A view from work
We had a tasting at work recently, to test out some new menu items. I brought along my camera, intending to take some pictures as I plated, but it all happened so quickly that I had to ask Ann to wield the camera instead. The above is one of my favourite shots from the resulting snap-fest. It’s a warm chestnut pudding with butterscotch pear, inspired by my desire to serve a pear and Mont Blanc-style dessert. Mont Blanc, I decided, might get problematic especially when I usually have to make hundreds of the one item, so I settled on a chestnut (flour and puree) flavoured pudding instead. Garnishes are freshly baked streusel lightly spiced with cinnamon, and some boozy brandied currants. In a perfect (restaurant) scenario, the lemon zest added the streusel would be microplaned and mixed through just before serving, to allow the aroma of fresh lemon to lift into the air just as the plate hits the diner.
With the cooling of the weather, something warm and bubbly, topped with this streusel would be just the ticket. Sprinkle uncooked streusel on top of muffins before baking, for an extra crunchy topping. Or over some berries or stewed apple in a dish, a la fruit crumble. Sometimes I go all Domestic Goddess-y and store some prebaked crumble or streusel mix in the freezer for when I want a quick dessert.
Streusel :
(adapted from A Passion for Desserts by Emily Luchetti)
6 tablespoons raw sugar
6 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons plain flour
85g cold unsalted butter, chopped
85g almond meal
Preheat the oven to 175’C.
Place all the dry ingredients into a bowl. Rub in the butter until well mixed through. Spread out onto a lined tray.
Bake the streusel until golden brown, tossing the mixture with a spoon occasionally, to ensure even cooking (20-25 minutes).
Just before using, microplane some lemon zest, finely chop it and toss it through the streusel mix.
(I’m not one for accumulating too many gadgets in my kitchen, but the microplane grater is one of the most useful. It’s great (grate!) for grating small amounts of cheese or chocolate onto a dish. I particularly like it for getting zest off citrus fruits, because it manages to do so without taking off any of the pith at the same time, which can be bitter. If you need more reasons (excuses) to get yourself a microplane, check out Joelen’s Tasty Tools event, which features Graters and Microplanes this month.)
quick said,
March 22, 2008 @ 2:35 pm
Those desserts all looked pretty amazing. Tasted a couple too. Very nice.
I have posted another, alternative view from work. not as sophisticated as yours, but it has plenty of personality.
Aran said,
March 24, 2008 @ 8:54 am
Wow… so I see you are a professional pastry chef! Fabulous! I am also a former professional pastry chef. I say former, because I stopped working after I had my baby. But I sure miss it! This looks really good although I would love to see a close up and sink my teeth into it. But I know that is hard to photograph desserts while you are working. I never took good pictures when I was working and I am sorry now because I don’t have a good portfolio of what I have made in the past. But now with the blog, I’m getting into food styling more and more.
Y said,
March 24, 2008 @ 9:22 am
Well, I don’t know about the professional bit.. 😀 I’m not qualified, I mean. I’m trying to make it more of a habit to remember to take pictures at work, otherwise it’s so surprisingly easy to forget what you did, yesterday, let alone 6 months ago.
Your little boy looks so cute, by the way! I saw that picture of him eating the macaroon.