Black Corn Dessert with Wild Berries by Ronald García

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There are ingredients without which it would be impossible to understand good pastry, such as chocolate, vanilla, and honey. However, only a few chefs are aware of the connection of these products with the Mayan culture.

Ronald García, head of Pizca Pâtisserie in Guatemala City, knows and also reclaims this rich heritage surrounded by unique lands. Guatemala (in Nahuatl it means “land of forests”) is a land full of jungles, volcanoes, and a soil and climate that have turned it into a fertile garden that provides vegetables and many crops to a good part of its Central American neighbors.

As we showed in so good .. magazine 32, García creates a pastry that is sometimes evocative, in which there is no lack of mimetic or highly delicious desserts, but especially sensitive in terms of the vindication of the rich local pantry, the network of producers who are in charge of taking care of it, and connecting it with its historical heritage rooted in the Mayan civilization. As an example, this creation that emulates the so-called black corn, which is actually purple, and whose recipe we share exclusively on www.sogoodmagazine.com.

“In Mayan culture, corn is the main food, the grains are ground to make tamales and tortillas that are preserved inside the leaves of the corncob (tusa). That’s why this dessert is wrapped in similar leaves made of caramel. It is placed on the typical corn grinding stone, an ancestral object on which local women prepare their tortillas”

Discover So Good #32

Black Corn

Black corn cake

170 g melted butter
150 g eggs
300 g black corn
130 g sugar
11 g impeller
30 g 35% MG cream
0.75 ml Cribbiana vanilla extract

Shuck and roast the corn until it releases its aroma and changes color slightly, taking care not to darken it. Mix all the ingredients in the blender, including the corn, and process until the mixture is homogeneous. Spread on a 18×18 cm tray and 3 cm high. Cook in a bain-marie at 150ºC (300ºF) for 30 minutes. Cut 4 cm discs and cut out the center to form cake rings. Set aside.

Black corn cremeux

Black corn atole

150 g black corn flour
125 g water
150 g milk
95 g sugar

Bring the milk, water, and sugar mixed together to the heat. Add the black corn flour and stir constantly to prevent it from sticking to the pan. Bring to a boil and reserve until it thickens. Remove from the heat, strain while hot, and let it cool.

Cremeux

200 g black corn atole (previous)
75 g Kampura 36% white chocolate
100 g whipped cream 35% MG
15 g gelatin mass

Melt the chocolate, mix with the atole, and add the gelatin mass until it dissolves. Then add the cold cream and emulsify. Put it into a sleeve and set aside.

Wild blackberry compote

210 g blackberries
100 g blueberries
100 g sugar
15 g lemon juice

Cut the blackberries in half and put them in a saucepan with the blueberries and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes until the fruit is soft. Remove from the heat, add the lemon juice, and set aside.

Corn kernels (chocolate sphere)

200 g dark chocolate
300 g cocoa butter
q.s. fat-soluble black food coloring
q.s. fat-soluble purple food coloring

Temper the chocolate, mix a part of the cocoa butter with each food coloring. Mix. Spray semi-sphere molds, first with the purple color and then with the black color. Line the mold with the tempered chocolate and form the spheres. Allow to crystallize, unmould, and set aside.

Purple corn cob leaves

250 g Isomalt sugar
5 corn cob leaves
q.s. black gel food coloring
q.s. purple gel food coloring
q.s. fuchsia gel food coloring

Melt the isomalt in a saucepan, remove from heat and add the food coloring in a 2-2-1 ratio (black, purple, fuchsia) to obtain the color. Make five lines of sugar on a silicone mat and, using a hot metal angled spatula, shape them into leaves. While still hot, mark the texture with the corn cob leaves. Apply heat to each leaf and shape it with your hands. Set aside.

Assembly.

Place the black corn cake in the center. Fill with the berry compote. Fill the sphere with the black corn cream and place on the cake. Using tempered dark chocolate, stick the leaves around the cake to wrap it.