Marc Balaguer Michel Willaume Orange so good #29

Bamboo Harmony with orange, pepper, mimosa, and figs by Michel Willaume and Marc Balaguer

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Photos: Ivo Geskus

In so good.. magazine 29 we present three joint creations by Michel Willaume, World Pastry Champion 2001 with the United States, and Marc Balaguer, runner-up in the World Ice Cream Championship with Spain, in which the glaze plays an important role.

Below we share the step-by-step recipe of one of these creations: Bamboo Harmony. In this dessert, two ﬂavors come into play with very marked notes and characteristics, forming a very complete aromatic symbiosis in the mouth. On the one hand, the bitter notes of orange, red pepper, and natural mimosa extract, combined with the sweetness of ﬁgs, with a ﬁnal touch of Yin Zhen tea that combines and perfectly enhances the tasting.

This recipe was developed from an innovative study which we also share in so good..magazine #29 and whose objective was to take the glaze from a simple decorative element to become part of the product in a much more ambitious and integrated way, as a complement in its own right. Under the premise of achieving more natural fruit glazes in beautiful colors and made purely from fruit purees, the two professionals are united by the desire to go back to the essentials in pastry to emphasize the excellence of simplicity. Freshness, balance, and the combination of flavors are aspects that Willaume has brought to the table, while Balaguer has focused more on the study of ingredients. The study, developed for Les Vergers Boiron, has also benefited from the collaboration of the Dobla Innovation Center, and the support of pastry chef Bart de Gans, a friend of Willaume’s, and the EPGB.

Harmony

Almond sponge flavored with pink pepper & mimosa

confectioners’ sugar
almond powder
flour T55
whole eggs
egg whites
granulated sugar
butter
pink peppers
natural mimosa extract

Check out the recipe in so good #29

Mixed berries sablé dough

120 g butter
2 g salt
90 g icing sugar
30 g almond powder
50 g whole eggs
60 g flour T55
175 flour T55
13 g mixed berries powder

Mix first, with the paddle attachment, the butter with salt, icing sugar and almond powder. Add the eggs gradually and the 60 g of flour. Do not over mix. When the mixture starts to become homogeneous, add the remaining flour briefly. Let rest for a few hours in the refrigerator before rolling. Roll out to 3 mm thickness. Cut following the petals form of the mold and let rest again for a few hours in the refrigerator. Cover thinly the sablé with the mixed berries powder and bake at 140ºC to a golden color.

Creamy orange bitter gel

bitter orange purée
sugar
atomized glucose
pectin NH
granulated sugar
citric acid solution

Check out the recipe in so good #29

Fig compote

fresh peeled figs
fig purée
sugar
pectin NH

Check out the recipe in so good #29

Fig mousse

300 g fig purée
50 g gelatin mass
75 g Italian meringue
120 g cream, 35% fat

Start by making the Italian meringue. Then heat up to 85ºC with 125 g of the fig purée and the gelatin mass. Pour the hot mixture into the remaining cold purée, stirring well. Check the temperature (30ºC), add a small part of the whipped cream with the meringue and then, the remaining whipped cream. Mold directly (upside down molding).

Italian meringue

125 g egg whites
200 g sugar
40 g water

Combine the water and sugar in the saucepan and bring to 121ºC. Pour slowly into the fluffy whipped egg whites and beat up until 30ºC.

Yin Zhen white tea chocolate cream

white tea infusion
granulated sugar
egg yolks
gelatin mass
white chocolate 33%
Tea infusion
mineral water
white tea Yin Zhen

Check out the recipe in so good #29

100% Fig glaze

Neutral glaze base

200 g water
65 g granulated sugar
10 g pectin NH
100 g glucose
235 g granulated sugar

Fig glaze

500 g neutral glaze base
300 g fig purée

In a saucepan, pour the water and directly add the mixture of pectin and sugar, mixing well. Start heating at strong power and passing at the same time the hand blender to hydrate and dilate the pectin. When boiling well, count 2 minutes and take out the heater, rapidly add the glucose and put back to the heater. Mix with the blender and add the second sugar. Continue to mix the texture with the hand blender from time to time. When boiling, count 1 minute and directly stop the cooking by pouring the neutral glaze onto a large tray to cool down easily. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours. To insure the same texture is obtained every time, I recommend measuring the Brix with a refractometer, lecturing 69ºBrix. Scale 500 g of neutral glaze directly in a container, add the cold and defrosted corresponding purée. Pass the hand blender moving the head all over the forming glaze until perfect homogenization. The texture can be variable depending on the fruit used. Warm up gently to around 40ºC for glazing.

Montage

Home-made silicone mold. Unmold the cake and glaze directly covering well all parts. Place the piece on top of the sablé base. Place the decorative flower lace in the center. Place the fig compote dome on top, previously placed onto he small sablé dough. Decorate the top with a dried jasmine flower.