Chocolate cake Coconut Luciano García Peanut so good #20

Peanut, chocolate and dulce de leche tart by Luciano García

Even when only using a few elements, the pastry chef Luciano García, a professor at OTT College and the bakery Almacén OTT Gourmet in Buenos Aires (Argentina), always finds a way to bring personality to his creations. On this occasion he demonstrates that it is possible to have a unique style even with the use of molds, by combining them with elegance and by making subtle visual twists, as in this case with the wavy shapes. These waves could also represent the expansive effect produced by his tireless formative work in a country with such great potential such as Argentina.

And it is, beyond playing with the formats, that the latest creations that Luciano showcases at so good #20 are a reflection of a great objective that the pastry chef has set: accustom the local customer to a pastry that is more balanced and that is closer to the international standards.

Photos: Pablo Baracat

In this creation, I’ve played with flavors from my childhood – chocolate, dulce de leche and coconut – with a playful visual concept that takes me back to that period. And I’ve finished with silver sugar pearls, an indispensable ingredient in any child’s cake.

Cocoa and peanut shortcrust pastry

105 g butter
100 g confectioners’ sugar
5 g egg yolks
vanilla extract
200 g flour
50 g peanut powder
50 g bitter cocoa

Beat the butter, confectioners’ sugar, flour, peanut powder and cocoa to a sandy texture, making sure all the ingredients have been properly sifted. Add the egg yolks and vanilla. Beat to a homogeneous dough. Place between two acetate sheets and laminate to a thickness of 3 mm. Allow to set in the refrigerator and line a 20-cm micro-perforated ring. Freeze. Bake at 170ºC for 8 minutes until golden.

Dulce de leche, chocolate and peanut ganache

80 g cream 39% fat
80 g dulce de leche
80 g bittersweet chocolate 811
30 g peanut paste

Combine the cream and dulce de leche and bring to a boil. Pour over the semisweet chocolate and the peanut paste. Allow to set for one minute and process with a handheld blender.

Coconut crémeux

125 g coconut milk
1/2 u vanilla bean
30 g egg yolks
35 g sugar
10 g neutral gelatin
125 g cream 39% fat

Make a crème anglaise and add the gelatin, previously hydrated. Cool down to 35ºC and fold in the whipped cream. Immediate cast into a 17-cm silicone mold with a spiral relief. Reserve in the freezer.

Sao Thomé chocolate crémeux

100 g cream 39% fat
30 g egg yolks
40 g sugar
280 g Sao Thomé dark couverture 70% cocoa
300 g cream 39% fat

Make a crème anglaise and pour over the chocolate couverture. Allow to set for one minute and emulsify. Add the second measurement of liquid cream and homogenize. Cast into an 18-cm wide round silicone mold or ring. Blast freeze.

Cocoa glaze

160 g cream 39% fat
200 g water
130 g sugar
110 g glucose
80 g cocoa powder
20 g neutral gelatin

Combine the cream, water, glucose and sugar and bring to a boil. Sprinkle in the sifted cocoa. Mix for approximately two minutes and allow to temper. Once the glaze has cooled down to 60ºC, add the gelatin previously hydrated in five equal parts of water. Apply the glaze at 30ºC.

White spray

100 g white couverture
100 g cocoa butter

Melt the white couverture and cocoa butter to 40ºC and strain. Process with a handheld blender. Pre-crystallize to 31ºC. Transfer to an airbrush and spray the coconut crémeux with spiral relief.

Other ingredients

200 g dulce de leche
9 u silver sugar pearls

Montage

On top of the shortcrust base, pipe a spiral of dulce de leche using a #9-tip-fitted pastry bag. Pour the ganache onto the tart to the top edge. Refrigerate until properly crystallized. Unmold the Sao Thomé crémeux and glaze. Place on top of the tart. Finish by topping with the sprayed coconut crémeux and garnishing with the silver pearls.