Big news! I’ve been selected to be one of the 15 ambassadors for the “Sugar Paris” show. A show dedicated to pastry and cake design that I know very well since I went in previous years. This year, it’s back to the Parc Floral de Paris for an ultra-indulgent show that will be held from 20 to 22 April 2017. My role as an ambassador? To test a few products from the various exhibitors and to offer a recipe or a tutorial made with that product.
So you’ll find on the blog other recipes and other product tests, as well as all the useful information about the upcoming show. But that’s not all… Surprises await you too, I’ll say no more 🙂
The first product tested is a silicone mould from the Italian brand Pavoni (a silicone mould with 24 pomponnette cavities 3.5 cm in diameter). I’m used to making “large format” pastries (me, greedy?). For the “small format”, I then thought of chef Michalak’s recipes, which he shares on his blog, and I came across his apricot basil recipe which I liked straight away! I happened to have some apricot purée to use up, so the recipe was a no-brainer!
Note that the quantities given on Christophe Michalak’s blog, particularly for making the pain de Gênes sponge, are gargantuan. Here I’m giving you enough to make a dozen little cakes (you can surely go up to 15). My sponges are a bit bigger than the chef’s, I couldn’t find anything smaller (I used a simple muffin tin). As for the apricot jelly, I don’t see how plain fruit purée, without pectin, gelatine or agar agar, can balance on top of the chantilly. I can already picture the disaster on thawing… in short, as you’ll have gathered, I added pectin (you can certainly use another type of gelling agent). To liven up the apricot a little, I added ground ginger and lime. Whoaaa, guaranteed effect!
I loved the freshness of this little cake. The chantilly is only lightly sweetened and balances the sugar in the apricot jelly. Note that this is a soft, moist mouthful (that’s why I didn’t keep the title “mini tartlet” that the chef had used). Some of my tasters would have preferred a wider range of textures and were surprised by the softness of the pain de Gênes sponge. If you’d like a crunchy base, I advise you to make a breton shortbread 🙂
Ingredients & Method
4 components · Full recipe
Basil Chantilly Cream
To prepare the day before
Ingredients
- 200 g (7.1 oz) heavy cream
- a bunch of fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar
Method
1
The day before, bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the basil (washed and dried) and cover. Leave to infuse for at least 30 minutes.
2
Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing down on the basil to extract as much flavour as possible. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate overnight.
3
The next day, whip the chilled cream with the icing sugar to a firm but smooth chantilly. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a Saint-Honoré nozzle (or any nozzle of your choice) and refrigerate until assembly.
Apricot Jelly
Ingredients
- 200 g (7.1 oz) apricot purée
- 3 g (0.1 oz) gelatine
Method
1
Soak the gelatine sheets in cold water for 10 minutes.
2
Heat the apricot purée in a small saucepan, then remove from the heat and stir in the squeezed gelatine until fully dissolved.
3
Pour into a frame or a shallow dish lined with cling film to a depth of about 5 mm. Leave to set in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, then cut into circles the same diameter as your pain de Gênes. Keep refrigerated until assembly.
Pain de Gênes Sponge
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) almond paste (50%)
- 100 g (3.5 oz) eggs (approximately 2 eggs)
- 40 g (1.4 oz) flour
- 5 g (0.2 oz) baking powder
- 60 g (2.1 oz) melted butter
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F. Grease the petit four moulds.
2
Soften the almond paste in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.
3
Add the flour and baking powder, then the hot melted butter. Mix until combined.
4
Fill the moulds to about two-thirds full and bake for approximately 10 minutes, until golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
Assembly
Ingredients
- apricot pieces
- fresh basil leaves
Method
1
Place a pain de Gênes sponge on a serving plate or board.
2
Place a disc of apricot jelly on top of the sponge.
3
Pipe a generous swirl of basil chantilly cream on top of the jelly.
4
Decorate with a few pieces of fresh apricot and small basil leaves. Serve immediately or keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
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