"Chocolate Desserts" by Pierre Herme (Part 2)

[Ling]

^If my photos or desserts ever become half as good as Patrick's, I'll be more than content.

I should've thought of this earlier, but I'll post it here for all you would-be Tarte Grenobloise bakers--if you use cocoa instead of bench flour, you'll eliminate the faint dusting of white on the outside crust. That's what I'm going to do next time.

[Dorie Greenspan]

The latest batch of desserts -- the ingeniously-made savarin, the dacquoise and the tarte grenobloise -- look terrific.

Ling, your suggestion about rolling the chocolate tart dough in cocoa rather than white flour is a good one. Another possibility is to roll the dough between sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper using no flour or cocoa -- it's what I usually do, as much to avoid adding more flour or cocoa to the dough as to make rolling the finicky dough a little easier.

[Ling]

Rolling between plastic is a great tip! Thanks, Dorie!

[SethG]

Nice work, Ling. Looks great!

[FoodMan]

Ling, it does look amazing, and the filling looks good enough to scoop up and eat! i have to make this one soon

[Richard Kilgore]

Looks awfully good to me, but if that little bit of flour really bothers you, Ling, you can ship it down here.

[Ling]

Thanks for the kind words! This is definitely a recipe I will make again and again! (Especially since I picked up my Valrhona Guanaja today!)

[DiH]

Looks awfully good to me, but if that little bit of flour really bothers you, Ling, you can ship it down here.

←

I soooooooo agree... terrific job, Ling!

Richard, let me know when it arrives... I'll come share it with you!!!

Di

[Kim D]

This was my first time using a tart ring.  (Why do I feel dirty when I say "tart ring?").

←

A year or more ago, I wanted to buy a tart ring. Because a recipe said to use one. I didn't know what it was, so I searched for it on Amazon. The results weren't what I was expecting.

So, I complained. And they listened.

If you do that same search now, you get books with the word "Ring" in the title as well as Tart Rings. And at the bottom of the list, you get this message: "These search results have been filtered to remove adult products."

Much better.

Back on topic, I love reading this thread but I can't bring myself to buy the books. Because I have no willpower when it comes to sweets. I must live vicariously through you all instead.

- Kim

Edited December 11, 2005 by Kim D (log)

[filipe]

This one doesn't come in the book... but it's my "house-version" of Mounsieur Hermé's this season's "Truffes Au Chocolat Au Lait & Thé Vert". I didn't taste them since I don't go to Paris for about 1 1/2 years, but anyway I decided to make it a try... What do you think of them?

Edited December 20, 2005 by filipe (log)

[shelly59]

Has anyone tried the Hot Chocolate recipes from the book? I want to serve something approximating what we had at Cafe Angelina in Paris on Christmas Morning.

[Patrick S]

Has anyone tried the Hot Chocolate recipes from the book? I want to serve something approximating what we had at Cafe Angelina in Paris on Christmas Morning.

←

I tried the classic hot chocolate and the caramelized cinnamon hot chocolate. Both were great, though I used a bit more sugar than the recipe called for.

[Patrick S]

I tried the Mozart from Desserts by Pierre Herme. It is made with 3 discs of Herme's cinnamon dough, sandwiching two layers of chocolate-apple-cinnamon mousse. The mousse is made with a cinnamon-infused ganache, into which is folded whipped whites and about a cup of finely diced caramelized apples. For the chocolate, I used Valrhona Le Noir Gastronomie 61%.

Edited December 19, 2005 by Patrick S (log)

[shelly59]

I tried the classic hot chocolate and the caramelized cinnamon hot chocolate. Both were great, though I used a bit more sugar than the recipe called for.

Thanks, Patrick

And, boy! Does your Mozart look delicious

[CanadianBakin']

Patrick, it looks gorgeous as usual! I've noticed lately that you haven't been posting if you liked the desserts. Maybe you're posting the pictures before you get a chance to try them...I'd love to know how it tasted.

[ALTAF]

WOW...........elegant dessert

[Patrick S]

Patrick, it looks gorgeous as usual! I've noticed lately that you haven't been posting if you liked the desserts. Maybe you're posting the pictures before you get a chance to try them...I'd love to know how it tasted. 

←

Thanks, CB, Altaf, and Shelly.

I hadn't actually eaten any of the Mozart before I posted the pictures, though I had tried some of the leftover mousse. In fact, I held off for a day trying to get some decent pictures before I started cutting it. Overall it is very good, but not something I'll be making on a regular basis, as I do with several of Hermes other recipes. The combination of chocolate, cinnamon and apple works better than I would have expected.

[shaloop]

Here's my Tarte Grenobloise:

This looks wonderful! Is it possible to get the recipe?

[FoodMan]

Patrick- This looks awsome, is the dough more or less a sort of sweet tart dough?

I love the Classic Hot Chocolate recipe, it is thick, rich and lovely. I never add more sugar to it since I like my chocolate a little less sweet.

[RuthWells]

I tried the Mozart from Desserts by Pierre Herme. It is made with 3 discs of Herme's cinnamon dough, sandwiching two layers of chocolate-apple-cinnamon mousse. The mousse is made with a cinnamon-infused ganache, into which is folded whipped whites and about a cup of finely diced caramelized apples. For the chocolate, I used Valrhona Le Noir Gastronomie 61%.

This one is in my file of things to try someday when I'm feeling ambitious. You may have just solved my dilemma of what to make for Christmas dessert....

[Patrick S]

Patrick- This looks awsome, is the dough more or less a sort of sweet tart dough?

←

Kinda, but it is not as sweet, and it is much more delicate than Herme's sweet tart dough.

[R Washburn]

Patrick,

Which of Herme's desserts are you going to make again? So far the Pave, Plaisir Sucre and the Daiquoise are my "winners".

[Patrick S]

Patrick,

          Which of Herme's desserts are you going to make again?  So far the Pave, Plaisir Sucre and the Daiquoise are my "winners".

←

The Pave and daqouise are keepers for me too. In addition, I still love Herme's macaroon recipe, sweet tart dough, Nutella tart and variations on that, chocolate-caramel truffles, chocolate ice cream (especially when semi-frozen), and the lemon cream.

[FoodMan]

Has anyone tried the Hot Chocolate recipes from the book? I want to serve something approximating what we had at Cafe Angelina in Paris on Christmas Morning.

←

I tried the classic hot chocolate and the caramelized cinnamon hot chocolate. Both were great, though I used a bit more sugar than the recipe called for.

←

And I thought the "classic hot chocolate" was good! I made it everytime I wanted a cup of hot chocolate. However, after reading Patrick's recommnedation for the caramalized cinnamon one I gave it a try and it is out of this world. I had it 3 or 4 times over Xmas weekend. It is my current all time favorite.

[Patrick S]

I made a variation on Herme's variation on the Gateau St. Honore. I made two mini gateaux instead of one large one. I filled one with chocolate whipped cream, and the other with chocolate pastry cream, which is also used to fill the caramel-covered choux puffs. I preferred the heavier pastry cream. The vanilla-flavored pears taste really good (the pears are poached/soaked overnight in a vanilla syrup).