Under the tree plated dessert by Eric Ortuño

The Hofmann School of Barcelona has several commercial establishments that allow pastry teachers and students to acquire a necessary versatility in the trade. In addition to the Hofmann School, there is the Hofmann Restaurant, Hofmann’s Taverna, Terraza La Seca and Hofmann’s Patisserie. Eric Ortuño is the Pastry head teacher of the School and one of the architects of this small Hofmann universe in the Catalan capital.
In this line five years ago, when Eric Ortuño and the director of the school, Mey Hofmann, launched Pasteleria Hofmann (so good #11), another world opened up to them. Contact with shop pastry has allowed the introduction of more pastry techniques in restaurant desserts with a differential value. For example, they have changed sugar decorations with chocolate figures influenced by the tradition of the Catalan Easter ‘monas’. The cactus and chocolate tree techniques of the new desserts in the Hofmann restaurant illustrate this change very well. An air of creative freedom is also breathed with proposals which are lighthearted and not as tied to the French tradition as it had been in earlier proposals. They are interested in the diner enjoying mimetic desserts inspired in ‘realities that have something fun and poetic,’ says Ortuño. Nevertheless, he says, the desserts of the new menu of the Hofmann Restaurant are based on very recognizable products, ‘in commercial tastes’, in a pastry that is easy to understand, ‘without too many extravagances’.

‘With this dessert, we start a series of more visual dishes which are usually served in front of the diner. Assembling these new amusing desserts in the dining room emphasizes the customer’s response and involves him in the game we propose’

Under the tree

mascarpone mousse

375 g mascarpone
375 g semi-whipped cream
3 u egg yolks
150 g sugar
50 g water
2.5 ugelatin sheets

Cook the water and sugar to 120ºC and pour over the egg yolks. Beat until cooled. Add the melted gelatin and the cream mixed with the mascarpone.

vanilla cream hemispheres

1080 g liquid cream
2 u vanilla beans
6 g pectin x58
240 gegg yolks
160 g sugar

Infuse the vanilla in the cream. Allow to cool. Mix the sugar and pectin and stir into the cream when at 40ºC. Cook to 85ºC and pour over the egg yolks. Beat in a Thermomix for 2 minutes. Fill hemisphere molds, 2.5 cm in diameter, and freeze.

apple tatin

1000 g Russet apples
100 gsugar
40 g butter

Cut the apple into pieces. Caramelize the sugar together with the butter and sauté the apple. Fill hemisphere molds (2.5 cm in diameter) with the apple and bake at 180ºC for 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

green apple

200 g vanilla cream
15 g Calvados

Mix the cream and Calvados. Fill hemisphere molds. Freeze and join the hemispheres together. Apply a coating (100 g cocoa butter, 150 g white chocolate, 5 g green tea). Finish with dark modeling couverture (60 g couverture, 40 g glucose) for the stem and the apple leaf.

crumble

100 g salted butter, chilled
100 g flour
100 g almond powder
100 g sugar
20 g cocoa

Knead all the ingredients to a sandy-textured dough. Bake at 150ºC for 15 minutes. Allow to cool and crush.

Finishing

Place 2 vanilla hemispheres and 2 apple tatin hemispheres (2.5 cm each). Dip these hemispheres into a dollop of mascarpone mousse forming a mound. Place the crumble on top. Freeze and spray with chocolate. Lay on the plate, allow to thaw and top with the tree (made with a stencil). Place 3 green apples and garnish with flowers and shiso leaves.

You will find two others recipes in so good #15