Vanilla, Chocolate, Pistachio and Poached Pear Angle Food cakes

While I was in Queenstown for the paste week, I often visited the local french cafe which had the most amazing selection of french pastries and desserts. After eating at least 2 everyday, I really wanted to make my own sort of french pastry. The recipe for the cakes and Creme Patisserie are from my much loved Laduree Cookbook and I have further adapted them for this recipe. 

Cake rounds

Adapted form Laduree

1 cup ground almonds

2/3 cup icing sugar

1/3 cup cake flour

5 egg whites

110g castor sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees. Line 2 trays with baking paper and grease with a little butter. 

Sift together the ground almonds, icing sugar and flour. set aside.

In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites till soft peak, add the sugar and whip until all the sugar has dissolved. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and place the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm round nozzle. 

Pipe the mixture in 6 cm spirals onto the baking trays. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden. set aside to cool.

Creme Patisserie

Adapted form Laduree

 1/2 Vanilla Bean *I used 1 Tbsp Vanilla Paste

200 mLWhole Milk

2 Egg Yolks

40g Castor Sugar

15g Cornstarch

1/2 tablespoon Butter

200 ml cream

To Finish

Pistachio paste, 1/2 quantity

1/2 quantity Chocolate ganache, cooled completely 

Poached pears, chopped into 1 cm cubes

Slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds. Pour the milk in a saucepan and add the vanilla pod and seeds *or vanilla paste.  Bring to a simmer.  Remove from heat, and cover immediately.  Allow to infuse for 15 minutes.

In a large bowl whisk the egg yolk and sugar until slightly pale.  Incorporate the cornstarch. 

Remove the vanilla pod from the milk, and bring to a simmer.  Pour 1/3 of the milk over the egg yolk mixture (to temper the egg yolks) , and whisk together.  Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan.  Bring to a boil while stirring constantly with a whisk, until thickened.

Remove the creme patisserie from the heat and pour into a clean bowl.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes, and then incorporate the butter.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool and set.

Place the cream into a bowl and whip until medium-stiff peaks. Add in 1/2 cup of the creme patisserie and whip until combined. Place into a piping bag fitted with a 1 cm round nozzle. set aside. 

To assemble, get one of the cake rounds and pipe the creme pattiserie mixture in little peaks around the outside of the cake round. Get a teaspooon of the pistachio paste and roll it into a ball and flatten it slightly before placing it in the middle of the cake round, being careful not to smudge the peaks of creme patisserie you just piped. place a few cubes of the poached pear on top of the pistachio paste and spoon over that a heaped teaspoon of the cooled ganache. PLace a second cake round on top and garnish with toppings of your choice.