Schokinag Chocolate Salutes The Real World Pastry Chefs

Schokinag Chocolate North America is excited to announce the winners of Pastry Chef Recognition Event that highlights incredibly talented, hard working pastry chefs.

William Lipscomb
Pastry Chef of The Cake Company - Atlanta, GA
$500 Winner
Winning Recipe: Chamomile Tea Pyramid with Passion Fruit Cardamom Sauce

Tip or Trick

None at this time.

Why I Like Working with Schokinag Chocolate

Great texture and sheen when tempering on marble for garnish work. It also produces excellent flavor for mousse and ganache.

Biography, Position, & Company Information

I began my education at The French Pastry School in Atlanta, GA. My first position was as a Pastry Cook at the Cherokee Town & Country Club in Atlanta. Under the supervision of ACF Certified Master Pastry Chef Chris Northmore, I was responsible for daily bread production, as well as plated desserts for daily specials, pies, tarts, tortes and wedding cakes. I supplemented my education by taking specialty classes at Ecole L Enotre in Paris, France and have won numerous medals for plated desserts and cake decoration.

I am currently the Pastry Chef at The Cake Company in Atlanta, GA. It is a small wholesale bakery, specializing in cakes, pies, tarts, petit fours, French pastries, cheesecakes and wedding cakes. I have a staff of four to assist with daily production of desserts for local restaurants, hotels, country clubs and catering professionals.

Prepare an infusion with hot milk and tea. Let steep for 10 minutes. Mix egg yolks with sugar until pale and thick. Temper yolks with tea infusion and cook to 85 degrees C. Strain and let cool. Fold mixture into whipped cream.

Combine sugar and water and heat to 115 degrees C. Pour mixture into egg yolks and whip until cool. Add gelatin solution and continue whipping. Fold in melted chocolate in two stages. Fold in whipped cream.

Bring cream to a simmer. Add in puree. In a separate bowl, mix sugar and egg yolks together. Temper cream into yolks, strain and pour into molds. Bake at 163 degrees C for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and freeze.

Mix soft butter, salt, powdered sugar, TPT, eggs and cinnamon together. In two stages, add sifted flour with baking powder. Add feulletine and refrigerate for 3 hours. Roll out pastry and cut bases. Bake at 160 degrees C for 15 minutes.

Boil puree, syrup, vanilla bean and cardamom seeds together. Strain and cool.

Cream butter and sugar well. Add honey and mix. Continue mixing and alternate adding flour with egg whites until smooth. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Place a small amount of tea cream in the top of the pyramid. Next, place the chocolate mousse. Place a passion fruit brulee pyramid inside the chocolate mousse. Top off the dessert with another layer of tea cream and a feulletine square. Tap the dessert to remove air bubbles and ensure even layers. Freeze overnight.

Mary Casanave
Pastry Chef at The Blacksmith Restaurant - Bend, OR
$300 Winner
Winning Recipe: Chocolate Cone/Sugar Cage Meltaway Brownie

Tip or Trick

I like to incorporate cocoa powder based components along with dark, milk and white chocolate in the same plating. I also enjoy using the chocolate in different textures and temperatures. This helps maintain uncomplicated flavors, while adding variety to chocolate desserts.

Why I Like Working with Schokinag Chocolate

The semi-sweet chocolate has a smooth texture and a full spectrum of flavors. It's quick and easy to temper due to its high cocoa butter content and consistent flavor. Schokinag chocolate is high quality, reliable, easy to use and reasonably priced.

Biography, Position, & Company Information

I have dreamed of being a pastry chef since I was a young girl baking in the kitchen with my mother. I graduated from the Baking and Pastry Arts program at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. After working in Maine for a short time, I moved to Bend, OR and served as the Pastry Chef at Merenda Restaurant for a year. Currently, I am the Pastry Chef at the Blacksmith Restaurant in Bend. We have a 6-item dessert menu in the modern Americana style, with a southwestern flair. Aside from making all of the desserts for this 50-seat restaurant, I also bake and deliver morning pastries, including muffins, scones, vol-au-vents, cookies and brownies, for a local coffee shop. My true passion lies in bakery-style sweets and confections.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Melt chocolate and butter over a double boiler until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in eggs and vanilla. Sift in flour and fold until thoroughly mixed. Pour into pan and bake until barely set and still gooey in the middle. Chill overnight and cut into 6 x 4 pieces.

Whisk egg yolks and sugar over a double boiler until all of the sugar is dissolved. Add the cocoa powder, Irish Cream and coffee. Continue whisking until mixture is thick and foamy. Chill overnight until set.

Heat cream, sugar and vanilla to a simmer. Add chocolate and stir until completely melted. Temper in yolks and cook to nappe stage. Strain immediately. Let cool overnight and then freeze in a batch freezer.

Cream together all ingredients. Shape with a 1/4 circle stencil 2 1/2" high. Bake at 350 degrees F for 4 - 6 minutes. Form over a cone or by hand directly out of the oven.

Heat the brownie in a convection oven for 3 minutes. Place in center of the plate towards the back, cover with sugar cage and poke cone through top. Pipe the set zabaglione into the cone to top. Scoop ice cream and place on top of zabaglione and attach chocolate garnish to back of ice cream. Decorate plate with chocolate sauce and serve immediately.

Sara Molinaro
Pastry Chef at Acquerello Restaurant - San Francisco, CA
$150 Winner
Winning Recipe: Double Chocolate Mousse Cups with Tuile Spoon Garnish

Tip or Trick

I store my chocolate in a set of three plastic, pullout drawers. This way, I have easy access to my chocolate, it's kept away from unsavory odors and I am able to keep all three kinds of chocolate separate from one another.

Why I Like Working with Schokinag Chocolate

I find Schokinag chocolate to be consistent in both flavor and workability. The intensity of the chocolate really shines in mousse. I know my final products will always taste delicious when I use Schokinag.

Biography, Position, & Company Information

Sara Molinaro started working in kitchens at the young age of 18. A few years later, she attended the Culinary Institute of America and graduated in 2001 with an Associates Degree in Baking and Pastry Arts. After completing an externship at One Market Restaurant in San Francisco, working at Della Fattoria artisan bread bakery in Petaluma, California and running the kitchen of a homeless shelter in San Francisco, Sara returned to her original love of pastry in August 2002 and became the Pastry Chef at Acquerello, one of the Top 40 Zagat rated Restaurants in the Bay Area. Sara is responsible for all menu desserts and weekly tasting menu desserts. She assembles all plating designs and preps all dessert components.

Arrange eight cappuccino mugs on a half sheet tray and set aside. Begin whipping eggs on high. Melt chocolate over a water bath. Remove when chocolate is entirely melted and smooth - set aside. Whip heavy cream to medium stiff peaks and set aside. Bloom gelatin in 8 oz. of water. As soon as eggs begin to look thick and pale yellow (approximately 8-10 minutes), mix sugar and 4 Tbs. water in a small saucepan and cook to 220 degrees F. Pour the hot sugar mixture into the eggs while machine is whipping (pour down the side of the bowl). Continue whipping on high. Squeeze excess water from gelatin. Dissolve the gelatin in a bowl over barely simmering water. Temper the gelatin with a small amount of the egg mixture. Mix into the egg mixture and continue whipping until mixing bowl feels just warm to the touch. Whisk egg mixture into melted chocolate (chocolate should be at body temperature or below). Fold chocolate-egg mixture into cream using a whisk. Transfer into a piping bag. Pipe chocolate mousse halfway full into cappuccino cups and place in freezer to set.

Begin whipping eggs on high. Melt chocolate over a water bath. Remove when chocolate is entirely melted and smooth. Whip cream to medium peaks and set aside. As soon as eggs begin to look thick and pale yellow (approximately 8-10 minutes), mix sugar and water in a small saucepan and cook to 220 degrees F. Pour the hot sugar mixture slowly into the eggs while the machine is whipping (pour down the side of the bowl). Continue whipping on high until bowl feels just warm to the touch. Whisk egg mixture into melted chocolate (chocolate should be at body temperature or below). Fold chocolate-egg mixture into cream using a whisk. Transfer into a piping bag. Pipe chocolate mousse to just below the brim of the cappuccino cups and place in refrigerator to set (approximately 4 hours).

Cut a spoon shape out of the lid of a plastic container. In a food processor, process the butter with the powdered sugar and pulse until smooth. Add vanilla and egg whites a little at a time, pulsing quickly. Completely mix egg whites into mixture before adding more. Add cake flour and pulse until mixture is smooth. Place spoon stencil on a Silpat baking sheet and make 10 spoons, allowing extra for breakage. Pipe design on handle with chocolate tuile batter. Bake at 350 degrees F until just pale brown at edges.

Place a scoop of plain tuile batter in a bowl and slowly sprinkle Schokinag Cocoa Powder over top through a sieve, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add cocoa powder until mixture is desired color. Store excess batter in refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Temper Schokinag White Chocolate. Pour a thick strip onto a sheet of parchment. Using a fork, work the white chocolate upward in a twisty steam design. Once set, break steam off in sections from thick chocolate band and set aside.

Garnish with white chocolate steam, tuile spoon and whipped cream, if desired.