Nougatine

June 25, 2012

        Nougatine slivers fit perfectly in a high end selection of chocolates and when properly made have a good shelf life, which is another reason, why they are a great addition in a Chocolatiers repertoire. For enthusiastic pastry students*, nougatine is an excellent skill builder. After all chances are you will be [...]

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St. Honore

June 11, 2012

St. Honoré is possibly one of the best classic desserts. For this particular one, puffs are dipped in caramel and cocoa gelée and then filled with refreshing   cherry cremeux.  Fitting as an individual dessert for a patisserie or can easily be served with gelato or sorbet and be served as a plated dessert. Cherry Cremeux [...]

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Spritz | Eddy Van Damme

May 28, 2012

It is easy to see why so many people appreciate Sablés Viennois or Spritz, they are attractive and people like the sandy buttery texture of these simple, yet sophisticated petit four.  Whether served with espresso, tea or gelato they always prove to be a hit. A few things are important to ensure a gorgeous baked [...]

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Pistachio Ice Cream

May 14, 2012

      One of the most luxurious ice cream or gelato is without a doubt pistachio. Irresistible when combined with chocolate, strawberries, apricots …. You certainly can turn this into gelato and replace whipping cream with an equal amount of milk. Doing so will bring out a more pronounced pistachio flavor but the reduction of fat [...]

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Pistachio Chocolates

April 29, 2012

In many assortments of chocolates, the pistachio variety can be one of the most eye catching, indeed, bright green pistachios on chocolate is a very striking look.  The filling of pistachio chocolates can be approached in different ways.  Using almond paste as a base, which is further enhanced with pistachio paste and other ingredients is [...]

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Gianduja Cremeux

April 16, 2012

Gianduja certainly belongs in a collection of good quality chocolates and can equally be effective in many desserts. It pairs very well with a vast amount of flavors which makes it very appealing for us in the pastry atelier. Flavors such as coffee, passion fruit, citrus, chocolate, certain peppers are prime candidates for pairing. This [...]

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Frangelico in desserts

April 2, 2012

Frangelico with its deep rich aroma of hazelnuts can bring finesse to a variety of desserts. Pairing can successfully be done with grapefruit and other citrus, chocolate, coffee and several other ingredients. Mascarpone cheese is another product which makes a great combination with Frangelico. This dessert certainly winks to tiramisu although it does not contain [...]

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Raspberry Mint Sorbet

March 19, 2012

Simple desserts do not necessarily translate into boring. A minimal composition of raspberry mint sorbet sandwiched between thin sheets of cocoa nib topped chocolate is an example of such. For most sorbets I recommend a combination of sugars such as invert sugar, glucose and granulated sugar. Invert sugar and glucose along with pectin (or other [...]

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Noble Chocolate Cream

March 5, 2012

Noble chocolate cream is a cousin of chocolate cremeux but made without egg yolk. Another difference is that it contains higher amount of milk than whipping cream, this allows the chocolate flavor to be fully pronounced. (High fat content has a tendency to masks flavors) Since no eggs are present and a smaller amount of [...]

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Petit Four Sec

February 20, 2012

Many grocery stores in the world carry machine made cookies/petit four/biscuits which are made with pure butter, good quality chocolate and natural ingredients. This certainly makes it more challenging for us in the pastry lab to produce these products which surpasses the competition. One advantage we have is that many of our cookies/petit four can [...]

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