Sweet Tooth

When creating desserts I look at the flavour profile of anything I want to add to the plate first then work out how to achieve that flavour in the dessert. In this case I was looking at those beautiful, golden sesame seeds you often get on bread, they are toasted to the perfect flavour and add a depth of flavour to the bread.

I first started by asking myself, " how can I get the flavour profile of those awesome sesame seeds in a dessert without having to use them in the final dessert"?, the answer to this questions is often liquid. Infused liquids often carry the flavour profile without having to use the ingredient being infused in the final solution. At that point in time I was experimenting with ice creams and gelato as we were coming into Spring in the southern hemisphere, so it seemed a natural fit.

I started by toasting the sesame seeds in a deep pot to achieve the same golden colour and aroma you get with the seeds on baked bread, from there I added the milk and cream for the base and once at a simmer I remove it from the heat and allow it to cool. From there I blend the seeds and milk mixture together to release more flavour, before straining the sesame seeds out. A simple anglise is made with a small amount of salt added to season the mixture and bring even more flavour out, I allow the mixture to rest over night before churning the gelato base.

The strawberry component of this dish is broken down into three elements, firstly fresh strawberries that are marinated with a strawberry juice and fresh puree, a jelley of strawberry and the juice itself. This is all finished with a touch more toasted sesame seeds and basil cress.

This one was part inspired be Aki and Alex's malted yoghurt, and part by watching another chef drain ricotta for a dish in the same way traditional labna (Middle Eastern yoghurt cheese) is made.



I thought about it for a week or so and remembered making a labna at one of my previous jobs. It’s a simple process where by you take yoghurt, season and add spices then you place it in a cheese cloth and hang to expel as much liquid as possible over a 5-7 day period. After this time you roll the now thicker yoghurt into small balls and preserve in olive oil with herbs.

I played around with different flavours in the yoghurt, first starting with malt powder and sugar, the flavour just wasn't right so after a few attempts I tried a bit of honey and the flavours seemed to mesh well so the waiting game started while the liquid drained from the mix.

5 Days later Labna in hand I had some strawberry juice on hand that I was playing around with a few days earlier and some chocolate chip cookies from my personal stash and played around until I was happy with the results.

Working on from my last post I have made some developments in the "Fruit Juice Department". I've playing around with my strawberry juice and tried something a little different.

I started with some very ripe strawberries and a few cherries for colour, a pinch of cardamom and some sugar. After cooking for half an hour I strain the juice through cheese cloth. The aroma of freshly cooked strawberries with a grounding of cardamom spice was fantastic on the nostrils.



From here I moved into three directions, firstly I tried the juice straight from the bag to see its effect in plated desserts with no avail. Then I tried a reduced version which was perfect as a sauce, the flavours intensifying further and a true syrup was born. Although I wasn't entirely happy as the flavour of cooked strawberries was lost some what with the intense cooking to reduce the syrup. So I had to find a way to thicken the syrup for plating without losing the flavours I began with.

With a little thought time I came back to Xanthan Gum, perfect for its thickening properties and the flavour would not be lost as no cooking was required. Although in my rush to see the results I may have gone a bit too far adding to much gum. After allowing the gum to hydrate I whisked the mixture to disperse the gum through the liquid, in the process adding a large amount of air to the mixture. As the gum hydrated further and began to increase the viscosity of the liquid the air became trapped almost emulsified with the strawberry juice.

The results were most surprising; I had achieved a mayonnaise style sauce with the texture of mousse. It will be interesting to see where I can go from here...

Mid winter I have been working on a number of new dessert ideas and concepts. One in particular to take my interest recently is fruit juices.

I start with fresh fruit, which I then cryovac with a little sugar and cook in a bath for 25-30mins or until the fruit has released its natural juices. Then I carefully strain the resultant liquid through a filter and am left with a clear, robust liquid.

The fruit juice can then be reduced further to create a flavouring agent for other dessert preparations or as a sauce. You can also add other flavour to the bag that will infuse during cooking. For my strawberry juice I added pomegranate seeds and a touch of orange juice to cut through the sweetness.

Sorry about the lack of updates recently, but I have been swamped by other work since April. I am working on a number of different ideas now and will be making more posts soon.

Cheers Nemo

A great way to add a different element to any dessert is the use of airs or foams. My definition of foam is a liquid with the addition of lecithin and foamed by a hand blender. And when I refer to airs I'm talking about the use of gelatine to set a liquid in a siphon. Here are a few views and ideas to get you started.

1. The best tasting and most flavoursome foams and airs are created by using a natural juice and concentrating it by reduction or purees.
2. The general rule of thumb is that the liquid be light the more viscous the liquid you’re using the harder it is to foam. With airs it is a different story though, if using the Siphon the viscosity of the liquid is less relevant.
3. Foams created using lecithin work better at room temperature.
4. The amount of lecithin used in a foam is important, not enough and the foam will not hold, too much and you end up with lecithin tasting foam with a soapy feel on the palate.

Recipes
Air
350ml Liquid (Fruit puree such as raspberry reduced to a light sauce consistency as a rough guide)
1 Sheet Gelatine Titanium Grade
Siphon + 2 Cream Bulbs

1. Bloom gelatine and warm small amount of liquid and dissolve in liquid. Incorporate into remaining liquid and fill siphon.
2. Refrigerate siphon until liquid has set, then charge siphon and shoot.

Note: It is important to allow the liquid to set before use; it simply won't work straight away.

Foam
500ml Liquid (Natural Fruit juices work best)
5g Lecithin
Stick Blender

1. Combine liquid and lecithin using the stick blender and make sure all traces of lecithin have dissolved. Foam liquid using the aeration attachment on the blender; allow the foam to set for 1min before using.

Note: Use water consistency liquids.

After a bit of trial and error I have successfully recreated the Italian style hot chocolate I so often crave.

Italian Hot Chocolate:

1 Tbsp Drinking Chocolate Powder*
200 Ml Milk
1 G Xanthan Gum
0.5 G Iota Carrageenan (Equal to about the tip of a really small teaspoon)

1. Combine drinking chocolate powder, xanthan gum and carrageenan in mug. Add about 20ml of the cold milk to dissolve the chocolate mixture.
2. Heat milk to a roughly 80C, then pour over chocolate mixture and stir to combine well.

As the hot chocolate cools it thickens like the real deal. If you were to allow it to cool down enough or refrigerate it sets almost like a loose pudding or jelly that can be eaten with a spoon. I just enjoy drinking it when it’s thick and gooey.

*Note: The quality of the drinking chocolate is important, the chocolate powder I used had sugar already added to it, you can use one without for a more rich dark chocolate flavour.

was at a local cafe the other day and was served a thin and thick Italian style hot chocolate. What do I mean by thin and thick? Well when the chocolate is hot it is a runny consistency and as it cools its viscosity increases to a thick soup consistency.

What kind of dinning experience will someone have when served a hot soup of strawberry that thickens as it cools. Or a clear melon consomme that sets similar to a pudding but is free flowing. The possibilities are endless...

I've been having trouble recently with the blog, so I had to update with great effort and pain to myself. Although here's a bit of an update on the progress of my rice wafer idea. In my previous entry I discussed my thoughts on cooking the rice till almost dry, cooling and rolling the rice. As can be seen from the picture I've rolled the rice and you can see a sheet of rice forming.

Once I achieved the correct thickness I cut the sheet to the size and shape I wanted then deep fried till golden and crispy.

While steaming rice the other day I was thinking of ideas for its incorporation into a possible dessert besides rice pudding.

One idea in I was really interested in was the possibility of using the rice to make a wafer. I drew inspiration from rice crispy rounds we have here in Australia, where cooked rice is formed into thin rounds and then cooked again to give it a firm and crisp texture.

I started by cooking a small amount of rice in water with a small amount of sugar, I allowed all the liquid to evaporate and just before removing I added a spoon of cornflour (cornstarch). It’s cooling right now, but when it's ready I want to roll out the rice between two sheets of baking paper and allow to set slightly before frying or baking to finish.

I'll keep you updated and try to post pictures soon...