Andy Warhol’s iconic banana with cachaça and tonka beans by The Alchemist

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One of the great attractions of The Alchemist (Copenhagen, Denmark), led by Rasmus Munk, is that beyond offering delicious dishes, it pushes diners to the limit, stimulating them sensorially.

The restaurant, number 5 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023 ranking, builds a unique experience also in the pastry station, as we see in so good.. magazine #26 with the help of its pastry chef, Mike Adelsten.

Below we share the recipe for one of his surprising desserts, an interpretation of Andy Warhol’s iconic banana. Under a crispy casing made from banana juice lies a sorbet made from Manzano bananas, paired with South American flavors like cachaça, tonka beans and caramelized egg yolk.

Andy Warhol

70% syrup for sorbet

290 g water
75 g dextrose
145 g dried glucose syrup
490 g sugar

Put all ingredients in a pot and heat gently until all sugars are dissolved.

Banana sorbet

350 g apple bananas
55 g water
92 g 70% syrup (for sorbet)
5 g Cremodan Coldline
citric acid

Blend the bananas until they become a smooth paste. Blend water, 70% syrup and Cremodan Coldline thoroughly. Blend the banana with the syrup mixture. Add a bit of citric acid, to give some edge.

Egg yolk caramel

40 g caramel powder
100 g egg yolk

For the caramel powder: Heat sugar with a bit of water until it caramelizes. Pour the caramel on a silpat to cool down. Blend to a powder and store dry. Mix egg yolks with caramel powder with a hand blender, until the sugar is dissolved. Vacuum the mixture to get rid of any air bubbles. Transfer mixture to a vacuum bag and cook sous vide at 75ºC until the eggs thickens (2-3 hours).

Cachaça gel

600 g cachaça
300 g simple syrup
300 g water
18 g agar

Mix all ingredients and bring to a boil. Leave the gel to set in the fridge. Blend the gel to a smooth purée and store in piping bags.

Tonka gel

6 g tonka bean (grated)
200 g simple syrup
300 g water
6 g agar

Mix tonka bean with simple syrup and water, and let it infuse in a vacuum bag for 4 hours. Strain the tonka bean from the syrup, add the agar and bring to a boil. Leave the gel to set in the refrigerator. Blend the gel to a smooth purée and store in a piping bag.

Banana skin

Black part

1.200 g milk
90 g sugar
65 g kuzu
30 g banana ash

Mix milk, sugar, kuzu and ash. Heat it gently in a pot with a spatula constantly stirring the bottom of the pot. When the mixture boils, it is transferred to a container with cling film to the surface, so it does not form a skin. Strain the mixture, and vacuum it.

Yellow part

3.000 g milk
500 g banana juice
480 g sugar
240 g kuzu
Yellow food coloring

Mix milk, sugar, kuzu, banana juice and yellow coloring. Heat it gently in a pot with a spatula constantly stirring the bottom of the pot. When the mixture boils, it is transferred to a container with cling film to the surface, so it does not form a skin. Strain the mixture, and vacuum it. Spread the black mixture on silpats using the Andy Warhol stencil. When the black mixture is dry, then strain the yellow mixture and spread it on top of the black mix between 2 rulers.

Montage

Let the sheet dry. Cut out banana shapes. Use a heat gun to shape them over a ceramic banana mold. Let dry. Place the banana skin upside down and fill it with the banana sorbet. Pipe a line of egg yolk caramel, Tonka gel and cachaça gel on top of the sorbet and carefully invert the banana onto a plate.