Category Sweets

Edible Cigars


EDIBLE CIGARS

When I ventured over to Melbourne in February I took my lovely girlfriend to a little restaurant called Cutler and Co. This is where I came across Fromage Blanc Cigars, a delicate little cigar-shaped pastry filled with cheese and at either end an olive tapenade and white balsamic gel. However I thought I would try my own twist on this little number. I replaced the cheese with a chocolate ganache and managed to find some edible labels courtesy of Edible Image Printing. I looked at many recipes (most I translated to English from French) but in the end I just made up my own recipe.


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INGREDIENTS

– 200g Dark Chocolate

– 50Ml Coconut Cream

– 1 Packet of Filo Pastry

– 1 Egg

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METHOD

First defrost the filo pastry and whisk the egg in a small bowl, this will be an egg wash. Next you will need a small sauce pan with enough water in it so that when a glass bowl is placed on top the water isn’t going to touch the bottom of it. Put the chocolate in and stir constantly while you wait until it melts. Once it has done so, remove from the heat and stir in the coconut cream. Leave to cool down and for an extra effect at this point I smoked the chocolate with cigar smoke using my smoking gun.

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Meanwhile clear a surface, dust with flour and lay a sheet of filo down. Grab a brush and wash the filo with the egg before placing another sheet on top. Repeat until you have a five layer thick sheet. To make the tobacco looking ends roll and squish a few sheets of the filo together until you will have the thickness of the cigar you want (it should look like the picture above). Mine were about one to one and a half centimeters in width. Next you want to cut from that roll three 1 cm pieces two for the ends and once for the middle I found this stopped the cigars from collapsing where the ganache is spooned in.

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Place these 1 cm pieces evenly, roughly three to four centimeters apart and spoon some ganache into these 2 spaces. Brush the filo with egg and roll the cigars as tight as you can. Be careful doing this not to tear the pasty. Place on some grease proof paper and put into the freezer to chill. Once frozen cut the ends off so that they are nice and neat. Next you want to heat some canola oil (or you can cook them in the oven) in a pot and fry the cigars until they are golden brown. Let them sit on some paper towel to get rid of any excess oil then leave them to cool and enjoy.

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Below is a link to some of the recipes I sorted through and combined to create my own: https://www.google.com.au/#q=cigares+au+fromage+blanc

Molecular Egg


MOLECULAR EGG

I love my cooking and so if I can take it to the next level, I will. The molecular egg is part cooking/part science and the best thing about it is that it is not that hard. It only took me half an hour to make two of these. This dish is a dessert and really plays on your mind when you eat it. You think it should taste like egg as it has the same texture but once the flavors hit you know it most definitely isn’t!

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INGREDIENTS

– 5g Sodium Alginate (*Specialist Ingredient)

– 1000g Distilled Water

– 1/2 Cup Milk

– 2g Agar-Agar (*Specialist Ingredient)

– 2/3 Cup Vanilla Yoghurt (Although I used CoYo yoghurt)

– 1 1/4 Cups of Mango

– 2 Tbsp Castor Sugar

– 1/2 Tsp Calcium Lactate or Calcium Chloride (*Specialist Ingredient)

METHOD

First step is to make the sodium alginate bath. Grab a large container preferably with a flat bottom and pour in the distilled water. You then want to add the sodium alginate and combine by using a hand blender. cover the container and set aside in the fridge for 15 minutes or until all the bubbles in the solution have disappeared.

For the second step pour the milk in a small saucepan and heat until boiling. Once boiling you need to add the agar-agar, hand blitz and add this to the yoghurt in a measuring jug stirring well. You will need to have a plate at the ready as this mixture goes off quick (there is a video for the making of this, the link is below). Pour one large circle out wait for 5 seconds and then pour another smaller circle on top. Place in the fridge to set.

For the mango yolk, you need to add the mango, castor sugar and calcium lactate or chloride into a blender and blitz into a fine purée. Pour into a container and set aside the sodium alginate solution on a clear bench. You will also need another container with just plain water in it. Once you have this all done, scoop the mango purée with a soup spoon and pour it into the sodium alginate solution. Let this sit in the solution for 3 minutes and then stir slowly. Remove the spheres with a slotted spoon and drop into the water to rinse stirring them around.

With all this done take out the egg whites and with the back of a spoon and where you think the yolk will go, lightly press to form a divot. Lastly with a spoon, pick up one of the spheres and place in the divot and voilà, you have a dessert egg.

Recipe was made using the video of “youtube” by Julie Grealy

Molecular Egg “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZPD5VsdDGE“

The specialty ingredients can be bought online in the form of a kit or separately from the websites below or from any Compound Chemists in your local area.

http://www.redspooncompany.com/index.php/ingredients/modernist-cuisine.html

http://www.molecularfoods.com.au/buy/

Agar-Agar can be bought at most supermarkets or oriental delis.