Autumn – Winter 2011–2012
Magazine
Trendsetter for bakers and pastry chefs
Momofuku Milk Bar A success story from New York
Classic crèmes
Successful classic techniques
Marc Ducobu
A pastry chef on a mission
In this issue
■
Momofuku Milk Bar
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4
The New York success story about crazy but fantastic taste combinations.
Marc Ducobu
■ A pastry chef on a mission; keeping costs in check, without compromising quality.
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Debic collection
12
Roberto Lestani
20
■ Elegant and tasty snacks for during and after New Year’s eve celebrations, which are easy to prepare and boost profit margins. ■ Roberto Lestani talks about his career after winning all the prizes.
Classic crèmes are back
■ Back to basics with classic techniques that are still a success due to their distinctive taste.
Colophon
24
Chocolate, cream and butter 30
■ If you have the preparation technique down to a tee, these basic ingredients will make all the difference.
30
Published by FrieslandCampina Professional Grote Baan 34, 3560 Lummen, Belgium Tel.: +32 (0)13 310 310 info.lummen@frieslandcampina.com www.debic.com Editorial board Bruno Van Vaerenbergh, Tom van Meulebrouck, Arianne le Duc, Kurt Boodts, Bart-Jeroen Van Overveld, Maurice Janssen. Recipes Bruno Van Vaerenbergh, Bart-Jeroen Van Overveld, Marc Ducobu, Christina Tosi, Roberto Lestani Photography Kasper van ’t Hoff, Elizabeth Leitzell, Gabrielle Stabile, Noah Kalina Design and production Force451
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Copyright© 2011 Contents from this publication may not be copied without the prior permission of the publisher.
The importance of knowledge transfer Cross-border tasting, talking, and philosophising with colleagues. Knowledge transfer has become more important than ever. This could be due to the influence of social media such as Facebook and Twitter, or to the proliferation of culinary blogs on the internet inspiring the exchange of creations, taste combinations, and new concepts. Knowledge exchange also makes us inventive. This is the innovation that we need in times like these. We have to learn to cope with the current economic situation. Perhaps we even have to draw a lesson from the current situation. Clients want value for money more than ever before. Therefore, sound calculation is key. And triggering impulse buying can also have a positive effect on your bottom line. This issue is packed with innovation and creativity. And we also demonstrate that it is not only the creativity of other people that can be a source of inspiration but that this inspiration can also be found in costing. Boosting turnover without working extra will be music to the ears of any professional baker. The backdrops to this issue are in themselves already inspiring: Italy, Brussels, and New York. Striking concepts from New York and the success behind Belgian chocolate will undoubtedly give you ideas. In the meantime, we wish you an enjoyable autumn.
The Debic Team
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Report
Momofuku Milk Bar New York The success of crazy but fantastic taste combinations
You can find inspiration on the ever faster internet. With a couple of mouse clicks you can be in New York. Here too, you can find stimulating and inspiring ideas. With all due respect for tradition, it is in a major global metropolis where people can afford to be more daring. Result: The Momofuku Milk Bar. Momofuku’s bakery has meanwhile also grown into a massive success. Especially due to Christina Tosi, a determined and remarkable pastry chef. Under her management, the Momofuku Milk Bar has become the trendsetting bakery in New York, and now has four branches. Let yourself be inspired by the report and surprise your clients tomorrow with an unusual twist.
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Christina studied Italian in Virginia, but felt drawn to the city life of ‘The Big Apple’, where she entered the Baking and Pastry Arts course at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). She subsequently worked at famous restaurants such as Bouley and WD-50. After a year as a pastry chef at WD-50, she was personally hired by Dave Chang, owner of the Momofuku Restaurant Group. “It was more of an office job than a kitchen one. I found it difficult to stay away from the sweet side of the kitchen and used to bake a cake or a tart every evening at home, and take this in to the office the next day. One day, Dave marched me into the kitchen ordering me to make a new dessert for the menu of the day. That’s how I became Momofuku’s new pastry chef. Dave gave me carte blanche and the rest is history.”
“One day Dave threw me into the kitchen to make a new dessert for the day menu. That’s how I became Momofuku’s new pastry chef.”
Pastry chef with a twist The strength of the Momofuku Milk Bar concept lies – just as with Momofuku’s restaurants – in its creative approach to bakery products with a nod to American gastronomic culture. Taste always comes first. Christina: “It is a fair and friendly concept”. The opposite of the haute patisserie as we know it in Europe. Perhaps it is precisely for this controversial reason that the Milk Bar is a concept with a tremendous success. The Momofuku Milk Bar serves daily fresh products such as croissants, cakes, ice cream and biscuits with limitless creativity, including taste combinations that are visually crazy but taste fantastic: kimchi and blue-cheese croissants, compost cookies and crack pie (see recipe on page 6). Interested in more recipes? Visit www.momofuku.com
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Report
Momofuku Crack Pie Ingredients Recipe for 10 pies of 23 Ø
Pie base 1300 g Debic Cake Gold 900 g cane sugar 300 g sugar 500 g eggs 1200 g oatmeal 700 g flour 5 g baking powder 5 g baking soda 10 g salt
Filling 1500 g sugar 1000 g cane sugar 150 g milk powder 0 % 1150 g Debic Cake Gold 800 ml Debic Cream 35% 2000 g eggs 50 g vanilla extract 100 g icing sugar
Crack Pie, super American, but still with classic and well-known ingredients. We tried it out and discovered just how tasty it is...
Cover a baking tray with parchement paper. Mix 90 g of butter with 60 g of cane sugar and 30 g of sugar in the planet mixer until it is airy. Add the eggs. Add oatmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and knead to form a homogeneous dough. Spread out on the baking tray and bake for 17 to 18 minutes at 180 °C. Then allow to cool. Crumble the dough, mix it with the remaining sugar and butter and spread out on baking trays of 23 cm Ø.
Photography: Elizabeth Leitzell, Gabrielle Stabile, Noah Kalina
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For the filling, melt the butter and cool to room temperature. Mix the sugars, milk powder, and salt. Add the soft butter and mix with the dry ingredients. Add the cream and then the eggs and the vanilla extract. Spread the filling out on the pie bases and finish baking at 180 °C for 30 minutes. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 170 °C and bake for another 20 minutes until the pies are golden brown but the filling in the middle is still a little liquid. Cool the pies on a rack and leave uncovered in the fridge for 12 hours. Sprinkle icing sugar on top and serve cold.
Visit & Create
The success story of
Marc ducobu Waterloo, a lively town just south of brussels, famous from the history books as being the site of napoleon’s final battle and the inspiration for a famous abba song. people here live the good life, shopping and sampling tastes. it is here that Marc ducobu opened a patisserie without much ado. Marc ducobu, proud owner of a wide variety of chocolate awards. Talented participant in various prestigious competitions such as coupe du Monde in Lyon, Turin and phoenix, prosper MontagnÊ and Mandarin napoleon. Mark is a defender of pure products such as (debic) cream, butter, fruit and chocolate, and implements this policy in his company.
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Visit & Create
Identikit Marc Ducobu: °1971, Brussels Training: Ceria-Brussels traditional pastry chef training and ice cream making, specialisation: sugar work and chocolate. Internships and experience: Wittamer, Espagne; Debailleul in Brussels; Au Vatel, Mont Royal, Nile Hilton; Cairo; Conrad Hotel, Brussels.
How would you yourself describe your career? “I had the good luck during my training that I was encouraged to take internships at major firms. After that, I started working with ‘old hands’ at Wittamer and Debailleul, Lucas in Merchtem and Axel Sachem. Over a period of fifteen years, I learnt many styles and working methods, sufficient to set up my own business. You do not need a fortune to start up for yourself. Second-hand equipment for the shop and the studio and doing the renovation work yourself helps keep costs down. The advantage of not taking over an existing bakery is that you can immediately put your own stamp on the style of the business you want to establish, including the selling prices. If you take over an existing firm, you are tied to the habits of the clients of the business.”
Waterloo “This town is home to a diverse international population, since we are just to the south of Brussels. Residents are happy to be pampered with good products, there are many restaurants and caterers in Waterloo but surprisingly few patisseries. This is a public that is open to innovation, and knows what is on offer in the world. Here, I can present tastes such as yuzu in macaroons or cake.”
Open-plan Kitchen We have been in these new premises since 2009. An open-plan kitchen was a conscious choice. I wanted to change the image of the baker working in a cellar or a dark kitchen. There is a lot of light here and you can see the pastry chefs at work. Sometimes, I invite curious clients to watch them from up close. By involving the clients you are working on a positive image. They can see that everything is fresh and that the team has a positive atmosphere. This engenders trust. Also the offering of cooking and baking programmes on TV improves the image, especially among young people. That is clear.”
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Macaroons “Macaroons are an important part of our offering. Hip natural colours, light and fresh fillings, small packages: everything to convey a youthful image. The younger generation prefer to buy a bag or box of macaroons rather than a classic ballotin of pralines. The media also play a role in this. In every magazine you see articles saying that macaroons are on the way back. Recently we started collaborating with a local beekeeper, who is the exclusive supplier of our honey.”
Communication “As a patisserie in these times, it is our task to give a lot of information on the ingredients, about avoiding the use of artificial flavourings, aromas, preservatives, and making use instead of natural colouring agents. We emphasise that we work with professional staff and that we put two tastes into a single macaroon. In this way, the clients know that they are getting value for their money. We tell them that we work with a low-fat cream (cream 35% instead of cream with 40% or 42% fat content), we use 40 g of sugar per litre of whipped cream instead of 150 g as is the case at some patisseries. I see it as our task to inform the clients about new legislation, concerning colouring agents, for example. With all this technical information the clients can more easily understand our pricing. We pay a lot of attention, therefore, also to our website: promotional videos, professional photography, promoting the business and mentioning the competitions I have won.”
“Our task as a pastry chef is to communicate closely concerning the ingredients.”
Taste and ingredients “Our philosophy is to promote taste and ingredients as the most important features. We make our own topping jelly, we infuse the milk with vanilla pods before we boil this with crème patissière, we make the hazelnut praline ourselves, and all the apple sauce and jams are according to our own recipes. It sounds exaggerated but our people provide input on these things, and they feel involved. This is the strength of our business. Everything has to be right. Merely finishing a cake with gold leaf will not automatically make it a delicious cake.”
New style of patisserie? “Today we see a different style of patisserie: fewer mousses and bavarois, more crèmes, crème brulée, cream rice, cremeux etc, i.e. richer fillings. A small cake must weigh around 90 to 100 g. Therefore, we have replaced the mousse rings with a height of 4 cm with rings of 3.5 cm. In this way, we achieve a higher profit margin per recipe without the clients getting less value for their money. The price per person is € 3.60. With this pricing, we achieve our gross margin. I fear that a price rise is on the way due to the fluctuating prices of sugar, chocolate and cream.”
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Visit & Create
Tips for Christmas and the New Year “At the beginning of October, we always present the winter programme to our clients, with new tastes and combinations. I only use these tastes in the Christmas cakes so that the clients know the taste when they place an order. They are not faced with (unwelcome) surprises. At the beginning of December, we always organise a tasting evening. The immediate result of this is around one hundred orders. By communicating with the clients, you can feel and hear what their favourite tastes are, and their wishes.”
Tips for the younger generation “If you have the passion, go for it. Open your ears and your eyes. More than ever before, everything is more readily available, via the internet, books and internships. And don’t hide behind a 38-hour working week. Bakery schools should pay more attention to pointing this out to young people. Product knowledge too is relatively underdeveloped. Knowledge of commodities is not taken very seriously. No one seems to know what type of vanilla is suited to crèmes or to baking. Which apricots are delicious and when they are in season. What apple is best for making apple sauce, etc.” “We have to continue to meet our costs without compromising quality. I foresee a rise in sales through the internet. We receive orders regularly via the internet. It is now a question of getting the logistics and production right.”
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Versailles
Ingredients
Shortcrust pastry, raspberry crémeux, raspberry coulis, Noir de Noir chocolate mousse
Chocolate biscuit without flour
Chocolate biscuit without flour Beat the egg white with the sugar, mix in the egg yolks. Using a spatula, mix in the almond powder with the sugar and the cocoa powder. Spread out on a baking tray (60/40) and bake at 185 °C for 8 minutes. Shortcrust pastry Mix the ingredients in this sequence. Store in the fridge. Roll out to 3mm thickness and bake: 180 °C / 11 minutes. Noir de Noir chocolate mousse Boil the sugar with the water and pour onto the egg–egg yolk mixture. Stir at 85 °C and beat to form a sabayon. Heat the 100 g of cream and mix with the chocolate to form a ganache. Mix the sabayon with the ganache. Whisk the remaining cream mix and stir with a spatula.
Raspberry coulis Heat the raspberry purée with the syrup and the liqueur. Add the soaked gelatine, mix and pour out in circles of 16 cm Ø. Freeze. Raspberry crémeux With the milk, cream, sugar and egg yolk, prepare an Anglaise (85 °C). Using a pointed sieve, pour the soaked and melted gelatine onto the raspberry purée. Mix. Pour out in circles of 16 cm Ø and freeze. Glaçage Heat the cream, pour onto the chocolate and add the soaked gelatine. Mix to a smooth ganache. Mix in the neutral clear jelly with the red colouring agent.
Composition Build up the entremet in reverse order on a plastic sheet. Begin by placing half of the chocolate mousse in the ring. Place the frozen raspberry coulis and then the raspberry crémeux in the chocolate mousse and cover this with a layer of chocolate biscuit. Pour the rest of the mousse on top and seal it with a baked wafer of shortcrust pastry. Place in the freezer until it becomes solid.
Finish Remove from the mould and cover with the glaçage. Decoration of the patisserie.
Recipe for 1 cake of 18 cm Ø / 3.5cm high
420 g egg white 225 g sugar 325 g egg yolk 10 g almond powder 10 g sugar 25 g cocoa powder
Shortcrust pastry 2 g salt 60 g icing sugar 120 g Debic Cake Gold 10 g egg 15 g almond powder 15 g sugar 200 g flour
Noir de Noir chocolate mousse 90 g sugar 15 ml water 100 g egg yolk 50 g egg 500 ml Debic Cream 35% 300 g dark chocolate 56%
Raspberry coulis 200 g raspberry purèe 10 ml sugar syrup 1:1 10 ml raspberry liqueur 4,5 g gelatine
Raspberry crémeux 25 25 20 5 75 3
ml milk ml Debic Cream 35% g egg yolk g sugar g raspberry purée g gelatine
Glaçage 200 100 230 6 200 10
ml Debic Cream 35% g milk chocolate 38% g dark chocolate 70% g gelatine g neutral jelly ml red colouring agent
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Debic Collection
Get creative with savoury and sweet snacks for your bakery Surprising with an interesting cost price Sablé with algae Ingredients
kg price
400 g Debic Cake Gold 11 g coarse sea salt 900 g flour 125 g almond powder 100 ml water 175 ml Debic Cream 35% 60 g Parmesan cheese (grated) 40 g dried seaweed/algae 18 g sugar
€ € € € € € € € €
5.30 7.00 0.60 12.00 - 3.90 14.50 90.00 1.00
1820 g yield: 17 bundles of 100 g
Preparation - Knead the ingredients in the sequence of the list. Spread out on a baking sheet and roll out. - Leave for several hours in the fridge and slice the dough into strips of 2 x 16 cm. - Oven: 170 °C, 12 minutes. Alternatively - Roll out the dough to form a cylinder and cool. - Sprinkle with water and roll in the sesame seed. - Cut into slices and bake. - Instead of sea algae you can add rosemary, thyme or cumin.
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total € € € € € € € € €
2.12 0.08 0.54 1.50 0.68 0.87 3.60 0.02
€ 9.41
December is the top festive month. Naturally, you offer your clients something extra in this month. Luxury and freshness are, in the eyes of the customer, the top quality characteristics of a pastry chef. This applies even more to Christmas and the New Year. With these simple, elegant and savoury snacks, Debic demonstrates that working creatively and cost effectively can go together. The entrepreneur in you will conclude, after using these recipes, that it is an attractive idea to offer these suggestions also in other months. And why not? A generous gross margin, few non-standard ingredients required, and the products are suitable for freezing!
Clafoutis with Parmesan cheese Ingredients
kg price
400 150 135 175 175 70 2 2 135
€ € € € € € € € €
g egg g flour ml Debic Cream 35% g Parmesan cheese (grated) g goat’s cheese g sugar g mixed herbs g red pepper berries g dried plums
2.50 0.60 3.90 14.50 9.00 1.00 11.00 11.00 10.00
total € € € € € € € € €
1.00 0.09 0.53 2.54 1.58 0.07 0.22 0.22 1.35
€ 7.60
yield 20 glasses
€ 0.38
per glass
Preparation - Divide the pieces of dried plums in the preserving jars. - Mix the other ingredients in the sequence of the list. - Using a piping bag, squirt the batter into the preserving jars. Bake: - Oven: 170 °C, approx. 25 minutes.
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Debic Collection
Apéritivo! Cheese puffs 100 pieces Ingredients
kg price
total
140 ml milk € 1.00 € 0.14 215 ml water € - € 90 g Debic Cake Gold € 5.60 € 0.50 5 g salt € 0.20 € 0.00 9 g sugar € 1.00 € 0.01 200 g flour € 0.60 € 0.12 325 g egg € 2.50 € 0.81 150 g grated cheese (Gruyère or Emmenthal) € 6.50 € 0.98 € 2.56
per piece
€ 0.03
Preparation - Mix the milk with the water, sugar, salt, and butter and bring to the boil slowly. - Add the flour, mix and put in the planet mixer. - Stir until smooth by mixing in the eggs. - The batter is ready when it drips off the spatula slowly. - Portion the puffs onto plates and sprinkle cheese on top. - Oven: 200 °C, 20 minutes.
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Tip The choux pastry batter is the same as that for the classic sweet profiterolles. By sprinkling grated cheese, sesame seed of coarse sea salt on top just before baking, you will already have done part of the finish.
The fillings: 15 g/puff By adding cream to the smoothened butter you will obtain a smooth cream that melts in the mouth, even at fridge temperature. Taste components are easy to add and can be used to extend the range in an easy manner. Additional suggestions: curry powder, anchovies, green pesto, Roquefort, and cognac.
Ganda Ingredients
kg price
250 g Debic Cake Gold 75 ml Debic Cream 35% 25 g red port 100 g pâté spread
€ € € €
5.60 3.90 12.00 8.00
total € 1.38 € 0.29 € 0.30 € 0.80
€
€ 0.09
15 g filling per puff
2.77
Preparation - Stir the soft butter with the cream until smooth. - Flavour with the port and the pâté spread.
Tomatade Ingredients
kg price
250 g Debic Cake Gold 125 ml Debic Cream 35% 100 g tomato pesto
€ 5.60 € 3.90 € 12.00
total € 1.40 € 0.49 € 1.20
€ 3.09
€ 0.10
15 g filling per puff
Preparation - Stir the soft butter with the cream until smooth. - Flavour with the tomato pesto.
Smokey Ingredients
kg price
300 ml Debic Cake Gold 100 g quark 125 g smoked fish (trout, salmon, herring) 3 g dried dill
€ 5.60 € 2.91 € 21.00 € 9.00
total € 1.68 € 0.29 € 2.63 € 0.03
€ 4.63
€ 0.13
15 g filling per puff
Preparation - Stir the soft butter with the quark until smooth. - Flavour with the smoked fish and the dill tops. - Slice open the cooled puffs and fill with the savoury crèmes. - Finish to taste with dried ham, chilli pepper, g rated lemon and anchovies. 15
Debic Collection
Tiramisù Traditional, 50 cups Ingredients
kg price
Tiramisu 2 L Debic Tiramisù
€
Coffee syrup 300 ml sugar syrup 1:1 100 ml amaretto 20 g mocha extract Garnish 1000 g sponge fingers 100 g cocoa powder
4.96
total € 9.92
€ 0.74 € 5.95 € 18.25
€ 0.22 € 0.60 € 0.37
€ €
1.25 7.80
€ 0.13 € 0.78
50 pieces
€ 12.02
Bereiding - Whip the Debic Tiramisù. - Break 300 g of sponge fingers into pieces and divide this into the cups. - Dose 15 g of coffee syrup in each cup. - Use a smooth nozzle to portion 40 g of whipped tiramisù into each cup. - Break the remaining sponge fingers into two and stick 4 sponge finger halves in each cup. - Dust the sponge fingers with cocoa powder. - Store in the fridge.
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Crème brûlée, 50 cups Ingredients
kg price
total
Crème brûlée 2 L Debic Crème Brûlée Bourbon
€
4.79
€ 9.58
Hazelnut ganache 250 ml Debic Cream 35% 150 ml Debic Cake Gold 60 g hazelnut praliné 175 g milk chocolate
€ € € €
3.90 5.60 7.17 5.77
€ 0.98 € 0.84 € 0.43 € 1.01
small apples 850 g apples (Elstar) 120 g sugar 30 g cold binding agent
€ € €
1.50 1.00 4.45
€ 1.28 € 0.12 € 0.13
Afwerking 800 ml Debic Cream 35%
€
3.90
€ 3.12
50 pieces
€ 17.49
Preparation - Heat the Debic Crème Brûlée Bourbon to 70 ºC. - Bring the cream with the butter and the hazelnut praliné to the boil. - Cover with cling film and leave for at least 2 hours. - Heat the cream to 70 ºC and poor onto the chocolate. - Mix everything slowly. - Peel the apples and cut into cubes of 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm. - Mix the binding agent with the sugar and then through the apple cubes. - Dose 30 g of hazelnut ganache in each cup. Freeze. - Pour 40 g of Debic Crème Brûlée Bourbon on top. Cool. - Spoon 20 g apple cubes into each cup. - Decorate with the whipped cream, caramel cubes, cinnamon, and the chocolate decoration. - Store in the fridge.
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Debic Collection
Xmas 2011 Stylistic version of the classic Christmas Pudding
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Almond mousse - Soften the marzipan with the heated milk. - Add the melted gelatine together with the Cointreau. - Work the whisked Debic Cream into this mixture using a spatula. - Divide into tubes (6 cm x 3 cm) and seal with a layer of biscuit. Freeze.
Ingredients Recipe for 10 pieces of 10 cm Ø and 10 cm high
Almond mousse 10 x 4 cm/7 cm
Breton shortcrust pastry - Mix the butter with the sugar to form a smooth mass and add whisked egg yolk. - Sieve the baking powder under the flour and mix with the rest of the dry ingredients. - Add to the soft butter and knead the mass briefly. - Spread out on baking paper and cool. - Roll out to a thickness of 7 mm and bake with the baking ring (16 cm Ø) around the dough: 165 °C, 22 minutes. - After baking, sprinkle immediately with powdered cocoa butter. - Store.
Velvety chocolate mousse with aroma of violets - Make an Anglaise using the egg yolk, the sugar and the 300 g of whipped cream (85 °C). - Pour onto the chocolates and mix. - Fold the lightly whipped cream into the mixture using a spatula. Process.
Lemonade jellies (decoration) - Bring the water with the sugar to the boil, add the zest and the juice and mix carefully with the melted gelatine. - Leave to set overnight. - Whisk at top speed for 10 to 12 minutes. - Pour out onto a tray and freeze. - Cut small cubes of 1 x 1 cm.
Composition - Line stainless steel circles (10 cm high x 10 cm diameter) with relief plastic and place on the Breton shortcrust pastry. - Cover the base with coarse pieces of chocolate biscuit and pieces of fresh mango. - Pour on almond mousse. - Squirt chocolate mousse into the moulds. - Freeze.
200 g marzipan 70% almond 20 ml Cointreau 60% 100 ml milk 10 g gelatine 200 ml Debic Cream 35%
Breton shortcrust pastry 225 g 215 g 120 g 8 g 28 g 300 g 100 g 35 g 35 g
Debic Cake Gold sugar egg yolk coarse sea salt baking powder flour almond powder chocolate chips cocoa butter
Velvety chocolate mousse with aroma of violets 115 g egg yolk 140 g sugar 300 ml Debic Cream 35% 400 g dark chocolate 70% 200 g milk chocolate 1,3 L Debic Cream 35% 8 drops of violet aroma
Lemonade jellies (decoration) 250 ml juice + zest of lime and orange 250 ml water 250 g sugar 5 ml white balsamic vinegar 17 g gelatine 1 mango
Finish After removing the tart from the mould and spray with a mixture of chocolate and cocoa butter (50/50). Decorate. 19
Interview
Italian advocate for international pastry cooking Roberto Lestani talks about himself and his profession
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Companies big and small hang on his every word when he gives a presentation. Roberto Lestani has a degree in accounting but owes his fame to his exploits as a pastry chef. His extensive knowledge and his tireless efforts have made Roberto a dedicated advocate for the interests of international pastry cooking. With his engaging Italian flair, he found time to tell the Bakery Magazine about himself and about his profession. What is the philosophy behind your work? “Above all, my father, and my Catholic upbringing, gave me the passion that I would soak up at the kitchen in Udine. In addition to a love of the craft, my father also taught me life values: you must never lose sight of the important things in life.”
Did you want to be a pastry chef when you were a child? “Yes, it was as though it was in our family genes. From a very young age, I wanted to be a pastry chef. The dedication and enthusiasm of my father were so infectious that he initiated me into the world of pastry arts. He was my teacher and my mentor.”
How did you start out?
Identikit Roberto Lestani’s list of achievements (born in 1970 in Udine, Italy) 1994: gold medal Dolce Compagnia 1998: two silver medals and two bronze medals at the Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg 2000: two gold medals and one silver at the Culinary Olympics in Erfurt 2002: gold medal and trophy Coppa Europe a Squadre in Rome 2004: World Confectionery Champion 2006: Cavaliere al Merito della Republica Italiana (Order of Merit for Services to the Republic of Italy), awarded by the Italian government
“I wanted to go to art school but my mother preferred for me to get a degree in accounting. These days, in fact, that training still comes in handy. After getting my degree, I started working at famous firms across Europe: in Austria, France and Belgium. It wasn’t only the professional know-how that I gained that shaped my career, the organisation of those firms was also a determining factor for what I do today.”
What is your opinion on participation in competitions, where you spend a lot of time on the podium? “I believe that every competition is important. Participation is sometimes more important than winning, but there has to be progress in what you are doing. My first competition was not, in fact, a great success. But after talking to Iginio Massari – founder of the Academy of Italian Masters of Pastry Cooking – that all changed. He was the man behind the European competitions and the Coupe du Monde for Italy in 2002 and 2004, the Olympics of pastry cooking. The stress, the adrenalin, the national anthem on the podium: they were both emotional and happy moments. I have fantastic memories of this period, together with my team mate Leonardo Di Carlo.”
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Interview
Ingredients Yield 12 glasses
Meringaggio almond 200 g almond powder 200 g sugar 300 g egg white 70 g sugar 20 g Debic Cake Gold
Cointreau jelly
What do you consider your personal highlight? “Being awarded the title of ‘Cavaliere’ for services rendered to the Italian Republic, presented to me by the the President of the Republic, was quite something. That moment made a great impression on me and on the Italian press.”
What do you do these days? “My main activity today is to advise companies and professionals and organise courses and training. Advising, testing, and evaluating recipes, concepts and organisations are the different aspects of the profession. The goal is not only to create a beautiful or delicious cake but also to be cost effective in producing and selling that cake. Since I received my first salary, I have been investing in materials, books, seminars, internships and courses. Now after 40 years, I can say that also on a professional level I have achieved a lot that I am very proud of. With fitting pride, all my diplomas adorn the walls of my office. I regularly repeat to my children that you must always put in 100% effort to achieve your goal.”
How do you see our profession evolving in Italy? “For professionals, these are good times in terms of technology. We have modern means of communication, such as the internet and social media, but we also have openness and strong ties between the younger and older generations. The exchange of knowledge and recipes has never been so open and stimulating as it is now. The customer, however, is always demanding more from his pastry chef. The romantic prints of a bakery with loaves of bread stacked on the shelf does not hold sway any more. The pampered customer wants to see sweet boutiques, an aesthetic combination of colour, taste and aroma. Clearly stating the name, ingredients, and tastes contributes to a positive image in our profession.”
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100 ml sugar syrup 50/50 4 g gelatine 100 g Cointreau 60%
Chocolate mousse with lemon 55% 250 g dark chocolate 55% 200 ml Debic Crème Anglaise Bourbon 400 ml Debic Cream 35% 5 g lemon zest 5 drops of lemon oil
Transparency Meringaggio almond Mix 200 g sugar with the almond powder, whisk the egg white with 70 g of sugar, use a spatula to mix, then fold in the melted butter (33 °C) using a spatula. Using a piping bag, portion small sticks on a baking tray, sprinkle with icing sugar and leave for 15 minutes. Bake: 170 °C 8 min. Cointreau jelly Boil the syrup, add the soaked gelatine and then the Cointreau. Chocolate mousse with lemon 55% Heat the Debic Crème Anglaise Bourbon to 30 °C, pour onto the melted chocolate (40 °C), mix well and mix in the lemon oil and lemonzest. With a spatula, fold in the lightly whisked cream in two movements.
Composition Alternate the Cointreau jelly and chocolate mousse in a martini glass. Decorate with berries and gold leaf, leave to crystallise, place a meringaggio with almonds and complete the dessert with isomalt decorations.
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Techniques & Basics
classic crèmes of olden days creations and taste combinations determine the style of your bakery. in order to create your own style, you need basic know-how. debic shares this philosophy. Therefore in each instalment of ‘Techniques & basics’ we look in detail at commonly used basic recipes and fi llings. in this edition, we look at the classic crèmes of olden days that today, more than in the past, are valued for their purity and clear taste. classic examples are: crème diplomate, crème saint-honoré and crème mousseline. guaranteed to be a success!
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| debic Magazine
Crème Patissière pastry pudding – yellow cream – custard cream Pie bases, éclairs, cream horns, mille-feuille or tompouce, the basis for crème chibouste, crème mousseline and crème diplomate: without this shiny yellow cream there would be no pastry arts! The most common filling.
Preparation Split the vanilla pod and add this to the milk with the cream and one third of the sugar. Heat. Mix one third of the sugar with the maize starch. Briskly whisk the remainder of the sugar with the egg yolks. Add a portion of the tepid milk (approx. 150 g), mix everything and stir carefully. Once the liquid is boiling, add the egg starch and sugar composition while stirring and mixing well until the entire crème is boiling. Remove from the heat and pour into a clean stainless steel tray. Cover with plastic foil and store in the fridge.
Comments
Basic Crème Patissière recipe 1 L whole milk 125 ml Debic Cream 35% 1 vanilla pod 200–250 g sugar 80–120 g egg yolk 80–100 g maize starch or warm custard powder
- You can also use the whole egg but this gives no extra taste or binding. - When using crème powder or pudding powder you can omit vanilla and egg (yolk). The pre-mixed powder contains colouring agents and aroma. The advantage is the longer shelf life: 48 hours instead of 24 hours in the fridge. - Users of automatic cooking machines should use 10% more custard powder because there is no evaporation during the cooking process and the starch, due to the continuous stirring, loses some of its effect. - The addition of cream to the recipe ensures a smooth crème and a fuller taste. You can also add butter but only at the end of the cooking process. Remove from the heat and pour into a clean stainless steel tray. Cover with cling film and store in the fridge.
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Techniques & Basics
Ingredients 1 L whole milk 125 ml Debic Cream 35% 2 vanilla pods 200 g sugar 100 g egg yolk 100 g maize starch or warm custard powder 2 zest of orange 80 ml Cointreau 60% 2 g gelatine 500 g sugar 180 ml water 225 g egg white
Crème Chibouste This crème is also known as Crème Saint-Honoré. It is an airy crème filling that can be easily shaped and is perfect for freezing.
Preparation Grate the orange peels and add the zest to the milk with the cream and one third of the sugar. Bring to the boil. Mix one third of the sugar with the maize starch. Whisk the rest of the sugar with the egg yolks to form a stiff mixture. Add a portion of the tepid milk (approx. 150 g), mix everything and stir carefully. Once the liquid is boiling, add the egg, starch and sugar composition while stirring and mix well until the entire crème is boiling. Remove from the heat and mix in the soaked gelatine. Cover with cling film and store in the fridge. Boil the 500 g of sugar with the water to 119 °C and pour in jets on the lightly whisked egg whites. Whisk the foam until ‘peaks’ form. Then mix with the cooled crème with Cointreau. Process immediately.
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Ingredients
Crème Diplomate
1 kg pastry crème 10 g gelatine 1 L Debic Cream 35% 60 ml Saint James rum
This much used, airy filling can be used for many applications. The crème is extremely well suited to the classic crème diplomate with rum and raisins, strawberry or banana pies, profiteroles etc. Other names that are often used are crème Suisse.
Preparation Stir the bakery crème until smooth. In the meantime, melt the soaked gelatine and mix with the rum. Add to the bakery crème and the whipped cream, and carefully fold in using a spatula. Process immediately. Tip: for daily pies, the gelatine and the liqueur are not necessary. You can also flavour the custard crème using compounds (banana, raspberry, and mocha).
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Techniques & Basics
Ingredients
Crème Mousseline This elegant crème lies between butter cream or crème au beurre and a rich crème patissière. Fraisiers, misérables and mille-feuilles are ideal for garnishing with this truly French crème.
Preparation As with a pastry cream: split the vanilla pod and add this to the milk with one third of the sugar. Heat. Mix one third of the sugar with the maize starch and a portion of the tepid milk (circa 150 g). Whisk the sugar well with the egg yolks. Mix everything, stir carefully. When the liquid boils add the egg starch and sugar composition while stirring and mixing well until the entire crème is boiling. Remove from the heat. Add half of the soft butter and mix well. Pour onto a clean stainless steel tray. Cover with cling film and store in the fridge. After it has cooled, remove the crème and add the rest of the soft butter. Whisk to form a homogeneous crème.
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1 L milk 350 g sugar 1 vanilla pod 135 g maize starch 135 g egg yolk 600 g Debic Cake Gold
Ingredients
Crèmeux or crème of fruit
250 ml lemon juice 250 ml lime juice + the zest of the limes and lemons 125 g sugar 150 g egg yolk 175 g whole egg 8 g gelatine 125 g Debic Cake Gold
In general, a crèmeux is a rich pastry cream without milk. Optionally, this can be replaced by a fruit purée. The characteristic feature is the soft, non-airy structure. The classic lemon crème is the forerunner of these popular techniques used widely today in modern patisseries. By adding gelatine this filling becomes ideal for storing in the freezer.
Preparation Grate the peel of the citrus fruits and squeeze them. Whisk the other half with the egg yolk and the egg to form a foam. Stir while bringing to the boil. Carefully mix in the soaked gelatine. At approx. 40 °C add the butter and emulsify with a hand mixer. Process immediately.
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Product & Ingredients
Chocolate, cream and butter: the weapons of every chocolatier and pastry chef
Many pastry chefs get their inspiration from enthusiastic chefs with artistic and daring ideas on taste and colour combinations. Chocolatiers who combine chocolates with unusual tastes and aromas are also a source of inspiration.
Fillings and garnishes for pralines, chocolates, macaroons, dessert glasses, dessert tarts… One thing is sure: preparation must be technically exact. It is extremely important that the emulsions be smooth, cohesive, and can be kept for a long period. The classic preparation technique of ‘boil the cream, pour the chocolate on top and stir until everything has melted’ has long been superseded. The techniques and preparation methods of today are more in line with the professional kitchen. It is important to work out a sound basic recipe as the departure point for testing new recipes or alternative ingredients!
Debic’s chocolate demonstration: ‘Colours & Perfume’
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The importance of the ingredients Cream Without cream, no filling! Try to avoid boiling Debic cream. In this way you will maintain the fresh taste of cream. Boiling results in the formation of a skin, more evaporation, and loss (of quality). Warm cream poured on melted chocolate emulsifies and cools more quickly. That benefits shelf life.
above all, for the diversity of what it produces. Couverture is international, ganaches also. That is not where you see the difference. The success lies in the enormous offering of fillings: marzipan, butter fillings, liqueur pralines, cream fillings, fruity crèmes and today also various combinations. The many Belgian chocolatiers have to differentiate themselves by being highly creative and versatile. That further increases the offering.” Kris Dooms Chairman of the professional association of chocolatiers
Belgian chocolate is world famous. There must be an explanation for this. Kris Dooms, chairman of the professional association: “Many countries know how to make delicious pralines, chocolates, and bonbons. But Belgium is famous,
Chocolate The important thing is the percentage. The average cocoa content (cocoa mass + cacao butter) is around 55–60%. The rest is sugar. Be particularly careful with chocolate with high fat content, as high cocoa content combined with the fat content of the cream (35 to 40%) could cause clotting or fat separation. Reduce the fat content of the cream or use inverted sugar syrup or trimoline. Not all pastry chefs have at their disposal a professional Robot Coupe. For smaller recipes, a reliable hand mixer is a perfect alternative.
Trends and the future? “Classic products will continue to do well. Especially in times of economic insecurity. Short-term fashionable tastes will disappear. Lavender, tea, fruit and printed pralines are past their peak. Every creative professional will explore the limits but the trend is more towards dark chocolate, more ganaches and classic rich tastes such as praline, butter, caramel and vanilla.
or crème filling gives an obvious stronger taste, dosing gives a subtle orange taste, while adding more than 3 % would justify rebranding the cake as Cointreau cake or ‘praline with Cointreau’ due to the recognisable taste. Fortunately, the pastry chefs and chocolatiers of today are a lot better at dosing their ingredients.
The future? Paul Segers Key-Account Manager Europe Premium Gastronomie
What is the situation concerning alcohol in fillings? There is a clear difference between a traditional chocolatier and the industry. The industry is mainly interested in co-branding. The brand name ‘Cointreau’ or ‘Passoa’ therefore becomes a benefit on the packaging of luxury food products. Traditional chocolatiers use the liqueurs for taste and support, and in the past also as an effective preservative. Pastry chefs have at times been careless with their alcohol additions, which sometimes led to customer complaints and requests for an alcohol-free version of a cake... Dosing is an art! An example: the addition of 1.5% of Cointreau to a butter
France continues to be the shop window for pastry arts, with Belgium closely behind and benefiting from more moderate prices. Spain is strong on the culinary level but, just as in Italy, pastry and chocolate sales suffer from the hot summer temperatures from May to the end of September. Germany is strong on incorporating alcohol, as are the countries of Eastern Europe.
Belgian chocolate? The success of Belgian chocolate is driven by its price/quality ratio. Just look at some of the prices charged in Germany, France or Italy: €110 per kg, compared to €35–75 in Belgium, even for top brands. Striking detail: hand-made pralines in Belgium cost less than industrially produced pralines. Everyone works with the same ingredients. Therefore, logically, the reverse should be the case.
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Product & Ingredients
“Without cream, no fi lling.�
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Basic recipe Ingredients for basic recipe
%
Debic Cream Trimoline – Glucose – Honey Milk chocolate 39% Debic Cake Gold Alcohol 40/60°
30 5 55 5 5
1.000 g 167 g 1.833 g 167 g 167 g
300 ml 50 ml 550 ml 50 ml 50 ml
100
3.334 g
1L
Total
G
L
Method Heat the Debic cream with the trimoline, the glucose or the honey and emulsify* with the chocolate and the Debic Butter; add the alcohol, mix further and allow the mass to crystallise.
Alternative Melt the chocolate with a portion of the Debic Cream in the microwave and mix with a hand mixer. Add the other ingredients and emulsify. Allow to crystallise. This recipe gives you numerous options: it is the perfect filling for hollow chocolate balls, the ideal recipe for having macaroons stick together, as a smooth basis for piping into dessert cups or glasses or in combination with fruit, a blob of cream, or extra crèmes.
“For fillings, garnishes, pralines, chocolate balls, macaroons, and dessert glasses.”
* Emulsify by mixing the warm liquid with the chocolate using a hand mixer
or Robot Coupe. Mixing with a spatula is old fashioned.
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Product & Ingredients
Passionata Variation on the basic recipe Ingredients for Passionata
%
G
L
Debic Cream 35% Inverted sugar syrup/glucose White chocolate 28% Debic Cake Gold Passoa 40%
27.3 5.6 55 4.5 7.6
500 g 104 g 1.000 g 84 g 141 g
1L 208 ml 2 L 167 ml 283 ml
Total
100
1.829 g
3.658 L
Method Heat the cream and pour this onto the white chocolate. Add the butter and inverted sugar syrup and emulsify carefully. Stir in the liqueur slowly using a Robot Coupe or hand mixer. Crystallise.
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Americano Variation on the basic recipe Ingredients for Americano
%
G
L
Purée of pink grapefruit Campari Debic Cream 35% Grapefruit zest Trimoline Debic Cake Gold Dark chocolate 58%
15.6 7.1 10 2 4.8 5.7 56.8
275 g 125 175 g 1 85 g 100 g 1.000 g
156 ml 71 g 100 ml 48 ml 57 ml 568 ml
Total
100
1.761 g
1L
Filling 250 g Candied orange peel 75 ml Cointreau 60%
Store sealed
Method Grate the zest into the cream. The next day, sieve and heat together with the purée of grapefruit and the trimoline. Pour through a sieve onto the dark chocolate and emulsify together with the alcohol. Crystallise. Fill the macaroons with a circle of Campari crème, insert a piece of candied orange peel with Cointreau and place a second macaroon on top.
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As a confectioner or pastry chef who is looking for affordable top quality, it goes without saying that you make use of Debic dairy products. We would like to go one step further, however. We wish to inspire you as a professional and support you as an entrepreneur, so that your business becomes more profitable.
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