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"Chocolate Desserts" by Pierre Herme (Part 1)


SethG

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Thanks for the compliments!

I just made one cake, and I made it using volume measurements because my kitchen scale died. :angry:

I also meant to top it with cocoa powder as suggested in the recipe, but I brought the cake to my aunt's house and forgot the powder. I can't say it tasted as if anything was missing.

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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The macaroons look awesome Elie and the Pave is supurb Seth.

I made a Pave today as well.

gallery_20283_442_1104708002.jpg

And here's a cross section.

gallery_20283_442_1104708831.jpg

The ganache just melts in your mouth. I was surprised how light it feels considering how much butter and cream there is. I was wondering as I was going through the steps of making the ganache if it would be worth the work-it was.

Not sure what I'll try next. I do have some sweet tart dough in the freezer to use up. I was thinking of making little tartlets with the dough and filling them with the chocolate mousse. Gotta get through the cake first though.

Sandra

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Mama! Gorgeous pave! Your cake looks very moist. I tried to heed Patrick's advice and go all out with the soaking syrup, but I think I could've gone even further than I did.

Edited by SethG (log)

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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The ganache just melts in your mouth.  I was surprised how light it feels considering how much butter and cream there is.

I had exactly the same thought when I made the ganache. You'd never guess it has 3/4lb of butter. I just love the caramel ganache.

One day I'd really like to experiment more with the combination of caramel and ganache. I'd like to go use even more caramel and see how that works.

Good job, Sandra!

Edited by Patrick S (log)

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced" - Vincent Van Gogh
 

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All these amazing Paves!! I know I will be dreaming of this stuff now. It looks so good. Soon I will try this as well. I found some small disposable loaf pans in the back of my cupboard. Should I try making a few mini paves maybe?

Elie

E. Nassar
Houston, TX

My Blog
contact: enassar(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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Go for the mini Pave's. I made one in an 8 1/2 inch loaf pan and one in a 5 inch disposable pan. The small ones are kinda cute and the kids had to eat the smaller one first.

Seth, I have never soaked a cake with syrup before. I had less than a tablespoon left when I was done. I'll see how moist the second pave is today(I think I overcooked it a bit)

Sandra

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Patrick, Mama and Seth -- I giggled when I read your comments about being surprised at how light the ganache tasted and felt. For a long time I've referred to Pierre's desserts as dangerously or deceptively light -- they have an incredibly light feel and they never taste heavy, so you eat and eat and eat and completely forget that you've used the equivalent of a day's production from a large dairy farm to make the little sweet. For all the recipes of his I've made, I've never figured out how he manages this cunning culinary slight of hand.

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The mousse. Is it a mousse or an unbaked souffle? To explain, when I first got the book my wife looked at the cover and said "ooh, chocolate souffle". So I flipped through the pages and informed her that it was a mousse not a souffle and never even read the intro or the instructions until today. PH does not use whipped cream in this confection but rather only whipped egg whites creating an airy "mousse". It just sounds like it would taste and feel like a souffle (it sure looks like one). Now, I have not tried this recipe yet but I am very intrigued by it. A mousse is supposed to have whipped cream or it is not a mousse. right?

I just thought this might be an interesting topic for discussion. Anyone thinking about trying this? or already did?

Elie

E. Nassar
Houston, TX

My Blog
contact: enassar(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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No, a mousse would not by definition have to contain cream, though some mousses do. Most definitions of mousse define it as a foamy textured dish based either on eggs and/or cream. I would consider a bavaroise of whipped cream set with gelatin to be a particular type of mousse, but still a mousse. Traditionally though I think the foaminess of mousse comes from whipped egg whites. I dont know how to define souffle, but Ive always thought of it as a baked dish.

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced" - Vincent Van Gogh
 

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Patrick-

Thanks for clarifying. See, what I am getting at is the following. Is it common to make a chocolate mousse in this method? or is this a PH adaptaion in order to make it light in texture and more intensly chocolaty? Since there is no cream, I would think the chocolate flavor would be even more pronounced.

Elie

E. Nassar
Houston, TX

My Blog
contact: enassar(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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A mousse has either whipped whites, sometimes meringued ( in any style:ie: French or Italian, not often swiss), yolks often, and or whipped cream, often only whipped to the 'half' whipped stage or soft peaks.

Sometimes it will have all three additions, sometimes only two or even one.

I think you would only add gelatine if you were using it in a mold with cake, etc.

Also, a lot of newer mousse recipes are anglaise based and I'm wondering if the P.H. "Pro" book has any of those recipes.

Those anglaise based mousses seem to always use gelatine, just a bit, in them.

Also, when I half whip cream on a K.A., I always bring it to the stage off the machine by hand using the machine whisk.

Otherwise it always seems to be over or underwhipped.

2317/5000

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I didnt take any photos or anything, but I made the 'classic hot chocolate' from the book. I made it because saturday I was listening to National Public Radio, and this fellow was talking about how 'real' hot chocolate should be made with chocolate and cocoa, or chocolate only, but not with cocoa only. It occurred to me then that I had never actually made hot chocolate with chocolate, so I picked up a bar of Le Noir Gastronomie and made some. Man was it good. Maybe its the heat or something, but the flavor seems twice as intense in the hot chocolate as opposed to just eating out of hand, plus it seems to accentuate more of the 'exotic' wine/coffee/nutty tastes in good chocolate. If you're like me and have only had mass produced cocoa hot chocolate, try it with some high quality bittersweet.

Edited by Patrick S (log)

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced" - Vincent Van Gogh
 

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I gave the mousse a try tonight, since it is so simple to prepare and I always have extra egg whites in the freezer. I have to say that I was a little skeptical at first but the result was nothing less than stellar. Once the mousse is plated it is very "airy" and foamy. However after resting in the fridge for an hour or so, we get this

gallery_5404_94_1104985258.jpg

(My chocolate desserts always seem darker in the picture than they really are!)

it settles down a bit and turns into a luscious, creamy pure chocolate confection. It definitly is different than the whipped cream mousse I am used to, it's lighter, less cloying and more chocolaty. I had two of those ramekins myself :shock: . I will be making this treat often.

Elie

E. Nassar
Houston, TX

My Blog
contact: enassar(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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I didnt take any photos or anything, but I made the 'classic hot chocolate' from the book. I made it because saturday I was listening to National Public Radio, and this fellow was talking about how 'real' hot chocolate should be made with chocolate and cocoa, or chocolate only, but not with cocoa only. It occurred to me then that I had never actually made hot chocolate with chocolate, so I picked up a bar of Le Noir Gastronomie and made some. Man was it good. Maybe its the heat or something, but the flavor seems twice as intense in the hot chocolate as opposed to just eating out of hand, plus it seems to accentuate more of the 'exotic' wine/coffee/nutty tastes in good chocolate. If you're like me and have only had mass produced cocoa hot chocolate, try it with some high quality bittersweet.

And if you have one of those Mexican tools for whipping the hot chocolate, you get a great foamy topping for your cup of hot chocolate. I think it is called a molinillo. I got mine in San Miguel last year and love it and love the way it froths up the chocolate.

an aside, I worked with David Guas when he was one of the guys in the bake shop at the Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans. Nice guy.

It is good to be a BBQ Judge.  And now it is even gooder to be a Steak Cookoff Association Judge.  Life just got even better.  Woo Hoo!!!

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I know it is off topic a bit, but his Lemon Tart is killer. I did one for Christmas. Tart, not too sweet, and it just sings of lemon in your mouth. Maybe drizzle a little bittersweet chocolate over one. Why didn't I think of that earlier.

It is good to be a BBQ Judge.  And now it is even gooder to be a Steak Cookoff Association Judge.  Life just got even better.  Woo Hoo!!!

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I didnt take any photos or anything, but I made the 'classic hot chocolate' from the book. I made it because saturday I was listening to National Public Radio, and this fellow was talking about how 'real' hot chocolate should be made with chocolate and cocoa, or chocolate only, but not with cocoa only. It occurred to me then that I had never actually made hot chocolate with chocolate, so I picked up a bar of Le Noir Gastronomie and made some. Man was it good. Maybe its the heat or something, but the flavor seems twice as intense in the hot chocolate as opposed to just eating out of hand, plus it seems to accentuate more of the 'exotic' wine/coffee/nutty tastes in good chocolate. If you're like me and have only had mass produced cocoa hot chocolate, try it with some high quality bittersweet.

And if you have one of those Mexican tools for whipping the hot chocolate, you get a great foamy topping for your cup of hot chocolate. I think it is called a molinillo. I got mine in San Miguel last year and love it and love the way it froths up the chocolate.

an aside, I worked with David Guas when he was one of the guys in the bake shop at the Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans. Nice guy.

We do have a millinillo as well, a gift from my father in law who bought it in Colombia. However, I prefer using a blender to make hot chocolate like PH recommends. It is much faster and produces excellent results. I also use the blender to make outstanding Mexican hot chocolate (from Oaxacan chocolate disks) that comes out very frothy and smooth to serev with churros (This I think is from a Rick Bayless book).

Elie

E. Nassar
Houston, TX

My Blog
contact: enassar(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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That mousse looks really good.

I think I'm giving Pierre a rest this weekend. I'm considering some tunnel of fudge instead (in honor of the departed bundt pan inventor).

Anyone else making anything?

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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Nope, but with all the snow in Chicago, the kids and I went sledding yesterday. So naturally I had to make Pierre's Classic Hot Chocolate. I won't be buying that powdered junk from the store anymore! I can't wait to try some of the other hot chocolates. (stupid diet)

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I'm not making anything from CDBPH this weekend, but I have made something from the earlier Herme/Greenspan 'Desserts' book - Herme's Lemon Cream. This can be used as filling for Herme's lemon tart, or as a middle stratum between chocolate cakes in Herme's Riviera. This is easily the creamiest and most delicious lemon 'curd' I've ever had. Its lighter in color because it has so much butter, and because it is whipped with an immersion blender to finish. I could really just eat this stuff all by itself, something I cant say about any other lemon 'curd.' I've been tasked with making "something lemon" for my father on his upcoming 60th birthday, and I don't know yet what I'll prepare, but this will be a part of it.

gallery_23736_355_1105151088.jpg

Edited by Patrick S (log)

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced" - Vincent Van Gogh
 

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well i finally made something!! been too busy with christmas baking and vacations and such that i didn't really get a chance to bake anything yet until tonight!! and i finally got around to making that nutella tart.. i'm just a little behind. :raz: but it's okay, you guys can just get a .. reminder of how great it was! :wink:

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that's my tart!! it was my first time using a tart ring.. a little nervous! but it wasn't difficult at all. really nice and delicious tart!! loooove nutella. i also only used half a cup of hazelnuts.. i finished the tart pretty late tonight and just ended up eating it warm because i didn't want to wait until it completely cooled... but it was very tasty that way too. going to try it tomorrow at room temperature! can't wait to bake more, and hopefully it won't take me so long to do so! :smile:

awesome work to all of you guys!! it's been great reading and seeing all the great desserts.

Edited by yellowmnm81 (log)

follow my food adventures as

the sweet gourmand

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Good job, yellowmnm81. Looks great.

i finished the tart pretty late tonight and just ended up eating it warm because i didn't want to wait until it completely cooled... but it was very tasty that way too. going to try it tomorrow at room temperature!

Try a slice cooled in the fridge too. I like it best that way.

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced" - Vincent Van Gogh
 

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