"Chocolate Desserts" by Pierre Herme (Part 1)

[SethG]

How many servings do you need? Others on this thread have done more of the cakes than I have, but I thought the Pave came out really great. There are a few components, but they aren't difficult, and can be done in advance.

[docsconz]

I only "need" about six servings, although I don't mind having some left over.

[SethG]

I only "need" about six servings, although I don't mind having some left over.

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Then one Pave cake is plenty.

[docsconz]

That looks like a doable (for me) recipe. I think i'll try it.

[tan319]

Even though recipe mistakes are a pain, this book is one of the more solid mainstreamish ones that exist, IMHO.

It's a good idea to stick to a recipes directions though.

It's always a bit scary when you're doing something you're not real sure of and for me, rice pudding (and creme brulee) are STILL the ones where I'm always wondering...

Just for the record, I made the rice pudding from CDPH before the corrections were graciously offered by Dorie and although it did thicken up quite a bit, it was enjoyed at a party my family was invited to as a component of a parfait that included a pistachio pudding and a very deep chocolate creme (not PHs).

There were no complaints

BTW: If you have a problem with a rice pudding where you want more of a fluff factor, try whipping some heavy cream and folding it in to give it a lift and a little extra luxury.

I suppose you could also use a lightly sweetened Italian meringue too instead of or along with the whipped cream.

Some people like to use pastry cream but I've never really dug that.

I made the rice pudding with the corrected proportions Dorie Greenspan sent in. I think the problem is that it does thicken up a lot when you cool it, but the recipe doesn't warn you about that. When I cooked it for the amount of time specified it was still very thin, so I kept going for a while longer. Then I chickened out, and removed it from the heat when it was still fairly liquid. Chilled, it was somewhat thicker than I thought it should be, though by no means a rock.

It did occur to me that you could scoop the pudding in balls and bread them (probably with panko), and make dessert arancini. I'm just a home cook, so I am a little leary of the deep-frying. I bet it would be really good, though.

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The only thing she sent in was the 4 to 1 ratio.. It seems that this recipe is just a dud..

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[docsconz]

I did the Pave' and it came out great. interestingly, although the recipe said it would be enough for two cakes, I only managed to get one out of it. I'll try to post photos later. As I mentioned earlier, my wife is the baker of the family, so this was the first cake I ever made from scratch. It took awhile, but wasn't particularly difficult.

[Mette]

You're looking at it.

Thanks, I've noted these corrections in the recipes.

And now a word on making a Nutella tart with a 3-year old....He loves to help in the kitchen and to bake cakes, but contrary to most youngsters, he's not that keen on eating cake; he'd rather have a banana (more cake for the parents).

First of all, to make a succesfull tart, one needs lots more Nutella than stated in the recipe - it seems to vanish as soon as the long suffering mother turns her back

I'd made the pastry ahead of time, rolled it and baked it, so we could start out with the fun parts. I'd made a big shell (app. 9'') for the grown ups and a small 4'' one for my son.

Halfdan helped melt things in the microwave, crack eggs, measure out sugar and stir the filling. I gave him a small bowl with a couple of spoonfulls of Nutella to spred on the little crust, and some of it actually went in the crust, not on his hands/face/sleeves/apron/stool. I divided the filling and poured about 1/5 in a small jug for him to pour into the crust. This was a big challenge for him, as pouring carefully is not an action he approves of. A fair bit of the filling actually made contact with the nutella, and by a bit of swirling, the nutella got covered. He took great pride in placing the nuts carefully and evenly on the tart, but he does need a bit of practice with a piping bag.

It was a very good project to do with a child, multiple stages of messines, and a tasty outcome. I can only recommend bringing children into the kitchen for all sorts of fun, not just baking (although my husband cringes when I let Halfdan use a sharp knife).

Happy baking

/Mette

P.S. I don't own tart rings, but pie-dishes worked just fine

Another P.S. Next time, I'll try to create a sort of photo-essay, he is so cute in his apron with stuff smeared everywhere, and quite capable in the kitchen

[SethG]

Looks good, Mette! Glad you liked the Pave, doc. I gotta get back to the book.

[Patrick S]

John, your Pave must have been massive if you only made one! I hope you liked it. I know I did.

Last night I made a half-recipe of Herme's caramel chocolate truffles (p. 163). Chocolate-wise, I used 5ozs Valrhona Caraibe bittersweet, and 3oz Callebaut milk chocolate. I dry caramelized the sugar as directed in the book, and let it get as dark and intense as possible. I waited til I was getting a faint trail of smoke from the sugar before I moved from the heat added the butter and cream.

I feel like gushing, but I won't. I'll just say that these caramelicious jewels are the best truffles I've ever had (well, I guess that is gushing. . . ).

Caramelizing.

The Butter and Cream Are Added.

The Caramel Is Stirred Into the Chocolate.

The Ganache Is Smooth and Ready to Cool.

I Had to Sample the Ganache.

A Ganache Puck, Ready for Truffle-Forming.

The Best Truffles Ever.

Edited May 15, 2005 by Patrick S (log)

[Dorie Greenspan]

Patrick -- a treat, as always.

[JSkilling]

Beatutiful, Patrick! Is that the same ganache recipe as the chocolate caramel ganache for the pave? I LOVE that one and have even whipped it and whipped it into buttercream - what's left from me scarfing it down that is...

[Patrick S]

Beatutiful, Patrick!  Is that the same ganache recipe as the chocolate caramel ganache for the pave?  I LOVE that one and have even whipped it and whipped it into buttercream - what's left from me scarfing it down that is...

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Its very similar, but not identical. The truffle recipe differs by having a slightly higher proportion of bitter to milk chocolate, and by having much less butter. The butter-to-chocolate ratio in the pave ganache is like 12/10, while in the truffles it is only 1/16.

[JSkilling]

Then it's probably like what I'm making now. I cut the butter down to about 1 stick in that recipe and have whipped it to get a nice light texture. When I used as much butter as he has in the recipe I didn't think it held as well in layers and that's where I'm looking to use it.

But the taste! Oh.My.God. That caramel flavor coming through is divine. And I've subbed Gianduja for the milk chocolate and think that's actually much better and richer. You don't taste the hazelnut so much since the caramel overwhelms the other flavors but it is definitely richer.

I'll go look at the recipe since I don't remember this one offhand...

[Patrick S]

I took some of the left-over ganache and rolled it in praline powder. I've been experimenting with caramel and nuts lately so I had a bunch around. They're not as pretty as cocoa powder, but I like the element of flavor they add.

[Mette]

Last night I made a half-recipe of Herme's caramel chocolate truffles (p. 163). Chocolate-wise, I used 5ozs  Valrhona Caraibe bittersweet, and 3oz Callebaut milk chocolate. I dry caramelized the sugar as directed in the book, and let it get as dark and intense as possible. I waited til I was getting a faint trail of smoke from the sugar before I moved from the heat added the butter and cream.

I feel like gushing, but I won't. I'll just say that these caramelicious jewels are the best truffles I've ever had (well, I guess that is gushing. . . ).

I made the truffles yesterday, using Callebaut Java (which is quite 'caramelly') and Callebaut 70/30, and I must say, I find them to sweet for my taste. It may be being a 'continental' or maybe just a bit strange, but I find a lot af american or american adjusted recipes too sweet (of course, Herme is french, so there goes that line of argument....) - anyway....

For my next batch, I'll try without the milk chocolate, and with a very bitter chocolate (whatever I can get my hands on). Anybody tried making these with all dark choc and if so, which make and which result? Thanks

On a different note, I tried photographing my caramel truffles, but the pictures were positively dull comparet to yours, Patrick, which are great, so I will keep them to myself.

Happy truffling!

/Mette

[Patrick S]

Last night I made a half-recipe of Herme's caramel chocolate truffles (p. 163). Chocolate-wise, I used 5ozs  Valrhona Caraibe bittersweet, and 3oz Callebaut milk chocolate. I dry caramelized the sugar as directed in the book, and let it get as dark and intense as possible. I waited til I was getting a faint trail of smoke from the sugar before I moved from the heat added the butter and cream.

I feel like gushing, but I won't. I'll just say that these caramelicious jewels are the best truffles I've ever had (well, I guess that is gushing. . . ).

I made the truffles yesterday, using Callebaut Java (which is quite 'caramelly') and Callebaut 70/30, and I must say, I find them to sweet for my taste. It may be being a 'continental' or maybe just a bit strange, but I find a lot af american or american adjusted recipes too sweet (of course, Herme is french, so there goes that line of argument....) - anyway....

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If you prefer bittersweet truffles, these definitely aren't going to be your favorite. Personally, I find most truffle recipes way too bitter, and several of Herme's recipes I loved but thought could be slightly sweeter. But my general preference is definitely more toward the sweeter end of the sugar content continuum.

[Wendy DeBord]

Last night I was looking thru some older Art Culinaire books and I came across Pierre Herme's Chococlate Rice Pudding with Caramelized Rice. It's in issue #54 page 45.

The ingredients for the rice pudding part of the recipe are:

3 c. milk (that's 3/4c. less then what's published in Chocolate Desserts)

1 1/4 oz. granular sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. arborio rice

7 oz. Venezulan chocolate finely chopped

1 3/4 oz butter

2 oz. white raisins, re-hydrated

I hope this helps clear things up.

[FoodMan]

At my son's school they are having some kind of teacher's appreciation day and I volunteered cookies and brownies.

I made the sparkle cookies and am verty happy with the result. I used Turbinado sugar for the "sparkle" and it came out really nice. I did make to different sizes, the one the book recommends and a thinner shape which I liked more. In a case like this having an electric knife really helps slicing the dough neatly...too bad I don't have one yet .

This is my second time making the brownies and I have to say that I do not think I will make them again. They are just too "light", if that makes any sense. I prefer a more heavy fudgy brownie. So, I am sticking with my favorite recipe, Alton Brown's Cocoa Brownies.

Elie

[jgarner53]

my favorite recipe, Alton Brown's Cocoa Brownies.

Those are my favorite brownies, too. Really great, dense, fudgey, and chewy. I like them even better baked in a 9-inch pan, so they aren't quite as high.

[DiH]

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How do you keep the rolls/cookies so perfectly round? Mine always sag.

Di

[racheld]

And here are two pics I took a while back of the Tarte Grenobloise. I went through about 10 of these for various parties over the summer months. People went nuts over them (no pun intended).

For parties, I'll slice the tart into 24 thin wedges BEFORE topping with the pecan-caramel mixture. Then I'll line 'em up and go into production mode with the topping.

I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of the finished platters. It looks cool with them all in a circle, spread out with a big dollop of the caramel topping in the center (you definitely have left overs if you slice before you top...great to snack on!).

Okay, okay...I'll stop talking about this one (for awhile anyway).

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Absolutely gorgeous!! I just found this thread, and despite the six-months lag, I had to comment on these gorgeous desserts.

And what, pray tell, do you use to slice? These look as if they've been lasered with a thinner-than-air blade, with absolutely no crumbing or smear. Just perfect.

I haven't read past the third page, but I'm hoping there's a recipe in my future.

rachel

[kthull]

I use a 14" granton carving knife. I've also heard Alton Brown recommend a salmon slicer...went looking for one, but ended up with the knife I got instead. It's perfect for stuff like this, cheesecakes or cutting bars/squares of stuff. You have to be careful though because the blade is flexible, so on really dense cheesecakes if you get lazy, it'll go crooked on you. I also run it under hot water and wipe the blade down after each slice.

Absolutely gorgeous!!    I just found this thread, and despite the six-months lag, I had to comment on these gorgeous desserts. 

And what, pray tell, do you use to slice?  These look as if they've been lasered with a thinner-than-air blade, with absolutely no crumbing or smear.  Just perfect.

I haven't read past the third page, but I'm hoping there's a recipe in my future.

rachel

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[FoodMan]

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How do you keep the rolls/cookies so perfectly round? Mine always sag.

Di

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I use the assistance of plastic wrap! basically instead of using my hands I first use wax paper to form into a roughly log shape. At this point if it is too soft, I refrigerate for a short time till managable. Then I move the log to a rectangle of plastic wrap and form the log into a round shape. The last step is to twist both ends of the platic wrap really tight (think of wrapping a pice of hard candy). This will make a nice perfect salami-like log.

Elie

[DiH]

Thanks Elie! I'll give it a shot.


Di

[Moderator note: This topic continues in "Chocolate Desserts" by Pierre Herme (Part 2)]

Edited April 23, 2013 by Mjx (log)