Mixed Berries and Cocoa Pearl Tartelette by Talia Profet

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Talia Profet began her career in some of New York’s great kitchens, first at Balthazar and then at Daniel. There she laid the foundations for a way of understanding pastry that is attentive to ‘kitchen culture’, constantly learning techniques and maintaining discipline in all aspects of her work, starting with her own creativity. She later completed her training in Paris and discovered Asian cuisine more closely, events that helped her to become the chef that she is today and to direct all her know-how to the many possibilities offered by the new generation of cocoa powders by deZaan.

In so good.. magazine 31, Profet talks about the advantages of working with cocoa powder. In her opinion, “cocoa powder gives a more intense flavor. It also allows chefs to control various aspects of the recipe, such as sugar reduction, plant-based ingredients, and fat content. I do like using chocolate for certain recipes, but now with the knowledge I have acquired working with cocoa powder as a main ingredient, I see a world of possibilities that I just don’t see with chocolate”.

As a sample, below we share exclusively on www.sogoodmagazine.com the Mixed Berries and Cocoa Pearl Tartelette recipe. “My inspiration for this dessert comes from my fascination with challenging techniques and creating small delicate pearls that burst with flavor when eaten. This is a technique I learned from my days working at Restaurant Daniel; in my junior years it was a technique I struggled to master,” she explained.

To provide a fun experience playing with flavors and textures, she turns the classic chocolate and berry pairing into a new but nostalgic and tasty petit four. “The delicate pearls that are flavored with cocoa and mixed berries, paired with the creaminess of the cocoa ganache and finished with the crisp pâte sucrée,” she says.

Discover So Good #31

Mixed Berries and Cocoa Pearl Tartelette

Cocoa Pâte Sucrée

165 g pastry flour
30 g deZaan Rich Terracotta cocoa powder
125 g butter
50 g confectioner’s sugar
1 g salt
½ u vanilla bean
75 g eggs (beaten)

Sift flour and cocoa powder together. Reserve.

Cream together the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla in a mixing bowl until smooth and light in color.

Gradually add in the eggs.

Add flour and cocoa powder mixture. Mix until just combined.

Transfer to plastic film wrap and cool in the refrigerator until firm.

Roll the dough to 2mm thickness and cut into 5cm discs

Cool for approximately 10 minutes.

Mold onto lightly greased small tart shells.

Refrigerate until set firm and cut excess edges.

Freeze for approximately 10-15 minutes.

Bake from frozen at 180°C/356°F for 3 minutes.

Lower oven temperature to 165°C/329°F and bake for 6-8 minutes.

Ganache

250 g cream 35%
75 g granulated sugar
80 g deZaan Crimson Red cocoa powder

Bring the cream and sugar to a soft boil.

Add the hot cream mixture to the cocoa powder. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth.

Store in an air-tight container in a refrigerator until ready to use.

Cocoa Pearl

750 g water
250 g deZaan Rich Terracotta cocoa powder
250 g granulated sugar
5 g agar agar
4 g gelatin
1 l sunflower seed oil (set in a high container in the freezer 24 h before making recipe)

In a saucepan, add water and cocoa powder. Mix until well combined. Cook for 10 minutes at 65°C/149°F.

In a small bowl, add the sugar and agar agar. Mix until well combined. Reserve.

Once cocoa water has been cooked through, add sugar and agar mixture. Cook for 1 minute and take off the heat.

Transfer to a heat-proof bowl and add the gelatin. Mix until combined.

Take out oil from freezer. It needs to be very cold but not frozen so the pearls can easily fall through oil while forming.

Cool down the cocoa mixture to approximately 32ºC/91° F (Important: do not let set completely, mixture must be fluid)

Once at correct temperature, add the cocoa mixture to a squeezy bottle and start to pour at a steady pace across the oil. Allow the pearls to drop to the bottom of the container.

Once all mixture has been emptied into the oil, strain into another clean and dry container.

Remove excess oil and leave only the cocoa pearls in the strainer. Rinse pearls with cool water to remove any excess oil. (This needs to be done gently to prevent the delicate pearls from breaking)

Reserve in a container lined with a thin paper towel, making sure not to compress.

Store pearls in refrigerator.

Mixed Berries Pearls

750 g mixed berries puree (unsweetened)
150 g granulated sugar
5 g agar agar
4 g gelatin
1 l sunflower seed oil (set in a high container in the freezer 24h before making recipe)

In a small bowl, add sugar and agar agar. Mix until well combined. Reserve.

Bring puree to a soft boil, add sugar and agar mixture. Cook for 1 minute and take off heat.

Transfer to a heat-proof bowl and add gelatin. Mix until combined.

Take out oil from freezer. It needs to be very cold but not frozen so the pearls can easily fall through oil while forming.

Cool down the puree mixture to approximately 33°C/ 91°F (Important: do not let set completely, mixture must be fluid)

Once at correct temperature, add to a squeezy bottle and start to pour at a steady pace across oil, allowing the pearls to drop to the bottom of the container.

Once all mixture has been emptied into the oil, strain into another clean and dry container.

Once all excess oil has been strained and only berry pearls are left in the strainer, rinse pearls with cool water to remove any excess oil (this needs to be done gently to prevent the delicate pearls from breaking).

Reserve in a container lined with a thin paper towel, making sure not to compress.

Store pearls in refrigerator.

Assembly

Once all components have been made, line the tart shells with a light layer of melted cocoa butter to seal them. Fill the tart shells halfway with the ganache. Allow to set firm. Mix cocoa pearls and berry pearls together into a container (gently). With a small spoon, place mixed pearls into each tartelette, making sure to create a small mound of the pearls. Finish with lemon cress.