A Report from PastryScoop.com's 2006 Fall Pastry Conference

The holiday season is barreling towards us with its family gatherings, assorted parties and big dinners in tow. No matter how stuffed you are at said events, inevitably there's always room for dessert. When our colleague Melody Lan told us about a pastry conference she was planning to attend, we secretly hoped that she'd come back with a few simple baking tips to help us wow our friends and family in the coming weeks. Little did we know we'd soon be placing our first order for liquid nitrogen.

Dessert? - Yes, please.
By Melody Lan

A few weeks ago I was searching online for a fun baking or pastry-making class to get a head start on gathering holiday entertaining ideas. As luck would have it, I discovered PastryScoop.com's 2006 Fall Pastry Conference, and was thrilled to learn that I'd be able to tuck some new dessert-making tricks up me sleeve with the help of some of the city's most acclaimed and forward-thinking pastry chefs.

Kate Zuckerman, pastry chef at Chanterelle since 1999, kicked off the two-hour morning session with elegant variations of simple desserts. She revealed the chemistry behind making a creamy, viscous caramel without having to add corn syrup, an ingredient most commercial manufacturers include in their products for the chewy texture. Her secret: add a few squeezes of lemon juice (or some kind of acid like vinegar) to the boiling mixture of quality butter and sugar to prevent crystallization.

Her delicious Caramel Mousse was sandwiched between discs of a Delicate Peanut Brittle that she made next. Both recipes can be found in her new book, "The Sweet Life: Desserts From Chanterelle," released early last month. But there's more than instructions on how to make classic caramel in the book. Chef Zuckerman also explains the scientific reactions that take place when ingredients interact (like why some cookie recipes require additional baking soda and how an acid helps foam egg whites). Her favorite part about working at the award-winning Chanterelle? The dessert menu changes every four weeks, which means that she has plenty of room to continue developing her culinary craftsmanship.

Alex Stupak was another engaging chef to watch: his witty comments and jokes offset the complicated aspects of his desserts. The 26-year-old, who became wd-50's pastry chef in August 2006, has left his mark at some of the nation's top restaurants from Clio and The Federalist in Boston to Tru and Alinea in Chicago. Alex's first dessert consisted of sponge cake squares dipped in a gelatinous black currant coating complemented by meringue, black currant flakes, shiso leaves and black sesame fluid gel.

Complicated enough? He fast-forwarded to an even more advanced dessert, where the ingredients became a bit obscure. There were the not-so-standard shelf staples, such as agar agar (a thickener) and kappa carrageenan (a gelling agent)--both of which are extracted from seaweeds, completely natural and safe to eat. In fact, most ice creams made today contain kappa carrageenan; it's what makes the ice cream thick and chewy.

The atypical ingredients are what take molecular structures to new heights in Alex's desserts: in other words, that soft chocolate ganache could never have spiraled so perfectly on that plate without them. But regardless of familiarity with ingredients, Alex's desserts offer complex flavor experiences and a unique melding of textures. He finds inspiration and guidance from Wylie Dufresne, a pioneer of the high-tech cooking movement and the executive chef and owner of wd-50.

In two weeks, look out for new desserts on the wd-50 menu: a chocolate dessert with beets and umeboshi (Japanese pickled plums), and a "special" frozen cookie. What Alex enjoys most about wd-50: The restaurant has a dream kitchen for him to work in and food scientists are consulted regularly in the creation of their cutting-edge desserts.

Johnny Iuzzini, pastry chef at Jean Georges, and David Arnold, FCI's Director of Culinary Technology, put on a great finale--we watched a large tank spew clouds of liquid nitrogen and chunks of a frozen plastic container explode all over the podium.

The result was some of the most technologically advanced desserts we'd seen demonstrated. We were in awe of the frozen chocolate lollipop:  green apple sorbet enrobed in E. Guittard couverture, wrapped in a layer of cinnamon ice cream, and then coated in another chocolate shell--all skewered on a dried bamboo pick. The recipe isn't rocket science, but it surely takes skill to master the art of timing and finesse. A mini glossary of the unconventional ingredients at the end of the recipe packet helped us decipher technical jargon (who knew that maltodextrin is a "sweet, water-soluble glue"). The conference ended with their "surprise dessert" of beet ice cream matched with a chocolate cookie crust and a side of chocolate ganache sprinkled with beet powder. Surprisingly, when asked to identify his "go to" dessert, Johnny replied, it's the Concord grape sorbet. His first book, "Dessert 4Play," comes out January 2007.

Even with all the science in play, I left the conference feeling confident that I could replicate the tasty desserts for my holiday guests.
Whether my creations will turn out the same as Chefs Zuckerman, Stupak and Iuzzini's, that's a different story. I'm comforted to know, when I crave the real thing, I can always pay a visit to Chanterelle, wd-50 and Jean Georges.

Kate Zuckerman's Recipe for Caramel Mousse
from "The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle."

Makes 5 cups mousse, 6 to 8 servings

1 cup sugar
pinch of cream of tartar or lemon juice
6 egg yolks
1 tablespoon dry powdered gelatin
2 cups lightly whipped cream
pinch of salt
*optional 1 tablespoon instant espresso (such as Medaglia d'Oro)

Special tool and pots
Stand mixer
2- to 4- quart heavy bottomed sauce pan with lid

Begin mousse
Place the egg yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk them on medium speed. In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over ¼ cup of cold water and let this mixture sit while you prepare the caramel.

Make caramel syrup
Put the sugar and cream of tartar in a heavy bottomed sauce pot and moisten with ¼ cup of water. Cover the pot and cook the sugar over medium high heat. Once the sugar has come to a rapid boil, uncover the pot. While the sugar is cooking, set aside ¼ of water to pour into the caramel when it is done. Cook sugar until it takes on a deep golden brown color. Turn off the heat and very carefully pour the ¼ cup water into the hot caramel. Stand back. The caramel will hiss and bubble and spurt.

For Caramel Espresso Mousse Variation
Follow the above instructions for making caramel. While the caramel is cooking, dissolve 1 tablespoon of instant espresso in 2 tablespoons of warm water. Cook sugar until it takes on a deep golden grown color. Turn off the heat and very carefully pour the ¼ cup of water into the hot caramel. Stand back. Once the water dissolves in the caramel, add the moistened espresso powder to the pot. Swirl the caramel until the coffee is incorporated.

Add caramel to yolks
Once you have added the water, the caramel syrup should come back to a rolling boil from the residual heat. Wait a minute until the caramel syrup stops boiling and then slowly pour it into the egg yolks with the mixer on high. With a rubber spatula, scrape bloomed gelatin (gelatin water mixture) into the still warm caramel pot and let it melt into a syrupy liquid. Pour this liquid gelatin into the mixer. Whisk egg yolks at a medium high speed with hot caramel syrup and gelatin until the egg yolks triple in volume and cool to room temperature.

Finish mousse
Remove the whipped yolk and caramel base from the mixer. Scrape the lightly whipped cream over the whipped caramel egg yolks. Fold these two mixtures together using a rubber spatula or bowl scraper. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl and to fold the bottom mixture over the top. Rotate the bowl 45 degrees and repeat this motion. Continue folding mixture together until all the cream is incorporated. If you want to serve the mousse in a casual manner, allow mousse to set in a large bowl or container. Alternatively, for a more finished look, pour mousse into six to eight small serving dishes before chilling and top with whipped cream and shaved chocolate just before serving.

Recipe © 2006 Kate Zuckerman.