Hummingbird Torte with pineapple sorbet and cream cheese mousse by Alexandra Motz

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Photos: Sarah Corder

Alexandra Motz, the Executive Pastry Chef at restaurant Spoon and Stable, located in the North Loop neighborhood of Minneapolis, draws inspiration from color, seasonality, and equipment to design desserts that “tend to be very bright and intentionally plated. I try to use nature’s natural ingredients and geometry for color as much as possible. I make desserts that are not overly sweet,” she explains.

But what are her signature desserts? “Any desserts that highlight fresh fruit and nostalgia because they’re fresh, bright flavors and very playful,” she confesses. Among her favorite creations is this Hummingbird Torte that “is a play on a Southern classic” and that contains cream cheese mousse, caramel filling, Meyer Lemon gelee for glazing, pineapple chips and sorbet, and candied pecans.

Check out the recipe!

Hummingbird Torte with Pineapple Sorbet and Cream Cheese Mousse

Hummingbird Cake

Yield: 50ea

151 g Blended 51/49 Olive OIl
100 g Granulated Sugar
100 g Dark Brown Sugar
133 g Whole Egg
14 g Vanilla Extract
450 g AP Flour
8 g Baking Powder
10 g Baking Soda
7,5 g Ground Cinnamon
3 g Kosher Salt
370 g Banana Puree
454 g Crushed – Pulsed Pineapple
44 g Sour Cream

Make the banana puree using very ripe bananas and blend in Vitamix until smooth. Set aside. Make the crushed / pulsed pineapple but cleaning a whole pineapple of its skin, and core. Chop into small pieces and use the robot coupe to pulse the pineapple into just smaller than pea size. Set aside. Combine all dry ingredients together and sift, set aside. Cream oil, granulated sugar, and dark brown sugar together in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Combine eggs with vanilla extract and add to the creaming sugar mixture. Add sifted dry ingredients into the mixer, mix on low speed for a minute or so, alternating with the banana puree and crushed pineapple. It is important to not overmix this batter or tunneling will occur. Once fully combined, spread 800g. Of batter on 2 flat half sheet trays. Spread the remaining 400g. On a flat ¼ sheet tray. Bake at 325 degrees for roughly 12 minutes, checking to make sure it is fully baked in the middle. If not, it will need another 2-4 minutes roughly. Let cakes cool, and store in the freezer.

Cream Cheese Mousse

Yield: 50 ea

948 g Heavy Cream
454 g Granulated Sugar
228 gEgg Yolks
454 g Cream Cheese
8 g Vanilla Paste
2 ea Meyer Lemon Zest
4 g Kosher Salt
10 ea Gelatin Sheet

Temper cream cheese for an hour before making the recipe. Bloom gelatin in ice water. Prepare your 6cm circular or domed silicone molds. Whip heavy cream, reserve 75 grams for gelatin, with mixer and whisk attachment to soft peaks, set aside. Whip egg yolks with mixer and whisk attachment. Meanwhile, bring sugar and 100g. Of water to 240 degrees F on the stove. Once temperature is reached, pour into whipping yolks. Whip yolks and sugar until tripled in size and mixture has cooled, set aside. Cream cream cheese with lemon zest, vanilla paste, and salt until creamy. Melt bloomed gelatin with 75g. Or reserved cream on the stove until gelatin is fully melted. Pour melted gelatin and cream into a creaming cream cheese mixture down the sides of the bowl. Scrape the bowl and make sure the mixture is smooth. Transfer cream cheese mixture to a separate bowl. Add whipped cream and whipped yolks alternating until fully combined. Mousse will be soft peaks and smooth. Scoop mixture into silicone molds. Store in the freezer for one hour. See assembly instructions on how to proceed.

Caramel Filling

Yield: 1 quart, 50 portions

530 g Granulated Sugar
150 g Water
465 g Heavy Cream
6 g Kosher Salt

Combine sugar, salt, and water on the stove and cook until a dark amber color. Pour in cream using a whisk, and stirring viciously, to create caramel sauce. Store in a quart container, and chill in an ice bath until ready to use.

Meyer Lemon Gelee for Glazing

Yield: 50ea.

22,5 g Powdered Gelatin
120 g Water
150 g Meyer Lemon Juice
300 g Granulated Sugar
300 g Glucose
225 g Sweetened Condensed Milk
300 g Valrhona 33% White Chocolate
1,5 drops Yellow Food color

Bloom gelatin powder in water, set aside. Melt meyer lemon juice with glucose and sugar until melted. Add gelatin, and heat until gelatin is fully melted. Pour gelatin mixture over white chocolate and sweetened condensed milk in metal bain marie. Using an immersion blender, combine all ingredients. Add a few drops of yellow food coloring until desired color has been achieved. Let the gelee cool in an ice bath until 35 degrees C.

Pineapple Chips

Clean pineapple removing all skin. Slice the cleaned pineapple on a slicer into thin sheets, roughly setting number 2 on the meat slicer, having the core be the middle of the slices. Save all scraps for pineapple sorbet. Prep oven to dehydrate at 180 degrees, low fan, and two full sheet trays lined with spray silpat mats. Cut the middle of the pineapple slices, having the core in the middle, with a 5 cm round cutter. Lay out cut pineapple slices on sheet trays. Dehydrate for 2 hours. Once chips are fully dehydrated, take out of the oven and lay over a rolling pin to achieve a curled chip look. Store in an airtight container with a silica packet.

Pineapple Sorbet

Yield: 4qt, 50 orders

4.380 g Cleaned pineapple (use scraps from chips)
676 g Granulated Sugar
240 g Lemon Juice
340 g Simple Syrup
100 g Glucose Powder

Clean pineapples of the outside skin. Caramelize sugar with dry caramel method on the stove, toss in pineapples and stir out into a hotel pan. Cook in oven at 350 degrees, fan speed 3, for 20-30 minutes Let cool slightly, puree in vitamix, strain through chinois. Add lemon juice, simple syrup, and glucose powder with an immersion blender. Chill in an ice bath and store in the cooler. Spin in the ice cream machine once fully chilled.

Candied Pecans

150 g Toasted Pecan Halves
300 g Granulated Sugar
75 g Water

Caramelize sugar with water on the stove until amber caramel color is achieved. Toss in toasted pecans, and stir. One fully covered layout on silpat to cool. Once cooled, chop with a knife until small bite size pieces are achieved.

Montage

Once cream cheese mousse has been in the freezer for an hour. In the center of the mousse, use a melon baller to scoop out a small portion of mousse. Fill mousse with caramel sauce. Cut frozen hummingbird cakes with a 6 cm ring cutter from frozen. Place cake on the bottom of the mousse. Let it set up in the freezer fully until unmolding. Prepare meyer lemon gelee to 35 degrees C. Place unmolded cream cheese mousse on sheet trays lined with cooling racks. Pour glaze over mousse. Transfer to a sprayed parchment lined sheet tray until fully set.