27.7.13

So Good #10


Hello again. Long time no see! I feel like I've just logged back in to my long dormant neopets account to find all these poor hungry pets waiting to be fed. Apologies for the long hiatus, hopefully I can make it up to you all with a gorgeous new recipe today.

It has been a pretty interesting few months to say the least. I've just returned to Jakarta from a sojourn in New York City where I braved its frosty winter to gather inspiration and study restaurant management at ICC. It was surreal to finally visit the bakeries and restaurants I've been dying to check out from my nightly stalkings of grubstreet and eater. It was 5 glorious months of bagels, pretzels, pork buns, cupcakes and cocktails with a little shopping and bootcamp on the side to balance it all out.

Babycakes, Momofuku Milk Bar, Magnolia Bakery, Georgetown Cupcake, Dominique Ansel's CRONUTS.. Oh, it sure was hard to leave the 'States. But with all the sweetness and indulgences of New York City, it was Tartine Bakery in San Francisco that truly stole my heart with the best d*mn toasted sandwich and croissant of my life.

Talking about amazing foods, I trust that you all are familiar with So Good magazine by now? A biannual publication aimed at professionals of the pastry and dessert industry, it remains as the best source of inspiration to me. The magazine's features of the best pastry chefs and their recipes is an indispensable resource for us kids just starting out. Through the step-by-step explanations and interviews, we can learn about the man/woman behind the wonderful desserts and their creative processes.

Now, after hearing how amazingly important this magazine is to me, imagine my reaction when I received an email from them about featuring me and my blog on their next issue about 6 months ago. I think I frantically called about 4 people to freak out about it before realizing I may have been jinxing the good fortune by blabbing about it (haha). So I put the phone down, knocked on a bit of wood, and just smiled giddily for the rest of the night.

Months of nervous days and nights ensued in anticipation for the release of So Good #10. But now that it is finally out, I am grateful and excited! I can't believe I was given the opportunity to be able to be in the same issue as my idols Philippe Conticini and Frank Haasnoot, both of them are legendary pastry connoisseurs. Though I am unworthy of such honor, I will work hard to one day be more deserving of such recognition.


Here's the recipe that was featured in the magazine. If you want to read about the story behind this cake, you can buy the magazine HERE and read the article for yourself, eh. They ship around the world, and they're not a huge company or anything, just some girls and guys really passionate about pastry. They would be very appreciative of your support of their publication.

OK. Talk again soon, buddies. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.


x Tal



Rhubarb, Raspberry and Hibiscus Cake


Lime and poppy seed pâte sucrée
100 g all-purpose flour
50 g butter - cold, cubed
25 g ground almonds
40 g powdered sugar
zest of 1 lime - finely chopped
10 g poppy seeds
1 egg yolk
10 ml lime juice

Sift and combine flour, ground almonds and powdered sugar with the poppy seeds. Add in the zest and rub together with the dry ingredients until aromatic. Add cubed butter and work into the dry ingredients with fingertips to resemble small crumbs. Add in the egg and lime juice and lightly work into a dough by hand. Dough will be very soft, wrap up with a sheet of baking paper, and refrigerate until firm - about 30 minutes.
When cool, roll out to a thickness of 3mm. Place in the freezer to freeze completely. Cut into desired size while still frozen. Bake between two baking sheets at 180 degrees C for 15-20 minutes until browned all over.

Spiced Rhubarb Purée 
800 gr rhubarb - cut into chunks
100 g sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger
3 cardamom pods 

Place all ingredients together in a heavy-bottomed pan, heat to a simmer. Cook for 5-10 minutes until rhubarb is soft. Strain and remove the syrup, set it aside to use in the glaze. Using an immersion blender, blend the remaining mixture to use in the mousse.

Raspberry jelly layer
150 g raspberry purée
1 gelatin leaf - soaked and strained

Warm up half of the purée to a gentle simmer. Add in the gelatin leaf off-heat and whisk to incorporate. Add in the rest of the purée and stir to combine. Cool to 30 degrees C before using. 

Hibiscus ganache
300 g white couverture chocolate - melted
100 g heavy cream
100 g raspberry purée
a few drops of hibiscus aroma
2 wild hibiscus flowers (in syrup) - chopped

Heat up cream and rhubarb and raspberry purée to a simmer. Combine with the white chocolate. Add a few drops of hibiscus aroma and chopped hibiscus flowers and stir to incorporate.

Rhubarb Mousse
300 g spiced rhubarb purée
30 g sugar
5 gelatin leaves - soaked and strained
450 ml heavy cream

Heat purée and sugar up to a simmer. Add in gelatin leaves off heat and whisk to incorporate. Cool down to 40 degrees C. Whip heavy cream to soft peaks. Using a spatula, fold the puree and cream together.

Rhubarb and Hibiscus Glaze
12 gelatin leaves - soaked and strained
60 g glucose
45 g water
340 g sugar
150 g rhubarb syrup
450 g heavy cream
225 g cold application mirror glaze
a few drops of hibiscus aroma
red natural food coloring

Simmer rhubarb syrup and heavy cream. Bring glucose, water and sugar to a boil and deglaze with rhubarb syrup and heavy cream off heat just before it starts to caramelize. Using a whisk, ensure mixture is smooth and well combined. Add gelatin off-heat and whisk to incorporate. Using an immersion blender, mix in the mirror glaze, hibiscus aroma and red food coloring. Set aside to cool and use at 30 degrees C.



Montage:
In a silicon ingot mold, pipe in the rhubarb mousse using a pastry bag and freeze to set. Spread on a thin layer of raspberry jelly and cool again until set. Fill up to the top with hibiscus ganache and smoothen with a spatula. Freeze until completely set. Remove cakes from mold and glaze with rhubarb and hibiscus glaze. Place on top of the lime and poppy seed base. Decorate with organic edible flowers and gold leaves.







7 comments:

  1. I recently stumbled upon your blog and I must say I am mesmerized. Such beautiful work and so humble.

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  2. Congratulations Talita. Polly xx

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  3. I'm so glad you're back with another beautiful recipe :)

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  4. My oh my! does this mean your back!? Such a big break, you totally deserve it!
    x Eloise - Jazzlipsandtulips

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  5. Hi, where can I find the neutral glaze from New Zealand?! Thanks

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