One of the side effects of blogging about food is that you start to want to play around with platings and presentation a lot more than you would if you were not photographing your meals. Joe, from Culinary in the Country, for example, augmented his already attractive Chocolate Crème Caramel with some extra caramel rounds along the outside of the plate and a little freeform sugar sculpture on top. The overall effect is great and really brings the look of the dessert up to restaurant-quality - and probably an expensive restaurant, at that.
The crème caramel itself is actually quite easy to make. The most difficult part for someone attempting their first one is to not burn the caramel before you pour it into the empty ramekins, as it can be sensitive. The "crème" part of this dessert is made with soy milk and bittersweet chocolate, held together with eggs, just like the traditional versions are. The chocolate will cover the soy taste, for anyone sensitive to it, but using soy milk will make the dessert a lot lighter than if it were made with cream.
And if you have somehow managed to overdose on chocolate from Valentine's Day, you might want to check out Elise's recipe for Rose Petal Flan instead!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-15-2007 @ 10:06PM
Nicolai said...
I don't mean to sound like an ass, but chocolate does NOT mask the flavor of soy milk. If you want to make it lighter, why not just use milk or half and half instead of cream?
The caramel lace, IMO brings it down rather than up. I'm ashamed to say that many of my pastry chef brethren seem to ignore the fact that you actually have to eat this stuff. Things like the caramel lace are obstacles. How do you expect people to deal with it? Pick it up and eat it (guaranteeing sticky fingers)? Put it on top and get a little with each bite (likely squishing the custard through the holes creating an ugly mess)? Put it off to the side (in which case why bother)? IMO that kind of thing is about visually justifying the extra $3 they're charging for the dish rather than actually making the dish better.
Yes, looks are important. My suggestion to improve the actual eating experience while making it look better would be to do something like coat the edges with crushed caramelized hazelnuts (flavor ties in with the caramel and complements the chocolate and hides the funky edges that these get) and either filter the floaties out of the sauce or remove the sauce it was baked in and replace it with clear amber caramel sauce. Or make a flavored sauce (caramel and tequila or Licor 43, with or without milk or cream?).
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2-16-2007 @ 4:19PM
Caley Walsh said...
Personally, I think the caramel sculpture is magical. How is it done?
I'd love to let our readers know for Our Presentation Sensations article at recipe4living.com
=D
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2-16-2007 @ 9:22PM
Nicolai said...
It's dead easy: stick a spoon into liquid caramel and drizzle it over a silicone baking mat or a clean, lightly oiled plate, cookie sheet, or parchment (not wax) paper, moving the spoon to make the pattern. Let it cool and remove carefully.
As water melts sugar, you do need to take a few basic precautions: it'll be a challenge on hot, humid days; only touch them with dry hands; and don't put it in the fridge, or water will condense on the surface when you take it out, which will make it melt.
Easy as it is, I still can't help but think it's form over function in this case.
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2-17-2007 @ 11:42PM
jill said...
It looks beautiful and delicious, just like everything on Joe's blog. Can't wait to make it myself.
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3-01-2007 @ 4:55AM
Marlene said...
I already made this one, great sucsess! Easy to make delicious and fast! What else would you need?
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