bakingbuyer - November 2011 - (Page 42)

for its macarons from Chicago magazine, which wrote, “the best we’ve found so far reside at Bennison’s Bakery, where they dissolve upon contact with your tongue.” Adds Downer, “Those things have really taken off. We make them every day now. For Nov. 5, we’ve got an order for 250 macarons for a wedding rehearsal dinner.” Macarons are tricky to make and can dry out when not prepared properly. One of the important steps to making macarons correctly involves using an induction burner to control precise temperatures. An induction burner heats up rapidly and brings precise heating to the cooking process. “Using an induction burner is key,” Downer says. “It’s really a great piece of equipment.” Beyond macarons, there’s more of Top Chef: Just Desserts Season 2, which attracted millions of TV viewers and bolstered interest in the exciting world of pastries. Regarded as two of the world’s finest pastry chefs, Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer and Sébastien Canonne, M.O.F., co-founders of The French Pastry School, enjoyed the privilege of being special guests during the final phase of Bravo’s Top Chef: Just Desserts Season 2, when the show’s grand prize winner was announced on Oct. 26. One Top Chef: Just Desserts Season 2 participant, Amanda Rockman brings a special flair to the dessert menu of The Bristol in Chicago, where she is pastry chef and is widely known for her basque cake and other unique creations. In an exclusive to Baking Buyer, Rockman shares several of her insights and inspirations: A Anyone can have a great idea. It’s h what you do with it that makes it count. Amanda Rockman, Pastry Chef at The Bristol in Chicago to the story of what bakers can learn from the creative world of pastry arts. For example, Bennison’s uses tempering chocolate on its passion fruit mousse domes. “In years past, we would use coating chocolate,” Downer says. Influential Television Pastry Chef Chris Hanmer of The School of Pastry Design in Las Vegas recently earned top honors 42 · BAKING BUYER · NOVEMBER 11 Pastry chef Amanda Rockman draws her inspirations from everyday experiences. Baking Buyer: Your basque cake offers a delicate balance of flavor and texture. Then factor in the cinnamon walnuts and apples, and delightful flavors are dancing on your tongue. How did you come up with this combination of delicious fall flavors? Amanda Rockman: Fall always reminds me of apple picking with my sister, so I knew that I wanted to do an apple dish with the basque cake. Because the cake is sweet yet salty, crunchy yet soft, I knew that the apples would have to have a texture entirely their own. That’s when confiting the apple came to mind, as well as giving that lovely deep caramel flavor. Walnut offers a bitter aspect to the dish but is mild when candied with cinnamon. Apple cider sabayon is used as a sauce opposed as a main component. Baking Buyer: Do you offer different variations of basque cake throughout the year, based on the season? Amanda Rockman: I have done many different types of basque flavors: chocolate coffee, cinnamon almond, sweet potato. But at The Bristol I always do vanilla filled and alter the components due to seasonality. It’s such a specialty that we do that people come in just for the basque cake. They know they can get it consistently the same but sometimes it’s served with strawberry and balsamic; others with champagne and blueberries. Baking Buyer: It appears you are a big fan of sabayon. Tell us why. Amanda Rockman: I like the technique of sabayon – an egg liquid mixture thickened on the stove and then whipped cream folded in. The

bakingbuyer - November 2011

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