Entremet Magnolia with poached pears, crunchy almond, and pain de genes by Nicoll Notter

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We are especially happy to welcome Nicoll Notter, son of the illustrious pastry chefs Ewald and Susanne Notter to our magazine for the first time. Since we saw him win the US Pastry Competition in New York a few years ago, his progress has been remarkable. In addition to the family legacy, the young Notter has had an intense trajectory alongside professionals such as Della Gossett, at Spago in Beverly Hills, Nathaniel Reid at Nathaniel Reid Bakery in St. Louis, Fabian Rimann at Fabian Rimann Chocolatier in Wettingen, Cedric Pilloud at Cedric Pilloud Creatif in Orbe, Vincent Pilon at the Cosmopolitan in Vegas, among others. In 2021, alongside Arnaud Dousse and Antoine Chopin he represented Switzerland in the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie, winning the Eco Responsible award.

Notter has been one of the leading chefs in a section dedicated to sustainability in so good.. magazine #29. In addition to sharing practices in his daily work, the chef has shown an example of sustainable pastry, a recipe (Magnolia pear) in which his effort to reduce the environmental impact can be appreciated

Magnolia Pear

“I created a pear entremet with the intention of showing how to make an entremet without using a freezer or mold and using seasonal products. With this design, I had intentions of combining the two worlds of pastry. I used classic techniques you’d ﬁnd working in a pastry shop in terms of the pain des genes and anglaise but also showing a restaurant technique with the foam. I made this entremet in mid-October; during the time when pears were very much in season and while being purchased from the Union Square Farmers Market in Manhattan from Cardonna Farms located in Marlboro, NY – exercising my point to support locally grown”.

Pain de genes

611 g American almond, almond paste
258 g sugar
547 g eggs
174 g all-purpose flour
174 g brown butter

In a food processor, slowly blend in the almond paste with the sugar and eggs. Then, in a bain marie, whisk the almond mix until it reaches the temperature of 55ºC. Transfer to a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk until ribbon stage. Melt the brown butter. Take a small portion of your egg mix and temper in the butter. Once combined, fold the butter mix into your egg mix. Fold in your flour. Pipe between 16-cm and 14-cm and 8-cm and-6 cm rings pre-lined with parchment paper. Spread the rest onto a sheet pan. Bake at 176ºC until golden brown. Once done baking and cooled, trim excess biscuit from the top of the metal rings and slide the rings off. From the sheet pan, cut out a 16-cm ring, trim it to 1 cm thick, and cut out an 8-cm hole from the middle.

Poached pear

250 g water
70 g sugar
55 g brown sugar
1 vanilla
12 pears

Clean the pears and remove the seeds. Make a simple syrup. Cool, put everything in a vacuum seal bag. Add to boiling water and submerge for 32 minutes. Take out and cool down. Dry the pears.

Pear confit

poached pear purée
vanilla
sugar
brown sugar
pectin NH
cornstarch
lime juice
poached pear pieces

Check out the recipe in so good #29

Magnolia cream

253 g milk
153 g cream
1 vanilla
80 g egg yolk
80 g brown sugar
36 g gelatin mass
30 g dried magnolia

Roast the magnolia at 162ºC for 20 minutes, add to cream and process with a handheld blender, infuse for 2 hours. Gently warm the cream infusion and sift out the magnolia and scale to 153 g. Prepare a crème anglaise. Add the gelatin mass, allow to cool and set. Mix and pipe on top of the crunch layer. Use 140 g per cake.

Pressed crunch

Croustillant feuillantine

47 g sugar in the raw
31 g all-purpose flour
31 g butter
44 g egg whites
1 g salt
1 vanilla

Paddle the butter, sugar in the raw, salt, and vanilla. Slowly add in the egg whites. Then add in the flour. Spread on a silpat very thin.

Almond streusel

15 g butter
15 g sugar
15 g almond flour
12 g all-purpose flour

Paddle sugar, almond flour and AP flour on slow speed. Add butter (should be cold and cut into cubes) in pieces. Mix till the butter is well incorporated. Bake at 162ºC.

Mix

21 g Fleur de Cao dark chocolate, 70% cocoa
62 g Ghana milk chocolate, 40% cocoa
29 g praliné
136 g feuillantine
55 g almond streusel
2 g salt

Melt the chocolates and add the praliné and salt. Fold in the feuilletine and streusel. Pack in between the two pieces of cake. Put 70 g per entremet.

Magnolia foam

water
magnolia
butter
soy lecithin
gelatin mass
honey

Check out the recipe in so good #29

Pecan praliné

200 g pecans
200 g sugar
1 vanilla
40 g water
72 g Ghana milk chocolate, 40% cocoa

Roast the pecans at 162ºC. Make a caramel with the sugar, water, and vanilla. Pour the caramel over the nuts. Cool and blend in a food processor. Add the tempered chocolate and mix to 26ºC. Use 50 g per entremet.

Montage

Take the two circles of pain de genes (16/14-cm ring and 8/6-cm ring) and place onto a cake board. Pack 70 g of the crunch layer into the gap between the two pieces of biscuit. Gently mix the magnolia cream with a spatula and pipe 140 g above the crunch. Place in the refrigerator for ten minutes to allow the chocolate and gelatin to set. Place the pain des genes (16/8-cm flat piece) on top of the cream. Pipe 50 g of the pecan/chocolate mix over the biscuit between 26-30ºC. Place in the refrigerator for 5 minutes to allow the chocolate to set. Pipe 70 g of the pear confit. Dust the top with powdered sugar. Take the poached pears and spray with them with a nappage and place on top of the confit between the two pieces of biscuit. Finish with the magnolia foam.