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"Chocolate Desserts" by Pierre Herme (Part 1)


SethG

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Hi all,

Dorie are you out there?  Im about to make the chocolate ice cream but I have NO powdered milk.  The bulk store in town recently closed and I am loathe to spend 6.99 on a bag of something I'll never use.  Additionally, our town only carries powdered skim milk.  Can I sub something else?

Thanks

Do you have any middle-eastern stores close by? If so, then you should be able to find whole powdered milk there. Look for KLIM or NIDO brands.

If all else fails, I think skim should be ok. I could be wrong, but I believe it is the proteins in the powdered milk that gives the ice cream a good texture. Skim milk still has those.

Elie

LOL, I wish there was a middle eastern store close. No such luck. Im in the middle of the country in Southwest Ontario. The closest large town is London. Anyway, I abandoned this recipe for now and pulled one off the web that calls for cornstarch. Im sure it wont be as good :sad: But it will have to do for now. I waited until the last minute to decide what to serve.

Corn starch in ice cream base = Frozen Pudding :wacko:. I think corn starch in any frozen concotion is evil. I would still try the fat-free powdered milk instead.

Elie

E. Nassar
Houston, TX

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

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CaliPoutine -- sorry, only just got on line. I've made the ice cream with powdered skim milk and it's been fine. That's the only substitution I've ever made on the recipe, but cornstarch doesn't sound like such a good idea. I think before I'd use cornstarch, I'd just omit the powdered milk. Wish I could be more certain, but, as I said, powdered skim is as daring a variation as I've attempted.

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Hi all,

Im about to make the chocolate ice cream but I have NO powdered milk.  The bulk store in town recently closed and I am loathe to spend 6.99 on a bag of something I'll never use.  Additionally, our town only carries powdered skim milk.  Can I sub something else?

Thanks

What I used was "Nestle Carnation Instant Nonfat Dry Milk" from the local grocery store. I'm not sure if it was the right substitution or not but the results were pretty outstanding... in fact, I'm planning to make another batch today! :wub:

Di

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Hi Everyone,

I didnt want to risk making the ice cream with powdered skim ( and I didnt want to buy such a huge amount) so I found another recipe for chocolate gelato. This one was from Williams sonoma, used eggs, chocolate and cocoa. It came out very good. I'll try Pierre's to compare when I can get to a big city and buy some powdered milk at the bulk store.

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Hi all:

I've been lurking long enough, reading your delicious comments. Last weekend, we made the chocolate sparklers (did not see any comments on this thread) and they were fantastic! I hid them away and made them last a week--just about as good on the last day as on the first. Crumbly and soft at the same time. The sugar on the outside did not look as good as in the pic in the book--a bit floury and not sparkly--maybe because I just used plain old sugar. This weekend--brownies or the mousse--those comments on the mousse are hard to pass up!

AEM

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I always seem to have an excess of egg whites, safely tucked away in the freezer. This weekend I defrosted some and made the Concord. I love a good Daquoise and this seemed similar without the nuts.

Due to a mistake in the procedures (mine not the reicpe’s) which I am too ashamed to tell what it was, my cake did not come out as amazing looking as the picture. However, one taste of this cake blew me away. It really is awesome with great texture and strong choco taste. The meringue turns soft and very lightly chewy, it almost melds with the mousse making a nice compact chocolate delight. It is one of those cakes that if I did not make it myself, it would have taken me a while to figure out what it is that makes it so good.

Next time I will make sure to read the recipe more carefully though :smile:.

gallery_5404_94_181993.jpg

Elie

E. Nassar
Houston, TX

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

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You beat me to the Concorde, Elie! Good job! Now that you've given it your endorsement, I'm definitely going to do this soon.

"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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Elie, Questions about the frozen egg whites. Do you freeze them individually or what? Any downside to using them? Do they whip up about the same volume or do you make an adjustment? I hate to say I've been tossing my extras.

And the cake looks great - looking forward to trying it!

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Elie,  Questions about the frozen egg whites. Do you freeze them individually or what? Any downside to using them? Do they whip up about the same volume or do you make an adjustment?  I hate to say I've been tossing my extras.

Thawed whites function just like fresh whites. They whip just like fresh whites. Just be sure you bring them up to room temp or a little higher for maximum volume, just as you would for fresh whites.

"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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Looks good, Elie! I'm dying to know what you did wrong. Did you make too little dacquoise? The cake pictured in the book is covered with quite a pile of the stuff.

I've been wondering how the dacquoise would taste in the cake. Now that you've described it I really want to give it a try.

"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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Well, I simply did not read the recipe properly and for some reason thought that the baking sheet with the single circle on it is meant only for the meringue pipes not for a third layer :sad:, since the recipe says 'pipe as many meringue pipes as you can on the sheet with the one circle' (and I kept wondering why on earth we need to draw a circle for :hmmm:).

So I actually ended up with too much piped meringue when I noticed during the assembly phase that I need a third layer. what to do? what to do? I put most of the pipes in the middle making a semi-layer between the two rounds. This caused the cake to have too much of a space and jagged edges on the sides, that's why I took my picture from the top. And I ended up with too little pipes to put on top (BTW, they would have come out a lot better if I had a 1/4 piping tip instead of a plastic ziplock bag).

Just had another slice and this thing keeps on getting better....

I freeze egg whites in small ramekins, two in each. Then remove and keep in a ziplock bag. Like Patrick said, they work great after they are brought to room temp. I cannot believe you were throwing these magic workers away!

Elie

E. Nassar
Houston, TX

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

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On a much more modest scale, tried the chocolate sorbet this week. texture was amazing, but having used scharfenburger 70%, it was a little too intense. Will definitely make again with a milder chocolate.

I really need to do some of the more serious baking, but not without dinner guests who will help us eat it all...

That concorde cake looks really good.

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Metric or imperial?????

This looks like a great book - and what awesome looking creations you all have put together from it!

Just a quick question, before I spend a lot of money getting the book to try to create some of the goodies: Are the measurements etc. in the book metric or imperial? Living in the land of metric, I always find it too much trouble converting recipes from imperial to metric unless there's a very good reason....

Thanks, and I hope to join the fun soon

/Mette

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If I recall correctly, all the recipes give both volumes and weights.

EDIT: Oops! Sorry, I didn't answer your question, Mette! Luckily Seth is paying attention.

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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Metric or imperial?????

This looks like a great book - and what awesome looking creations you all have put together from it!

Just a quick question, before I spend a lot of money getting the book to try to create some of the goodies: Are the measurements etc. in the book metric or imperial? Living in the land of metric, I always find it too much trouble converting recipes from imperial to metric unless there's a very good reason....

Thanks, and I hope to join the fun soon

/Mette

The weight measurements in the Chocolate book are metric (grams). The Desserts book doesn't give weight measurements, only volume.

"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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Well, I simply did not read the recipe properly and for some reason thought that the baking sheet with the single circle on it is meant only for the meringue pipes not for a third layer :sad:, since the recipe says 'pipe as many meringue pipes as you can on the sheet with the one circle' (and I kept wondering why on earth we need to draw a circle for :hmmm:).

So I actually ended up with too much piped meringue when I noticed during the assembly phase that I need a third layer. what to do? what to do? I put most of the pipes in the middle making a semi-layer between the two rounds. This caused the cake to have too much of a space and jagged edges on the sides, that's why I took my picture from the top. And I ended up with too little pipes to put on top (BTW, they would have come out a lot better if I had a 1/4 piping tip instead of a plastic ziplock bag).

I made the discs last night. My problem was that after I piped the discs, I had only enough meringue left to pipe maybe 10" worth of sticks. Probably, I made the discs too thick. I suppose I'll make some more meringue to make sticks. Also, I note that the sticks in the photograph in the book are different from the sticks that result from the recipe. The sticks in the photo are much lighter in color, are much more cylindrical in shape, and have been powdered with cocoa. So, I'm thinking I'll make another batch of meringue sticks using less cocoa and sugar, so I can get them to look like the ones in the book.

The final texture of the meringues was, like the last batch, shatteringly crisp. I tried a stick of meringue at the end of the baking time, and it had a slightly chewy center, which I liked. But after the end of hte drying in the oven, they were ultracrispy. I kinda liked the chewy center, so next time I might skip the post-baking cool-down in the oven.

"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 simply did not read the recipe properly and for some reason thought that the baking sheet with the single circle on it is meant only for the meringue pipes not for a third layer :sad:, since the recipe says 'pipe as many meringue pipes as you can on the sheet with the one circle' (and I kept wondering why on earth we need to draw a circle for :hmmm:).

So I actually ended up with too much piped meringue when I noticed during the assembly phase that I need a third layer. what to do? what to do? I put most of the pipes in the middle making a semi-layer between the two rounds. This caused the cake to have too much of a space and jagged edges on the sides, that's why I took my picture from the top. And I ended up with too little pipes to put on top (BTW, they would have come out a lot better if I had a 1/4 piping tip instead of a plastic ziplock bag).

I made the discs last night. My problem was that after I piped the discs, I had only enough meringue left to pipe maybe 10" worth of sticks. Probably, I made the discs too thick. I suppose I'll make some more meringue to make sticks. Also, I note that the sticks in the photograph in the book are different from the sticks that result from the recipe. The sticks in the photo are much lighter in color, are much more cylindrical in shape, and have been powdered with cocoa. So, I'm thinking I'll make another batch of meringue sticks using less cocoa and sugar, so I can get them to look like the ones in the book.

The final texture of the meringues was, like the last batch, shatteringly crisp. I tried a stick of meringue at the end of the baking time, and it had a slightly chewy center, which I liked. But after the end of hte drying in the oven, they were ultracrispy. I kinda liked the chewy center, so next time I might skip the post-baking cool-down in the oven.

I'm looking forward to see how this turns out. I noticed the same thing about the sticks. Also, the ones in the picture seem thicker than 1/4 inch.

BTW, the meringue will lose that ultra-crispiness after the cake is assembles, frozen and defrosted.

Elie

E. Nassar
Houston, TX

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

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Probably late by a few months but here's my attempt at the Nutella Tart. I made it as individual size as part of a chocolate tasting plate and it turned out very well.

gallery_15649_128_6010.jpg

I personally like the individual size better because it has a high portion of pate sucree to filling. I piped the Nutella into each tart shell for more even distribution. The ganache was a little tricky to work with because it has the tendency to split quite easily. I have experimented with saving some leftover ganache in the fridge, warm it to pouring consistency, and make a second batch the next day. The result is as good as the ones I made on day one.

This is a recipe that I'll probably come back again as part of a dessert buffet.

Candy Wong

"With a name like Candy, I think I'm destined to make dessert."

Want to know more? Read all about me in my blog.

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Probably late by a few months but here's my attempt at the Nutella Tart. I made it as individual size as part of a chocolate tasting plate and it turned out very well.

gallery_15649_128_6010.jpg

I personally like the individual size better because it has a high portion of pate sucree to filling. I piped the Nutella into each tart shell for more even distribution. The ganache was a little tricky to work with because it has the tendency to split quite easily. I have experimented with saving some leftover ganache in the fridge, warm it to pouring consistency, and make a second batch the next day. The result is as good as the ones I made on day one.

This is a recipe that I'll probably come back again as part of a dessert buffet.

Nice work, Candy!

"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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My problem was that after I piped the discs, I had only enough meringue left to pipe maybe 10" worth of sticks.

Patrick I got the same exact results when I made that (over a year ago). I can't see how anyone would have more left. What I did was, make a second batch and piped the whole batch into sticks. Then my finished cake looked just like the photograph, completely full of meringue sticks.

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I would go ahead with the non fat dry milk.

I've usually used that in all of my ice cream bases and they've never lacked richness or fullness.

I just recently used 'NIDO' whole milk powder in Miami and it was cool but I didn't really get a chance to compare a lot of recipes back to back.

You would be able to get it in any Spanish food store too, maybe even a French grocery store.

Re: A large quanity of NFDM left over: It might be fun to experiment with the Hermes Choc ice cream recipe sans chocolate. Use a fruit or some vanilla as a substitute.

Good Luck!

Hi all,

Dorie are you out there?  Im about to make the chocolate ice cream but I have NO powdered milk.  The bulk store in town recently closed and I am loathe to spend 6.99 on a bag of something I'll never use.  Additionally, our town only carries powdered skim milk.  Can I sub something else?

Thanks

Do you have any middle-eastern stores close by? If so, then you should be able to find whole powdered milk there. Look for KLIM or NIDO brands.

If all else fails, I think skim should be ok. I could be wrong, but I believe it is the proteins in the powdered milk that gives the ice cream a good texture. Skim milk still has those.

Elie

2317/5000

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The Nutella tartlet looks really good. I'm also looking forward to seeing Partick's Concorde. I'm really interested to see a shot of a slice, if you're taking requests, Patrick! I want to see how the layers end up looking.

"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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