filipe

Stick an acetate sheet on the cake, shaped correctly, cover the cake with the two colours and remove the acetate sheet when it's done

I'm not a pro nor anything similar...but where did you hear that? A well tempered chocolate should not be matte after setted up. At least I thought not. I've once been to a chocolatier contest where they use freezing as a way to obtain matte chocolate, setting it up in the freezer. So that might mean the "dry air setting up" should result on non-matte chocolate... And what about setting up tempered chocolate over a textured surface, to get its texture? You only get shinny chocolate if there's a shinny surface underneath it? And over some tree leafs? It only works with the shinny ones? My (short) experience tells me the opposite...

I thought that tempering chocolate was not just all about temperature... but maybe that's just me thinking... (maybe the lack of shining in the "tempering test" might mean anything...)

I did the chocolate mousse tonight. I was very impressed with the fact that in just about half an hour in the fridge it got the right consistency! This is how it turned out: Everything is perfect with this recipe except for sugar (in my opinion, of course). Next time I'll add like 50% more...

Jamie Oliver has some easy-to-make-and-surelly-succeeded pana cotta recipes. You can find them at (at least) two of his books : Jamie Oliver's ITALY and The Naked Chef

My 1st glance choice: Meringue d'automne pg.72 (3 meringue disks, layered with chocolate mousse and covered with a glaçage au chocolat) Flocon d'etóiles pg.86 (by the photo it seems amazing... and just look at what's needed : dark chocolat éclats + macarons au chocolat + débris de caramel + ganache + mousse sabayon + italian meringue + sugar crystals) Millefeuilles au chocolat et à l'orange pg.91 (I just love chocolat and orange...) Éclairs au chocolat pg.152 (after had tried his pâte a choux recipe I have to quickly try these) Crèmes brûlées à la pistache et nougatine aux éclats de cacao pg.191 (what a combination it should make!) Dômes de chocolat au café froid pg.194 (I need to give some use to my new dôme-shaped flexipans) Dacquoise glacée au chocolat noir et à la noix de coco pg.220 (because Summer is almost there...) Poulet au chocolat pg.276 (for three reasons : because I had never done any savory food using chocolate; because I love chicken; and because it sounds amazing)

I did LOVE PCB! It has things that I didn't even thought they exist!! I need to try some of those! The problem is what to choose... where to start... how to balance the budget....

Thanks a lot! I knew chefrubber, but ordering from the US allways cause troubles and delays on customs... But the other site is french that's gr8!

Those were gorgeous, Wendy For a non-pro like me, and living in Portugal, it's not easy to find coloured cocoa butter... I'm sure there will be someone selling it, but probably only in huge quantities and just for the industry... Does anyone happen to know where I can find it in LONDON?

So, when does the baking start? What if we choose a recipe? I may pick up 5 or 6 and then we choose one or two for a start. What do you guys and girls think of that?

This one is much less heavier than PH10... let's say about 1/3-1/4 of PH10's size/weight. It's more like the Chocolate Desserts one. Only in french I'm afraid, I bought mine at his shop at Rue de Vaugirard, as it wasn't available at Fnac.

If chocolate eggs are (at least I think they are) universal on what concerns to Easter traditions around the world, every country/place might have its own particular dishes and, in this particular forum, pastries. Here in Portugal the most common cakes during Easter are the FOLAR (please don't read it as if it was a spanish word...), which is a sort of sweet bread, with a little taste of aromatic herbs, which is baked with one boiled egg (or more, depends on the size) as if it was a nest. The other one is indeed called Ninho de Pascoa (Easter's Nest) and it's a yellow cake covered with chocolate, with a hole in the middle where people put egg-strings (as if it was a real bird's nest) and then stick there some chocolate eggs or almonds. I've decided to do a little "makeover" on the Easter's Nest and tried to use the same concept but with a different dough. I've used pâte a choux, baked two rings and a round base, layered them with chocolate, covered it randomly with some caramel, filled in the middle hole with some chocolate mousse and then the chocolate egg, covered in cocoa.

Since there are other threads on other books, I've decided to add this one too, as I think it's a great book and with lots of recipes (380 to be more accurate) Although its author come out as being Pierre Hermé, this book has a lot of recipes from other chefs he invited to participate in it. For a start, let's do some name dropping... Michel Bannwarth Thierry Mullhaupt François Granger Lionel Raux Francis Gloton Vincent Dallet Éric Vergne Frédéric Cassel Arnaud Lahrer Pascal Niau Michel Pottier Franck Piquet André Cordel Patrick Berger Raynald Petit Jacques Belanger Frédéric Jouvaud François Raimbault Olivier Buisson Jean-Philippe Darcis Philippe Vandecappelle Miguel Moreno Éric Baumann Ingrid Astier Nayla Audi Frédéric Bau Florian Bellanger Maurice Bernachon Yann Brys Jean-Pierre Clément Philippe Conticini Hélène Darroze Franck Daubos Hervé Daumy Trish Deseine Christine Ferber Vincent Ferniot Stéphane Glacier Philippe Gobet Frédéricke Grasser-Hermé Georges Hermé Coco Jobard Yannick Lefort Henri Leroux Xavier Mathieu Patrick Mikanowski Suzy Peltriaux Jean-François Piège Hugues Pouget Fraçois Simon Hissa Takenchi Valentine Tibère Olympe Versini Marie Carmen Zamudio So...pick up one and let's start baking

They're NOT ?!? Could have fooled me! ← I don't know about Patrick, but I don't have any contact with the food industry besides being a costumer... I am architect, but I'm deeply thinking about a career change (but that would make another thread...) Anyway it's not easy when you've spent so many years in college and then five more years working (on something I really like, I'm not disapointed with architecture, but I really love cooking and pastry) and suddenly start a new life, going to school again (but now without parental support)...

Once again thanks for the cumpliment Ted, that's great to read something like that. When you love the things you do, you'll do them well. And if you happened not to do them good at the first time (like me, with macarons for example) you start an interior fight against yourself (and the oven) to achieve perfection eheh Anyway, I'm pretty far from that stage. As I am at work now I don't have the book nearby, but I promisse to start a new thread later on the Larousse du Chocolat. I'll then tell you the other chefs listed there.

Thanks Ted The Larousse book is very good, it has all the basics as well as more than 300 recipes by PH and other chefs, organized by type & level of difficulty. I like it very much, one learn a lot from it (at least I do, but I don't have any professional skills on pastry or cooking, so it's easy to allways be learning things from this kind of books)

I don't have any more pics but I'm going to London in less than one month and I'm planning tu buy another one at Fortnum and Mason's. I'll then take some better pics. It's layered in very thin layers of cocoa creme and what seems to be an almond+cocoa cake, then covered with the marzipan and then the milk chocolate.

I've used PH pâte a choux recipe for the first time tonight. I've never been very much into pâte a choux, wether used on eclairs, profiteroles, Paris-Brest or whatever other items it can be used, as I've allways thought of it as a "poor" relative of the pastry doughs family. Today I've chaged my mind - Pierre Hermé recipe makes a DELICIOUS and very rich (in texture and in flavour) pâte a choux. I've used it for some profiteroles, filled with vanilla ice-cream and just covered with an ordinary ganache. We had a really cool day today, so having this fresh desert after dinner was like a cherish on the top of the cake By the way, I've used PH recipe which comes in his Larousse du chocolat

I know that they sell them online at the Imperial Hotel website, every size you want they deliver it to you by post. Besides that and buying it there at the hotel, I know that Fortnum & Mason's selling them as well. Let me say that I think this as one of the most awesome and delicious pastry items I've ever tried.

I've tried his chocolates in Paris, about one month ago, and they're great. Didn't knew he has a shop in the UK

You don't happen to have any recipe on the IMPERIAL TORTE, do you?

Thnak you very much to you all From all the above I just know Yauatcha and Ladurée (not the Harrod's one, but the originals). I agree that Yauatcha pastries are not particularly "sweet" and not superb on what taste concerns, but they're ok Want to check Sketch and William Curley. By the way, any address for Sketch? Thanks again

Thanks Sugarella, nice thread I guess that almost everyone knows these, but here they are again : the Portuguese Custard Tarts (in portuguese Pastéis-de Nata) You can find more info about them at this thread as well as a photographic step-by-step, courtesy of myself eheh

You're right, that's IKEA Guess they're good on food design as well as furniture It's not anything to die for -on what's related to it's taste - but it's very good looking. It might go well with some lemon sorbet or similar. And I've just payed €2,50 for a pack of 4 Guess they call it another name than those refered : punschrulle

I had never paid much attention about pastry shops in London, but I'm willing to spend some time about it , if worthed. Can anyone tell me about some nice places to check?