Gateau St. Honore
Cred cu tarie ca a fi cofetar nu inseamna doar a crea deserturi. Sigur, tuturor ne place sa fim creatori, e interesant sa pozam in aceasta postura, dar hai sa fim si realisti – a crea o reteta cap coada e un lucru dificil. Nu poti pur si simplu sa iei niste ingrediente, sa le arunci in tava si sa speri ca va iesi bine, apoi sa publici pe un blog, grup, forum etc si sa pretinzi ca ai creat ceva nemaivazut, nemaintalnit. Momente in care o astfel de tehnica produce un rezultat bun sunt extrem extrem de rare si probabil chiar de se intampla, reteta in sine nu e suficient de stabila incat sa produca rezultate bune in mod constant. Crearea unei retete necesita cateva cunostinte despre reactiile chimice din spatele unei retete si despre felul in care ingredientele interactioneaza intre ele, dar si cateva cunostine (chiar mai multe) despre ce arome merg intre ele, care se pun in valoare una pe alta, care se opun, care se atrag. Crearea unei retete de la A la Z nu e lucru usor, asta-i clar!
St. Honore este un desert clasic frantuzesc care combina mai multe tehnici de baza in cofetarie: aluatul de foietaj, aluatul oparit si crema de patiserie (in doua variante in cazul meu – vanilie si caramel), precum si realizarea firelor de caramel. Am mers la sigur folosind doua arome cu care nu ai cum sa dai gres: vanilie si caramel, insa am trisat putin la aluatul de foietaj, folosind reteta Laurei Laurentiu, o reteta care nu da gres niciodata, dovada stand nenumaratele saleuri pe care le-am savurat de-a lungul timpului! Multumesc, draga mea Laura, pentru reteta! Nu-mi ramane decat sa ma aventurez cat de curand si in realizarea ca la carte a alatului de foietaj. Am tot amanat aceasta tehnica din motive mai mult sau mai putin dependente de mine, unul dintre ele fiind faptul ca m-am obisnuit cu aceasta scurtatura – e rapid si simplu – insa sunt o perfectionista si imi place sa profit de orice ocazie mi se iveste pentru a invata ceva nou.
Gateau St. Honore
Ingrediente
Aluat oparit:
- 150 g apa
- 100 g lapte
- 100 g unt
- 2 g sare
- 5 g zahar
- 150 g faina alba
- 4-5 oua
Crema diplomat de vanilie:
- 300 g lapte
- 3 galbenusuri
- 120 g zahar alb
- 30 g amidon
- 1 praf de sare
- 4 g gelatina + 24g apa rece
- 5 g extract de vanilie
- 50 g mascarpone
- 150 g smantana pentru frisca (batuta)
Crema diplomat de caramel:
- 300 g lapte
- 80 g zahar + 40g apa
- 3 galbenusuri
- 30 g zahar alb granulat
- 30 g amidon
- 1 g sare
- 4 g gelatina + 24g apa rece
- 3 g extract de vanilie
- 1 lingurita Amaretto
- 150 g smantana pentru frisca (batuta)
Veti mai avea nevoie de:
- 1 foaie aluat de foietaj (vezi mai sus explicatiile si linkul catre reteta)
- 150 g zahar pentru caramelizat
Instructiuni
Aluat oparit:
- Combinati apa, laptele, untul, zarea si zaharul intr-un vas si puneti pe foc mic la inceput, pana cand untul se topeste complet. Dati focul mai tare si dati amestecul in clocot.
- In momentul in care incepe sa fiarba, luati de pe foc si adaugati faina, toata o data, apoi amestecati energic cu o lingura de lemn ori spatula, pana obtineti un aluat gros, omogen.
- Puneti vasul inapoi pe foc mediu si gatiti aluatul 2-3 minute, amestecand continuu pana cand se formeaza o crusta de aluat pe fundul vasului. Aveti insa grija cand amestecati sa nu incorporati bucati din crusta in aluat. Acest pas e foarte important pentru ca reduce umiditatea aluatului.
- Luati vasul de pe foc si lasati 10 minute sa se racoreasca.
- Incepeti sa adaugati ouale, unul cate unul, pana obtineti un aluat gros dar care totusi curge de pe lingura, arata matasos si fin si luceste. De asemenea, daca treceti cu degetul pe suprafata aluatului, acesta formeaza urme care nu se acopera, isi mentine forma.
- Puneti aluatul intr-un pos cu dui rotund.
- Intindeti foaia de aluat de foietaj pe o foaie de copt apoi decupati un cerc de aproximativ 20cm diametru.
- Turnati cu posul un cerc de aluat oparit fix pe marginea cercului de aluat de foietaj, avand grija sa nu depasiti marginile.
- Formati mici choux-uri cu restul de aluat oparit, punandu-le intr-o tava diferita (temperaturile de coacere sunt diferite si posibil si timpul de coacere, in functie de marimea choux-urilor).
- Coaceti cercul de aluat de foietaj in cuptorul preincalzit la 200C pentru 10 minute apoi reduceti la 180C pentru alte 20-25 minute pana devine auriu si crocant.
- Coaceti choux-urile la 180C pentru 25-30 minute pana devin aurii si crocante.
Crema diplomat de vanilie:
- Hidratati gelatina in apa rece pentru 10 minute.
- Incalziti laptele intr-un vas.
- Intr-un bol, mixati galbenusurile cu zaharul si sarea pana devin cremoase. Adaugati amidonul apoi turnati laptele fierbinte apoi puneti iar pe foc si gatiti pana obtineti o crema groasa, fina.
- Luati de pe foc, adaugati gelatina, apoi acoperiti cu folie la suprafata si lasati sa se raceasca complet.
- Adaugati vanilia si mixati putin pana crema redevine matasoasa. Adaugati si branza mascarpone.
- Incorporati smantana batuta si puneti crema intr-un pos cu dui special pentru St. Honore.
Crema diplomat de caramel:
- Hidratati gelatina in apa rece.
- Combinati 80g zahar cu apa intr-un vas si puneti pe foc mediu. Gatiti pana se caramelizeaza uniform, fara a-l arde.
- Dati deoparte 5 minute apoi adaugati laptele si puneti pe foc mic pana zaharul se topeste uniform.
- Intre timp, mixati galbenusurile cu zaharul si sarea pana devin cremoase. Adaugati amidonul, apoi turnati laptele fierbinte.
- Puneti iar pe foc si gatiti pana se ingroase.
- Luati de pe foc, adaugati gelatina apoi acoperiti cu folie la suprafata si lasati sa se raceasca complet.
- Adaugati vanilia si Amaretto si mixati doar pana crema redevine matasoasa.
- Incorporati smantana batuta apoi puneti 1/2 din crema intr-un pos cu dui mic. Dati restul de crema deoparte.
Pentru a asambla St. Honore:
- Umpleti fiecare choux cu crema diplomat de caramel.
- Topiti 150g zahar pana devine auriu.
- Luati fiecare choux si inmuiati-i partea de deasupra in caramel. Puneti cu susul in jos pe o foaie de copt si lasati-l sa se raceasca.
- Asezati foaia de aluat de foietaj pe un platou.
- Reincalziti caramelul, apoi inmuiati si cealalta parte a choux-urilor in caramel si lipiti-le de cercul de aluat oparit pe care l-ati facut mai devreme pe aluatul de foietaj.
- Dupa ce ati terminat de construit baza, umpleti tortul cu restul de crema caramel. Puneti deasupra cu posul crema diplomat de vanilie.
- Decorati cu choux-uri si fire caramel.
- Sa aveti pofta!
Celelalte elemente ale acestui tort sunt explicate pe larg in postari pe blog: aluatul oparit si crema de patiserie. Daca in ceea ce priveste aluatul oparit nu sunt surprize, gasiti toate informatiile necesare in articolul dedicat lui, vreau sa va povestesc putin despre crema. In mod traditional, St. Honore este umplut fie cu o simpla crema de patiserie, fie cu o crema Chiboust sau Mousseline – parerile sunt impartite si probabil depinde mult si de preferintele fiecaruia in parte. Eu am optat insa pentru ceea ce francezii numesc creme diplomat – crema de patiserie la care se adauga gelatina si smantana pentru frisca batuta (e diferit fata de ceea ce noi numim diplomat). Si pentru ca acest pas extra nu parea suficient, pentru crema diplomat am ales sa incerc o idee a lui Cristophe Michalak – adaugarea de mascarpone in crema diplomat – ii imbunatateste mult textura si o face si mai stabila. Vorbesc aici doar de crema diplomat de vanilie pentru ca cea de caramel mi s-a parut ca nu se preteaza la asa ceva. Prima incercare de a adauga mascarpone in crema caramel a produs o crema buna la gust, nimic de zis, dar parca prea delicata, gustul aducea prea mult a lapte si per total, in combinatie cu cea de vanilie, gustul de caramel se pierdea complet. Ori eu imi doream sa iasa in evidenta, fara a acapara, desigur, vanilia. Asa ca incea caramel am renuntat complet la mascarpone si mi s-a parut perfecta asa!
ENGLISH
The classics should never be forgotten! I strongly believe that before being able to adventure into the world of dessert creation, you need to master the classics, you need to make them first and make sure you’re damn good at it and only then you can take things one step further and create your own mix of flavors. I know some people disagree with me, maybe a few years ago I would have done the same, but I’ve seen so many bad and totally unbalanced recipes lately that I just felt I should let this out first – recipe creation is not something that you can master out of the blue. Recipe creation takes chemistry, takes study, takes experimenting and working on it. If one of them is missing, it just won’t work properly or won’t produce consistent results.
To improve the way you understand recipes or how you combine flavors, the first thing to do is to back to the classics and start baking and cooking! Master those first, make sure you know every element well enough, make sure you understand why they use certain ingredients and not others and only then you can change a few things here and there, only then you can come up with your own mix and your own recipes. Bravery is good, but only when you know what you’re talking about! Yes, you can switch strawberries with raspberries for instance, their texture is somehow similar, but they have a different flavor, but you can’t just replace white wheat flour with rice flour (just a random example) without knowing what the impact of this substitution is.
Long story short though – I went back to basics with the recipe for this Gateau St. Honore. It’s a cake that’s always been mesmerizing for me and somehow daunting – the flaky base, the choux ring, the caramel choux, the pastry cream – it just felt a bit too much at first. But when you break it down into elements that you master, it gets easy. One thing I do need to work on is the puff pastry – I’ve only been using shortcuts so far, which are ok, but not when you wanna call yourself a pastry chef! I am a perfectionist, but most of all, I’m looking to learn everything I can on pastry, even if that means working a few hours on a single batch of dough or simply putting my ego aside and admitting that some things are not meant to be changed any time soon; just because they work as they are and are true masterpieces of the pastry world!
Gateau St. Honore is a cake that has history behind as well – it wears the name of Saint Honore, the patron of the French patissiers and the recipe itself it ias said to be almost 2 centuries old, although the St. Honore as we know it today is somehow younder, dating back to the 1930s. The gateau is made out of a puff pastry or even shortcut pastry and choux pastry which are then filled with pastry cream and glued together around the edges of the puff pastry with caramelized sugar. The center is then filled with either pastry cream, chiboust cream or creme mousseline. I decided to go with a mix of the classic vanilla pastry cream and a caramel pastry cream to complement the sugar glaze. The final cake was delicate, milky and each slice felt like proper comfort food.
Gateau St. Honore
Ingrediente
Choux pastry:
- 150 g water
- 100 g whole milk
- 100 g butter
- 3 g salt
- 5 g sugar
- 150 g bread flour
- 4-5 eggs
Vanilla Creme Diplomat:
- 300 g whole milk
- 3 egg yolks
- 120 g white sugar
- 30 g cornstarch
- 1 g salt
- 4 g gelatin + 24g cold water
- 5 g vanilla extract
- 50 g mascarpone cream
- 150 g heavy cream (whipped)
Caramel Creme Diplomat:
- 300 g whole milk
- 80 g white sugar + 40ml water
- 3 egg yolks
- 30 g white sugar
- 30 g cornstarch
- 1 g salt
- 4 g gelatin + 24g cold water
- 3 g vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Amaretto
- 150 g heavy cream (whipped)
You will also need:
- 1 sheet puff pastry (homemade or store bought)
- 150 g sugar to caramelize
Instructiuni
Choux pastry:
- Combine the water, milk, butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan and place over low heat until the butter is melted.
- Once the butter is melted completely, turn the heat on high and bring to a boil.
- The moment it comes to a boil, remove off heat and immediately add the flour, all at once. Mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula until the flour is well absorbed. Place the saucepan back over medium flame and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes, mixing all the time, until a layer of dough remains on the bottom of the pan – keep the flame on medium to avoid burning and mix all the time with the spatula or spoon to cook out the liquid.
- Remove from heat and allow the dough to cool down for 10 minutes.
- Start incorporating the eggs, one by one, mixing well after each addition. Add the last egg bit by bit to make sure you’re not adding too much egg. The number of eggs used depends on the humidity of the dough, even on weather and the size of the eggs.
- The dough is ready when it falls off the spoon and leaves a streak that doesn’t collapse on itself if you run your finger through it.
- Spoon the dough into a pastry bag fitter with a round nozzle.
- Roll the sheet of puff pastry into a thin layer – about 0.5cm thickness.
- Cut a circle of puff pastry of about 20cm Ć and place it in a baking tray.
- Pipe a circle of choux pastry on the edge of the puff pastry. Pipe the remaining choux pastry on a different tray into small dollops (choux, profiterols).
- Bake both the trays in the preheated oven at 350Ā°F – 180Ā°C for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown, risen and crisp.
- Allow to cool down.
Vanilla Creme Diplomat:
- Bloom the gelatin in cold water.
- Heat the milk in a pot over low heat.
- In the meantime, mix the egg yolks and sugar, as well as a pinch of salt in a bowl until creamy and pale.
- Add the cornstarch and mix well.
- Pour in the hot milk then transfer back on heat and cook for 1-2 minutes until thickened.
- Remove from heat and add the gelatin.
- Cover the cream with plastic wrap on the surface and allow to cool down completely.
- When chilled, mix with an electric mixer until creamy again then add the vanilla and mascarpone and mix well.
- Fold in the whipped cream then spoon the creme diplomat into a pastry bag fitted with a St. Honore nozzle.
Caramel Creme Diplomat:
- Bloom the gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes at least.
- Combine 80g sugar with water in a saucepan and place over medium heat.
- Cook for a few minutes, washing down the sides of the pot with a brush dipped in cold water, until it begins to turn golden brown and it has a nice amber color.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool down for 5 minutes. Add the milk and place back on heat.
- Keep on low heat until the sugar is completely melted.
- In the meantime, mix the egg yolks with the remaining sugar, plus a pinch of salt. Add the cornstarch and mix well.
- Pour the hot milk over the cornstarch then return back on heat and cook for 1-2 additional minutes until thickened.
- Remove from heat, stir in the gelatin and cover with plastic wrap on the surface. Allow to cool down completely.
- Mix with an electric mixer until creamy.
- Fold in the whipped cream then spoon half of the cream into a pastry bag fitted with a small nozzle. Reserve the remaining cream aside.
To assemble the gateau:
- Start by making a tiny hole at the bottom of each choux bun then fill all of them with caramel creme diplomat. Place aside.
- Make a wet caramel by combining 150g sugar with 65ml water. When it has an amber color, remove from heat and allow to cool down for 1 minute.
- Take the filled choux buns and dip the top into the hot caramel. Place right away on a sheet of baking paper to set. Work quickly as the caramel tends to cool down and set – if it’s too thick, place it back on low heat for 1-2 minutes then continue dipping the buns.
- Once the top of each bun is set, reheat your remaining caramel and dip the bottom of the buns as well, glueing them right away on the ring of puff pastry – try to glue them as close to the edge as possible and make sure you use a thin layer of caramel for this step.
- Once all the choux buns are in place, use the remaining caramel creme diplomat to fill the bottom of the gateau.
- Top the caramel cream with the vanilla cream, piping it with the special St. Honore nozzle.
- Decorate with choux buns and caramel strings just before serving.
Ah… trebuie sa imi fac si eu curaj sa incerc reteta š
Visez la asa ceva de mult timp dar nu am indraznit pana acum.
Stiu insa ca toate retetele tale ies la sigur asa ca … ceva timp sa am si trec la treaba š
Arata foarte bine si gustul cred ca este pe masura in aceasta varianta.O sa incerc si eu reteta de foietaj
This St Honore looks amazing. I made one a while ago and it was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted!
Well done on this Oana!