Paris Pastry Club: A collection of cakes, tarts, pastries and other indulgent recipes (16 page)
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Authors: Fanny Zanotti
Tags: #ebook
There is French summer. Mornings at the market, with the complusory cup of café au lait; afternoons in the garden, picking strawberries and herbs for dinner.
And then, there is the English summer. One day – two, if you’re lucky – that makes you forget about the many shades of grey. Yes, for one day, it’s all about laying in the grass and watching clouds go by. Of course, there is that jug of Pimm’s and lemonade too. And this dessert is all of this. On a plate.
Serves 6
FOR THE BASIL PÂTE DE FRUIT
250 g (9 oz) water
185 g (6⅓ oz) caster (superfine) sugar
20 g (¾ oz) basil leaves, blanched in boiling water and squeezed
50 g (1¾ oz) glucose syrup
9 g (⅓ oz) yellow pectin
15 g (¾ oz) citric acid
15 g (¾ oz) water
FOR THE CRYSTALLISED BASIL LEAVES
1 egg white
granulated sugar, to coat
6 small basil leaves
FOR THE PIMM’S AND LEMONADE SORBET
180 g (6⅓ oz) water
90 g (3 oz) caster sugar
100 g (3½ oz) dehydrated glucose
250 g (9 oz) lemonade
120g (4¼ oz) Pimm’s
FOR THE STRAWBERRY COULIS
900 g (1 lb 13 oz) strawberries
50 g (1¾ oz) icing (confectioner’s) sugar
FOR THE CUCUMBER LEMONADE
1 cucumber
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) lemonade
2 fat pinches of xanthan gum
THE BASIL PÂTE DE FRUIT
Line a baking tray with a large piece of acetate or baking parchment and set aside.
Bring the water and the 25 g (1 oz) of the sugar to the boil in a small pan and pour onto the basil leaves in a blender. Blitz until smooth, then pass through a fine-mesh sieve lined with muslin cloth.
Weigh out 250 g (9 oz) of this juice into a small pan and add the glucose syrup. Combine the remaining sugar and pectin in a bowl and set aside. Cook the basil syrup on a high heat until it reaches 40°C (100°F). Then add the sugar-pectin mix, whisking as you go. Heat to 107°C (225°F) and take off the heat. Mix the citric acid with the water and add to the syrup. Immediately pour the syrup onto the prepared acetate sheet and leave to set at room temperature.
Use a small knife to cut the pâte de fruit into thin long strips and keep on the acetate until ready to use.
THE CRYSTALLISED BASIL LEAVES
Whisk the egg white until just frothy. Spread the sugar in a thin even layer on a baking tray or plate.
Coat the basil leaves, one at a time, with the egg whites, removing any excess with your fingers. Dip into the sugar to cover evenly. Gently place onto a lined baking tray and leave to dry overnight at room temperature.
THE PIMM’S AND LEMONADE SORBET
Bring the water and sugars to the boil. Allow to cool down completely and mix in the Pimm’s and the lemonade. Transfer to a plastic container and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. Churn according to your ice-cream machine manufacturer’s instructions.
THE STRAWBERRY COULIS
Blitz 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) strawberries and sugar in a blender until smooth. Pass through a fine-mesh sieve and chill in the fridge. An hour before servng, halve the remaining strawberries and mix with 200 g (7 oz) of coulis. Keep at room temperature.
THE CUCUMBER LEMONADE
Slice half the cucumber lengthwise into four 5-mm (¼ -in) thick slices, trimming the edges to neat rectangles. Add into 300 g of the lemonade, cover and leave in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
Juice the rest of the cucumber in a juicing machine and mix with the remaining lemonade. Mix in the xanthan gum by hand, taking care not to create too many bubbles. Keep chilled until needed.
TO SERVE
Drop a spoonful of strawberry coulis onto the left-hand side of each dessert plate and drag it across diagonally. Place a small mound of marinated strawberries on the left of the plate.
Dice the soaked cucumber slices into tiny cubes and scatter over the strawberries. Top with a couple of crystallised basil leaves and a strip of basil pâte de fruit.
Form quenelles of Pimm’s sorbet and place on the right-hand side of each plate. Drizzle with the thickened cucumber lemonade.
I remember the first pumpkin pie I ever had. I must have been six or seven, and back then, I didn’t realise that this simple tarte would one day make it to a restaurant menu.
And yet, this is a dessert I’ve made countless times now. When I feel like it, I’ll add a pumpkin sorbet. Or replace the sugar in the foam with maple syrup.
I’ve changed the shortbread recipe pretty much every time too (and trust me, it’s a killer with a cup of tea, any day, anytime).
Sometimes I add gels and pulled sugar and all sorts of fancies. Above all I love to accompany it with smooth cream cheese foam. You’ll need a nitrogen canister to make this, but I think it’s well worth it.
Serves 8
FOR THE CINNAMON
WHOLEWHEAT SHORTBREAD
yolk from 1 hard-boiled egg, thinly grated
520 g (1 lb 2¾ oz) butter
180 g (6⅓ oz) icing (confectioner’s) sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
300 g (10½ oz) wholewheat flour
150 g (5 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
100 g (3½ oz) rolled oats
50 g (1¾ oz) cornflour (cornstarch)
FOR THE CARAMELISED
WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE
300 g (10½ oz) white chocolate, chopped
200 g (7 oz) whipping cream
FOR THE PUMPKIN CONFIT
125 g (4 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
1 vanilla pod
1 cinnamon stick
220 g (8 oz) water
1 butternut squash or ½ pumpkin
(around 1 kg/2 lb 3 oz)
FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FOAM
400 g (14 oz) cream cheese
220 g (8 oz) water
120 g (4¼ oz) icing (confectioner’s) sugar
seeds of 1 vanilla pod
½ teaspoon sea salt
FOR THE PUMPKIN CURD
300 g (10½ oz) pumpkin flesh, diced
4 egg yolks
2 eggs
60 g (2 oz) muscovado sugar
½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ tablespoon vanilla extract
seeds of ½ vanilla pod
2 gelatine leaves
100 g (3½ oz) butter, softened
THE SHORTBREAD
Cream the yolk, butter, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add the flours and oats and mix until just combined. Spread the mixture between two sheets of baking paper and roll until it is 4 mm (¼ in) thick. Transfer to a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F).
Remove the shortbread from the freezer and bake for around 18 minutes or until golden brown. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container when cooled down.
THE CARAMELISED WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE
Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F).
Place the chopped white chocolate onto a baking tray and bake for around 8 minutes, or until golden brown.
In a small pan, bring the whipping cream to the boil. Off the heat, add the caramelised white chocolate, and stir until smooth. Transfer to a small container and chill for a few hours or overnight.
THE PUMPKIN CONFIT
Put the sugar in a pan set over medium heat and cook to a dark, amber-brown caramel. Slice the vanilla pod lengthwise and add to the caramel along with the cinnamon stick. Briefly mix, then tip the water in. The caramel will seize – do not worry. Just keep heating and slowly bring to the boil, then remove from the heat to cool down slightly while you prepare the pumpkin
Preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F).
Peel the squash or pumpkin and use different sizes of Parisian scoops (melon ballers) to scoop out little spheres of the flesh and place into a 20 cm (8 in) cake tin.
Pour the syrup over the balls and bake for an hour, turning and basting regularly. Allow to cool at room temperature and keep covered in the fridge.
THE CREAM CHEESE FOAM
To make the cream cheese foam, whisk all of the ingredients together in a large bowl until smooth, around 1 or 2 minutes. Pass through a fine-mesh sieve and transfer to a nitrogen foam canister. Charge with one cartridge of nitrogen and shake well. Keep in the fridge.
THE PUMPKIN CURD
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Spread the diced pumpkin flesh onto a baking tray and roast for approximately 30 minutes until tender. Blend the roasted pumpkin in a mixer. Then leave it to cool down slightly.
Mix the eggs and egg yolks, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract and seeds in a heatproof bowl, and add the pumpkin purée, whisking as you go. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water and cook the mixture, stirring every now and then, until it reaches 84°C (183°F).
Soak the gelatine in ice-cold water. When the curd is cooked, take the bowl off the heat and add the squeezed gelatine leaves. Add the butter and stir well for 5 minutes. Transfer to a container, cover the surface with clingfilm, and chill for a few hours in the fridge, or until set.
Once the curd has set, whisk to loosen it and scrape into a piping bag fitted with a 12 mm (½ in) nozzle.
TO SERVE
Spoon a dollop of caramelised ganache onto the side of each dessert plate and smear it roughly with a spoon.
Pipe a big mound of pumpkin curd next to the ganache and arrange a few small spheres of confit pumpkin around it. Pipe on the foam – I usually go for a small amount, but you could definitely go wild here without any regrets.
Break the shortbread into bite-sized pieces and scatter here and there. Finally, drizzle a spoonful of the confit pumpkin syrup around the edge of the plate.
ROASTED FIGS,
VANILLA SPONGE,
GOATS’ CHEESE CURD,
OLIVE OIL JELLY
This dessert is more than you could believe. Warm roasted figs on a pillow of fresh goats’ cheese curd, with the crunch of pine nuts and my absolute favourite: olive oil jelly bits.
It is a stunner for an autumn dinner party when figs are to be seen everywhere.
Serves 4
FOR THE VANILLA SPONGE
20 g (¾ oz) polenta
1 heaped tablespoon plain (all-purpose) flour
55 g (2 oz) ground almonds
½ teaspoon baking powder (baking soda)
2 eggs
75 g (2½ oz) caster (superfine) sugar
seeds of 3 vanilla pods
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
50 g (2¾ oz) olive oil
FOR THE ROASTED FIGS
6 figs, cut in half
80 g (2¾ oz) butter, cut into cubes
honey, to drizzle
FOR THE GOATS’ CHEESE CURD
250 g (9 oz) goats’ cheese
100 g (3½ oz) whipping cream
70 g (2½ oz) icing (confectioner’s) sugar
FOR THE OLIVE OIL JELLY
2 gelatine leaves
50 g (1¾ oz) water
80 g (2¾ oz) caster (superfine) sugar
10 g (½ oz) glucose syrup
100 g (3½ oz) extra-virgin olive oil
FOR THE TOASTED PINE NUTS
125 g (4 oz) pine nuts
1 teaspoon olive oil
1½ teaspoons sea salt
THE VANILLA SPONGE
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a 1 litre (34 fl oz) loaf tin with baking paper. In a small bowl, mix the polenta, flour, ground almonds, and baking powder.
