier last.
Place in deli container.
Cooler overnight.

Flavor swaps; Frangelico, Amaretto, Rum or Cointreau. Non-traditional brown butter; stir to keep solids from sticking to bottom of pan. Look for light brown color. Will darken after cooking. Freeze and portion larger quantities of batter for production.

Warm Chocolate Cake:

Sift 10x.
Sift flour.
Gently melt butter, chocolate and salt over a bain marie or in the microwave.
Blend butter and chocolate with a whisk. If it is grainy or lumpy, it is overcooked.
Keep mixture warm.
Add 10x first.
Whisk all of the lumps out.
If it cools too quickly, put it back on the bain marie or in the microwave.
Add ⅓ of the eggs.
Add rest of eggs in 2 additions.
Add flour last.
Whisk until smooth but stop as soon as it is.
Switch to spatula.
Finish incorporating mixture.
Pour into deli cup.
Cooler overnight.

Very good recipe for production. Can make batter and freeze. Can make on the mixer with whisk attachment for larger scalings (minimum of 2x this recipe). Bake and serve cake. Do not bake and hold. Can make a dense flour less version. Our recipe is a cake like, raw cake batter version. This is not a good recipe to fully bake. it is meant to be partially baked.

Grapefruit Plated Presentation: