"Chocolate Desserts" by Pierre Herme (Part 2)

[Ling]

That St. Honore is at the top of my list, along with the Nutella tart. Looks beautiful as always, Patrick! Do you like PH's choux recipe more, or the Pichet Ong one?

[Wendy DeBord]

just adding my two cents.... I think Ong's is better.

[Patrick S]

That St. Honore is at the top of my list, along with the Nutella tart. Looks beautiful as always, Patrick!  Do you like PH's choux recipe more, or the Pichet Ong one?

←

Actually, I used Ong's recipe. I have used PH's in the past to make eclairs, and I like Ong's a little better.

[freddurf]

For anyone who hasn't ordered his books yet, you can get both of his books for about $27.00 PLUS free shipping. What a deal! I finally ordered both for myself. Here's the link

http://www.ecookbooks.com/index.html

[SethG]

Nice Gateau, Patrick.

After a long hiatus I finally got back to Pierre on New Year's Eve, making Nayla's tart for a small gathering. I would have liked to try it with the optional creme Anglaise, but I only had time for the sweetened whipped cream option.

I loved the tart. I found the crust dough quite difficult to work with, but the recipe makes an ample amount for patching and pasting, and also for laying it in extra-thick as Dorie suggests. I ended up rolling the dough out in pieces and pushing it into my tart pan, but it baked up just fine and I think I much prefer the taste of the Nayla's tart dough to the chocolate/almond dough used in the Grenobloise.

I know it isn't one of baking's biggest challenges, but I still take great satisfaction from a perfect ganache, spread out in a crust like the shimmering surface of a lake. (Right before Eddie Grant steps off the couch and plunges in! (If you know what I'm sayin'. ))

The tart was perfect for New Year's Eve-- all class, pure luxury. And Pierre's crust makes it better than most chocolate tarts.

Edit: Holy shit, Patrick, that Mozart looks sensational!

Edited January 3, 2006 by SethG (log)

[Patrick S]

(Right before Eddie Grant steps off the couch and plunges in!  (If you know what I'm sayin'.  ))

←

Heh. Next time I make ganache, I'm positive I'll be hummin' "We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue. . . ." The fact that I knew exactly what you were talking about is probably proof that I watched too much MTV as a child.

[RDW]

I'm incredibly late to this thread, just recently joined eGullet. I've had both Herme books for a couple of years and had only tried the macaroons. But was inspired by this thread to pull the books out again and actually use them.

I made the hazelnut chocolate sables. They're fabulous, look like the photo, but I had breakage issues - the almond crust came apart from the chocolate center of about 25% of the cookies during handling (after they were baked). Did anyone else encounter this problem? I used the egg wash to affix the two doughs. Is this just something to be expected from this type of recipe?

Next on to the pave!

Thanks for all the inspiration.

[SethG]

(Right before Eddie Grant steps off the couch and plunges in!  (If you know what I'm sayin'.  ))

←

Heh. Next time I make ganache, I'm positive I'll be hummin' "We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue. . . ." The fact that I knew exactly what you were talking about is probably proof that I watched too much MTV as a child.

←

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

[Mel]

Daqouise query - I tried to make them but instead of a firm disc...mine were a bit floppy They tasted great but lacked the muscle to create a solid structure that you could cut into. Any advice as to what I might have done incorrectly? THX!!!

[Patrick S]

Daqouise query - I tried to make them but instead of a firm disc...mine were a bit floppy  They tasted great but lacked the muscle to create a solid structure that you could cut into. Any advice as to what I might have done incorrectly? THX!!!

←

The only possibility I can think of is that your dacquoise was underbaked. Did you bake long enough to get a little browning on the dacquoise? I seem to recall needing a bit more baking time than the book allotted.

[shelly59]

I'm incredibly late to this thread, just recently joined eGullet. I've had both Herme books for a couple of years and had only tried the macaroons

Hello and Welcome, RDW!! How did those macaroons turn out? I bought the book just to see if I could even remotely replicate the ones I had in Paris. What did you think?

[RDW]

I'm incredibly late to this thread, just recently joined eGullet. I've had both Herme books for a couple of years and had only tried the macaroons

Hello and Welcome, RDW!! How did those macaroons turn out? I bought the book just to see if I could even remotely replicate the ones I had in Paris. What did you think?

←

Macaroons turned out great. I did a hybrid of Mastering the Art of French Pastry and Pierre Herme's. Someone earlier in the thread recommended letting them sit out for about 30 minutes prior to baking, I agree, even though that is not completely referenced in the recipe (only in the recipe intro).

On the topic of macaroons, what filling do you typically use? I use ganache but whip it a bit to give it a fluffier texture, like that found in Laduree's version. Do other people do that too?

[FoodMan]

Daqouise query - I tried to make them but instead of a firm disc...mine were a bit floppy  They tasted great but lacked the muscle to create a solid structure that you could cut into. Any advice as to what I might have done incorrectly? THX!!!

←

The only possibility I can think of is that your dacquoise was underbaked. Did you bake long enough to get a little browning on the dacquoise? I seem to recall needing a bit more baking time than the book allotted.

←

You defintily underbaked them. I made the dacquoise recipe from the book (see my cake on previous page) and it came out awsome, but when I took them out based on the time alotted by the recipe I could immediatly tell they needed more time, they were pale and soft. So I baked them till slightly browned and dry-ish.

[Richard Kilgore]

I made the Genobloise and it was delicious. Sorry no photos this time.

I do have a few basic questions, but first help me salvage some collateral damage. Is there an easy way to clean up the pan, bowl and Taylor thermometer I used in making the caramel? I had to let it sit today and it has hardened.

[alanamoana]

fill pot with water and bring to a boil (with thermometer inside if you need to)

basically you just want to dilute the caramel and this is the easiest way. if you have a thick crust of hard caramel at the bottom of the pan, be careful as you heat it up because sometimes it can create a huge caramel bubble which can explode!

if your bowl fits in the pot as well, so much the better, kill three birds with one stove...

[Richard Kilgore]

Thanks, alanamoana. Everything cleaned up just fine.

[Mel]

Patrick S & Foodman - thanks so much for the info!!!! Now that you mention it...they were pretty pale last time

[Patrick S]

I finally made the Riviera from the first Desserts book. I've been wanting to make this for a long time. My version of the cake consists of, from top to bottom, flourless chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, more cake, thin layer or mousse, thin layer of lemon cream, more mousse, another layer of cake, and some cocoa powder.

[docsconz]

My goodness, I almost took a bite out of my screen!

[Dorie Greenspan]

Patrick, I love that you shot the cake on the fork, just like on the book's cover! The chocolate and lemon is an interesting match, isn't it? It's not one I usually like, but I think it works really well in this cake.

[Patrick S]

I loved the cake, but for anyone who doesn't like combining lemon with chocolate, just leave out the lemon cream disc, and you'll have a wonderful chocolate mousse cake.

One problem I had with was with the mousse. As I understand the recipe, it directs you to whip 1.75 cups of cream to medium peaks, and chill until ready to use. This is to be folded into 10ozs of chocolate that has been melted and cooled to 114F. The problem is that if you combine chilled whipped cream with warm chocolate, the chocolate starts to sieze up and you can hardly combine them. So what I did was warm the cream+chocolate over a double boiler just enough to get them combined, chilled it, then whipped it a bit.

[MightyD]

this is how i was taught - works perfectly every time:

- whip cream to very light peaks - set aside

- melt chocolate over double boiler until completely melted and very hot

- pour half of the lightly whipped cream over the very hot melted chocolate while whisking like mad

- once chocolate has been incorporated into the first half, you can take your time and pour in the rest of the cream and fold/whisk in without any fear of the chocolate seizing

never fails! key is to keep the chocolate very hot and whisk like a madman.

[Ling]

^Awesome picture...bet it tasted incredible too! I love the texture of an airy mousse against a dense chocolate cake.

[Patrick S]

Here is my attempt at the Plasir. I followed the recipe in the book, with the following exceptions: 1) I used some caramel ganache that I already had stored, 2) I substituted almonds for hazelnuts in the dacquoise, so it was an almong dacquoise with toasted hazelnut halves rather than a hazelnut dacquoise with toasted hazelnut halves, and 3) I made them as 4" rounds rather than 2x4" rectangles. One thing I will do differently next time is try harder to make the chocolate sheets as thin as possible. I was afraid of getting them too thin, so I ended up having some of them too thick.

[Ling]

OMG! You are the baking GOD, Patrick!

I was going to make the Plaisir for a dinner I had planned, but the guy wanted apple pie. Easier on me, I guess. But the Plaisir is on my list of culinary goals this year (along with cassoleut).