FWED

I am glad the cake turned out to be such a success. The pictures are great. Everyone at the World Pastry Forum was impressed with it and you are right that for many of us, myself included, this type of confection can be a stretch. I think,however, that this is healthy for any of us and can lead to trying even more complex items.

Well I am back from the wilds of Montana and I can report that there is some good eating there. First off I must admit that I am not a hard core foodie, I don’t particularly care for duck, and pate is not one of my favorite foods. That said I must admit that I do like well prepared and interesting foods and both red and white wines. The trick in Montana is finding something other than mediocre dinner food, steak houses or franchise food both fast and otherwise. In Missoula I found that Marian’s at the Wilma is now closed and used as a catering facility. To bad it was a lovely facility with great food and wonderful classical music live in the dining room. There is also a Red Lyon and a Double Tree Inn in town and the food there has, in the past, been what you would expect of those establishments. I did find two other wonderful restaurants though. The first was SCOTTY’S TABLE a small but delightful bistro near down town and the second was RED BIRD, an even smaller place, in downtown Missoula. Both these upscale restaurants had a variety of meat, fish, and poultry items as well as seasonal and nightly specials. Both restaurants operate on a philosophy of sustainable yield incorporating as much free range, organic, and Montana products as possible. The food, at both places, was good to very good and the service was friendly, helpful, and very interested in knowing more about eGullet.com. Both places are working on web sites at this time. I must admit that at the start of my trip I hadn’t thought much about spreading the word about eGullet. As time went by and I got into looking for good restaurants and cooking stores I found I couldn’t pass up a chance to spread the news. With out exception everyone seemed interested and wanted the web site address. More Tomorrow.

Hi Wendy. Thanks for adding the background on these cakes. I probable should have done that in the beginning and yes Laurent Branlard, who gave me this recipe, is French, and French trained. I appreciated you comments on the three elements that you liked in the cake. It just goes to show that the same cake can appeal to different people in different ways. For me the elements that I liked were the cake, the caramel and the gelee but then I love tart things like lemon, lime, and passion fruit. The white chocolate was just window dressing. I hope more home and self trained bakers like myself, will try this cake and others like it. As you said, once you get used to the concept their are any number of ways to change the elements. Its fun to have a cake or two that is just a little out of the ordinary and has a WOW factor.

Keith: I am glad you liked the cake and didn't find it to difficult. The changes you made sound wonderful. I like the way you think on your feet. YES you are right, when making the cremeux you do need to take the caramel mix and egg yolks back to the heat to thicken and then add the gelatin. That point isn't exactly clear in the recipe. I apologize for that. I have also made the cremeux for other cakes and have found that it works best if you really chill it in an ice bath to the consistency of heavy mayonnaise. That way you can either spread it or pipe it. As to the amount of cake. That can be reduced as you need. I usually make it in a small sheet pan and then cut the circles out. I freeze the left overs and use them for other desserts say with fresh berries and icecream and bits of cake. Or with chocolate and icecream. I'm still not sure why there seems to be a shortage of Bavarian cream. The majority of the cream should be around the outside not in the middle of the cake. With 4 layers (two cake, one cremeux, one gelee) each about 1/2 inch thick that shouldn't leave much room in the center for the bavarian cream. Oh well back to the drawing board.

I think that the main advantage is flexibility and portability. You can even get models that are cordless. They are battery operated and come with a charger. I prefer the corded type because I think they have more power. I use a stick blender for many things. I use it for large batches of salad dressings, pureeing soups right in the pot, whipping ganach and, in general, blending ingredients. I can actually blend thing right in the bowl that they are going to stay in as long as its tall enough and if you keep the working end of the blender below the top of the ingredient you won't whip air into it. I recommend using a tall bowl or container to prevent splatter while using. I have found that since I bought the stick I have taken the old blender off the counter and haven't used it in about a year. They won't do everything but they sure come in handy and I find them easier to clean than the old blender. And thats a good thing

I am with katherine about the blender. However, I use a stick blender. If you use one don't bring it up to the surface. Keep it at the bottom and it will do the work without whipping air into it. Several of the pastry chef's at the World Pastry Forum classes use them and recommend them highly. I also recommend if you want to use the S B 70% then melt it first.

Did you taste the mixture? Did it taste oily or grainy? if so the cream may have been to hot and caused the chocolate to separate. What Brand of chocolate did you use. I have heard that some folks have trouble tempering and working with 70% Sharffenburger (don't know if I have spelled it correctly). I am afraid I don't have answers just questions.

I make them from frozen puree's but they could be made from fresh fruit. I haven't seen passion fruits around locally but that's not saying they aren't available. Passion fruit in anything has been a hot flavor recently. It might be out by now but I did like the combo of the passion and the mango and I suppose that if you can't get passion fruit you could use mango, papaya and a little lime for acidity.

I would like to answer a few questions concerning the fabrication of this cake. I apologize if the original recipe seemed complex or that I didn't offer other ways of fabricating the components. I use an 8 X 2 inch cake ring or cake pan to make the components in and a 9 X 2 inch cake ring or cake pan to make the finished cake in. If you want to make a larger cake you will have to increase the recipes. Yes FoodMan you can bake the cake in one pan and then split it. Watch the baking time so as not to over bake it. After splitting the cake you should have two 8 inch by 1/2 inch cake rounds. This cake can also be made by piping an 8 inch by 1/2 inch thick round on a parchment covered cookie sheet. As to the caramel. I make it and leave it in the refrigerator and then pipe it into the cake pan at the time I am putting the cake together. It's quite stiff but will not displace the orange mouse. If you are going to make a 9 inch finished cake in steps, freezing components in between, you should end up with; two 8 inch by 1/2 inch honey cake rounds, one 8 inch by 1/2 inch thick passion fruit gelee (Jelly), and one 8 inch by 1/2 inch thick layer of frozen caramel. At this point you would make the orange Bavarian cream and assemble the cake. If the frozen layers are only 1/4 inch thick or you want to make a larger than 9 inch cake, then you might need more Bavarian cream than the recipe calls for. If you are making a 9 inch cake and all the components other than the orange Bavarian cream are 8 inches you won't have to trim anything. The sprayed white chocolate is just a decoration and a finishing touch but it does supply some crunch when you bite into it. The chocolate must be tempered to provide the crunch though. If it isn't tempered then it will go very soft once the cake is taken out of the refer. The original recipe does not call for any soaking syrup because Pastry Chef felt the honey cake was moist enough with out it and he wanted a little texture to offset the softness of the Bavarian cream. Fist fulla Roux; the white chocolate was very thin and more of a crust, not a 1/4 or 1/2 inch thick coating. a thick coating might make it hard to cut and or eat the cake. I hope these notes have provided some incite into the fabrication of the cake and you can always PM me for additional info.

Thanks actually should go to Laurent Branlard. He is the PC that gave us the recipe at the 2004 World Pastry Forum. He also was a member of the 2002 Team USA World Pastry Championship Team. Now you can see why that US team was noted for its wonderful flavors.

Just a thought. Did the problem with the cookies start with the arrival of the new oven. Perhaps the new oven, with a consistent source of heat, is responsible for drying out the cookies. You might try lowering the temp by 25 degrees and or shorten the baking time.

Hi everyone. I am going to be on a trip to visit relatives in Billings Montana. Well its really Fromberg Montana but few people know where that is. Anyway I am going to be driving from Seattle to Missoula, then on to Bozeman for the bluegrass festival, and then on to Billings. Is the restaurant "Marianne's at the Wilma" in Missoula still operating and is it as good as I remember? The same could be said for the restaurant at the Gallatin Gate way Inn near Bozeman. I would also like recommendations for Billings. Any help would be appreciated Fred Rowe

This is a wonderful cake and in reality doesn't take all that long to prepare and can certainly be done over a period of days before its needed. The cake actually consists of just a sponge, a Bavarian cream, a pastry cream, and a jelly top. It took me about 45 minutes to assemble the cake once the component's were made. Spraying it took a little longer since it was the first time that I had used the sprayer or done any chocolate spraying. Once it is sprayed and unfrozen and thawed however it should be eaten. Thats not usually a problem. Abra: Yes a 1/2 sheet pan is OK and there probably will be batter left over. As to spraying well I used a virgin Wagner Paint sprayer (49$ at Home Depot) and 1/2 lb of melted tempered white chocolate and 1/2 lb of melted cocoa butter and 9gm of titanium oxide. Other options to spraying would be to use thin squares or circles of white chocolate on the outside. You could even incorporate designs off of transfer sheets. Or you could leave the chocolate off all together although it does have a nice textural component. Smgarsh: Yes, I melted 60gm of sugar in a pan and when it reached the desired color I took it off the heat and added the hot cream and vanilla. As to glucose it is available at most cake decorating and candy supply shops. I understand it is available at some Micheal's craft stores. If you choose to use corn syrup you may have to increase the amount of gelatin to get the right consistency. You want a jelly that just holds its shape and isn't rubbery.

Here is the photo of the Exotic Orange Cake as it was before the dinner. I did this one in a round form, its a personal preference.

I would be glad to post the recipe. I wish I could say it was an old family recipe but it isn't and I am indebted to Laurent Branlard for giving it to us at the World Pastry Forum. Exotic Orange Cake There are five components to this cake and they are: An orange vanilla bavaroise, a vanilla cremeux, a honey cake layer, a passion fruit gelee, and a white chocolate spray. Honey Cake. 60 gm of sugar 60 gm of honey 60 gm of egg whites 115 gm of almond flour 90 gm of egg yolks 210 gm of egg whites 75 gm of sugar 95 gm of cake flour DIRECTIONS: Mix the sugar, honey, 1st amount of egg whites and the almond flour until smooth, then gradually and the yolks. Using the 2nd amount of whites and sugar make a meringue and fold in along with the flour into the batter. The cake can be baked in a thin layer in a sheet pan or piped into 8inch rounds on a sheet pan. You will have to end up with 2 thin (1/4 to 3/8 inch thick) 8 inch disks. Bake at about 350 until done. Set aside Orange vanilla bavaroise. 330 gm whole milk 66 gm of sugar 66 gm of egg yolks seeds from 1 vanilla bean 10 gm of gelatin 400 gm of whipped cream orange zest of 3 oranges DIRECTIONS: Bring milk to a boil, add orange zest and steep for 15 minutes, strain. Using the milk make a creme anglase with the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla. Add the melted gelatin, and cool. When cool fold in the whipped cream. Set aside Vanilla cremeux. 60 gm of sugar for a dry caramel 360 gm of heavy cream (HOT) seed from 4 vanilla beans 120 gm yolks 3 gm of gelatin DIRECTIONS: Caramelize the sugar, add vanilla seeds, and hot heavy cream. Cool slightly and add to the egg yolks and finish with the gelatin. Cool and set aside. Passion fruit gelee 150 gm of passion fruit puree 350 gm of mango puree 25 gm of glucose seeds of 1 vanilla bean 75 gm of sugar 10 gm of gelatin DIRECTIONS: Heat puree's, glucose, vanilla , and sugar until hot. Mixture should be uniform and sugar dissolved. Add melted gelatin and set aside. ASSEMBLY: Cover one end of a 9 X 2 inch cake ring with plastic wrap and secure with rubber bands. Place on a sheet pan wrapped side down. (This cake is assembled up side down.) Make a 8 in by 3/8 inch solid mold. ( I used 2 sheets of foam board cut into 8 inch circles taped together and covered with plastic wrap) This solid mold is centered inside the cake ring on top of the plastic wrap. It will create a space (to be filled later with gelee) in the top of the cake. Place a layer of bavaroise around the solid mold, and up the sides of the ring to the top and a thin layer over the solid mold. Position a layer of cake on top of the bavaroise. Place a thick layer of the vanilla cremeux on top of the cake. Cover the cremeux with a layer of bavaroise and another layer of cake. By this time the last layer of cake should be at the top of the ring. Finish off the top layer around the edge with bavarois. Make sure it is level and flat as this will become the bottom of the cake. Freeze until solid. When frozen ( about 4 hours) warm ring and remove. Turn up side down. The solid mold is now on top. Carefully remove the mold. Spray the outside of the cake with white chocolate. Fill the space in the top of the cake with the passion fruit gelee and chill. Refrigerate until serving. There is a picture of this cake (its on the far left in a square form) in the "World Pastry Forum Recap" under the section entitled "Entremet".

I have a Tart recipe for a Chocolate mousse with a blackberry blend. It calls for a semi sweet chocolate ganache with a small amount of blackberry puree folded in. PM me if you would like the recipe.

Its now Tuesday and the final day of the forum and we go from the little to the big in terms of size. The mornings class is PETITS FOURS with Laurent Pages. The pictures speak for themselves. Each exquisite creation came with a list of ingredients, diagram, and directions on how to make and assemble. They had such names as; Exotica, L'amandier, Sicillian, Pyramide au Nougat de Montelimar, Tiramisu, Sables de Provence, and of course Chocolate and Lemon macaroons. In my rotation my final class was a real show stopper. SUGAR SHOWPIECE with Jacquy Pfeiffer. The hand outs contained lots of notes, tips, and directions so that we could just sit there and watch a master at work Here Jacquy is pulling and shaping a ribbon to be used in the piece. According to Nightscotsman this is easier said than done. The final piece in our class. What a line up. They are all the same and yet each one is unique. The next few pictures concern the Trade Show and the demo's the went along with it. Just in case you forgot where all this is happening. Las Vegas is ablaze at night. Every day during the Forum the participants. staff and teachers were given lunch catered by the Rio staff. This photo shows one of the set ups(each day was a different theme). The shelving is suspended from the ceiling and the ice sculptures are lighted from below. All the vender's at the trade show had something edible to hand out. It went from truffles, bon bons, and lots of chocolate, to baked goods, to Petits Fours, to ice cream and gelato and even orange juice. This is an airbrushed chocolate piece done by one of vendors that makes and sells custom molds. One of the demonstrations that I attended was by jacquy Pfeiffer. In a change of pace he did a plated pre dessert called "French Riviera Fruit Gaspacho". He said it is served after the last savory dish and is meant to entice the palate to switch from savory to sweet. It is composed(from bottom to top) of a apricot puree, Almond cream, fig ice cube, and accented with basil seeds, a drop of olive oil, a crystallized tarragon sprig, and a sugar curl. When tasting this pre dessert, fig and tarragon are the first flavors that will be felt followed by the salty almond cream and finally the acidic apricot puree. This was plated dessert that I saw assembled in a short demo. It contains a lemon soup with orange slices, a nougatine slice with fresh strawberries and sugared sage leaves. What appears as dirt on the plate is actually some sort of seeds. It still looks like funny to me. In another demo done by one of the albert uster staff chef's a small table centerpiece sugar piece was fabricated. The base and anchor were done ahead of time and the rest was fabricated on the spot. The entire piece was done in less than 45 minutes. During the days that the World Pastry Forum was taking place there were several Food Network events happening. One was a Sugar showpiece competition and the other was a Birthday Cake competition. Both will be featured as Food Network specials. My pictures of the sugar pieces didn't turn out but some of the Birthday cakes did. I can't tell you who did what but I can tell you 1st ,2nd and 3rd. The photos are in that order. Well that's it. I hope you have enjoyed the photos as much as I had being there and taking them. I am looking forward to next year and to seeing all the friends that I made this year.

Here's more. Its now Sunday morning and I should be sleeping in but no I am in a class entitled AIRBRUSH TECHNIQUE with Stephane Treand, MOF. This was a fun course of part hands on and part demo. Some of the students picked this technique up quite quickly but needless to say you won't see any of my work in the accompanying photos. Stephane and his assistant forming their works of art. All of the pieces had a Las Vegas theme. Sunday Afternoon's course was PETITS GATEAUX with Olivier Bajard, MOF His focus is a respect of the seasons and ingredients while incorporating a balance between sweet and the sour. He likes a minimum of 4 textures from smooth to crunchy. His recipes were very detailed and even came with little diagrams of where each element went. The picture below is of his confection called "The Top" and it includes; dacquoise sponge, milk chocolate cream, peanut crusty, mile chocolate shape(plate), peanut caramel, and sugar dough. The next photo is of "The Osmoses" and "The Java". The Osmoses contains; lemon cream, cheese sponge with lemon zests, lemon cheese cream, raspberry coulis, and "Breton" lemon dough. The Java contains; coconut sugar dough, exotic caramel with bananas, vanilla and rum cream, chocolate sponge, chocolate cream, and chocolate ganache. Monday morning came warm (it was 100 degrees at 9AM as i walked to the Rio) but not to fear the first class of the day was ENTREMET GLACE with Luciano Ferrari. This was the most product driven class of the entire week but the info and techniques were great. He produced two examples of his art. The first was called "Venetian Dream" and I quote"An elegant combination of chocolate and noisette in a variety of textures and the smooth and discrete emergence of a coffee note. All this will take you to the refined and animated atmosphere of the 18th century cafés of this charming city." It contained; chocolate biscuit with rum syrup, and layers of hazelnut semifreddo, and chocolate gelato and was coated in chocolate with chocolate decorations. The next example was called "Red Moon". Its description says" The ingredients and flavor combination determine a texture that is an exciting blend of delicacy and strength. Shapes and colors give the name to this creative preparation." One of the interesting things about this piece was the sugar decoration on the top. It was made by pouring melted isomalt into a bowl of small ice cubes. The moon contained Lemon sorbet, Strawberry biscuit glace, strawberry comfiture, praline pistachios, and was finished with a strawberry glaze, cookies and sugar decoration. The next photo shows the cut surfaces of the confections. The Monday afternoon class was VIENOISSERIE with Cifil Hitz. This class was fun and informative and produced a variety of breads that were either Brioche or Laminated. There was: a Strawberry almond brioche in paper pans; a Gibassier made with olive oil, orange blossom water, anise seed and candied orange peel; Rosemary Raisin suns; and monkey bread ( muffin cups filled with all the bits and pieces of left overs mixed with sugar and Cinnamon). The laminated items were; croissants, danishes, and snails. Thats it for today. Next its Petits Fours and Sugar Showpieces and some thoughts and photos of the demos at the Trade Show.

Well here it is better late than never. It seems that this report is to long winded for egullet (it keeps cutting me off and my post disappears) so I am going to break it down into installments. I will try to do a day or two at a time. So here goes. My class schedule was different than duck duck because we were on a different rotation. This kept the classes small and personal. My Friday started out with PLATED DESSERTS with Thomas Haas. He presented three courses ranging from light to heavy. He believes in simplicity in presentation usually limits himself to three distinct flavors plus seasonings. He uses stabilizers only occasionally to lengthen shelf life. The First course was Pineapple and Mango Pina Colada consisting of freshly shaved pineapples and mangoes, light coconut foam with white rum, minted sugar and Kalamansi sorbet. The Second course was Crispy Caramelized Rhubarb Tart with Fromage Blanc Sorbet consisting of phyllo pastry, poached rhubarb, vanilla creme brulee, and fromage blanc sorbet. The Third course was Dark Chocolate Fondant with Caramel and fleur de sel consisting of a crispy hazelnut base, chocolate fondant, soft caramel, fleur de sel, caramel ice cream and a baked chocolate truffle. Friday Afternoons class was CHOCOLATE SHOWPIECE with Jean-Philippe Maury, MOF His class focused on chocolate showpieces and how to make them three dimensional. The photos show both the front and the back of the same piece. Saturday Mornings class was FOUR SEASONS CHOCOLATES with Ralf Wellauer His class was entitled "Indulge your senses with Grand Cru chocolate infused with flowers, herbs, and spices. He made Rose Flower Truffles. Bon Bons made with Lavender and honey, peppered mango with macadamia nut and ginger, and spiced orange and rosemary. Saturday Afternoons class was ENTREMET AND ENTREMET TART with Laurent Branlard He produced four cakes. Each different and delicious. The Cocao Barry rep was also present and spoke about the new product called MYCRYO and how it could be used in the recipes in place of gelatin. The items presented were. A Lemonut tart composed of sweet dough, lemon jam, chocolate cake, lemon curd, hazelnut mousse, and chocolate glaze with candied lemon zest. An Equator Tart composed of sweet dough, almond cream, caramel cremeux, banana dackoise cake, exotic mousse, and caramelized pineapple. A Coffee Caramel Pecan cake composed of caramel glaze, caramel cremeux, coffee mousse, pecan dackoise, and caramelized pecans. An Exotic Orange Cake made with Passion fruit gelee, orange vanilla bavaroise, vanilla cremeux, honey cake, and white chocolate spray, He also did the sugar showpiece as part of the cake display. The cakes from left to right are Lemonut, Equator, Exotic, and Coffee. More adventures in Pastry Land tomorrow. Fred

Hi everyone. I totally agree with everything that Pam has said. Besides she says it so much better than I could. But thats another story. Sorry that I can't get the photo's up right away. I am involved with another activity that will keep me away from my computer until about the Th. Soooo if anyone has pictures feel free to post them and I will fill in if necessary when I return. Fred

Hi All. I was there (I am the one in the hat in the group picture) and I must say I was very impressed with the judging and the lengths that they, and Michael Schneider, went to to be fair to all the participants. If questions or problems arose the judges got together with the head judge, Jacques Torres, and the matter was solved. There were 24 judges ( 2 from each country involved) and during the 2 days that I was there and watched I never saw them act in any way other than professional and dignified. If you want to know who the actual judges are I suggest you go the the web page for the competition where they are listed. During my life I have been involved in several competitions. Flower arranging, garden design, boat restoration, and music and I have to say that it usually comes down to a few points that separate the winners from the runners up. When I have not done as well as I thought I should have it is usually because I have not placed as much importance on some aspect of the rules or procedures as I should have. Much has been said about the sugar and chocolate showpieces but it must be remembered that point wise they are not all that significant. Degustation has far greater impact point wise that anything else and this may have been the key factor in the US team win. I know for a fact that one team's Entremet (not the French or Belgian) was so salty that it was all but inedible and it is suspected that someone had, in the heat of battle so to speak, mistaken salt for sugar. I can't say why the controversy arose but it is interesting to note that the two teams involved are the second and third place teams not the other nine competing teams. It will be interesting see what happens as the details become known. In the mean time I think we need to be respectful of all parties involved.

Taste wise it was just as good this time. To be honest I don't remember if the center of the pizza was soft at lunch and there was no service to speak of. I must admit I was more critical at the dinner event, having read Irwin's submission but my reactions were the same as the others in the party and I had not let them know my feelings or discussed the comments of Irwin before hand as I wanted to hear their opinions based on this visit.

Hi Wendy. Just a thought. If you wanted to add a little lime to the finished curd but not have the green flecks how about adding a small amount of a good quality lime oil.

Welcome to eGullet Maggie. I have made many chess pies and it is a favorite in our house although I am from the Pacific Northwest. One recipe that I can recommend is the one form Carole Walter's book called "Great Pies & Tarts". It may not be the most authentic but it is a good recipe and a place to start. The difference between this recipe and the one above is the addition of lemon zest, juice, and a small amount of cornmeal. The lemon adds flavor without making it a lemon pie. Carol calls it "Anne Semmes' Lemon Chess Pie" To quote Carole "A lot has been written about chess pies but there history is somewhat vague. Nobody seems to be sure how it got its name. It has been attributed to the British, since many settlers of the middle South came from England where similar cheese pies and custard pies were known. The pie may have been called 'chest' pie to indicate that it held up well when stored in the pie safe or chest, an old piece of furniture with perforated tin panels". Well now you have your food history lesion for today. If you want the recipe email or PM me.

Well six of us had pizza, salad, and wine a couple of nights ago and to a person we would have to agree with Wesza/Irwin on all points . The salads were the best part of the dinner. All the food looked great and tasted very good but the pizza and the service left much to be desired. The toppings were mostly in the center, the center crust was underdone, and the staff is in serious need of training and leadership. Its a shame, the area need good restaurants and the place has so much potential.