Read Paris Pastry Club: A collection of cakes, tarts, pastries and other indulgent recipes Online
Authors: Fanny Zanotti
Tags: #ebook
Paris Pastry Club: A collection of cakes, tarts, pastries and other indulgent recipes (5 page)
When it comes to these coulants au chocolat (chocolate lava cakes), I have a secret inspired by the method we use in restaurants. A little secret. I always make extra ganache for the melting hearts, which I pipe into small balls and freeze until needed for up to three months.
If you have already made the ganache hearts, all you’ll have to make is the batter. You can also make the whole thing one day ahead. Just pipe the batter into buttered rings, insert the ganache spheres and keep chilled overnight for a fuss-free dinner party dessert.
Serves 4
FOR THE GANACHE HEARTS
80 g (2¾ oz) caster (superfine) sugar
160 g (5½ oz) whipping cream
60 g (2 oz) glucose syrup
a fat pinch of sea salt
75 g (2¾ oz) 40% milk chocolate
FOR THE CAKES
90 g (3 oz) 70% dark chocolate,
chopped into chunks
70 g (2½ oz) butter
2 eggs
70 g (2½ oz) caster (superfine) sugar
30 g (1 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour, sieved
First make the ganache hearts. In a medium pan, caramelise the sugar over low heat. In the meantime, bring the cream, glucose syrup and salt to the boil, then set aside. When the caramel is golden-brown, take off the heat, and whisk in the hot cream, a little at a time. It will splash, so be very careful.
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
Pour the caramel cream over the melted chocolate, one-third at a time, stirring well with a rubber spatula after each addition.
Pour the mixture into a plastic piping bag and snip off the tip. Pipe the ganache into small half-sphere moulds or into a silicone ice-cube tray. Freeze for 4 hours or overnight.
Once frozen, unmould. If you are using half-sphere moulds, stick 2 halves together to form balls (roughly the size of a walnut). Keep in the freezer while you get on with the batter.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Cut 4 strips of baking paper
measuring 7 x 20 cm (3 x 8 in). Butter four 6 cm (2¾ in) metal rings and line each one with a strip of paper so that the paper forms a collar above the ring. Arrange them on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. You want the chocolate to feel warm but not too hot.
Whisk the eggs and caster sugar together in a separate bowl until light and fluffy. Once the mixture has reached the ribbon stage (when the mixture flows from your whisk held over the bowl into what looks like a folded ribbon), drizzle in the melted chocolate, beating until thoroughly mixed. Add the flour and mix gently until just combined.
Pipe or spoon the batter into the 4 prepared rings, filling each slightly more than halfway up. Gently push 1 frozen ganache sphere into the cake batter, taking care not to reach the base. Pipe a bit more cake batter on top, just to cover the ganache. Repeat with the remaining rings.
Bake for 12 minutes, then remove from the oven and leave for a couple of minutes before unmoulding. Carefully lift each cake from the rings using the paper collars and transfer to 4 serving plates. Peel off the paper strip and serve immediately.
THE ONLY
BRIOCHE RECIPE
YOU’LL EVER NEED
Brioche is the kind of thing that is best made one early afternoon when the rain forces you inside and the roof of your home feels like the best umbrella in the world.
You could make it by hand as I do. To me, kneading brioche has the soothing effect of a walk in the park with the sound of Japanese music in my ears and blossoms falling on my path. But let’s face it, at times it’s best to let machines do our dirty jobs while we catch up with our lives with a good friend over a cup of tea.
Makes 2 large loaves
60 g (2 oz) whole milk
seeds from 2 vanilla pods
550 g (1 lb 4 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 teaspoons sea salt
50 g (1¾ oz) caster (superfine) sugar
10g (½ oz) fresh yeast, crumbled
(or 1 teaspoon instant yeast)
6 eggs
325 g (11½ oz) butter, diced
1 egg, beaten, for eggwash
Mix the milk and vanilla seeds in a small bowl and set aside.
If you have a stand-mixer, fit the dough hook and mix the flour, salt and sugar together on slow speed. Add the yeast. Then pour in the vanilla milk and the eggs.
Switch to medium speed and knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough can be stretched without breaking. Scrape the sides of the bowl every now and then to ensure everything is amalgamated.
Alternatively, mix the ingredients by hand then turn out onto a floured work surface and knead until the dough can be stretched without breaking.
Now add the butter, one piece at a time, and when almost all of it is in, increase the speed and knead until smooth (or knead by hand). The dough should stop sticking to the side of the bowl (or work surface) and should be silky and very smooth, although somewhat tacky.
You can chill the dough overnight to make for easier shaping – perfect if you want a coffee/brioche/jam kind of breakfast. Simply transfer to a plastic container, cover the surface with clingfilm and chill in the fridge.
If you are keener on a late afternoon buttery treat, then continue by buttering 2 x 1 litre (34 fl oz) loaf tins. Scrape the dough from the bowl onto a clean and lightly floured work surface. Divide in half and use your hands to form into smooth balls. Gently roll each into a log the length of your tins and place them inside. With the back of your fingers, press the
dough down to form a flat surface. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to prove somewhere warm for about 60 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F).
When the dough has risen, brush the tops of the loaves with the beaten egg and, using floured scissors, cut a line down the length of each brioche. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of each loaf comes out clean. If they start to brown too quickly, cover loosely with foil and continue baking until ready.
If you decide to bake brioche for breakfast the next day, prepare and bake in the same way, but allow the dough longer to prove. You will probably need around 90 minutes for it to double in size.
Most recipes for beetroot cake include chocolate in one form or another, but once you slice into this one, it has the hue of crimson-red ink and the deep flavour of the roasted beets of my childhood. The very ones – roasted, almost-burnt, skin on – that I would eat with my bare hands and tint my fingers with their juices. Back then, just a pinch of fleur de sel, and perhaps a squeeze of lemon juice, were the only necessities. Nowadays, a dust of flour and a fat vanilla pod seem to be a must.
The earthy perfume of this cake will fill your kitchen and your house. And whenever raindrops start hitting the window again, I think you should know that a slice of this delicious cake will reheat – from frozen – beautifully in the microwave, making for a perfect, almost instant, winter warmer.
Serves 8
3 eggs
175 g (6 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
seeds from 1 vanilla pod
250 g (9 oz) raw beetroot (from approximately 2 beetroots), peeled and very finely grated
175 g (6 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
10 g (½ oz) baking powder (baking soda)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
120 g (4¼ oz) butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Generously butter and line a 22 cm (9½ in) cake tin with baking parchment.
Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla seeds for 3–5 minutes until fluffy and doubled in size.
Gently fold in the grated beetroot and incorporate the flour, baking powder and cinnamon until just smooth.
Transfer a couple of spoonfuls of the batter into the melted – but cooled – butter and mix vigorously until combined, then fold it all into the remaining batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack, then turn out onto a serving plate.
