A date with chef Nick Malgieri

CHEF Nick Malgieri’s Plastic Cake shows a unique new icing technique. Every successful pastry chef, professional baker and home baker has his/her own idol and mentor. In the case of Jill Sandique, owner-chef of Delize Bakeshop and lead trainer of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Council of Chefs, her mentor is no one else but renowned pastry chef Nick Malgieri. He was her professor at Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School (now known as the Institute of Culinary Education).

An excellent educator and author of countless books on baking, Malgieri became a strong influence on her desire to make it good in the pastry world. Now, Sandique has become one of the top pastry chefs in the Philippines.

Still, the bond between teacher and student, mentor and mentee, remains strong, especially when it comes to professional pursuits.

ASSORTED cakes were displayed during his demo held at the SMX Convention Center. Just recently, Sandique helped Innobake and Commodity Quest Inc. (COMQUEST) bring Malgieri to Manila to take part in the much -anticipated annual culinary event, World Food Expo (WOFEX), which took place at the SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City, from 1 to 4 August. His fourth time in Manila for a professional commitment, Malgieri teamed up with his mentee, Sandique, in a special seminar-workshop called “A Date with Chocolate.” It highlighted Malgieri’s expertise in chocolate and gave him a platform to show chocolate lovers and baking enthusiasts how to concoct delicious cakes and pastries using deZaan Premium Cocoa Powder and Cacao Ivory Chocolate.

A 100 percent Italian born, raised and educated in the United States, Malgieri drew inspiration from his 1998 book, Chocolate, published by Harper Collins. The book made it to Food and Wine magazine’s Best of the Best for 1998, won Best Chocolate Book in the World honors from the 1998 Salon International du Livre Gourmand and was recipient of an International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP)/Julia Child Cookbook Award for Best Baking Book of 1998.

For his “A Date with Chocolate” demo in conjunction with WOFEX 2018, Malgieri demonstrated how to whip up cakes and rolls such as chocolate cherry mousse cake, black and white cheesecake and chocolate plastic cake using Cacao Ivory, as well as chocolate pastry cake and Devil’s Food Bombe using deZaan cocoa powder.

Here, World of Flavors shares with every chocolate lover and baking enthusiast the recipe of Malgieri’s chocolate cherry mousse cake.

DEMONSTRATION by chef Nick Malgieri with his mentee chef Jill Sandique. Chocolate cherry mousse cake

To make this delicious cake, you must first bake a Cocoa Milk Sponge Cake, then hollow it out like a pastry shell, fill it with chocolate mousse and cherry filling, and decorate with whipped topping and chocolate cutouts.

Prepare one 10-inch round cake pan that is 1-1/2 to 2 inches deep. Grease pan with butter and line the bottom with a disk of parchment paper or buttered wax paper.

Set a rack in the middle level of oven and preheat to 350˚F or 177˚C

Combine butter and milk in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat until butter is completely melted. Set aside in the pan.

Stir the flour, sifted cocoa powder, and baking powder together. Sift onto a piece of wax paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk eggs by hand to break them up, then whisk in salt.

Whisk in sugar in a stream, then whisk in vanilla. Place on mixer fitted with whisk attachment and whip on medium -high speed until very light, about three minutes.

Gently whisk in warm milk by hand. Use the whisk to fold the flour mixture into the liquid in four additions, again gently whisking to incorporate between additions. Using the whisk helps to prevent lumps from forming. Handle the whisk exactly as you would when using a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smoothen the top.

Bake until well risen and golden and feel firm when touched in the center with a fingertip, about 30 minutes.

Use a sharp paring knife to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan, then invert on racks. Immediately re-invert the layers so that they cool down with the paper on the bottom. Allow to cool completely.

1 lb. Dawn Delifruit Daily® Red Cherry Filling sweetened Topping Royale by Vermuyten® whipped topping, for finishing cutouts of Cacao Ivory® Milk Chocolate Compound chocolate, to decorate

First prepare the cooled layer: Use a small paring knife to make a vertical cut 1/2-inch (1.3-cm) from the edge all around the top of the layer, but avoiding cutting through the very bottom of the layer. Insert a serrated knife 1/4-inch (2/3-cm) up from the bottom of the layer and parallel to it and cut through, first to one side and then to the other. Use a fork to help empty the center section leaving the cake layer shaped like a deep tart crust.

Bring the Vermuyten® Topping Royale to a simmer and pour over the Cacao Ivory® 58% dark chocolate in a bowl. Shake the bowl to make sure that all the chocolate is submerged and let it stand for three minutes; whisk smoothly. Whisk in the rum or coffee, if using.

CHOCOLATE Cherry Mousse Cake. Cool to room temperature.

Once the chocolate mixture is cool, combine egg whites, sugar and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk to mix. Set the bowl over a pan half-filled with simmering water and whisk gently until the egg whites are hot (140°F/60°C) and the sugar is dissolved, about three to four minutes.

Place the meringue on the mixer with the whisk and whip until cooled but not dry, about three to four minutes. Immediately fold the meringue into the chocolate and scrape the mousse into the prepared cake layer. Smoothen the top and chill to set.

To finish, pipe a border of rosettes around the perimeter of the cake and spread the cherry filling in the center.