May 1, 2013
Rob
9

[Daring Bakers] Lime and vanilla savarin

One of the subjects to study for my pastry exam is the savarin.

After seeing all the past year’s exam texts, I concluded that it is a very unlikely topic for the practical test. And that’s basically why I had never tried making one. Moreover, I had never tasted one!

Luckily enough, the Daring Bakers forced me gave me the extraordinary opportunity to make my very first savarin.

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Natalia of Gatti Fili e Farina challenges us to make a traditional Savarin, complete with soaking syrup and cream filling! We were to follow the Savarin recipe but were allowed to be creative with the soaking syrup and filling, allowing us to come up with some very delicious cakes!

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I came up with a vanilla and lime savarin, heavily inspired by World Champion Christophe Michalak.

Although the standard savarin is round, I decided to make a “long” version, soaked in a vanilla syrup and topped with a lime chantilly.

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It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Sooo soft, and sooo buttery, but also sooo sweet and spongy with the perfect juxtaposition of the lime chantilly cream. How did I wait for such a long time before tasting it?!?!?

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Lime chantilly cream

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Ingredients

200mlCream (30% fat minimum)
Zest of 2 limes
25gBrown sugar
100gMascarpone cream cheese

Decoration

Zest of one lime (freshly grated)

Directions

1
Heat the cream on low heat with the lime zest and bring to a boil. Strain and cool rapidly (e.g. on an ice bath, or in the freezer until needed; remember that cream cannot be frozen).
2
When the cream is very cold, put it in a mixing bowl with the sugar, cold mascarpone and grated zest
3
Whip at high speed until the cream forms stiff peaks. Use immediately or store covered in the fridge.

Note

  • The zest can be infused the day before whipping the cream, which will be stored in the fridge overnight.
  • To prepare a chantilly cream, the cream should be very cold (you can store it 10 minutes in the freezer before using), same for the bowl (either store it in the freezer for 10 minutes or pour some water with ice cubes in it and let it chill).
  • A chantilly with the addition of mascarpone cream cheese is thicker and keeps its shape for a longer time.

 

Savarin dough – Pâte à savarin

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Ingredients

300gBread flour (sifted)
5gSalt
25gSugar
45gMilk (at around 30° C)
7gYeast
2Eggs
115gUnsalted butter (softened)

Directions

1
Put the flour in a mixing bowl. Add the sugar on one side, and the salt at the opposite side. Start mixing with the hook attachment at low speed.
2
Heat the milk at 30° C and melt the yeast in it. Gradually add this mixture to the flour while mixing
3
Add the eggs and knead for about 10 minutes at low speed until the dough forms a firm ball
4
Stop the mixer and add the diced butter
5
Mix for about 15 minutes at high speed: the dough will become sticky at first
6
Stop the mixer when the dough detaches completely from the sides of the bowl
7
Form a ball with the dough and place in a clean bowl for about an hour, with a towel to cover it (suggestion: place the covered bowl in a switched-off oven with a glass of boiling water on the side)
8
Punch the dough to let the air escape
9
Place the dough in a mould and let it proof at room temperature until it doubles in size (45-60 minutes)
10
Bake at 180° C for about 30 minutes: if the colour is not homogeneous at the end, keep baking but with the door of the oven open. Unmould and let the savarin cool at room temperature.

Note

If your mould is not made of silicone, remember to butter it before placing the dough in it.

For this recipe I've used a 23cm mould.

 

Vanilla and lime savarin

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Ingredients

1Baked savarin

Glaze

As neededApricot jam

Syrup

300gLime chantilly cream
750gWater
220gBrown sugar
70gRhum
1lime zest (freshly grated)
100gMascarpone
1/2Vanilla bean (split)

Directions

1
Heat the water and sugar with the vanilla bean. Let boil for 1 minute then remove from the heat.
2
Adjust the shape of the savarin if needed (I made a long rectangular one, so I cut the rounded part and put it upside down)
3
Pour the syrup in the mould where you baked the savarin, until half the height. Place the savarin inside and pour some more syrup on it. Let soak for at least 10 minutes: the savarin must be almost completely covered
4
Remove the savarin from the mould and let it drain (be careful because the syrup will make it very fragile)
5
Heat the apricot jam (with a spoonful of water, if needed) and when it's lukewarm, brush it on the savarin
6
Decorate with the lime chantilly cream. In this case I've used a Saint-Honoré tip.

 

PS: while I was making it, I faced a moment of despair because the savarin was as hard a month-old brioche. Apparently that’s correct, since the savarin becomes devilishly soft as soon as you soak it in syrup! So don’t despair!

 

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