Exotic Orange Cake

[amccomb]

Where can I order froze fruit puree online? I've searched locally and come up empty handed.

[Patrick S]

You might want to check large liquor stores. I buy a frozen fruit mix (Passion Fruit, Mango, many other flavors) that is made of puree, sugar and citric acid. I can't remember the brand name, but I think it is "____ Island" or something like that. If the recipe calls for sugar to be mixed with puree, you can use this stuff, and adjust the sugar accordingly.

[Patrick S]

Its Island Oasis brand. BTW, mix IO brand Passionfruit (or mango, or pineapple, or a mixture) with vanilla vodka, and use a dropper or syringe to put a tablespoon or so of Chambord on the bottom of the glass (looks like a cherry on the bottom), and you have a killer cocktail.

[alanamoana]

PatrickS,

just a quick question on the gelee...it looks like a rather thick layer to my eye. does the recipe call for that, or is it a matter of personal taste? i feel like (just from seeing, not tasting) that it might cover up the other flavors of the cake and bavarois? what do you think?

edited to add: it is beautiful!

Edited August 1, 2006 by alanamoana (log)

[duckduck]

The original from the class was very thin and there were several thin inner layers not just one of each mousse. It would look more like the entremets you see in PA&D.

[Patrick S]

PatrickS,

just a quick question on the gelee...it looks like a rather thick layer to my eye.  does the recipe call for that, or is it a matter of personal taste?  i feel like (just from seeing, not tasting) that it might cover up the other flavors of the cake and bavarois?  what do you think?

edited to add:  it is beautiful!

←

Proportionally, the gelee layer is quite thick. Its slightly thicker than it should be, because the gelee was molded in an 8" pan rather than a 8 3/4" mold, as the recipe called for. It didn't overwhelm the other layers, but I personally I think it would be best if all the layers were about equal thickness. This was my first time using this recipe, and I'll probably reduce the size of the gelee layers next time around.

[oli]

PatrickS,

just a quick question on the gelee...it looks like a rather thick layer to my eye.  does the recipe call for that, or is it a matter of personal taste?  i feel like (just from seeing, not tasting) that it might cover up the other flavors of the cake and bavarois?  what do you think?

edited to add:  it is beautiful!

←

Proportionally, the gelee layer is quite thick. Its slightly thicker than it should be, because the gelee was molded in an 8" pan rather than a 8 3/4" mold, as the recipe called for. It didn't overwhelm the other layers, but I personally I think it would be best if all the layers were about equal thickness. This was my first time using this recipe, and I'll probably reduce the size of the gelee layers next time around.

←

Patrick, what is that dark ring around your cake in the photo, or is that a metal ring that you used for assembly?

Edited August 2, 2006 by oli (log)

[Patrick S]

PatrickS,

just a quick question on the gelee...it looks like a rather thick layer to my eye.  does the recipe call for that, or is it a matter of personal taste?  i feel like (just from seeing, not tasting) that it might cover up the other flavors of the cake and bavarois?  what do you think?

edited to add:  it is beautiful!

←

Proportionally, the gelee layer is quite thick. Its slightly thicker than it should be, because the gelee was molded in an 8" pan rather than a 8 3/4" mold, as the recipe called for. It didn't overwhelm the other layers, but I personally I think it would be best if all the layers were about equal thickness. This was my first time using this recipe, and I'll probably reduce the size of the gelee layers next time around.

←

Patrick, what is that dark ring around your cake in the photo, or is that a metal ring that you use for assembly?

←

The cake is sitting on the base of a 9" springform pan, which the cake was assembled in, and the cake+springform base are sitting on a glass cake stand.

[alanamoana]

thanks for the reply patrick. sounds good.

i meant to ask you about this on the dessert thread...you posted a mousse roll recently...did you use a specific recipe for the sponge? it rolled so perfectly, no cracking etc. a thing of beauty. maybe i should post this over there?

[K8memphis]

I've got the cakes baked. And I'm in process of making a run to the store/s for the vanilla beans, purees, some more eggs & stuff. But nobody seems to have the purees in Memphis that I can find. sniff

Maybe I should call a restaurant.

Edited to say: ok I went back & read page 2. So I will try the liquor stores to find the Island Oasis stuff. Thanks, guys.

Edited August 2, 2006 by K8memphis (log)

[K8memphis]

Well, I wound up with some Queensberry Passion Fruit jelly with seeds and some dried mango. I mean I coulda got some fresh mango I guess. But come to think of it I didn't see any mango while I was out but the dried stuff.

But Tennessee liquor stores only sell products with alcohol in them. Even mixers have 1% alcohol or something weird. So nobody in the state has the frozen stuff.

And so I'm not doing the vanilla beans either--I'll just use the extract. Next time I make this I'll order ahead & get the purees in & do the real vanilla beans.

So I'll hold back on the gelatin for the gelee.

[Patrick S]

But Tennessee liquor stores only sell products with alcohol in them. Even mixers have 1% alcohol or something weird. So nobody in the state has the frozen stuff.

←

Not that this bit of trivia will do you any good, but virtally anything made from fruit will have trace amounts of alcohol in it, as does virtually anything that includes vanilla extract as an ingredient, though the prevailing definition of non-alcoholic beverage is IIRC anything that contains less than 0.5% alcohol.

[K8memphis]

Yeah, I mean they can't even sell Coke or Pepsi anything.

I just broke my cream anglaise grr. It was perfect a minute ago

This cake is for Chef-boy who is flying home for a minute. Hope I can pull it off. He'll love me anyway.

I mean where he works is so ooolala ~~ He's talking about the florist at work. I said I never heard of a restaurant that had an on staff florist. He said, "Mom, we've got three."

Now I gotta zest three more dang oranges...

[K8memphis]

A question though. I've figured out that the gelatin is .35 ounce for the cream anglaise part--umm, that is the weight of the powder right?

I bet I need to translate that from sheet gelatin huh?

Isn't there a bit of a conversion from gelatin sheets to powder gelatin?

[Patrick S]

A question though. I've figured out that the gelatin is .35 ounce for the cream anglaise part--umm, that is the weight of the powder right? 

I bet I need to translate that from sheet gelatin huh?

Isn't there a bit of a conversion from gelatin sheets to powder gelatin?

←

You don't need to convert anything. I used powdered gelatin in the amounts specified in the recipe, bloomed in water and melted in the microwave, and nothing turned out under- or overfirm.

[K8memphis]

Good that's what I've done. Thanks, Patrick.

Now, umm, how does your cremeux taste??? I think I made a big mistake not getting the vanilla beans & using extract instead. Mine is a super light flavor. My husband likes all the different flavors. I imagine when I put them all together it will be fine. I will make this again with real purees and vanilla beans. I really like the honey cake.

[K8memphis]

I used the cream anglaise formula from Pierre Herme's book. Cook to 180 degrees??? That proved killer for my anglaise. My friends told me that's egg scramble temp.

I mean I had my stuff fine, then I kept stirring to get it the right temp & it broke. So of course the moral of the story is next time I won't use the thermometer. But with all due respect to Dorie and Pierre isn't that a bit hot? How do you keep it from boiling if it gets that hot?

[Patrick S]

Now, umm, how does your cremeux taste??? I think I made a big mistake not getting the vanilla beans & using extract instead. Mine is a super light flavor.

←

The flavor is pretty light even with the vanilla beans, and not very sweet either (only 60g of caramelized sugar to 480g of cream and yolks). My personal preference would be for it to be a bit sweeter, but that is true with a lot of recipes. The flavor of the bavaroise is also light, and I am definitely going to reduce the amount of whipped cream in it if I make it again. The orange anglaise base actually tasted fantastic, it just got a little too diluted in all that whipped cream, IMHO.

Edited August 3, 2006 by Patrick S (log)

[Patrick S]

I used the cream anglaise formula from Pierre Herme's book. Cook to 180 degrees??? That proved killer for my anglaise. My friends told me that's egg scramble temp. 

←

It would be if the yolks were not well-mixed with all that milk and sugar. I've cooked many a custard and curd to 180 with no or almost not scramble.

So of course the moral of the story is next time I won't use the thermometer. But with all due respect to Dorie and Pierre isn't that a bit hot? How do you keep it from boiling if it gets that hot?

←

180 is basically the highest of what you would cook an anglaise too, and if you go much past that you will definitely start to scramble the eggs, but 180 itself is not too hot. Of course, you should be stirring constantly as the anglaise heats up, so that the anglaise on the bottom of the pan doesn't curdle before the anglaise on the top even thickens, and if it starts to break, pull it from the heat quickly and keep stirring. As far as how to keep from boiling -- you won't reach a boil until you get to ~212. As you approach your target temperature, you can reduce the heat (keep whisking though) so that the temperature of the anglaise is rising slowly, which will make it easy to get where you want to be without going over.

[K8memphis]

Cool. My biggest issue is that Chef-boy always snarks my instant read thermometers and I was using a candy thermometer. I just wasn't quick enough and I think I'll read some other cream anglaise directions. I just parked on Pierre's directions and should have had the right equipment.

But umm, my chef-friend says she makes hot chocolate with cream anglaise. Whoa whoa whoa does that not sound amazing?! Something that ultimately decadent would be worth the effort needed to fight off the resulting cellulite.

And my other friend said that you can rehabilitate the broken CA in a blender. Then Chef-boy said that's not really a good idea. But if it ever hapens again (breaks) while I'm juggling thermometers, I'm gonna try it.

The 'leaves a clear path on the back of the spoon' method is so much more user friendly.

Edited August 3, 2006 by K8memphis (log)

[alanamoana]

temperature is a good guide, but it is more for safety's sake than anything else (pasteurization). cook it until it looks/feels thick. it will continue to thicken as it "ripens" in the ice bath and then under refrigeration.

always have an ice bath prepared to cool your anglaise so that it doesn't continue to cook once you take it off the heat. even a few seconds sitting on the counter can turn a beautiful anglaise into a scrambled mess if you took it to the edge over the heat and then have to "scramble" to get your ice bath together.

burr mixing is a last ditch effort to fix a broken/scrambled anglaise. if you do it, understand that your anglaise won't end up as thick because you've just broken down all the egg protein that has coagulated...and then over-coagulated. just like when you over-scramble eggs, the proteins get so tight, they squeeze all the liquid out and you have a separated mess.

[K8memphis]

Yep, I had my ice bath ready. It was a little melty waiting for the second batch to get done but still...

And I'm glad I did all that. It pushes my limits doing stuff like that. Feels good. That honey cake is the bombshabomb~~a great canvas.

[K8memphis]

Bwoo wah ha ha ha ha!!! It's awesome all put together!!!!

Whooo hooo hooo. The gentle flavors are just the perfect accent with the burst of flavor in the gelee. Perfect perfect summer cake. It is exotic. I was tasting everything and while it was still warm too and it was not working for me. Especially because I'd never had it before. Just baking & making blind. I bet it's even better with the real purees & vanilla beanies. But I did cut back on the whipped cream in the bavaroise like Patrick suggested.

It is totally amazing. ~~clapping hands smilie face~~

Now on the gelee, I warmed then strained the passion fruit jelly. And I simmered a hand full of the dried mango down~~I did de-glaze the pan with a teensly bit of grand marnier--then I pureed the mango with the strained pf jelly and strained it all again. Added the bit of corn syrup and gelatin and vanilla. That stuff is good.

I'd never made bavaroise, or cremeux and never had passion fruit before. Stretched my limits. Way cool.

Thank you all. Hey, it did knock my socks off!!

Edited August 3, 2006 by K8memphis (log)

[Desiderio]

Ok silly question be patience please

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.

Could it be possible to make the gelee into a mold of that size 8 in by 3/8 in, and build the cake around the gele instead using the foam mold ?

I mean if the gelee is firm enough could it work ?

Thank you for this fantastic recipe by the way and for everyone that posted their results , they look faboulous ,its been very long time since I have made one of this type of cakes , I should get my hands back to it though , maybe I ll give this a try .

Thank you.

Edited August 4, 2006 by Desiderio (log)

[K8memphis]

Ok silly question be patience please 

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.

Could it be possible to make the gelee into a mold of that size 8 in by 3/8 in, and build the cake around the gele instead using the foam mold ?

I mean if the gelee is firm enough could it work ?

←

But you have the bavaroise to deal with too. Hmm, it's actually very very easy. I used the ring from my springform pan which made it a snap to un-mold. Since I've done it once and it is as easy as it is I would not even try to work it out the other way. I think the surface of the gelee would get marred any other way. But greater minds than mine will answer.

I want to try the heart shaped one.