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.

Cheryl Wakerhauser
Executive Pastry Chef and Owner, Pix Patisserie - Portland, OR
$500 Winner
Winning Recipe: Pear Rosemary Tart with Port Chocolate Sauce and Olive Oil

Tip or Trick

Unlike many European chocolates, Schokinag is not readily available at supermarkets for non-commercial use. At Pix Patisserie, we sell the chocolate in raw form for home baking or simply eating out of hand. The 75% Extreme Chips are a great size for cookies that blow Nestle's and Hershey's out of the water!

Why I Like Working with Schokinag Chocolate

The number one reason I choose to use Schokinag chocolate is the intense flavor. My favorite dark chocolate is their 75% Extreme, properly named for its incredible dark flavor. It has a high cocoa butter content that shines when tempered, snaps when broken and melts smooth on the tongue. Furthermore, the price of this chocolate is lower than other chocolates of lesser quality and character.

Biography, Position, & Company Information

Cheryl Wakerhauser (a.k.a. Pix), 27, is the executive pastry chef and owner of Pix Patisserie in Portland, OR. After a short-lived career studying to be an astronaut, she received her BA in Food Science and went on to study patisserie at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts in Vancouver, BC. She has completed two stages in France - one with MOF Philippe URRACA of Midi Pyrenee Patisserie and the other at La Porteuse du Paln in Montabaun. She started Pix Patisserie in August 2001, concentrating on wholesale and farmer's markets, and opened her retail patisserie/brasserie in January 2003.

Pix Patisserie/Brasserie focuses on French patisserie and chocolates. It has an extensive dessert selection, as well as a long list of dessert wines and Belgian beers. Pix employs a staff of six and is rapidly growing. Customers can enjoy an Aphrodite and a glass of Don PX Reserve until 2 a.m. on weekends. Or, patrons can check out the Dessert Dim Sum nights of sample a variety of bite-sized desserts that are pushed around on a rolling cart and can be eaten with chopsticks.

Mix first three ingredients and set aside. Mix dry ingredients and butter with paddle on low speed until mixture resembles coarse sand. DO NOT OVERMIX! Add liquid ingredients and mix JUST until mixture comes together. Dump onto table and frisage once or twice until smooth. Rest in refrigerator.

Cream butter and sugar. Slowly add eggs. Stir together cashews and flour, and then fold into egg mixture.

Peel two firm medium green pears (Bartlett or Boxc work fine) and cut into 1 cm cubes. Prepare a dry caramel in the bottom of a shallow pan with about 300 g sugar. Stir in pears. Cover and cook until pears soften. Add pear brandy and flambe. Pour out onto baking sheet to cool.

Bring cream and rosemary to a simmer. Remove from heat, cover and let infuse for 15 minutes. Return to a boil. Strain out rosemary and pour cream over milk chocolate. Run through a food processor until smooth. Add salt and butter and process again until smooth.

Cut firm pears very thin with a Madeline. Soak overnight or at least 1 hour in a solution of 75% simple syrup with 25% pear brandy. Place in a single layer on a wire rack. Bake at 200 degrees for 2 hours or until dry.

Melt chocolate. Heat Don PX and sugar just to warm and dissolve sugar. Stir into chocolate. Stir in butter. Serve warm.

1. Partial bake 3 1/2 inch tart shell with pate sucree in a 350-degree oven. When bottom starts to brown, add approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons cashew cream and 5 pieces of flambed pear. Return to the oven and cook until cream is set and just starting to brown.

2. While tart is warm, brush cashew cream with Don Pedro Ximenez 1975 Gran Reserva.

3. Prepare rosemary ganache (or slowly reheat if set up) and fill remainder of tart shell to cover pears and cashew cream.

4. Optional garnish: dried pear décor, fresh rosemary sprig and gold leaf.

5. Serve on plate drizzled with Port Chocolate Sauce and a fruity, high quality olive oil.