Pave Des Romaines Recipes

CACHACA AND LIME SYLLABUB

Steps:

• Serving suggestion; biscuits Zest the limes using the fine side of a grater and reserve the zest. Squeeze the juice from 1 lime and set aside. Thinly slice the remaining limes. In a mixer fitted with the balloon whisk attachment, whip the cream and sugar together until well combined. Slowly add the Cachaca, and whip again for another 1 to 2 minutes. Add the lime zest and juice, and continue beating again until soft peaks are formed. Pour cream mixture into a large glass bowl and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Then remove from the freezer and place in the refrigerator for another 10 minutes. Dress with the lime slices and serve with biscuits.

PAVE DES ROMAINES

Steps:

• Cut a thin layer off top of chocolate genoise to make a flat surface and sprinkle with 1/4 cup brandy. Place on a plate.
• Melt 6 ounces chocolate: put chocolate in bowl and cover with hot water. Let stand until chocolate is soft, then pour off water, leaving softened chocolate behind. Add chocolate to whipped cream and beat together. Add 1/4 cup rum.
• Spread layer of creamed chocolate over chocolate layer of genoise and top with yellow genoise. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup rum over top layer.
• Beat egg whites until stiff. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg whites, a little at a time, until incorporated. Spread all but 1/2 cup buttercream over top of cake and dust with icing sugar. Place another layer of ganache on top and spread smoothly. Arrange apricots around top of cake.
• Melt remaining chocolate in bowl, as before and pour over top of cake. Decorate with pipings of reserved buttercream.

ACRAS DE MORUE

Steps:

• For the batter, mix the flour and the seasoning together in a medium-size bowl. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and break the eggs into the well 1 at a time while beating the mixture has become a thick, uniform paste.
• Cover the bowl with a dampened cloth and allow it to rest for 1 to 4 hours. For the fish, place the flaked codfish, thyme, parsley, scallion, chives, allspice, and chile in the bowl of a food processor and grind them together into a thick paste. Fold this paste into the acras batter.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 inches of corn oil to 350 to 375 degrees F in a heavy cast-iron pot or deep fryer. Drop the acras into it by the teaspoonful. Fry until they are light brown, turning once. When done, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

GALETTE DES ROIS

Steps:

• For the cream filling: Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the almonds, then the egg, rum and vanilla. Beat until smooth with a fork. Cover and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
• For the pastry shell: Lay an 8-inch/20 cm round plate on one sheet of cold pastry and go around it with a knife. Do the same for the top round, but then roll this one a little with a rolling pin to make it slightly larger than the bottom round. Lay the smaller round of chilled dough on a dampened baking sheet. Spread the chilled cream filling over, leaving a good 1-inch/2.5 cm margin all around the edge. Hide a bean somewhere in the cream. Brush the border with egg wash. Lay on the top round and press the edges well to seal. Score the edge all around with the blunt side of a knife to seal. Make a cross in the center for steam to escape and draw spirals out to the edges for decoration. Brush with egg wash all over the top, avoiding the edges, so that they'll puff up easily. Chill in the freezer until very firm, about 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F/230 degrees C. Bake the cake until puffed up high and dark golden in color. Sprinkle with a thin coating of confectioners' sugar and blast under the broiler or melt with a blowtorch. You can also brush with melted apricot jam for a glaze.

CHOCOLATE CHESTNUT BUCHE DE NOEL

Steps:

• Place chocolate in a small bowl with 1/4 cup water. Set bowl in a pan of barely simmering water, stirring frequently until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool. Combine 1/2 cup, or more to taste, of chestnut cream into 1 slightly rounded cup of buttercream. Set aside.
• Assemble the Buche: Peel parchment liner from cake. Lift foil under cake and invert it onto a second sheet of foil. Remove the original foil, peeling away the browned genoise "skin" stuck to it. Moisten the cake with the rum, using a pastry brush. Spread chestnut buttercream evenly over the cake. Roll the cake tightly, the long way, into a "log" using the foil to aid you if necessary. Wrap log tightly in foil. Freeze until hard, or at least firm. The firmer the cake, the easier it will be to decorate. Log may be completed to this point, and kept frozen, up to 6 weeks. Stir chocolate mixture into remaining buttercream and refrigerate or freeze until needed. Finish and Decorate the Buche: Soften reserved chocolate buttercream and beat just until smooth. Unwrap the frozen log. Trim a fraction of an inch from each end to even the edges. Spread the log with most of the reserved chocolate buttercream. Do not frost the ends. Use a fork to texture the buttercream so that it resembles the bark of a tree. Dip a sharp knife in hot water, then wipe dry. Cut the diagonal "stump" off each end of the log. Set stumps aside. Transfer log to a serving platter. Affix stumps to the log. Cover bare spots with buttercream. Use the fork to touch up the bark effect as necessary. Decorate with sprigs of pine and meringue mushrooms. Store in the refrigerator. For best flavor and texture, remove Buche from the refrigerator at least an hour before serving.

PAVE DES ROMAINES RECIPE

Steps:

• Cut a thin layer off top of chocolate genoise to make a flat surface and sprinkle with 1/4 cup brandy. Place on a plate. Melt 6 ounces chocolate; put chocolate in bowl and cover with hot water. Let stand until chocolate is soft, then pour off water, leaving softened chocolate behind. Add chocolate to whipped cream and beat together. Add 1/4 cup rum. Spread layer of creamed chocolate over chocolate layer of genoise and top with yellow genoise. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup rum over top layer. Beat egg whites until stiff. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg whites, a little at a time, until incorporated. Spread all but 1/2 cup buttercream over top of cake and dust with icing sugar. Place another layer of ganache on top and spread smoothly. Arrange apricots around top of cake. Melt remaining chocolate in bowl, as before and pour over top of cake. Decorate with pipings of reserved buttercream. This recipe yields 10 servings.