Lenôtre Afternoon Tea Part 2

Minor changes on the afternoon tea range, after receiving training from Lenôtre Paris. Camaïeu and Ambiance is out, to be replaced with Schuss and Chocolatea.

Chocolatea: Chocolate and caramel croustillant with luscious chocolate mousse infused with Mariage Frêres Earl Grey Tea (only the best!) and caramelised peach. Every time we make this the whole kitchen smells of bergamot, love it!

Schuss: Almond pate sable with raspberry confit, light cheesecake mousse and seasonal fruit. When I first tried this French style cheese cake, I was not accustomed to such a light cheese cake. It’s so delicate and luxurious for the flavour of a cheese cake. The Luis Vuitton of cheese cake.

Second row from the top which is the Chocolatea and fourth row from the top where the Schuss is placed.

The afternoon tea set up

This time, I was not in the kitchen but a customer along with my family. Complementary of the boss, Mark Stone the Chef Patissier of Lenôtre. Thanks Mark, you’re the best!

Mark now has his own restaurant, function hall (for weddings), bed and breakfast which he runs with his wife, Megan in Eling Forest Winery, Hume Hwy, Sutton Forest NSW. They serve beautiful food and wow factor desserts. Definitely worth dining if you are on your way to Canberra, having a wedding function or looking for a place to chilax on the weekend. www.elingforest.com.au

Chocolatea dessert size

Lenôtre Afternoon Tea and Petits Gateaux.

Greeting s folks, I have been extremely busy with reallocation and other bits and bobs for the past several months ie: looking for a proper freezer that can fit my huge tray for my sweets and mise en place. Which I just got delivered today and I am testing it at the moment to make sure its running well and proper. So I am just going to share some of my previous work, the Lenôtre Afternoon Tea and some of the petits gateaux.

Lenôtre Afternoon Tea Stand for two

Lenôtre Afternoon Tea consist of ( top to bottom)

• Cone au Chocolat : A rich dark chocolate cone filled with luscious berries and served with cream
  

• Macaronades : Macaroons made of soft almond meringue filled with fresh raspberries and lemon curd
  

• Tarte au Citron : The classic French lemon tart, sweet pastry filled with almond and lemon cream, topped with lemon meringue
  

• Opéra : Chocolate pastry with layers of almond biscuit, decadent chocolate ganache with coffee butter cream and topped with gold leaf
  

• Camaïeu : Layers of chocolate sponge flavoured with marzipan in between layers of dark and milk chocolate mousse topped with ivory Chantilly cream.
  

• Ambiance : Layers of vanilla Bavarian cream, with fruits of the forest jelly and caramelized hazelnuts

• Scones Jam & Cream : Traditionally baked scones with homemade jam and cream
  

• Assorted Finger Sandwiches 

• Mariage Frêres Tea & Vittoria Espresso Coffee
  
  

Scones, coffee, tea and close up of cone au chocolat are missing in action.. oops.. mind you it is behind the scene.

My mise en place

Lenôtre Petits Gateaux

Concerto: hazelnut feuilletine with delicate chocolate mousse, flourless chocolate sponge topped with a chocolate violin and caramelised hazelnut

Venus Fromboisier: fresh raspberries layered with rich vanilla bourbon mousseline, light genoise sponge, raspberry jelly & raspberry caramel swirl  

Opéra

All pictures are taken using k750 Sony Ericsson.

Entremets

These are the Entremets size of Paradis, Fraisier and Opera. They are 18cm square in size and decorated with contemporary style garnishes that reflects on the flavours of the entremets.

Paradis Entremets

Gold dust and cocoa pods chocolate shell.

Opera Entremets

Keeping it elegant and classical with just a touch of 24 carat gold leaf and cocoa pods plagues.

Fraisier Entremets

Close up of the ganish which cosist of strawberries, fromboisier macaron and white chocolate hearts with silver leaf. This was actually for a Valentine theme.

If only I have a boutique to display this....

Degustation of Desserts

Here is a range of what I have done so far and I just happen to put together a tasting menu, so might as well take a couple of pictures while I am at it.

From left to right
Fraisier
Opera
Schuss
Lemon Tarts
Delice
Paradis
Framboisier Macaron
Opera Macaron

Chocolate décor

Just as girls wear make up for aesthetic appeal, chocolate décor beautify and glorify the cake. However, taste must also match the visual appeal of the cake, as there is no point glorifying something that does not taste up to par. The use of couverture chocolate is a must in my product to ensure that does happen. It is more of a hassle in processing, as you have to temper it; however, the result is so worth it.

Tempering Chocolate
The process of tempering chocolate can be a daunting process even amongst the classically trained Patissier. Its one of those skills that you have to keep doing in order not to loose touch. Here is a bit of info on it.

What is tempering?
It is a process to precrystallise a minute amount of the cocoa butter in order to be the catalyst for the rest of the cocoa butter, which is the form V crystal.

Why temper?
Couverture needs to be temper in order to attained the correct gloss, brittle snap and prevent blooming providing it is stored in the correct conditions.

How to temper?
There are several methods but tabling method is the most common.
Tabling Method
Melt dark chocolate using a microwave or bain-marie until it reaches 45˚ to 50˚ Celsius or 40˚ to 45˚ for milk or white chocolate.
Pour 2/3 of it on a marble slab and agitate it until drops to 27˚ Celsius for dark chocolate and 25˚ to 26˚ Celsius for milk and white chocolate.
Return to rest of the chocolate in the bowl and reheat if necessary until it reaches 32˚ Celsius for dark chocolate and 29˚ to30˚ Celsius for milk and white chocolate.
Always test for the quality of a tempered chocolate, which are glossy in appearance and brittle snap.
Apply and store in a room temperature of 17˚ Celsius, away from lights, low moisture and minimum fluctuation in temperature.
I make my chocolate garnishes around midnight to make sure the room temperature is as cool as possible. Tropical climate does not get the same room temperature as European climate so the aid of double two hp air conditioners is mandatory to bring down the room temperature.


I have been hunting for these chocolate moulds for a while as they are commonly use by well-known patissiers in Paris and Barcelona, the trendsetters of desserts.


These are the fruits of my midnight labour.

Opera plagues



















Assembled lava dome



















Cocoa pods and lava domes



















Finished Entremets




















Cheers!

Mac…

No, this is not a mini version of hamburger and it is nothing like it. These little dainty morsels are called Macaron…This thing is such an old creation, there is museum dedicated just to macaron! Due to the influence of Pierre Herme( and other pastry chefs but I think he is the most responsible for it), macaron is the latest craze in the pastry haute couture worldwide and they are also being used in place of wedding cakes. According to a lot of chefs, foodie and anyone who have already attempted to make this little sugar meringue with almond, knows that they the most temperamental f@#%ing thing, I couldn’t agree more!Even more so in a humid country such as mine! Even though these two turned out alright, 2 batches that I made today were not up my standards. They all turn out shiny, with feet, etc, etc just didn’t rise evenly on all sides. Handling the oven seems to be the issue; I guess I shouldn’t play around with it too much. If it works don’t fix it. So unlike me though! The other batch was not piped round enough.  While making macarons, mistakes can happen in any of the processing stage, even from the raw ingredients. Sigh… this is becoming more of a complaint session again…

Anyway here are the ones that turn out alright:






Fromboisier

• Vanilla butter cream
  
• Raspberry confit
  

Opera

• Coffee butter cream
  
• Dark Chocolate truffle ganache
  

Before and after baking pics...




Dynamic Duo... hehehe


Incase you are wandering why is there 3 postings in one day, my internet was not working for quite a while so here is my chance. Thanks always for dropping by and if you are interested to try these, just let me know  :)

Welcome To the Family…

These are the new additional member to my collection, introducing (drum roll…) Frasier and Schuss. Honestly, I am not satisfied with this shoot due to a few things:
1. the temperature was too hot and the cake started to soften( I also spend too much time as I absolutely have no idea on how to finish of the Frasier)
2. just not neat enough
3. Cakes proportions needs to be modified: thicker on sponge, more macerated strawberries, less sable dough, and the list just goes on… endless just endless…

Anyway enough of complaining and here they are…





Frasier
Revamp with a new look, the renowned strawberry cake takes on the world of pastry couture by storm…hehehe…

• Rose sponge soaked in strawberry kirsch punch
  
• Vanilla bourbon mousseline cream
  
• Strawberry macerated in strawberry coulis
  
• 
  

Schuss
French version of cold cheesecake served with strawberries. Carrying a subtle, elegant and sophisticated flavour.

• Almond butter sable crust
  
• Raspberry confit
  
• Schuss mousse
  
• Almond sponge soaked in kirsch syrup
  
• Topped with Chantilly cream and strawberries
• 
  

Thanks for dropping by…
Hm… what should I make next?…

Farewell Mr. Gaston Lenotre…

Mr. Gaston Lenotre passed away last week on the 8th of January 2009 at the age of 88. I am slow at getting the news and only found out by accident as I researched on Lenotre boutique trying to get some inspiration. As an ex Lenotre pastry chef, I am quite ashamed really. Some well known figures in the industry such as Paul Bocuse, Alain Ducasse and Pierre Herme mourned on this great lost and expressed their grief to the media.

It was always a dream of mine to work for this famous Parisian company, as Lenotre is not only a patisserie, caterer or just a business entity; it is a symbol and an institution. Many professional chefs from around the world travel there to learn the latest techniques, skills and recipes in this industry. The name Lenotre are always mention with such reverence amongst the chefs as many of the well known Patissier started their journey there or to further their training. He is well known for redefining French patisserie and challenging the norms that was being followed back in those days.

Pierre Herme, who apprenticed under Lenotre, mentioned that Lenotre can be considered the father of modern-day pastries. He also said "The pastries of today would not be what they are without Gaston Lenotre, who has left a formidable heritage for all pastry chefs of the world”.
Mr. Gaston Lenotre journey has ended, but his name and legacy will carry on in this world for as long as pastry exists. Farewell Sir…

Blast From The Past

First of all, wish you all a belated HAPPY NEW YEAR 09! Hope you all had a good break and to friends working in the hospitality industry, unfortunately that would not be the case.
This time around I would like to post some of my cakes that I made a couple of years back either out of boredom, curiosity, friend’s birthday or just happen to have the ingredients at that particular time. Here we go...





Cassis

This one falls into curiosity as I never work with cassis and just happen to have the raw material at that particular time( as a friend happen to gave me a box of cassis puree). After some intense research and development, the box of puree along with other ingredients) was turn into that thing above. Unfortunately, I do not have a sliced picture of the cakes so you just have to take my word for the components inside it.

• Cassis mousse
  
• Cassis and Creme de cassis coulis
  
• Creme brulee with chestnut confit
  
• Cassis glaze
  

Foret Noir (that’s the closes thing to it…I think)
I made this for Retrohells birthday at that time. I have just learnt a few new techniques and recipe so I decide to apply it straight away No, this is no guinea pig cakes!

• Ivory Chantilly infused with tons of vanilla pods... yummy
  
• Chocolate soufflé sponge soaked with chocolate punch
  
• Mixed berries macerated with raspberry and framboise liquor
  

Don't know what to call this one
This was made for J's birthday; a new technique such as sugar pulling was applied for the garnish.

• Raspberry mousse
  
• Green tea sponge soaked with green tea milk punch
  
• Green tea pannacota
  
• Raspberry coulis
  

Melbourne
I made this for a Melbourne based company that did a machine and product demonstration for their clienteles in Sydney. It was extremely fun and interesting working with them.

• Vanilla Bavarian cream
  
• Praline mousse
  
• Force Noir Ganache
  
• Garnish with Isomalt, crushed praline and chocolate of course
  

Goodness, now I realize that I overly abuse the chocolate disc as a garnish, oh well. These are made in a home lab except for the Melbourne gig. During that time it was in a proper lab and I get to use a pasteurizer, chilling and freezing machine in 1! This baby can make your pastry cream, bombe mix, all other sorts of creams, curds, ganache, gelatos, sorbets, u name it, programmed it and the baby will make it. All yours for only AUD 35k, if not more. They also brought a mini blast freezer and plenty of silicone molds. Not to mention all the awesome pastry ingredients that they take along. I was like a child in a toy store. This demo was supposed to be carried out by Kirsten Tibballs, one of the leading chocolatier in the Southern Hemisphere and me as an assistant, kitchen hand, runner, what ever she needs. How ever she was not well during that appointed time so my mentor / lecturer at Le Cordon Bleu advised on what to be done and I carried out the physical demonstration.

Special thanks to bro Retrohell for the advice, guidance and for the design of the watermark (you should see it in all the pictures now). He sure is patience in guiding an adobe noob such as my self... Cheers mate!!

Thanks for dropping by and reading my babble, until next time!!

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