In his extraordinary windows and in the Parisian restaurants he supplies ( Madame Rêve Café , Royal Monceau ), Pierre Hermé only offers haute patisserie , impossible to reproduce at home.
In his latest book, the Picasso of cakes transmits a more accessible pastry know-how. A real art of living around easy recipes to enhance generous lunches, snacks with children or brunches around large tables of friends with the Hermé “touch”: an Ispahan yogurt , an infinitely caramel latte or even irresistible shortbread cookies .
Isfahan yogurt
Ingredients for 10 yogurts
10 yoghurt pots to fill
For the raspberry compote with lychees and rose:
140 g of lychees, pitted in syrup, drained, or fresh lychees, peeled and pitted
2 gelatin sheets
200 g raspberry puree
20g caster sugar
a few drops of natural rose extract
For the creamy yogurt:
770 g of Greek yogurt
77 g heavy cream
30g caster sugar
Recipe :
Prepare the raspberry compote with lychee and rose.
The day before, roughly chop the lychees and let them drain overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, soak the gelatin in very cold water for at least 20 minutes. Heat a quarter of the raspberry puree to 45 ° C (electronic probe) to dissolve the softened and drained gelatin and the sugar; Incorporate the rest of the mash, whisking vigorously. Add the lychee pieces and the rose extract. Stir gently and let set in the refrigerator.
Prepare the yogurt.
Lightly work the yogurt with a spatula, add the heavy cream and the sugar. Then mix again to get a creamy texture. Use immediately.
Garnish the jars .
Mix the compote lightly with a whisk then, using a spoon or a pocket, place 35 g of compote in the bottom of the pot. On top, add 85 g of creamy yogurt. Immediately seal with stretch wrap and store in the refrigerator for a maximum of 2-3 days.
An infinitely caramel latte
Ingredients for two 25 cl cups:
50 g caster sugar
42 g of liquid cream (30% fat)
5 g semi-salted butter
360 g of vegetable drink made from milk (oats, rice, almonds
or soy)
cocoa powder (Valrhona)
Recipe :
Prepare the caramel.
In a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. In a second saucepan, gradually melt the sugar and let it color: it should be very brown. Then add the butter while stirring with a wooden spatula and add the cream. Cook everything up to 108 ° C (electronic probe). Stop cooking and mix using the hand blender, then pour the preparation into a container. Let it cool completely in the refrigerator.
Prepare the latte.
Preheat the glasses by running them under hot water. Add the cooled caramel to the vegetable drink and heat the whole in a saucepan, stirring with a spatula until simmering to obtain a velvety texture.
Mix using the hand blender. Divide the latte thus obtained among the glasses.
You can decorate the surface of the latte by sprinkling a little cocoa powder. Enjoy immediately.
Viennese shortbread
Ingredients for 25 shortbread cookies:
190 g unsalted butter at room temperature
75 g icing sugar
1 pinch of Guérande sea salt
1 pinch of vanilla powder
30 g of egg whites
225 g of type 55 flour
200 g of Guanaja dark chocolate with 70% cocoa (Valrhona)
100 g of milk chocolate
Recipe :
Prepare the shortbread.
In a container, mix the butter, using a spatula, to make it ointment. Add the sugar, fleur de sel, vanilla, egg whites and mix. Sift then add the flour. As soon as it is incorporated and the mixture is homogeneous,
stop working the dough. Using a fabric pocket fitted with a D8 fluted nozzle, on a baking sheet covered with a sheet of baking paper, pocket the dough in a “W” shape to give the Viennese shortbread their shape. Bake in a convection oven at 170 ° C (th. 5-6) for about 16 minutes. Let cool.
Prepare the chocolate coating.
Temper the chocolate. Chop it with a saw knife then melt it in a bowl placed in a saucepan in a double boiler. Stir it gently with a wooden spoon until it reaches 55-58 ° C (electronic probe) for dark chocolate and 55 ° C for milk chocolate. Then remove the chocolate from the bain-marie. Place the bowl in a second bowl filled with cold water with a few ice cubes. Stir occasionally to prevent the chocolate from freezing. As soon as the melted chocolate reaches a temperature of 27-28 ° C, return the bowl to the saucepan in a lukewarm bain-marie while carefully monitoring the temperature, which should be between 31-32 ° C for dark chocolate and 29-30 ° C for milk chocolate.
For dressage.
Dip the shortbread on one side only in the tempered chocolate, then place them on a sheet of baking paper and let the chocolate crystallize. Store the shortbread in an airtight container at room temperature.
Infiniment Pâtisserie: throughout the day , Pierre Hermé, from Editions de la Martinière, available October 28 , € 35.
© Stéphane de Bourgies © Laurent Fau
