PASTRY LIVE 2

Pastry Profiles is pleased to announce our next Pastry Live event. A chocolate showpiece seminar with Chef Stephane Treand MOF. This is a 2 day chocolate showpiece seminar taking place on March 21st and 22nd. There will also be a hands on class on Tuesday March 23rd. I will post more details soon.

PASTRY LIVE

According to the emails I got the day after, Pastry Live was quite an event. For Pastry Profiles it was the first live event we put together. Let me tell you there were some challenges along the way but the benefits were amazing. First, many thanks to Chef Treand, he did an amazing job. Putting together 5 showpieces and sharing lots of techniques for pastillage airbrushing and sugar casting over the course of the two day seminar.
Personaly, for me, It was great to get to know Chef Treand better, we were acquaintances and now I feel that we are more like friends. We had lots in common and age, kids, career etc… I was able to get some great insight into preparing for competitions and insight into the challenges of being the favorite in the World Championships.
I must be honest there was a lot of trepidation putting together an event like this in a down economy. Many told me it was a bad idea. I went out of pocket to make this thing happen and if it didn’t go well I was out a good bit of money. My wife wasn’t too happy about it but she had faith in me and always does. She Knew I would make it work. There was also the support of all my friends, both pastry friends and personal. Usually those two are intertwined. If I needed something they were right there willing to help. Offering equipment, waiting on packages, dropping everything to deliver things last minute. That’s what made me realize that I was on the right track. The whole goal was to build community and relationships in the Pastry
Community. I had developed many of these types of relationships in my career. Many of these friends worked with me, learned from me or were teammates of mine. Now they are some of my dearest friends. I am often busy in my personal life and career and don’t see most of them often. But it’s amazing that when I really need someone they are there for me. So as I was planning an event to build community I realized how valuable that really is. This is a business about relationships. In this business people are often overworked, underpaid, and under pressure. But when you go through those things together there is a bond that is strong and lasting. So in planning the event I have made new friends, strengthened my appreciation for old friends and realized that sometimes the greater riches are not in reaching the destination but in who you meet on the way.

I wanted to post a recipe from a Pastry Profiles interview with Pastry Chef Stephen Durfee.

Soft Banana Cake with Yogurt Sorbet and Chicory Glaze

Yield: 12 Portions Ingredients Amounts

Soft Banana cake

Butter 55 g
Sugar 75 g
Demerara sugar, ground fine 40 g 
Egg yolks 3 ea
Flour 50 g
Nutmeg pinch 
Salt 2 g ( ¼ tsp)
Banana puree 140 g
Lemon juice 25 g
Milk 200 g
Sour cream 40 g
Egg whites 3 ea
Sugar 30 g
Cream of tartar pinch Method

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolks, alternating with the dry ingredients. Add the banana puree, lemon juice, then the milk. 

Make a soft peak meringue from egg whites, remaining sugar and cream of tartar. Fold into the banana mixture. 

Pour mixture into buttered and sugared ramekins. Bake in a water bath at 300°F for 30 minutes, no lid. 

Yogurt Sorbet

Greek Yogurt 400 g
Sugar 150 g
Water 150 g
Banana puree 40 g
Lemon juice 10 g 4. Combine ingredients with an immersion blender. Process mixture in the ice cream machine.

Pecan Dentelle:

Butter, melted and cooled 30 g
Corn syrup 10 g
Sugar 40 g
Pecans, chopped 40 g 5. Combine all ingredients and refrigerate. Pipe out ½“diameter drops into shallow tart tins. Bake at 350°F until golden, about 10 minutes.

Chicory Brown Sugar Sauce

Cream 120 g
Chicory coffee 20 g
Brown sugar 40 g
Salt 1/8 tsp
Butter 30 g
Vanilla extract ½ tsp.

6. Infuse cream with chicory, then strain. Measure out 60 g of infused liquid. Bring to a simmer with brown sugar and salt, then whisk in cold butter. Add vanilla.

Tulip Cookie

Butter, softened 45 g
Powdered sugar 53 g
Trimoline 32 g
Egg whites 24 g
Flour 52 g 7. Lightly cream butter and powdered sugar. Add the trimoline. Stir in the egg whites, then the flour to make a smooth paste. Chill briefly before using. Bake at 350˚F. Immediately shape while cookies are hot.



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Pastry Forum and Championships

Good News , I just booked my ticket to Phoenix to see the National Pastry Team Championships. hopefully I'll get some great pictures to post on Pastry Profiles. This is the fourth or fifth time I've attended. Once as a competitor in 05, 2 or 3 times for the World Pastry Forum and a couple of times just to watch the National or World Championships. After all these times I still can't wait to go. I love to see what the Competitors will be doing, new things at the Forum and equally important just to see old friends. This Year I have one other reason and that is to just support the event in this tough year. As I mentioned before it is still the best Pastry Event that there is. Not only is the event great but it also a great place to stay and enjoy and hang around with some of the worlds best Pastry Chefs. I realize times are tough but if you can manage I recommend taking the trip out to Phoenix,
Hopefully I'll see you there.
Paul Bodrogi CEPC