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Romantic recipes will shine at For the Love of Chocolate
A decadent dessert of Chocolate Orange Cremeux with Buttermilk Panna Cotta and Passion Fruit Gelee. | Buzz Orr~Sun-Times Media
Chocolate Orange Crémeux with Buttermilk Panna Cotta and Passion Fruit Gelée
(From Tiffany Schuler, Sweet Whimsy)
Orange Crémeux
½ cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 orange, zested
3 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
¾ cup good quality dark chocolate
Bring heavy cream, milk, orange zest and half of the sugar to a boil in saucepan. Meanwhile, whisk the other half of the sugar into egg yolks.
Pour ¼ cup of boiling milk into egg yolk mixture and whisk quickly.
Return milk to heat and slowly add in milk and yolk mixture and bring to a low boil while whisking constantly.
Pour milk mixture over chocolate and whisk until smooth.
Pour into cups and chill until set.
Buttermilk panna cotta
2 tablespoons water
1½ teaspoons gelatin
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup sugar
2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (scrape the inside of a vanilla pod)
Soften gelatin in bowl with water.
In saucepan, dissolve sugar into heavy cream, and then bring to a boil.
Remove from heat and stir in gelatin until dissolved.
Add buttermilk and vanilla bean paste.
Let sit until slightly cooled, then pour over the crémeux. Chill in refrigerator until set.
Passion fruit gelée
2 teaspoons gelatin
¼ cup water
2 cups passion fruit juice
1 lemon, juiced
In saucepan, melt gelatin into water until fully dissolved.
Turn off heat and slowly whisk in passion fruit juice and lemon juice.
Chill until gelée is the consistency of raw eggs.
Spoon gelée on top of panna cotta, and chill until gelée is set.
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Updated: February 13, 2013 5:16PM
A new venue and fresh recipes will change up the French Pastry School’s annual For the Love of Chocolate Scholarship Foundation gala this year.
The Feb. 23 event will take place in the Union League Club of Chicago and new chefs will participate. But one aspect of the occasion will remain: plenty of romantic foods.
First-time participant Tiffany Schuler, new owner of Sweet Whimsy, a bakery at 251 Robert Parker Coffin Road in Long Grove, will make a decadent Chocolate Orange Crémeux with Buttermilk Panna Cotta and Passion Fruit Gelée. The dessert is as loaded with flavors as textures.
“It’s chocolate, tangy buttermilk and bright passion fruit,” she says. “The buttermilk panna cotta gives a nice color contrast and the passion fruit gelée brings a pop of freshness.”
Schuler, a 2008 graduate of the French Pastry School, warns not to cook the eggs too long when making the crémeux.
“If the eggs boil for too long, you will end up with scrambled eggs,” she says. “Once the eggs are added back into the cream, you just want to bring the cream to a light boil. Right when it starts to bubble around the sides, it’s ready to be poured over the chocolate.”
For the Love of Chocolate will feature plenty of pastry chefs showcasing their latest sweets, but savory recipes will also star in a five-course dinner option. Paul Virant, chef/owner of Michelin-starred Vie Restaurant in Western Springs and Perennial Virant in Chicago, will contribute the first course of the dinner. Virant will make Smoked Rushing Waters Trout with Crème Fraîche, Pickled Sweet Pepper Terrine and Tasso (spicy, smoked pork) Vinaigrette.
“This dish should be a nice opener, perfect with bubbles or beer,” Virant says. “The vinaigrette will be spicy hot from the tasso rub, which could be a nice segue into a spicy evening.”
Like Virant, a Culinary Institute of America alum, chefs involved in the fundraising event share a common devotion to culinary students.
“Everyone who will participate is passionate about what they do and dedicated to supporting the pursuit of excellence by aspiring pastry chefs,” says Jacquy Pfeiffer, the French Pastry School’s academic dean for student affairs. “Pastry is not just about making cookies: It’s about dedicating your life to being the best you can be at something you love to do.”
For more information on the event, go to www.fortheloveofchocolatefoundation.org.
