The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris.
I never heard of this dessert before reading about the daring bakers' March challenge. I thought it was a perfect selection for this time of the year since citrus fruits are at their best (in the northern hemisphere that is). This was another fun challenge, and I gave it a little spin and based the presentation on a dessert I saw in Charlie Trotter's Desserts cookbook. If you don't know this book check it out because it is amazing, full of beautiful pictures and creations, truly inspirational. In the book each dessert has many different components that can be used alone or together to create beautiful masterpieces. Trotter's dessert was composed by almond cookies, fresh strawberries, whipped cream and a basil syrup.
For the cookies I decided to substitute a third in weight with almond flour to the sablee recipe. I believe it is actually a sucree recipe but I am not Ducasse! I then rolled the dough into a squared log, froze it, cut 1/4" thick slices, added a sliced almond on top, and baked the cookies at 325F. The cookies were great, not too sweet, and the crumb was really nice. It was hard not to eat them all.
I never heard of this dessert before reading about the daring bakers' March challenge. I thought it was a perfect selection for this time of the year since citrus fruits are at their best (in the northern hemisphere that is). This was another fun challenge, and I gave it a little spin and based the presentation on a dessert I saw in Charlie Trotter's Desserts cookbook. If you don't know this book check it out because it is amazing, full of beautiful pictures and creations, truly inspirational. In the book each dessert has many different components that can be used alone or together to create beautiful masterpieces. Trotter's dessert was composed by almond cookies, fresh strawberries, whipped cream and a basil syrup.
For the cookies I decided to substitute a third in weight with almond flour to the sablee recipe. I believe it is actually a sucree recipe but I am not Ducasse! I then rolled the dough into a squared log, froze it, cut 1/4" thick slices, added a sliced almond on top, and baked the cookies at 325F. The cookies were great, not too sweet, and the crumb was really nice. It was hard not to eat them all.
I loved the marmalade recipe because the extra added juice helped cooking the fruit pieces and imparted a nice flavor. I didn't add any pectin to the marmalade, just cooked it to a thick consistency. The color was stunning!
For the syrup I used a purplish peppermint I grow in my garden, ground it with sugar using a mortar, added some water and cooked it to a light syrup.
For the final presentation I sandwiched the cookies with whipped cream (that I didn't stabilize), and blood orange marmalade. I then cut some segments of blood oranges, dressed them with a little mint syrup and arranged them around the cookie stack.
Delicious!
Thanks Jennifer for choosing this month's challenge and to Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice, the creators of the Daring Bakers' challenge. To see the recipe and more of the daring bakers' creations click here.
15 comments:
I have that book too Laura, I really love this guy. I also made similar dessert from his book few years ago, but with basil instead of mint. You done amazingly well here, your end result look very pretty indeed!
A great take on the recipe! Your dessert is splendid and so tempting!
Cheers,
Rosa
laura prima o poi ritornerò al db intanto mi godo il tuo, quello sciroppo mi piace da morire e anche la menta purplish
devono essere buonissimi! e complimenti per l'accostamento di colori e sapori!
Great colours on your dessert! That mint looks really interesting too. I have that very book, but haven't used it much unfortunately.
Cara Laura ,che meraviglia !! Devo vedere il libro ma il tuo piatto è comunque fantastico ! Anche io pensavo che la sablee non avesse uova ma neanche io sono d. Baci
Beautiful! I love the way that decontructed this dessert. It looks sophisticated and yet informal--lovely!
Wow! Your marmade has the most unbelievable colour! Fantastic take on the challenge recipe.
Wow!!! An alternative interpretation, but what fantastic delight! ;-999
Bravissima!
Ago :-D
Thank you Elra! The funny story behind the book is that many of the recipes were published in a hurry and they don't work. I heard this from a pastry chef I used to work with who was at Trotter's while they were developing the recipes.
Rosa, thanks! The dessert really was hard to resist indeed.
Enzina, lo so che tornerai, non ti manca la passione di sicuro.
Gaia, grazie! Penso che i piatti siano piu' gustosi se preparati con una certa estetica, anche agli occhi la sua parte, no?
Y, I know you are really talented, so I am sure you hardly need the book, but visually I find it stunning, and also the pairing is what I like.
Natalia, grazie! La consistenza dei biscotti e' piu' da frollino, ma non mi metto a discutere con gli esperti ;o)
Laura, thanks for stopping by. Many things can be made a little more sophisticated with little touches. I have learned many tricks working in restaurants ;o)
Marcellina, yes the color was unbelievable. I made it again with my old method and it turned more brown. I think that blanching of the oranges is what preserved the color.
Grazie Ago!
Bellissimo risultato! Sai che ormai io metto sempre delle mandorle tritate fine (oppure almond meal) quando faccio la pasta frolla?
Simona, mandorle o altre noci aggiungono un sapore stupendo e anche colore.
Laura, I love your take on the orange tian!! The color in the blood orange is amazing! I love this recipe too!
Jenny, thank for stopping by. I am glad you participated too in the challenge, it was fun indeed.
Laura..I love the way you presented your tian the Trotter way, especially with those almond cookies and gorgeous blood oranges. Mine were pratcically black LOL Beautifully done!!
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