Raymond Blanc's Flour Less Chocolate Cake

My first decent picture!

There are a few cooking shows that really arouse my enthusiasm, to give me the oomph and drive to get up and do something about it. Raymond Blanc's "How To Cook Well" is a marvel, being divided into 6 episodes each based on a particular cooking technique with 'baking" engaging my attention.

I believe that anything and everything we read, look at, purchase or give attention to is to inspire us to become a better version of ourselves. Indeed this cake did for me. Having had this recipe on my mind for a while, it was due time that it was made.

I have always wanted a simple chocolate mousse recipe and alas I found one that is divine to the truth that simplicity is always best. The mousse consisted of egg white, 72% chocolate and sugar... the holy trinity for some devoted dessert fanatics. The bottom half was almost souffle like as it cooked, rising way above the lined tin and cushioning down on itself to settle into a chocolate cake base.

The union of these two desserts, that could hold their own on separate plates, would be thought of being heavy and sickly sweet if the ingredients were unknown. In fact, the coming together of the mousse and cake is like a perfect couple. They both make each other a better half, complement one another and love each other enough to bring the best out of their romance for others to enjoy.

I would be proud to recreate this with the chocolate tuile sitting pretty as a perfect circle on top of the mousse. Also, to create a perfect border for the cake from the tuile, slightly higher than the mousse or even more so a mountainous border using the tuile with sharp jagged edges and lines. Creating this border would allow for the perfect accompaniment of strawberries to be pooled inside. Creating a tuile white in colour would be a very interesting challenge as well. Creating the same cake with a white chocolate mousse would be aesthetically pleasing with the two desserts meeting along the side going up and down in the manner of a wave.

A small note for tuile making enthusiasts, cover each layer of tuile with baking paper and store in a sealed container in the fridge as this prevents the tuiles from becoming moist and hard to handle.

The instructions and simplicity of this cake allowed for my first attempt to come out near perfect.

The recipe can be found here.

The recipe provides quantities for two cakes each of 14 cm diameter or one cake of about 25c m in diameter.

The cake was made as a thank you for the peeps at Devon Cafe, Surry Hills which made a special treat for a friend as her father had passed away. Being such a capable team, I doubt if any non professionals would give a gift of food to them...I hope they liked it.

Over the same weekend, an engagement was announce by two dear friends as I started making this cake, I couldn't help but think of them as I put it all together.

As I mentioned before and will do in many a next posts, keeping someone or people in my mind whilst creating anything will always help me achieve my desired outcome.

- Mith

Pierre Herme's "Pastries" - A Humble Apple Tart

"I love when it rains because it sounds like something is cooking on the stove" is what I wrote on my Facebook wall over the weekend.

I thought nothing of it until quite a few "likes" for my little thought accumulated. There is no sweeter sound than that of butter sizzling in a pan having added something to saute. The act of sauteing is to gently heat and initiate the start of the caramelisation process to bring out the natural sugars of anything, from a steak to an apple.

Sydney city had some rain filled moments that steered me into the direction of baking a dessert. Having acquired 2 books recently, Pierre Herme's "Pastries" and Olivier Dupon's "The New Patissiers" I spent part of my Saturday evening into how I would use some apples that were given to me by a charity that collects food from cafes and passes it on to people that would use it at home. Similar to that of Oz Harvest but under a different organisation.

The beauty of Pierre Hermes' book is that it provides sound knowledge and history of desserts that we take for granted and believe to have been since the beginning of sugary times. It goes into detail about the Tart Tatin, the Macaron, the simple Chocolate Cake, the Eclair and even the humble Australian Peach Melba.

The other aspect of the book that gives it a winning factor is that after the knowledge of each of these classic desserts is passed on, a recipe for perfection along the lines of the original is provided. The importance of understanding the classics and where they came from are imperative to know what can be done in the future. Here lies where I found my recipe for these little apples. From the timeless Apple Strudel comes the classic Apple Tart with Sweet Almond Milk.

As simple as it was I didn't see it being too original but what I did like about it was that it was simple and used various textures from the walnuts to sauted apple left to macerate in the fridge to the finely sliced apples allowed to bake on top of the tart to become dry and crisp. The almond syrup is a clever addition as anything almond flavoured especially in a milk form creates an emulsion with the apples juices that would pass as a top line perfurme. In saying this, the good measure of a book is known once a recipe is followed and it comes out as it should. This one fit the bill, very well.

I look forward to making a few more of the desserts from the book to understand the original and history and then having a go at Herme's attempt of a recreation.

- Mith