LEMON CURD, MICROWAVE PISTACHIO SPONGE CAKE,
GREEN APPLE SORBET AND GREEK YOGURT
Antonio Bachour / Executive Pastry Chef
The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort / Miami
Yield: 15 portions
280 grams water
80 grams atomized glucose
(glucose powder)
3 grams ice cream stabilizer
570 grams sugar, divided + 1 cup
1 kilogram fresh green apple juice
290 grams lemon juice, divided
920 grams pistachio paste, divided
180 grams egg whites + 1 egg white
60 grams almond flour
4 grams agar-agar
270 grams whole eggs
350 grams butter
1 gelatin sheet, silver
450 grams heavy cream, divided
1 cup green pistachios
1 frozen unbaked French baguette
Olive oil, as needed
1 cup Mediterranean yogurt
2 T. simple syrup
Lemon zest, for garnish
Micro herbs/flowers, for garnish
Fresh apple, peeled, diced,
for garnish
1) For green apple sorbet: In pot,
heat water to 40ºC; stir in atomized
glucose. Combine ice cream stabilizer
with 300 grams sugar; add to water.
Bring water back to a boil. Combine
apple juice and 20 grams lemon
juice; immediately pour into syrup,
stirring to combine. Chill completely.
Process in ice cream machine.
2) For pistachio microwave sponge:
In blender, process 220 grams
pistachio paste, 180 grams egg
whites and almond flour; strain into
iSi cream whipper. Charge with
two N2O chargers; refrigerate for
a few hours. Make 3 small cuts in
base of plastic cup. Shake whipper
vigorously; fill cup 1/3 full. Cook for
40 seconds in microwave (keep
cup upside-down until cool to keep
steam inside). Repeat, as needed,
until batter is used up.
3) For lemon curd: Combine
remaining 270 grams lemon juice
and agar-agar in saucepan; bring
to a boil. Meanwhile, combine
270 grams sugar and eggs in
bowl; whisk to combine. Temper
lemon juice into egg mixture;
return to saucepan. Bring to a boil
while stirring constantly. Transfer
mixture to blender; blend on low
speed. Add butter, little by little,
until incorporated. Pour mixture
into plastic 17 x 11 inch sheet
tray; set in refrigerator.
4) For pistachio cream: Bloom
gelatin. In saucepan, heat 400 grams
heavy cream to 35ºC. Put remaining
700 grams pistachio paste in bowl
of stand mixer fitted with paddle
attachment. Slowly incorporate hot
cream. Squeeze excess moisture
from bloomed gelatin; dissolve
gelatin in remaining 50 grams cream,
add liquid to pistachio paste mixture.
Cool; refrigerate.
5) For candied pistachios: Preheat
oven to 350ºF. Beat egg white until
frothy. Add pistachios and 1 cup
sugar; mix well. Spread on Silpat-
lined sheet tray; bake for 8-10
minutes. Remove from oven; cool.
6) For bread croquant: Slice baguette
into ¼ inch slices; place in single
layer on baking sheet. Brush each
slice with olive oil. Bake for 15-20
minutes in 350ºF oven, until crisp.
7) For yogurt sauce: Combine yogurt
and syrup. Transfer to squeeze bottle.
Refrigerate.
8) To assemble and serve: Pipe
small line of yogurt sauce on plate.
Pipe dollops of pistachio cream on
plate. Arrange 2 pistachio sponges
on each side. Arrange a cylinder of
lemon curd between sponges. Plate
candied pistachios on top of lemon
curd. Garnish with lemon zest,
croquant, micro herbs and flowers,
and diced fresh apple. Finish with
quenelle of green apple sorbet.
surprise me
Patrick Fahy, pastry chef at Café des Architectes in the
Hotel Sofitel Chicago Water Tower, says, “I try to put myself
in the diner’s position. When I’m out to eat, I like to order
something that sounds familiar but has an element of surprise
in it, usually an ingredient that’s sourced by chefs only based
on a not-too-complicated technique.”
His inspiration for dessert menu items often stems from the
season, but the emotions attached to memories of his childhood
fuel his playful approach. “I put my own personality on the
plate,” Fahy says.
One of his most popular chocolate desserts is criollo
chocolate cream with Tonga vanilla bean, cupuaçu, and a witty
visual pun consisting of a thin white-chocolate shell filled
with egg yolk ice cream. He combines geometric shapes that
veer toward the architectural, and contrasts those clean lines
by using a base of chocolate streusel “soil,” which gives the
impression that the dessert is literally growing out of the plate.
Fahy’s plating might be freeform in style, but “the components
on the plate must be nice and clean, even if a little scattered
in presentation," he says. “I like the tension that results from
precise and seemingly random elements side by side.”
make it second nature
For Angela Pinkerton, pastry chef at Eleven Madison Park
in New York, plating is an intuitive art. “When I’m plating I want
to have a balance of elements on the plate,” she says. “There
