of softened chocolate with one
edge of the paper, and shave
thin slices of chocolate off the
chunk using a vegetable peeler
in a downward motion.
Let the curls cool and
harden, and handle them
carefully as they are fragile.
PLATING For easy plating, it is
helpful to load your mousse
and curd into separate pastry
bags ahead of time. Spread
a half-inch layer of passion
fruit curd on the bottom
of your serving vessel. Top
that with a 1-inch layer of
chocolate mousse. Cover the
top with a thin layer of soil
70 South Bay Accent
Pastry Chef
Jessica
Carreira of
Adega
and garnish with a couple of
whole berries, a flower blossom,
a pinch of micro mint
and a curl of white chocolate.
Madera’s Exotic
Coconut Dessert
Executive Pastry Chef
Hynn Yam
Madera in the Rosewood
Hotel in Menlo Park has killer
desserts like this tour de
force, which includes coconut
in several forms along with
mango passion fruit jam,
pistachio sponge, a spiral of
lemongrass chantilly and oblong
scoops of coconut sorbet.
It can be garnished with
finger lime pearls, which
are in season in the winter
and can be ordered online.
Should produce 10–12 individual
desserts.
Coconut Cream
4.7 ounces coconut milk
6.8 ounces condensed milk
2.8 ounces desiccated coconut*
6 pieces gelatine leaves*
11 ½ fluid ounces coconut puree*
2 fluid ounces coconut water
2 ½ cups heavy cream, whipped
Boil the coconut milk and
condensed milk together and
infuse the desiccated coconut
for 12 minutes. Add gelatine,
coconut puree, coconut water
and fold in whipped cream.
Pipe into 2cm or 1-inch
silicone sphere molds and
freeze.
Unmold spheres and hold
in refrigerator until plating.
Or alternatively, after folding
in cream, let set in refrigerator,
then fill a piping bag fitted
with a 1.5cm plain round
tip and pipe onto plates during
assembly.
Coconut Sorbet
2 cups coconut puree*
½ cup water
1.7 ounces sugar
1.7 ounces invert sugar*
Blend ingredients together
and freeze in ice cream machine.
Mango Passion Fruit Jam
3 ½ cups mango puree*
2/3 cup plus 2 tsp passion fruit
puree*
½ cup sugar
1 4/5 tsp agar-agar*
Boil all ingredients together
for 3 minutes, then pour into
a container and refrigerate
until set. Remove from container
and place in a blender
and blend until completely
smooth. Reserve in a piping
bottle for plating, refrigerated.
Pistachio Microwave
Sponge
2 egg whites
3 eggs
½ cup powdered sugar
2/3 cup plus 2 tsp milk
2.6 ounces pistachio paste*
½ cup cake flour
Blend all ingredients in a
blender. Pour the mixture
into a whipper** and pipe
into a paper cup, only filling
half. Cook in the microwave
for 20 seconds. The sponge
should rise and fill the entire
cup. Once cool, place plastic
wrap over the top of the cup
and reserve for assembly.
Coconut Chantilly
12 ounces cream
1 cup coconut puree*
2 ounces white chocolate
5.6 ounces mascarpone
3 pieces gelatine leaves*
3 pieces lemongrass
Boil the cream with lemongrass
and allow the mixture
to infuse overnight. Strain
the mixture and rescale the
cream, boiling 100g of cream.
Add gelatine and mix with
white chocolate. Add the rest
of the cream and coconut
puree. Mix with mascarpone.
Set the mixture in the refrigerator
overnight.
Whip and fill a piping bag
fitted with a 1cm plain round
tip.
PLATING Pipe the coconut
chantilly in a spiral in the
center of each plate, creating
a circle about 3½ inches in
diameter. Place 5 of the coconut
cream spheres around
the spiral, equally spaced. Alternate
with 5 round mounds
of the coconut cream. Run a
butter knife around the paper
cup containing the pistachio
sponge to remove. Tear off
5 pieces of the sponge in
organic forms and place next
to each sphere. Cut a peeled
fresh mango into 1-inch cubes
and place around spiral as
well. Pipe the reserved mango
passion fruit jam on top of
each mango cube. Fill in any
spaces around the spiral with
coconut meringue cookies*,
edible flowers, mint tips,
coconut wafers* and more
mango passion fruit jam.
Your only
quandary will be
which one to put on
the holiday table.