Dessert Garnish

Feuillette of Chocolate and Strawberry

Feuillette of Chocolate or Strawberry is a unique garnish that can be used for any style of dessert, whether it is a mousse, panna cotta or as in the recipe for A Sweetheart Chocolate Torte with Feuillette, a stunning garnish crown. It has been adapted from recipes utilized in my chef competitions.

This recipe makes just a small amount (a little paste goes a long way); therefore, I find that utilizing a scale (weight in grams or oz.) is the simplest and most accurate method to make the feuillette paste.

Sweetheart Chocolate Torte with Feuillette of Chocolate and Strawberry | urbnspice.com — An eclectic display of Feuillette of Chocolate and Strawberry

The chocolate feuillette paste is made by using cocoa powder for colour and flavour. The garnish’s chocolate flavour is well pronounced in the finished product.

The strawberry feuillette paste is made from dried strawberries. I used my food dehydrator to dry thinly sliced strawberries. This process took about 2 hours to achieve a crisp result. The dried strawberries are then pulverized in a spice grinder.

The strawberry paste made from this powder is delightfully tasty, with just enough texture to create a translucence appearance! My grandchildren say they look like fairy wings, as you can see from the video.

A Feuillet of Strawberry

It is important not to over bake the strawberry feuillette, as they will lose their delicate pink hue. I did not use any food colouring in my feuillette paste recipe; however, you can add a drop or two of pink or red food colouring to achieve the desired colour.

Strawberry Feuillette Paste | urbnspice.com — Feuillette of Strawberry

Feuillet of Strawberry | urbnspice.com — The feuillet of strawberry reminds me of fairy wings – ethereal and translucent

Chocolate Feuillette Paste | urbnspice.com — Feuillette of Chocolate

Feuillette of Chocolate and Strawberry

Yield: approximately 20 feuillette garnish

CHEF TALK:

INGREDIENTS:

21 g all-purpose flour
77 g icing sugar
12 g cocoa powder or strawberry powder
20 ml water
32 g butter, unsalted, melted

METHOD:

Sift the dry ingredients together.
Gradually add the water, then the melted butter. Stir to combine into a smooth paste.
Spread the paste in a thin layer on Silpat baking mats using an off set spatula. Start from the bottom of the feuillet and spread upwards. The bottom will be slightly thicker spreading to a thin imprecise ‘schmear’ (pastry chef slang).
Bake in a 350^oF (325^oF Convection) for 5 – 6 minutes. The feuillette will look bubbly and will not show any moist spots. They will crisp up as they cool.
Allow the feuillette to come to room temperature. Using an off set spatula, slide it under the thickest edge of each feuillet, and slide upwards to lift it gently from the Silpat baking sheet. Line all the feuillette on a cookie rack until you are ready to decorate the torte.

CHEF TIP: These garnishes are very fragile, light and almost see-through delicate. Make as many as you need at a time (make a few extra to allow for breakage). Store any unused paste in a covered container in the refrigerator. Bring the paste to room temperature before using. Store any extra baked feuillette in an airtight container at room temperature. They are excellent crumbled on ice cream, crème brûlée, panna cotta or simply nibble on them.

LEARNING TIPS:

Please CLICK the link above to access my Urb’n’Spice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

Favourite Kitchen Tools: Spatula
Oven Temperature Accuracy
__________

You Might Also Enjoy these Urb’n’Spice recipes:

A Sweetheart Chocolate Torte with Feuillette

Citrus Sand Cookies

Ricciarelli – An Italian Almond Cookie

Malteser White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes

How to Make Raspberry Mini Cheesecakes

If you try my recipe for Feuillette of Chocolate and Strawberry dessert garnish, please leave me a comment below with your feedback. Don’t forget to pin this recipe for later!

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urb’n’Spice Chef

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A Sweetheart Chocolate Torte with Feuillette

By Denise Pare-Watson

My absolutely most favourite holiday is coming up – Valentine’s Day. I am simply an incurable romantic. Valentine’s Day gives me all kinds of reasons to get creative with desserts for two. This year, I have developed a rather whimsical Sweetheart Chocolate Torte with Feuillette of Chocolate and Strawberry. The torte has a deliciously chocolate flavour because it uses both bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate to create a rich and dense dessert that can only be described as memorable. This little torte would also be an excellent choice for an anniversary celebration or for a chocoholic’s birthday.

To take this little torte over the top, I made a tasty garnish that is like edible paper. I often made this garnish when competing in dessert competitions because it is somewhat unusual. It is easy to make and delicious to nibble on. It is a very delicate yet striking garnish. For this torte, the feuillette garnish is constructed on the topping while the ganache is still soft. As the ganache sets up, it secures the edible paper in place, creating a crown of sorts. Try this Sweetheart Chocolate Torte together with the Feuillette of Chocolate or Strawberry – it is unforgettable.

The torte is not difficult to make but does require three distinct steps: the chocolate pastry; the bittersweet chocolate filling and finally, the shiny semi-sweet chocolate ganache topping. The torte is lovely with just the shiny ganache topping but can be gorgeous with a simple baby rose or two on top, or you can make the feuillette of chocolate or strawberry (the recipe is included below).

A Sweetheart Chocolate Torte with Feuillette of Chocolate and Strawberry

Yield: one 5 – 6-inch torte

INGREDIENTS:

The Chocolate Pastry:

½ cup (62 g) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons (30 g) sugar
1 ½ tablespoons (10 g) Dutch process cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons (26 g) unsalted butter
1 egg

The Chocolate Filling:

8 oz. (226 g) bittersweet chocolate
½ cup (125 ml) heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 tablespoon (15 ml) brandy

The Chocolate Ganache Glaze:

8 oz. (226 g) semisweet chocolate
½ cup (125 ml) heavy whipping cream

METHOD:

For the Chocolate Pastry:

Preheat the oven to 350^oF. Set the rack in the middle of the oven.
Prepare the 5 or 6-inch springform pan by greasing the bottom and the sides. Cut a circle of parchment for the bottom and strips of parchment for the sides of the springform pan.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Work in the butter.
Beat the egg with a fork and work into the mixture. Press the mixture into the prepared spring form pan.
Bake for 10 minutes or until the pastry is set. Cool the pastry in the pan while you are preparing the filling. The filling is placed on top of the cooled chocolate pastry crust.

For the Chocolate Filling:

Cut the bittersweet chocolate into small pieces and place them into a medium-size bowl.
Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for a few minutes to allow the chocolate to melt before stirring with a spatula until smooth.
Cover and leave at room temperature until the mixture starts to set (it should be about the consistency of toothpaste). This will take about 30 minutes, depending on the room temperature.
Using a mixer with a paddle or a whisk attachment, beat the chocolate mixture on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the brandy and beat to incorporate.
Spread the filling over the cooled chocolate pastry. Using an offset spatula, level the top of the filling. Refrigerate the torte for at least one hour. Remove from the refrigerator when you are ready to prepare the glaze.
Remove the cake from the springform pan, peeling the parchment paper from the sides and bottom of the torte. Place the torte on a cookie rack over a baking sheet. Prepare the glaze.

For the Chocolate Ganache Glaze:

Cut the semi-sweet chocolate finely and place it in a medium size bowl.
Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for a few minutes to allow the chocolate to melt before stirring with a spatula until smooth.
Pour the glaze over the torte; making sure that the entire cake is covered.

The Feuillette of Chocolate and Strawberry

While it is not essential to garnish the cake with the feuillette, I think that you would enjoy the experience of making this unique garnish. You will need a scale to make the paste. The chocolate feuillette paste is made using cocoa powder. I made the strawberry feuillette paste using a powder made from pulverizing dried strawberries in my coffee grinder (I used my food dehydrator to dry thinly sliced strawberries, which took about two hours to dry to a crisp in my dehydrator). The subsequent strawberry paste made from this powder is delightfully tasty! Take care not to over bake the strawberry feuillette as they will lose their delicate pink hue. I did not use any food colouring in my paste recipe, however, you can add a drop or two of pink or red food colouring to achieve the desired colour.

A closeup of the feuillet of strawberry

INGREDIENTS:

21 g all-purpose flour
77 g icing sugar
12 g cocoa powder or strawberry powder
20 ml water
32 g butter, unsalted, melted

METHOD:

Sift the dry ingredients together.
Gradually add the water, then the melted butter. Stir to combine into a smooth paste.
Spread the paste in a thin layer on Silpat baking mats using an offset spatula. Start from the bottom of the feuillet and spread upwards. The bottom will be slightly thicker spreading to a thin imprecise ‘schmear’ (pastry chef slang).
Bake in a 350^oF (325^oF Convection) for 5 – 6 minutes. The feuillette will look bubbly and will not have any moist spots. They will crisp up as they cool.
Allow the feuillette to come to room temperature. Using an offset spatula, slide it under the thickest edge of each feuillet, and slide upwards to lift it gently from the Silpat baking sheet. Place the feuillette gently on a cookie rack until you are ready to decorate the torte. CHEF TIP: These garnishes are very fragile, light and almost see-through delicate. Make as many as you need at a time (make a few extra to allow for breakage). Store any unused paste in a covered container in the refrigerator. Bring the paste to room temperature before using.
To Decorate: Decorate the torte with feuillette while the glaze is still moist. Place the feuillette randomly on top, alternating between the chocolate and the strawberry feuillette, setting the next feuillet to hold up the previous one. If you have a few dried strawberries remaining, decorate the sides of the cake, if desired. Allow the ganache topping to set at room temperature. CHEF TIP: The chocolate torte (and any chocolate cake) is best served room temperature. The feuillette are best used the day that you make them. They will remain crisp and papery when decorated close to the time that you serve the cake.
Refrigerate any leftovers.

LEARNING TIPS:

Please CLICK the link above to access my Urb’n’Spice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

Parchment Paper
Favourite Kitchen Tools: Spatula
Extracts: Vanilla Extract
Cutting Tarts and Cakes
Oven Temperature Accuracy
__________

You Might Also Enjoy these Urb’n’Spice recipes:

An Irresistible Valentine

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Decadent Dark Chocolate Tarte

Raspberry Mini Cheesecakes

A Unique Cheesecake: Double Chocolate Raspberry Torte Cheesecake with Chocolate Pecan Crust

White Chocolate Vanilla Bean Mini Cheesecakes with Gluten Free Crust

Lavender Rose Mini Cheesecakes

Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

If you try my recipe for Sweetheart Chocolate Torte with Feuillette of Chocolate and Strawberry, please leave me a comment below with your feedback. Tag me @urbnspice on Instagram and hashtag #urbnspice Don’t forget to pin this recipe for later!

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urb’n’Spice Chef

Follow me on Social Media

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

The Amazing Pomelo – A How To Tutorial

By Denise Pare-Watson

The Inspiration of Urbnspice Series

I live in the Okanagan Valley in beautiful British Columbia. Now that the colder weather has arrived, I truly miss the abundance of seasonal fresh fruit. There are a number of alternatives now available in the grocery stores that are unique and delicious. One of the seasonal fruits that are currently available at this time of year are pomelos, which are similar in appearance to a grapefruit but larger. A Pomelo is an interesting citrus fruit native to South and South Eastern Asia. What is noteworthy about pomelo – the largest cultivated citrus fruit, is that it is an original citrus species from which a number of cultivated citrus fruits were hybridized from.

Pomelo is often described as a mild tasting grapefruit. In this post, I will address some of the unique characteristics of pomelo. I will teach you how to prepare and use a Pomelo. I will discuss not only the fruit of the pomelo but also the peel and the pith – all of these pomelo parts have their usefulness.

How to Buy a Pomelo:

When purchasing pomelo, look for a fruit that feels quite heavy for its size, and is unblemished with no soft spots. It should be kept refrigerated and used within a week. The pomelo that I purchased was a sweet seed-free pomelo, however, there are varieties that are very tart. Eating the sweet pomelo fruit is a refreshing treat as it does not have the bitterness of a grapefruit and has a slight sweetness. The thin peel of the pomelo is very fragrant and useful in candied peel, mild marmalade and confectionery. The fruit of a pomelo is in its core, surrounded by a thick layer of spongy pith. Unfortunately, the pith is often discarded. In this post, I will outline a very interesting option regarding how to effectively use the pomelo pith.

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Watermelon Gelée

By Denise Pare-Watson

Watermelon is one of the summer’s greatest pleasures. For my family, enjoying watermelon while sitting outside around our picnic table or on the back porch was a real pleasure. We would grab thick wedges of melon with the rind on, which made it much easier to hold onto. We would devour the bright pink fruit until we could not eat another piece, watermelon juices dribbled down our chins, which made the smiles on our faces sticky and pink and most satisfied. When I was a child, my father grew ‘Sweet Beauty’ melons in his large garden. We would always have our eye on the biggest melon in the garden and we watched it grow daily from an egg-sized oval to a monster melon. When the melon was perfectly ripe, the neighbourhood children were invited over to share the summer delicacy. It was so heavy that Dad would carry it to our rustic old table using a wheelbarrow. What a feast we had! Whenever I see watermelons today, my mind races through all those wonderful childhood memories of friends and family.

Skip to Watermelon Gelee Recipe

Skip to Raspberry Tapioca Pearls Recipe

Watermelon Gelee is simply plated, including a garnish of strawberry tinted tapioca pearls

Over my career, I have made watermelon granita; watermelon and lime sorbet, and many litres of melon infused water and other similar treats. Watermelon is quite tricky to use in desserts because of the high water content. The flavour and colour can easily be compromised if overheated. So, when I read about an intriguing dessert called Watermelon Gelée by Chef Eddy Van Damme, I wanted to experiment with it! Watermelon Gelée is a gelatine set dessert using the juice of a watermelon. The vivid pink hue is further enhanced by the addition of raspberry liqueur. A very interesting option to consider as a garnish for the dessert is the use of tapioca pearls tinted with raspberry puree. Watermelon Gelée is refreshingly fun to make and gives you a flavourful alternative when serving watermelon this summer. You need to try this! You will enjoy it.

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Twice Baked Nutty Meringue Cookie Crisps

By Denise Pare-Watson

These Twice Baked Nutty Meringue Cookie Crisps will be unlike any cookie you have ever baked. It is a biscotti style cookie, meaning it is baked one more time after it is sliced to create a crispy flavourful cookie.

Skip to My Recipe

Twice Baked Meringue Cookie Crisps

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Zesty Lime Ice Cream

By Denise Pare-Watson

Making Ice Cream, Sorbets, Sherbets and other frozen desserts was a huge part of my job as a pastry chef at a busy golf and country club. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of making ice cream and thought I should start sharing some of the wonderful varieties of ice cream that I had the opportunity to create. One of my favourites was a Zesty Lime Ice Cream. It is quite refreshing and one of the quicker ice cream custards to make. The sour cream adds a tanginess that balances the custard well. The little flecks of lime zest throughout the ice cream make it a very attractive dessert. It was usually served very simply with a garnish of berries, a crunchy cookie in a stemmed ice cream goblet.

Skip to Recipe

Zesty Lime Ice Cream with a lime zest spiral

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SunFlower Butter Crumble

By Denise Pare-Watson

The Inspiration of Urbnspice Series

Straight up front, this recipe for Sunflower Butter Crumble is a fortuitous recipe. As a matter of fact, my Pinterest by-line is ‘Inspiration in my kitchen is often an experimental coincidence!’ This was definitely one of those times when an experiment turned into something else coincidentally.

Sometimes, those are the very best recipes, don’t you think? Think about Eaton Mess, for instance – pure happenstance. Popsicles were invented by accident. So were potato chips….the list goes on. The point is, all of these so-called mishaps are actually famous food products today. I think that I should rename these ‘The Serendipitous Sunflower Butter Crumbles.’ I am not sure if my Sunflower Butter Crumble will become famous, but I am sure you will enjoy trying them. They are delicious. They have a crunchy, buttery texture (although they are nut free and dairy free). As a matter of fact, Sunflower Butter Crumble is gluten free, grain free, nut free, dairy free, egg free and refined sugar-free.

Sunflower Butter Crumbles

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White Chocolate Vanilla Bean Mini Cheesecakes with Gluten Free Crust

By Denise Pare-Watson

I love cheesecake! Just about everyone in my circle of family and friends will answer “cheesecake” when asked what their favourite dessert is. I like to make sure that no one is left out due to dietary restrictions, so I developed this recipe for White Chocolate Vanilla Bean Mini Cheesecakes with a Gluten Free Crust. Even the folks that could eat foods with gluten loved this cheesecake.

Although this delicious white chocolate cheesecake recipe will feed a crowd (9-inch springform pan), I prefer to divide the cheesecake custard to make mini cheesecakes (18 – 24 mini cheesecakes). The crust I created for this particular cheesecake is a gluten-free rice flour crust that is pre-baked for just a few minutes before the cheesecake custard is poured in.

For these dainty little cheesecakes, a simple garnish is all that is required. Top each mini cheesecake with a quarter wedge of strawberry or other perfect berry and you will have an impressive dessert for a buffet or dessert tray. Bonus Technique: I have included a simple technique to make your own white chocolate garnishes as pictured in the photographs below. I hope you will enjoy trying these White Chocolate Vanilla Bean Mini Cheesecakes.

White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes | urbnspice.com

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Rice Flour Tuile Garnish

By Denise Pare-Watson

What Is It Series

UrbnSpice asks, “What is It?” Series – 3rd Edition. This edition of “Urbnspice Asks, What is It?” was inspired by a gluten-free menu that I recently created and catered for a special couple celebrating their 1st anniversary together. Since my speciality is pastry, I wanted the dessert to be very special indeed. The mysterious photograph is a Rice Flour Tuile Dessert Garnish.

Beautiful lacey tuile dessert garnish | urbnspice.com

Beautiful lacy tuile dessert garnish

As a pastry chef, it always concerned me that most celiac customers were not given dessert choices or options and I wanted to change that. I was absolutely determined to offer them something other than sorbet or a fruit plate. Since writing my latest book, “Chocolate Desserts Made Easy and Delicious – Gluten-Free Chocolate Desserts”, I have been experimenting further using my recipe repertoire to adapt, test and expand my selection of gluten-free desserts, including garnishes.

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