Thursday, January 27, 2011

My First Daring Bakers Challenge

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.

I thought about this challenge for a while wanting to do something wild and crazy for my first challenge. But in the end, I went very traditional with my design.
 
I got the stencils for the Imprime a couple of years ago from the Intenational Sugar Art Collection. They are very versatile. We used them for stenciling on a fondant covered cake but I thought they would look nice for this project.
I really wanted to use the toile for the sides of the dessert but the design was just too fragile. So I settled for the top and used the stripes on the sides and they held up much better.
 The dessert was very easy once I played with it a bit.
I had a recipe for the Joconde that I had used years ago. It is very easy and the only snag is that you need almond flour. I keep almond flour in the freezer because I love to make and eat French Macarons that use it as an ingredient.
I made a strawberry mousse filling since it is so close to Valentines Day and I wanted something to coordinate with the Gumpaste roses I made as a decoration.

I assembled the pieces in a six inch cake pan that I lined with Cling wrap. I layered the mousse with plain biscuit joconde and chilled it overnight. It removed nicely from the pan. The dessert was easy to cut and serve.








I love the Daring Bakers because it encourages me to do something I would not have ordinarily done. I felt challenged but had a great time. I cannot wait for the next challenge!


Here are the recipes I used.

Joconde
Chocolate Tuile Paste:
3 ounces cake flour
1 1/4 ounces unsweetened cocoa powder
4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Joconde Sponge:
2 ounces almond flour
2 ounces powdered sugar
2 ounces all-purpose flour
3 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
2 egg whites
1 ounce granulated sugar
1 Ounce unsalted butter, melted

Method for Tuile Paste:
Sift cocoa powder and flour together; set aside. Cream the butter and sifted powdered sugar in a mixer with the paddle on medium speed. Lower speed to medium low and add egg whites slowly, scraping the bowl frequently. Add the vanilla extract and flour and cocoa mixture until just combined.
Place Silpat or parchment paper on back of a baking sheet. Spread paste across a stencil to imprint. You may also spread paste to about 1/16 inch thick and drag a decorating comb across batter in a decorative imprint. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.







Method for Joconde Sponge:
With a wire whip, stir the almond flour, all purpose flour and powdered sugar together for about 20 seconds to combine. Add eggs and , using a paddle for a stand mixer, beat on high speed for about five minutes Add egg yolk and set aside.
Whip egg whites in a separate bowl, adding sugar slowly until soft peaks form. Do not over beat.
 Fold egg whites into batter, then the melted butter and finally remaining whites gently folding just to combine.
Assembly:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place Silpat or parchment with firm Tuile paste in a baking sheet. Spread batter evenly over the top of the paste. bake for about five minutes. Be careful not to over-bake or cake will crack rather than bend.
 Remove from oven. invert onto fresh parchment paper and peel off Silpat or used parchment. Cool to room temperature and cut into desired shape.





Strawberry Mousse

2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and cut in half
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin, one packet
1/3 cup cold water
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups heavy cream

Puree the strawberries in the food processor. Add the lemon juice and sugar and process a minute longer to combine.

Sprinkle gelatin over the cold water in a heat proof dish to let it bloom for about five minutes. Bring a small saucepan with about an inch of water to a boil and turn off heat. Set dish with gelatin in saucepan and allow gelatin to dissolve, swirling frequently. Remove as soon as gelatin has dissolved to prevent overheating.
Stir gelatin into strawberry mixture and cool until slightly thickened.
 Whip cream until stiff peaks start to form. Fold whipped cream into strawberry mixture until well combined. Chill well before using for mousse or cake fillings.






Use your creative flair to construct the entremet. It's like being a sculptor of your dessert!

17 comments:

  1. How beautiful AND perfect! The stencil on the top is wonderful (I may have to get some for myself) - and the ribbon adds a nice touch.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Welcome to Daring Bakers, Evelyn!!!
    Beautfil, beautiful job! I love your design, above all the one on the top and the rose in gum paste...delicious!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. How lovely! Well done on your first challenge - it was mine too! Yours is absolutely beautiful, particularly the stencil design! Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is your first challenge, and you knocked it out of the park! Your toille top is wonderful, and the strawberry mousse look delicious! Thank you for sharing, and welcome to the Kitchen!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love the stencil design, it's so pretty. And your cake looks delicious too!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a great job and I will also remember the stencil idea!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love the stencils as I am NO artist!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yum!! you strawberry mousse looks amazing! Great job

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh my, that is so lovely! Welcome to the Daring Bakers, Evelyn! I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of your creations...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Well done on your first challenge, you did a fantastic job!

    ReplyDelete
  11. well done on such a fantastic first challenge. Your cake looks absolutely amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Welcome to the Daring Bakers! I love the tuile stencil on top! What a great idea, and I love the stripes on the side. Super graphic and bold, a great contrast to the delicate stencil on top. The gumpaste rose is impressive! I've have yet to take on gumpaste/fondant work. Though it's on my list!

    Also strawberry mousse sounds fantastic! I went with a cherry mousse for mine.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Your jaconde design turned out perfect, love it!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Welcome to the DB community and congrats on a first cahllenge done so beautfully.

    ReplyDelete
  15. You are welcome! and your entremet looks great.:0
    Find that passion ..and stick with it. I want to see some fab creations !

    ReplyDelete
  16. Love your stencil! Great job on your first challenge. Welcome to the DB's
    Best-Sandie

    ReplyDelete
  17. the cake is perfect looking, love the stencil on top.
    have a wonderful Sunday

    ReplyDelete

Please leave a comment. I love to hear from you!