Choux flower with rice paper, lychees, and pear by Joaquin Soriano
At CJSJ (Taiwan), Joaquin Soriano renews the appearance of classic products such as a lioness or a galette de roi, turning them into something totally different. His pastries are fresh not only because of how freshly made they are, but also because of the attraction they arouse in his customers.
As an example is this choux flower topped with flavored rice paper. As he explains, “This choux was one of the products I chose for my presentation at the spring meeting of the Relais Desserts association, to which I have been a member for less than a year. The theme of the meeting was “Beautiful/Elegant”, so flowers immediately came to mind. I wasn’t sure how to express this flower shape and I wanted to try it with rice paper, so I used coconut oil and sugar macerated in vanilla.”
It is very easy to acquire rice paper, although shaping it involves working on each paper one by one, taking great care so that they do not break when cutting them because they are very fragile. “It is a good idea for a special order, but not for producing in large quantities,” he warns.
We share the recipe for this preparation on www.sogoodmagazine.com, which reflects the playful character of this French chef of Spanish origin.
Choux flower
Choux pastry (16 g piece)
- 182 g whole milk
- 238 g water
- 17 g caster sugar
- 5 g salt
- 185 g butter 82%
- 185 g flour T65
- 249 g fresh whole eggs
- QS sugar pearl
Bring to a boil the water, milk, sugar, salt and butter together. Sieve the flour into the mixing bowl. Pour the hot liquid into the mixing bowl and mix fast. Put back into the pot and dry the mass for a few seconds. Pour back into the mixing bowl and start to dry with the medium speed of the robot. Blend and sieve the fresh whole eggs and add 1/3 directly into the mass and mix. Add a little of the egg each time until your mass is homogeneous. Pipe on a baking tray and sprinkle the sugar pearl. Bake it in a convection oven 25 minutes to 170° C.
Lychee chantilly (20 g piece)
- 24 g granulated sugar
- 227 g lychee puree 90%
- 9 g gelatin powder 200 Bloom
- 45 g hydration water
- 612 g fat cream 35%
- 101 g lychee alcohol
- 7 g acid solution 50/50
Heat the puree with the sugar to 60°c then add the gelatin mass. Stir with a rubber spatula until it’s completely dissolved and pour over the cold cream and emulsify with a hand blender. Add the acid mixed with the alcohol and emulsify. Store in a plastic box.
Pear jelly (10 g piece)
- 57 g water
- 1 g citric acid
- 518 g pear puree 90%
- 129 g inulin
- 130 g trehalose
- 20 g gelatin powder 200 Bloom
- 100 g hydration water
- 64 g pear alcohol
Into a pot, bring to a boil the water, acid, puree, inulin, and trehalose, then add the gelatin mass out of the gas and stir with a rubber spatula. Add the pear alcohol and stir. Using a funnel piston, fill the silicone mold. Store in a freezer.
Rice chips
- QS rice paper
- QS oil
- QS vanilla sugar (grind vanilla beans used with sugar)
Detail the rice paper the size you wish. With cooked rice previously blended and colored. Place a drop in the center then fix with another cut rice paper and place another drop. Heat your oil until 180° C and fry it. When the texture is correct, remove it from the oil and sprinkle the vanilla sugar.
Assembly
The day before, prepare the lychee chantilly and the jelly. Detail the rice paper and store it. Make the choux pastry and bake it. When the choux cools down, cut the bottom and fill it with the chantilly. Place the frozen jelly in the center and close it with chantilly and the bottom of the choux. Fry the rice paper and decorate it.
