BAKING
Success!!!
Photographer Unidentified
Untitled, 1960
Collection of H.Armstrong Roberts
Phew! Thank goodness yesterday is over. After recovering from my maelstrom mood, I realized that I had taken more photos than I thought of the food as I was preparing it; it’s the finished products that I failed to photograph, so I am still a major looser, but at least now I can truly begin to sift through all the pictures that I took while I was baking to give you a general idea of what everything looked like for the party last Saturday. God I wish I had taken a picture of the Gateau Succes! It was so beautiful and there wasn’t a single slice left by the time the party was over. In fact, the only food that was left over was some caviar. All the desserts were completely gone. 
Here are the adorable little tartlet molds just before they get filled with the basil infused custard.
As I briefly mentioned before, the desserts that I created for my mom’s retirement party were based on recipes that I came up with over the last few weeks. I made the Cosmic Brownies, but instead of cutting them in squares, I took a round cookie cutter and cut out 65 rounds and then iced them with a dark chocolate ganache. For the tartlets, I filled them with my Basil Infused Custard and then piped a decorative dollop of Lemon Chantilly Cream on top. The Gateau Succes was the most labor-intensive dessert, but by far the most incredible. For those brave enough to tackle the task, I highly recommend this confection for extra special occasions. 
Weren’t the flowers beautiful?
The part of this cake that is so labor intensive is the aspects of patience, patience, and the proper materials. You absolutely need a candy thermometer to make the praline (sugar, and whole almonds that are boiled to the medium caramel stage or 330°F/165°C.) as well as a pastry bag fitted with a 5/8” plain tube. Other than that, it’s a cinch:
Adapted from Anne Willan’s recipe, which can be found in “La Varenne Pratique,” Crown Publishers, Inc., 1989. pg. 402
1 ½ Cups Almond Meal
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch or Potato Starch
1 ½ Cups Granulated Sugar
6 Large Egg Whites
2 oz. Sliced Toasted Almonds
Confectioners’ Sugar for Sprinkling
Praline Butter Cream Icing (recipe follows)
Preheat oven to 250°F and line two baking sheets with either silpats or parchment paper. Take an 8” cake pan and trace three non-toxic circles on your parchment paper, set aside.
To make the almond meringue, stir together the almond meal, the corn or potato starch and all but 6 tablespoons of the sugar. Whip the egg whites until they look stiff and nearly dry. Add the remaining sugar and mix until the egg whites look glossy, about 20 seconds. Remove the mixing bowl from the stand-up mixer, discard the whisk attachment and very gently fold in the dry ingredients in three batches.
Fill your pastry bag with the meringue mixture and pipe your three rings. Bake in your preheated oven for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheet.
Here’s a close up of one of the almond meringue disks.
Now make your Praline:
To Make Praline, you use equal parts sugar to nuts. For this recipe, I used 250g of whole almonds to sugar.
Lightly oil a cookie sheet and set aside.
Heat the sugar and the whole almonds in a heavy bottomed saucepan over a gentle heat until your candy thermometer reads 330°F/165°C. The almonds will make a distinct popping sound, which indicates their doneness.
Pour the praline onto your oiled cookie sheet, being extremely careful, as the mixture is molten.
Allow to cool completely.
In the meantime, make your butter cream icing.
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
6 Tablespoons Water
8 Egg Yolks
2 Cups/500g Unsalted Butter
1 ½ Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
In a small saucepan, heat the sugar and the water until dissolved, then boil until the syrup reaches the soft ball stage, 239°F/115°C on your candy thermometer.
While the sugar is coming to temperature, in a stand-up mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks just until smooth. When the syrup reaches 115°C, immediately pour it into the egg yolks, with the mixer on high, in a thin delicate stream. Continue beating on the highest possible speed for five whole minutes. The egg yolks should resemble a very thick mousse at this point. Set aside.
Dice your unsalted butter and place in a bowl with the paddle attachment. Cream for three minutes or until there are no more lumps. Gradually add the egg yolk mixture, scrapping down the sides of the bowl and the paddle as necessary. Add the vanilla and mix just until incorporated.
Now wrap your praline in several layers of plastic wrap or break up and place in a large plastic bag. Take a meat tenderizer (metal mallet) and crush the praline into very small pieces. Stir into your butter cream. Immediately assemble your cake, being careful to evenly coat each meringue ring.
Heat your oven to 350°F and pour your sliced almonds onto a cookie sheet. Toast your almond slices for about 10 minutes or until a delicate golden color. Allow to cool slightly.
Now, press the toasted almonds onto the sides of the cake until evenly coated.
Using parchment paper, cut three 1” strips that are as long as the cake is wide, about 9”. Place one strip down on the cake, then leave a blank line and repeat the process until all your strips are used. Now dust your cake with confectioner’s sugar. Remove the parchment paper strips and behold your gorgeous Gateau Succes!
Refrigerate for at least one day before serving.
Serves 6-8
Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964)
Roses (Rose), 1917
Oil on Canvas, 58 x 50 cm
Gianni Mattioli Collection
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
Venice, Italy
Early Metaphysical Stilllife
May 8th, 2007 — 2:33 pm
2 comments | add comment
2 comments |
|
Mike saysMay 10, 2007 - 3:56 pm |
Delicious, and I finally remembered to go find your blog and link to it from my own crackplot blog (crackplog, as I coined it): http://mdahmus.monkeysystems.com/blog/archives/000415.html Thanks again for doing this party. Was the highlight of our month! - Mike |
aficionado saysNov 23, 2007 - 3:41 am |
hi! i really like your food blog |
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