The Supreme eG Baking and Pastry Challenge (Round 3)

[gfron1]

I think getting sick is part of the challenge now (I was sick on Friday of my challenge). I'm looking forward to Sunday's results. Heading into fall I'm looking for a nice hearty dessert.

[Mette]

Bad news are: I seem to live in a pearl barley desert - so the popped barley will not happen.

Good news are: the concept has come together and I am looking very much forward to the home strech tomorrow to see if it works in real life

Edited to add: the next challengee has accepted and will be unveiled tomorrow

Edited October 14, 2006 by Mette (log)

[gfron1]

With the time zones I'm not sure when we'll hear from Mette, but I'm looking forward to seeing the result! Come on Mette...don't keep us waiting too long.

[Mette]

So - I just got up from eating a lovely, multi item decounstructed beer dessert!!!

Cheers!

Oh - is that a beer she is drinking ? You may ask. No it part of the deconstructed beer dessert.

When I first got the challenge, I thought 'Holy Cow' - deconstructed beer, but thanks to my lovely husband and some very talented people here at eGullet, it all came together in the end.

Here's the result:

The items are: a smoked malt creme brulee, a cascade 'not-quite-beer', which is a cold citrus soup flavoured with cascade hops topped with a grapefruit/lime/hop sorbet, and finally 'the Brewpub bar', a chocolate bar with malted shortbread, chocolate malt ganache and beer marshmallow in milk chocolate.

After many a sleepless night (throw a few extra in for drama) I decided to go for a few, key ingredients and try to bring them out as much as possble. I went sniffing malts and hops to look for dessert like references:

The not-quite-beer: When you open a bag of dried cascade hops theres is a very clear smell of citrus, primarily grapefruit and lime which is where the sorbet ides came from - someone on the thead suggested doing someting that looks like a beer, and the sorbet looks like the top half of a beer, so I thought - a fruit soup and went for more citrus, this time with grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange and mandarine orange. It is a very nice, refreshing drink/dessert, and the citrus and hops supplement each other very well.

The creme brulee: Rauchmalt is smoked malt and smells quite smoked. I thought it would be complemented nicely by the brulee burnt sugar and be a nice contrats to all the freshnedd and sharpness of the not-quite-beer. The brulee is flavoured with rauchmalt syrup, and is nice and malty but as smoked as I had hoped. If I were to male it again, I would probably add a bit of very smoky whisky to bring the flavour out more.

Chocolate bar:

In spite of the fact that beer and chocolate is a very obvious combination, I had to make some chocolate item, especially considering that chocolate malt smells of chocolate:huh: I'd already made the shortbread which is great, but a bit plain. With a chocolate malt syrup banache and a beer marshmallow on top, it makes for a nice chocolate bar, event though the balance between the components is a bit off - there ought to have been more ganache and marshmallow and less shortbread and chcolate covering - alas!

So, that was the result - thank ypu, gfron, for challenging me - it has been a really fun week, and thaks to Kerry Beal for starting this dessert madness.

I will post the recipes, probably tomorrow, and have a few more pics, especially re. ingredients, if anyone are interested.

I will now go and make public the next challenge

[Chufi]

Mette, it looks great, especially the bar.. beer marshmellow, mmm..

I would be very much interested in seeing pictures of the ingredients such as

this

The not-quite-beer: When you open a bag of dried cascade hops

←

and this.

Rauchmalt is smoked malt and smells quite smoked.

←

[Shalmanese]

Holy crap thats awesome. *cracks knuckles in anticipation*

[gfron1]

The short reply since I'm heading into a nap...BRAVO Mette!

[s_sevilla]

That is extremely neat, I would definitely go to a restaurant just to eat that, yet again the bar is set high for these challenges

[Ling]

The chocolate bar looks particularly good! Excellent job!

[Kerry Beal]

Looks fabulous, I really did think you were sitting on the couch with a beer. Smokey malt brulee sounds so tasty and that bar looks wonderful.

Bravo!

Round 4 here.

Edited October 15, 2006 by Kerry Beal (log)

[jay b]

very nice

[gfron1]

I can't stop talking about your dessert - great job Mette! What I really like is that I can practically taste it in my mind, and if I can get the ingredients, its definitely something I'd like to make. Thanks for doing the challenge, and I like your challenge to Shalamese. A toast to Mette!

[Pontormo]

Mette: I may be the one who inspired the sorbet--or at least I said it would be interesting to replicate the foamy cap on beer. I was convinced that the marshmallow was to produce the foam.

What a lovely surprise! So intricate. Really am quite impressed by the three interacting components.

Now, would you kindly coat that chocolate bar in dark chocolate, please?

[miladyinsanity]

What Pontormo said about dark chocolate.

I'm drooling, and I can't wait to see the recipes, so I can give them a try myself.

[Kouign Aman]

Raucous applause!

That not-a-beer is such a great visual. Wish I could taste it!

[Mette]

The recipes are now in the recipeGullet: Recipes

Thank you all for the replies and kind words - it has been quite a buzz, I will get back tomorrow with more pics and misc info.

Now it's bedtime - my husband is 40 today and deserves better than a wife surgically attached to the computer

[hosinmigs]

Ah, just fantastic. God, I can practically taste it now. I'm definitely going to try this some time. Beer with dessert. Jesus, this is a great life.