It’s been a couple of months since I’ve last done a Daring Bakers’ Challenge. For those not in the know, the Daring Bakers’ Challenge is a group of bakers around the world that is challenged to make the same dessert or baked good and post it on the 27th of the month simultaneously. I missed the last couple of months because it’s a fast moving train from the month of October to the New Year in my household and I just didn’t have any time to do anything but the holiday obligatory activities. However I told myself that I would pull myself together for January and do it no matter what! And then I read the challenge for this month, and it fit perfectly into a personal project of mine that I’ve been thinking about forever, but just haven’t had a chance to do yet. The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert. My version, was a simple Ribbon Sponge (I really really REALLY need to use up egg whites, I have about 75 egg whites in the freezer, and a Ribbon Sponge is made of all egg whites) wrapped around a sweet cherry mousse and topped with a simple chocolate ganache.
The challenge itself was fun – and less complicated than the recipe looked, though I totally (as usual) made it last minute…yesterday in fact, right after my friend Catherine’s birthday happy hour, and I just hoped it would come out okay. That said this Daring Bakers’ Challenge neatly dovetailed with a personal project that I’ve been wanting to start for awhile: to work my way through the book Professional Baking 5th Edition by Wayne Gisslen. Working on this blog has made me realize, more than ever, that there is so much to learn about baking. Let’s face it, it’s a never ending education. And though I do fancy myself a decent home baker, maybe above average (you, dear readers, can decide for yourself what you think of my baking skills), I know that there are glaring holes in my baking skill set.
Michael Ruhlman giving a demonstration at California Culinary Academy
I’ve contemplated going to culinary school. Truth be told, it sounds awesome. The chance to bake nonstop for a year or two, within a huge kitchen space (instead of my tiny apartment one), teachers that will answer every question that you have about why your dessert flopped, as well as being surrounded by fellow classmates that have the same passion as you, sounds amazing. But the reality is, I’m not made of money, and I don’t have two years or even six months that I can dedicate to going to school for something I know that I don’t want to do for a living.
And there’s the fact that I’m too old to be working in a commercial kitchen or a restaurant kitchen. I’m not a pastry chef and I don’t think I ever want to be – at least not in the traditional sense of the making a living in a workplace that is so physically demanding (but I have MAD respect for you people in the hospitality industry). But that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to learn more and push myself more. Which is what makes the Daring Bakers such a great community. Each month challenges me to make something that I normally wouldn’t make or think of making.
I can’t really afford to go to Culinary school. But I CAN afford to buy the textbook, Professional Baking 5th Edition by Wayne Gisslen. Especially when I found the textbook used up in Powell’s Books when I went to visit my friend Sue there ($29.95 versus $23,000 in tuition?). So slowly, and surely, I’m going to work my way through that book. I’m going to figure out what the glaring holes are in my education, what I need to learn, and I’m going to teach myself.
I’m thinking of it as my own Alinea at Home project, but less ambitious (no molecular gastronomy for me). I’m not going to work my way through ALL the recipes. The book is a very dense 750 pages; I’m hoping more for an education, not an endurance test. But I’ll be reading all the chapters and cherry picking the recipes that will give me the building blocks to be better in the kitchen.
And it’s already working. The recipe I pulled from the book was flawless, and better yet, was given to me in baking percentages. I’ve always been scared of using baking percentages ever since I bought a remainder copy of CIA’s professional cookbook back in college on a whim, but it’s a simple formula that professional bakers use, to scale the recipe up or down to whatever size they need. The flour is usually what is set at 100%. Everything else is a percentage of that. The specific Ribbon Sponge recipe called for Flour 100%, Confectioners’ Sugar 100%, Egg Whites 100%, Cake flour 110%. And that’s it. Which means if you use 200g of flour, you need 200 grams of sugar, 200 grams of egg whites, and 220g of cake flour! Want 33% more batter for a larger pan? Just whip out the calculator. See how easy that is?
Of course, this means you need a kitchen scale, but really if you are serious about baking, you need to invest in one. You can get a cheap one for $20 and they are SO worth it. But I understand that not everyone is going to have one. So the recipe listed below is has volume measurements as well.
I can’t wait to start my adventure of working my way through this book. Don’t worry, not every post on here will be about the book – in fact it will be slow going and there will be plenty other posts about my usual hectic life. The Pro Baking posts will hopefully be interspersed throughout this here shiny new blog incarnation, Eat the Love 2.0. In the meanwhile, all I can say is that I’m super thankful that I got to participate in the Daring Baker’s Challenge for January. It’s been too long. I missed it!
Sweet Cherry Mousse with Ribbon Sponge and Chocolate Ganache, a Daring Baker’s Challenge
Ribbon Sponge
Adapted from Professional Baking 5th Ed. By Wayne Gisslen
The original challenge called for a Biscuit Joconde which is similar to the Ribbon Sponge that I used. The difference is that the Biscuit Joconde uses almond flour or hazelnut flour and whole eggs along with egg whites. I’ve got a HUGE surplus of egg whites in my freeze, just waiting to be used, so I went with the Ribbon Sponge cake which only uses egg whites.
You do need a few specialty items to make this dessert. A 6” pastry ring or 6” spring form pan, an offset spatula, a baking sheet fitted with a silicon baking mat.
And just to warn you, this recipe is WAY long and looks labor intensive. I tried to break it down, but in the end, it’s sounds more difficult than it was making it. There are just three components, a ribbon sponge cake, a fruit mousse and a chocolate ganache.
Ribbon Sponge
14 Tbsp (200g) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup plus 1Tbsp (200 g) confectioners’ sugar
7 egg whites (200 g)|
1 1/4 plus 2 Tbsp (220g) cake flour
liquid gel food coloring
1. Cut the butter into 1/2” cubes and then put it in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Turn the mixer to medium high and cream the butter until it softens and looks smooth.
2. Sift the confectioners’ sugar into the bowl and mix to incorporate it into the butter.
3. Scrape down the side of the bowl with a large spatula. Turn the mixer on to medium and slowly pour the egg whites into the butter, trying not to splash too much. Beat the butter and eggs until the butter starts to break up into small bits. You may need to periodically stop the bowl to scrape down the sides.
4. Beat the butter and eggs on high until the butter chunks get as small as you can see it. The batter will look grainy and the butter chunks will be visible, but you want to get them as small as possible before you incorporate the flour. Don’t worry if you can still see the chunks though. The batter will smooth out when you add the flour.
5. Sift the cake flour into the bowl and then turn the mixer on and beat, until the batter is smooth.
6. Take about a 1/4 cup of the batter and put into a small bowl and drop a single drop of food coloring of your choice into it and mix until it is evenly incorporated. Do the same with a second bowl of and another 1/4 cup of batter with a contrasting color (I used pink and yellow obviously).
7. Using a fork, smear some of the colored batter onto the silicon baking mat, alternating the color as you do it.
8. Using the offset spatula, spread them thin onto the silicon matt, smearing the colors together.
9. Stick the pan into the freezer for 15 minutes and cover the leftover uncolored batter with plastic wrap to keep from drying out.
10. In the meanwhile turn the oven on to 475˚ to preheat and start making the bing cherry mousse.
Bing Cherry Mousse
Since Bing cherries aren’t in season right now, I used a can of Oregon Fruit Products Pitted Dark Sweet Cherries in heavy syrup. Full disclosure, I met a representative for the Oregon Fruit Products at BlogHer Food back in October and she sent me some samples to play with in my baking. I’ve found that they work surprisingly well when making fillings for cakes and such. I like the fact that their product has no preservatives and is just fruit, water and sugar.
1 1/4 cup (275g) canned cherries (a 15oz can of of cherries drained – reserve juice)
2 Tbsp of drained cherry juice
1/4 oz (1 envelope) of unflavored gelatin
1 cup of heavy cream
1/4 to 3/4 cup of confectioners’ sugar (more of less to taste)
1. Puree the canned cherries in a food processor or blender until smooth.
2. Place the 2 Tbsp of drained cherry juice into a small pot and heat up until it starts to boil (watch it carefully, since it’s such a small amount, it’ll boil fast).
3. Pour the cherry juice into a medium metal mixing bowl. Add the gelatin and stir until it dissolves.
4. Add the cherry puree into the gelatin and place the bowl over a larger bowl full of ice and water. Stir until the puree starts to thicken a little.
5. Place the cream in a standing mixer bowl fitted with the wire whisk. Beat the cream until soft peaks start to form (be care that you don’t over beat it). Gently fold in the cherry puree.
6. Sift 1/4 cup of confectioners’ sugar on top of the mousse and fold it in. Taste and decide if you like it sweeter. Add another 1/4 cup of confectioners’ sugar if you’d like, up to 3/4 cup depending on how sweet you like your dessert.
7. Place the mousse into the fridge as you bake the sponge.
Bake the Sponge
1. Take the pan out of the freezer and, using a spatula, pour the uncolored batter onto the pan.
2. Spread the uncolored batter evenly with the offset spatula until the batter is a uniform 1/4 “ thick over the entire silpat.
3. Bake the sponge between 12-15 minutes, or until the cake bounces back when lightly touched in the middle.
4. Let it cool on a wire rack until it is slightly warmer than room temperature.
5. Dust a cutting board with powdered sugar and lift up the entire silpat off the baking sheet and flip the sponge over onto the cutting board. The colored decorative side will be facing up. Peel the silpat off the cake.
Assembling the cake
1. Make sure the sponge if in orientated in a horizontal manner (landscape) and use the baking ring to cut two circles, next to each other on the top of the sponge. You’ll be using these circles on the inside of the assembled cake. Leave enough room on the bottom of the sponge to cut a strip of cake to line the baking ring.
2. Cut a strip of the cake slightly shorter than the height of the baking ring. I used a 2” high baking ring, so I cut about a 1 3/4” high strip of cake. You want it shorter than the ring, because you’ll be filling the cake with mousse and you want the mouse to peak out at the top so people can see it (that purple strip at the top of the cake? It’s the mousse)
4. Place the cake (with the decorative side facing “out”) around the inside of the ring. If the cake strip isn’t long enough to go all the way around, cut another piece of the cake so that it snugly fits all the way around.
3. Take one of the sponge rounds that you cut out, and trim about a 1/4” around the edge to make the circle 5 1/2″ in diameter. Then fit it into snugly into the bottom of the cake. Brush the sponge with some reserved cherry juice.
4. Spread a thin layer of cherry mousse into the cake over the bottom sponge layer. Now trim the second sponge round like the first one, and fit it snugly into the cake, over the mousse. Spread another layer of cherry mousse on top of the sponge round, this time going almost all the way to the top of the ring, leaving about a 1/8” to 1/4″ edge from the top of the ring. Place in the freezer while you make the ganache.
Making the ganache and finishing the cake
3 1/2 oz of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup of heavy cream/
Gold luster dust and gold leaf (optional)
1. Chop the chocolate into small pieces (1/4” pieces if you can) and place it in a heat proof bowl.
2. Place the heavy cream in a small pot and heat until bubbles form on the side of the pan. Make sure to swirl the cream around a little bit to evenly distribute the heat. It should heat up pretty fast, since it is only 1/2 cup. Be careful not to boil the cream though. You want it hot but not boiling.
3. Pour the hot cream on top of the chocolate and using a heatproof spatula stir until completely melted
4. Take the cake out of the freezer and quickly pour the ganache onto the top of the cake. Be sure to bring the ganache to the top of the ring, but not to spill over. If you spill over, quickly wipe up the ganache before it sets.
5. Place the cake back in the freezer to set up, for at least two hours or overnight. Carefully unmold it by placing one hand underneath, supporting the cake, and the other hand carefully pulling the baking ring down. Or, if you were smarter than me, you would have lined the baking ring with a food grade acetate or a long strip of parchment paper. But I wasn’t that clever (nor do I have any food grade acetate just lying around the house).
6. Decorate with gold leaf and luster dust if using.
Shelley C says
January 27, 2011 at 7:10 pmI, too, think culinary school sounds awesome!! 🙂 Maybe one day… How awesome that this challenge aligned with an existing baking to-do for you! I love when that happens. Your ribbon sponge looks really cool, and the entire dessert sounds awesome! Great job.
Irvin says
January 29, 2011 at 10:28 amThank you! I wish I could find the time and money for culinary school, but in the meanwhile, I’ll just work my way through the book. And keep on doing Daring Bakers’ Challenges!
Jenni says
January 27, 2011 at 9:15 pmYour joconde turned out beautifully. And the cherry mousse/chocolate ganache one-two punch is great!
Professional Baking was my text book in culinary school. If you’d like to hear about the experience, I’m happy to share it with you. 🙂
Now, cut me a slice of that entremet, please! =D
Irvin says
January 29, 2011 at 10:29 amI would LOVE to hear about your experience of the text book and of culinary school! The book looks awesome. I can’t wait to dive into it more. And come on over! I have some entremet left in the freezer!
Belinda @zomppa says
January 27, 2011 at 9:28 pmLooks like you knocked it out of the park!! I too wish I could go to culinary school….
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 10:17 amThanks Belinda! Recently I keep on meeting people who’ve gone to culinary school and it’s kind of killing me. But oh well…
chef_d says
January 28, 2011 at 4:02 amLove your cake, the multi-colored imprime looks gorgeous! That book is totally worth it, have one too and all the recipes are fool-proof!
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 10:19 amYay! I can’t wait to dive deep into it. So far, I’ve made two recipes and both have come out great. Thanks!
Karen says
January 28, 2011 at 6:28 amThis looks so delicious – and so beautiful! I came over here to congratulate you on your SAVEUR magazine feature. Congratulations!
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 10:19 amThanks Karen! the Saveur feature was so wonderful!
Susan says
January 28, 2011 at 8:47 amHi! I hopped over from the Saveur article featuring your blog (Congratulations on that!) to check things out, and find Eat the Love absolutely delightful. You are so talented and inventive, and I love your enthusiasm and obsessive attention to detail. But there is one big problem – I can’t find the recipe for your tantalizingly beautiful chocolate pom. tart anywhere. It seems criminal to mention the tart, and feature photographs of it, without providing the recipe! Will you be disclosing the recipe sometime in the future?
I am looking forward to seeing if you celebrate Chinese New Years with any delectable treats.
Zai jian!
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 10:25 amHi Susan! Thanks so much for stopping by. The Saveur article was awesome, and the people over there couldn’t be more wonderful.
As for the chocolate pomegranate tart recipe, I will probably be featuring it sometime in the future (probably in February depending on my schedule). It’s a pretty simple recipe, but I haven’t gotten around to writing it up yet.
And yes, I hope to have something up for Chinese New Year! We shall see if it works out though. I’m still testing recipes for it.
Audax Artifex says
January 28, 2011 at 9:42 am1stly congratulations on being on the Saveur magazine as their “Sites we Love” that is fabulous well done and I agree with Susan above where is the recipe for that tasty looking dish.
Your entremet is so so cute I love the colour and the way you did the smearing of the pattern and the final flavour combination sounds so delicious and tasty. Well done I love your obvious love of baking and way-to-go with your home education that is the way I did it!
Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.
P.S. I was wondering what happened to you good to hear it just was the holidays.
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 10:31 amThanks! I’ve always said that I loved Saveur magazine, but (of course) now I love them even more! Yay! And as I told Susan above, I’ll be posting the recipe!
And yes, the holidays were just insane for me. I was bummed I had to miss the Daring Baker’s back to back. But I’m glad to be back!
Lesley Miller says
January 28, 2011 at 7:22 pmThis is such a creative recipe, Irvin! I don’t know if my version would turn out as pretty as yours but I’m certainly inspired. Also- you updated your site! It looks really nice. 🙂
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 10:36 amThanks Lesley! I had fun making the entremet and I had fun (sort of) updating my site. Well not really, but it’s fun now that it’s done! Ha! Thanks for the compliment.
S. B. Hadley Wilson says
January 28, 2011 at 8:55 pmThat looks DELICIOUS!
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 10:37 amWhy thank you. AJ seemed quite pleased with it.
Erin Johansen says
January 28, 2011 at 10:21 pmHi Irvin,
You did Oregon Fruit quite proud on this recipe! It is spectacular and we are honored and humbled to be used in such an ambitious undertaking! I am also a culinary school wanabe but way too old for another career. I will be following your progress faithfully! One of my co-workers suggested I try to adapt the challenge with Oregon Fruit and here you were doing it for me! Most gratefully, Erin, aka The Queen of Tarts
http://www.blog.oregonfruit.com
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 10:39 amHa! Thanks for sending me those samples. I haven’t had a chance to play with a lot of them, but you’ll be seeing a recipe I did with the canned boysenberries coming up pretty soon too!
Ruth Ellis says
January 29, 2011 at 12:16 pmBeautiful! The sheen on the top of the ganache is just perfect? I’ve never seen liquid gel colouring – just liquid which is hard to get vivid colours from, and paste, which is sometimes tricky to mix in evenly to batter etc – what brands make it?
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 10:45 amThe brand I use is called Spectrum and it’s made my Ateco (I think). I love them, as it only takes a drop or two to get those really super saturated colors, something you can’t get with liquid (I’ve actually never tried to use the paste before). A little bit goes a long way!
You can buy a 12 piece set of them at Amazon.
astheroshe says
January 29, 2011 at 4:29 pmyou did a GREAT JOB!
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 10:45 amThank you!
Sara says
January 29, 2011 at 6:15 pmI totally failed my DB challenge but I have all the intentions to try it again! Your entremet came out fantastic! I like the idea of the sweet cheery mousse in particular. Great job!
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 10:53 amThe sweet cherry mousse actually turned out less sweet than I thought. I had to add in the confectioners’ sugar in the end to pump it up. But it turned out tasty. Yours with the ice cream looked great, even if you think of it as a “total fail”! I loved your notes on the sponge!
Maria Beatrix says
January 29, 2011 at 10:00 pmHi, Irvin
Your joconde looks so pretty and the filling made me crave.
I loved your Professional baking project. I went to a culinary school and I must say that NOT all my questions were answered:(. I still have lots and lots of things to learn.
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 10:56 amWhat? Not all your questions were answered? Isn’t that the point of culinary school? Just kidding. No, no, I’m sure learning is something that is never ending. I just decided to use the Professional Baking book to give me a bit of a structure, and to force me to learn something that I normally wouldn’t!
marcellina says
January 29, 2011 at 10:18 pmWOW, your Entremet is gorgeous! I love the smear of bright colours! I too, have many eggwhites in my deep freezer that I need to find a home for. The recipe you used would have been ideal.
Thanks for you comment on my blog because now I found your blog which is brilliant!
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 10:58 amOh good, I’m so glad that I’m not the ONLY person with many egg whites in the freezer! I did feel like I was cheating just a little bit with this month’s daring baker since I didn’t do the recipe with the almond flour, but any chance I have to use up those egg whites, I jump at.
Which means I’ve been making a lot of meringue based frostings lately. Ha! Thanks for stopping by!
Emma says
January 29, 2011 at 10:26 pmI love the colours, so beautiful! I’ve had similar dreams of learning to cook/bake professionally, but like you don’t have the money or time! So I’m taking a few classes here and there in local cookery schools 🙂
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 11:00 amI should look into taking some individual classes! That would probably be way more economical for me. And thank you for the compliment! It was super fun to make and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.
The Daily Palette says
January 30, 2011 at 12:15 amHow many times exactly I scrolled back up, I don’t know! But I’m doing it again. Your creation is what desserts should be: SEXY. Cupcakes are pretty, but this mousse/cake goodness you made is GORGEOUS and very SOPHISTICATED!
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 11:07 amLOL. I love that you think of it as SEXY! Ha! Thank you so much, and thank you for the tweet!
Lisa says
January 30, 2011 at 1:41 am::thud::
I know that tastes as fantastic as it looks. what a work of art.
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 11:19 amThank you! I don’t know if I would call it a work of art, but it was definitely fun to make (and eat).
Priya Srinivasan says
January 30, 2011 at 3:56 pmOMG!!!! This looks fabulous, Excellent, fantastic, Divine!!!!! Wish i can do like this!!!!
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 11:20 amThanks so much!
Diana says
January 30, 2011 at 5:06 pmWow that’s really beautiful! I need to get a kitchen scale. I definitely consider myself a cook not a baker. Going through a textbook is a really good idea! Maybe I’ll do that to expand my baking skills one day.
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 11:22 amYou DEFINITELY need to get a scale! They are so worth it. It will transform your baking AND it has the extra bonus of less things to wash. No more washing a million measuring cups. As much as I like cooking, I LOVE baking (obviously). The scale really changed everything. Well, that and the KitchenAid mixer!
annelies says
January 30, 2011 at 8:04 pmThat dessert is like a work of art. Truly, Irvin. Pollock would be proud. 🙂 I think your baking challenge is going to be a good one and look forward to accompanying you on the journey… and if you need a taste-tester along the way, just holler.
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 11:24 amHa! I may have to take you up on that one Annelies. I could always use someone to taste my experiments.
And I was thinking more Lee Krasner, than Jackson Pollock. 😉
Brian @ A Thought For Food says
January 30, 2011 at 9:01 pmThis, quite simply, a work of art. But not just in baking… but in patience. How… HOW… did you find the patience to make this gorgeous dessert!?! I am beyond impressed.
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 11:36 amWhen I start making a dessert, it actually becomes pretty zen like in the kitchen (though if you were in the kitchen while I was baking you probably wouldn’t notice as I am quite the mess maker). I don’t really think of it as patience as much as getting in the moment and just flowing with it…
The patience came when I had to freeze the sucker, and then realized I had not lined the baking ring, and I had to hope that it would unmold and not stick! Luckily it did!
Phuoc'n Delicious says
January 31, 2011 at 3:36 pmI LOVE the funky colours of your joconde sponge! I’m so borrowing this idea when I make my next fancy cake! That touch of gold on your cake adds that element of elegance and the flavour combo sounds amazing. Absolutely fabulous!
Irvin says
January 31, 2011 at 4:17 pmThanks! When I was doing it, I was super scared it would come out garish. Which it sort of did, but I went with it, and the gold dust/gold leaf help bring out of the gaudy (at least I hope it did).
Evelyn says
January 31, 2011 at 6:34 pmHey!
I love your dessert. I wish I had the confidence (and ability)to be so artistic!
You did a beautiful job and I just wanted to reach out and grab a slice.
Wonderful!
Irvin says
February 27, 2011 at 1:31 amThank you Evelyn! It didn’t take much confidence. I was just smearing colored batter around! But it was super fun to make!
sandie says
January 31, 2011 at 6:48 pmLovely to look at and sounds really tasty as well. It was a fun read. Thanks for stopping by and looking forward to future correspondence.
Best- Sandie
Irvin says
February 27, 2011 at 1:31 amIt was super tasty. Thanks for stopping by as well!
Aparna says
January 31, 2011 at 7:54 pm75 egg whites! How did you get there???
I can understand the thing about pros and cons of culinary school. I’m thinking of doing a short term course ( acouple of weeks) in a pastry kitchen if someone will have me. 🙂
I love your marbled joconde, its a great idea. And i definitely think you’re an above average baker, your entremet looks quite professional to me.
Irvin says
February 27, 2011 at 1:33 amOh don’t get me started on the 75 egg whites. I’m slowly working my way through them, but some how, for every three or four egg whites I use up, I end up using more egg yolks for custards, puddings, and random baked goods that require more egg yolks. *sigh*. One of these days I’ll make it through them all though.
And thank you for the compliment! I’ve thought about doing a short term course as well. Perhaps one of these days I will.
Lisa says
January 31, 2011 at 8:50 pmI am in love with your joconde..I mean..in love as I wished I had gone in that direction. It’s like a mural of beauty, but how many murals are filled with cherry mousse? I think just yours, so I would love to eat your art 🙂
that said, LOVED reading the Top Chef entry, so, so true and so on the money! Some forget it’s a competition and let others help..LOL Just makes me shake my head.
Love your blog!
Irvin says
February 27, 2011 at 1:34 amThanks so much Lisa! I have to admit, it was not only super fun to make, fun to look at, but fun to eat as well!
And yes, Top Chef. I actually don’t watch the show much – except for the Just Dessert spin off, but everything my sister wrote is so true!
Rosa says
February 1, 2011 at 9:59 amWow, your entremet is mindblowingly fabulous! I really love the pattern, colors and flavors you chose. You are very talented!
Cheers,
Rosa
Irvin says
February 27, 2011 at 1:35 amAwww! Thanks Rosa! I have to admit I was pretty pleased with how it turned out.
Jessica @ bake me away! says
February 2, 2011 at 11:57 pmDang, this is a work of art!! Not only is it stunning, it sounds so tasty. I need to check out that book! And holy cow…75 egg whites!! I’ve been having the opposite problem of too many yolks.
Irvin says
February 27, 2011 at 1:37 amYou and me have to get together than! I’ll use some of them there egg yolks! You can have my egg whites! Win win situation.
The book is great. I highly recommend it. It takes some getting used to as it’s written for professionals and it assumes a certain level of skill set already (the instructions are sparse but informative) but I have yet to make anything out of it that hasn’t come out exactly as they described!
Paula says
February 5, 2011 at 9:02 amI can`t stop looking at this! It`s absolutely divine and I want to try this…
Have a great time,
Paula
Irvin says
February 27, 2011 at 1:37 amThanks Paula! I’m flattered! It really was super fun to make.
Meagan says
April 21, 2011 at 9:25 amI’m currently in culinary school and we use the same text book and it calls for acetate paper to put inside the cake ring before you put in the outside layer of sponge cake. Did you use the acetate? Or did you use something else? Do you think that the acetate is neccesary?
Khan says
February 11, 2013 at 2:26 amHello!!!
Could you please tell, what is the size of your cake tin that you have spread your cake batter?
You have said to freeze the colored cake batter for 15 min, and leave the uncolored cake batter covered in plastic wrap. Wont the uncolored cake batter that is outside, deflate in 15 min?
I would like to make this recipe, I have tried making it before, everything went well but unfortunately everything fall apart. I could not peel off my cake, off the parchment paper.
Thanks,
Khan.
Khan says
February 11, 2013 at 2:39 amoh, what I meant to say is, I have tried making joconde imprint recipe following a different recipe. I have not tried, this specific recipe that you have provided. This recipe seems just a tad bit easy. Bit like marble cake, the part where you take out the cake batter and mix in the colors. I would love to make this cake. AGAIN!!! 🙂
Sarah says
May 16, 2016 at 10:48 amI know that this recipe was posted a few years ago, but I am in culinary school and I have a project to do a ribbon sponge cake. I think yours will suit the project. I look forward to trying it and see if it works for me. Thank you