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German Chocolate Cake and Ecuador Chocolate Crémeux

Jiho Kim / Chef, L’Espalier; Event - StarChefs.com 2010 International Pastry Competition; Photo by StarChefs.com

For the German Chocolate Cake:
    • 37 g. cocoa powder
    • 1 tbsp. coffee extract
    • 120 g. boiling water
    • 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
    • 118 g. buttermilk
    • 220 g. butter, room temperature
    • 333 g. sugar
    • 4 eggs
    • 3 3/10 g. baking soda
    • 2 4/5 g. salt
    • 280 g. all-purpose flour
Method for the German Chocolate Cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. Bring the cocoa, coffee extract, boiling water and vanilla extract to the boil.
3. Combine the cocoa mixture with the buttermilk, and set aside to cool.
4. Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
5. Slowly whisk the eggs into the butter mixture.
6. Combine the baking soda, salt and flour and sift them.
7. Add the flour mixture and cocoa mixture into the butter mixture, alternating them until all of the ingredients are just combined.
8. Pour the batter into a baking tray.
9. Bake the cakes in the oven for 15 minutes until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
For the Eucalyptus Yogurt Sorbet:
    • 420 g. light cream
    • 5 g. chopped eucalyptus
    • 210 g. sugar
    • 42 g. powdered glucose
    • 1 9/50 g. kappa carrageenan
    • 1 g. iota carrageenan
    • 1 g. locust bean gum
    • 1 3/4 g. salt
    • 1/2 g. malic acid
    • 675 g. 2% Greek yogurt
Method for the Eucalyptus Yogurt Sorbet:
1. Combine the cream and eucalyptus in a small pot and bring to the boil.
2. Remove the mixture from the heat, leave the mixture to steep to allow the cream to infuse, and then strain the mixture.
3. Transfer the mixture back to the pot and blend in the sugar, glucose, kappa carrageenan, iota carrageenan, locust bean gum, salt, and malic acid one by one with a stick blender.
4. Return the pot to the heat and bring back up to a boil.
5. Remove the mixture from the heat and chill it over an ice bath.
6. When the mixture is cool, add the yogurt. Blend the chilled custard in a Vita-Prep, then strain.
7. Blend the chilled custard in a Vita-Prep, then strain.
8. Process the mixture with an ice cream machine then freeze.
For the Ecuador Chocolate Crémeux:
    • 460 g. whole milk
    • 460 g. heavy cream
    • 4 g. iota carrageenan
    • 1/5 g. kappa carrageenan
    • 3 g. locust bean gum
    • 85 g. egg yolks
    • 92 g. sugar
    • 330 g. Ecuador 71% chocolate, melted
Method for the Ecuador Chocolate Crémeux:
1. Combine the milk and cream in a medium pot and bring them to the boil.
2. Transfer the mixture to a Vita-Prep blender.
3. With the blender running on low, add the iota carrageenan, kappa carrageenan, locust bean gum, egg yolks, and sugar one by one in order into the vortex of the blending liquid.
4. Blend the mixture on speed 4 for 2 minutes, then on speed 8 for 7 minutes.
5. Pour the chocolate in a slow and steady stream into the vortex of the blending liquid.
6. Set the blended mixture over an ice bath to chill.
7. When the mixture is cool, blend it once more, then strain it and pipe it into mini half-sphere molds.
8. Freeze the mixture and it will set while frozen.
For the Buttermilk Blue Cheese Cake Mousse:
    • 355 g. cream cheese
    • 175 g. buttermilk blue cheese
    • 115 g. sugar
    • 100 g. eggs
    • 30 g. egg whites
    • 170 g. heavy cream
Method for the Buttermilk Blue Cheese Cake Mousse:
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. Beat the cream cheese and blue cheese with the sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, egg whites and cream, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Bake the mousse in a baking tray for 15 minutes.
5. Blend well and strain.
For the Vanilla Coating Gel:
    • 1 kg. heavy cream
    • 1 Tahitian vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, and scraped
    • 10 g. agar agar
    • 150 g. sugar
Method for the Vanilla Coating Gel:
1. Combine the cream and vanilla in a pot.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the agar agar and sugar.
3. Whisk the sugar mixture into the cream mixture.
4. Place the pot over a medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
5. Continue cooking for 2 minutes while scraping the bottom of the pot with a spatula.
For the Blueberry Violet Fluid Gel:
    • 500 g. The Perfect Purée Blueberry Puree,  thawed
    • 100 g. sugar
    • 2 g. malic acid
    • 1 7/10 g. sodium citrate
    • 2 1/2 g. low acyl gellan gum
    • 1/2 g. xanthan gum
    • 10 g. violet oil
Method for the Blueberry Violet Fluid Gel:
1. Bring the blueberry puree to the boil in a small pot over a low heat.
2. Transfer the hot purée to a Vita-Prep.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and malic acid and set aside.
4. With the blender running, add the sodium citrate and low acyl gellan gum to the vortex of the blending mixture.
5. Add the malic acid mixture into the vortex of the blending liquid.
6. Then add the xanthan gum and blend the mixture well.
7. Blend in the violet oil, and then blend the mixture on speed 7 for 4 minutes.
8. Set the mixture over an ice bath to chill.
9. Blend and strain the gel mixture through a chinois, and cover.
For the Fig Powder:
    • 1/4 cup PreGel Fig Arabeschi topping
    • 2 cups maltodextrin
Method for the Fig Powder:
1. Blend the fig topping and maltodextrin together in a Robot Coupe until the mixture is fluffy.
For the Port Spray:
    • 200 g. port
Method for the Port Spray:
1. Put the port into a spray bottle.
Assemble and Serve:
Pipe the buttermilk blue cheese cake mousse along the plate and mound some German chocolate cake crumbs on the plate. Plate some crémeux and a quenelle of yogurt sorbet. Pipe the fluid gel and coating gel onto the plate and sprinkle some fig powder onto the plate. Spritz the dessert with the port.
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