Star Anise Nougatine in Chocolate

August 29, 2011

Star anise nougatine enrobed in chocolate certainly belongs to a selection of finer style Belgian chocolates.  Too bad that chocolates made with nougatine can be rather difficult to find, unquestionably it is a product which requires attention to detail. Since the confection featured here does not contain a cream, ganache or other typical filling, it […]

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Homemade Baking Powder

August 23, 2011

  All of us have tasted baked products which had a chemical soapy flavor with hints of bitterness, sourness and sulfur. Usually this problem occurs when relative high amounts or a certain type of baking powder is used. In muffins that contain lots of spices or other additions, it is logically harder to detect these […]

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Coconut Sablée | Shortbread

August 8, 2011

Every Pastry Chef I know always gets this question” What’s your best or favorite dessert?” I find this very hard to answer. Each dessert has its own sensation and to pinpoint the absolute best or favorite of your repertoire is nearly impossible.  How do you compare a croissant aux chocolat to a brownie with toasted […]

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White Chocolate Mousse

August 1, 2011

White chocolate mousse can be pleasing provided it is combined with bitter, tart, fruits, spices (including spicy) components.  In desserts I prefer to keep white chocolate mousse at 50-60% of the total dessert volume.  More than this amount and our guest may have a hard time finishing the dessert or simply be bored. In this […]

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A Sincere Thank You

July 25, 2011

    This past Saturday night we were treated by seeing both John Legend and Sade live in concert. When I see amazing artists at work, whether they are musicians, fine furniture makers, chefs….something about their work always touches the very core of me. It’s what they do and how they do it, what moves […]

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Chocolate Gelato

July 18, 2011

In most parts of the world vanilla is the most sold ice cream flavor and chocolate second.  Indeed a very good reason to have chocolate gelato in your dessert repertoire. If you open our freezer at home, you will usually find chocolate and pistachio gelato. For chocolate gelato I prefer not to use egg yolks […]

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Fig Tart

July 11, 2011

Figs are at their best when enhanced with recognizable but non overpowering flavors. For many fig varieties, I like to use mascarpone or a white chocolate cream, which improves the delicate sweetness of the fig and consequently increase its flavor.  Figs love to be in company of honey, white chocolate, Rum, Amaretto, mascarpone, oranges, toasted […]

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Marshmallow | Raspberry

July 5, 2011

  The entire meringue family is very intriguing to me. Whether it is baked French style meringue layered into an entremet or an Italian Style meringue, frosted onto an ice cream cake, I am captivated by its versatility. Meringue is very adaptable indeed. Take for example Italian Meringue, used in mousses for creating an unequaled […]

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Fruit tarts

June 20, 2011

A good tart shell, good cream and good fruit make one delicious dessert.  Although good hazelnut dough can be very delicious for a fruit tart, my favorite dough remains coconut shortbread tart dough.  It is one I use for lime and lemon tarts and certain petit four. It has been my experience that many people […]

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Black Forest

June 13, 2011

Whether cream, chocolate, Kirsch and cherries are composed into a frozen dessert or plated (as shown here) they always please. Throughout my work, I have always been interested in discovering new flavor combinations, but at the same time I have always carefully studied the classics to discover what made them enduring.   Some fruits can […]

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