Final Practical: Eros Torte

Class 19: Eros Torte Assembly. Recipes for Poached Pears, Japonaise, Simple Syrup, Caramel Mousse, Tarte Glaze.

Layers from top to bottom: Fruit Tarte Glaze, Caramel Mousse, Poached Pears, Simple Syrup, Genoise, Caramel Nut Filling, Japonaise.

Prep for Torte done in preceding classes:

Poached Pear Liquid
1 Star Anise
½ (ea) Bay Leaf
32 oz Red Wine
1 lb 8 oz Sugar
1 piece Lemon Peel (without pith)
5 Peppercorns
2 Cinnamon Sticks

Poaching Pears
-Peel and core 2 pears.
-Put everything together in a pot and bring to just under a boil. You want to create texture and flavor. Put a paper towel on top to hold them down in the liquid.


-When they are tender and you can poke a knife with little resistance, take them out of the pot and put them in a container with some of the juice and spices. Cover with a paper towel, wrap in plastic, and let set in the cooler.
-You can sand off the edges after peeling it if serving as is, uncovered.
-The longer the fruit is left in the poaching liquid the more it will break down. This will sacrifice the quality of the product.
-For our pears in the Eros Torte we kept them in the poaching liquid for 2 days.




I used my Décor ribbon Sponge/ Biscuit Joconde from the day before to line the torte.


In class final preparation:

Japonaise
4 oz Egg Whites
4 oz Sugar
4 oz 10X
4 oz Ground Hazelnuts

This was the same method as the dacquoise we had done earlier. The hazelnuts were darker than the almond flour, making it a little more difficult when looking for doneness in baking.

Preparing Japonaise
-Whip egg whites and sugar to stiff peaks.
-Fold in the sifted 10X and nut flour.
-Fill piping bag and pipe 7” round on parchment paper.
-When still warm, cut circle down with ring cutter and a little more with the knife so it snugly fits inside the bottom of the sponge lined ring.

On top of the Japonaise base there was a layer of Caramel Nut Filling, the same recipe and preparation as when used in the Banana Chocolate Mousse Cake on day 16.


On top of the Caramel Nut Filling went a layer of Genoise sponge cake. This was the same recipe and preparation as day 1. The Genoise was brushed with an orange simple syrup before the next layer was added.

Orange Simple Syrup
1 cp Sugar
1 cp Water
1 T Orange Liquor

-Brush the cake generously.

The next layer was a fan of slices of the pears we poached 2 days earlier. I cut the pears in 8 slices each and assembled some on top of the cake according to the consistency of their size.

On top of the pears went a layer of Caramel Mousse. The mousse was intended to go above the top of the sponge layer around the torte.

Caramel Mousse-1/2 recipe
52.5 g Glucose
60 g Sugar
30 g Sugar
37.5 ml Water
22.5 g Butter
90 ml Cream, Boiling
7.5 ml Vanilla
7.5 ml Orange Liquor
54 g Yolks
7.5 g Sheet Gelatin
270 ml Cream

Preparing Caramel Mousse
-Lightly whip the cream and have it ready in the cooler.
-Boil the 90 ml of cream and butter.
-Cook the 60 g of sugar with the water and glucose until a nice caramel color.
-Take off the heat and slowly pour in the hot cream. Stir while pouring so it doesn’t bubble over.
-Whisk the egg yolks with the 30 g of sugar over a double boiler to 160 degrees.
-Have the gelatin bloomed. Add to the caramel.
-Temper the eggs with the caramel. Whisk the rest of the caramel into the eggs in the bowl.
-Add the liquor and vanilla.
-Fold in the whipped cream.
-Pour into mold and freeze.

On top of the Caramel Mousse was the final layer of Fruit Tarte Glaze.

Tarte Glaze

4 oz Simple Syrup

5 g Sheet Gelatin

60 ml Fruit Puree

I was somewhat pleased with the product I handed in. The Japonaise layer cracked when putting it inside the cake ring and I was not happy with my Genoise layer, its crumb was not as tender as it could have been. The mousse and nut filling were fine, and I waited for my tarte glaze to cool down some before finishing the torte so it wouldn't melt the mousse below it.

Included on the tray are the scraps and/or leftovers from the torte preparation.