The unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA and hundreds of similar stores over the world is celebrated every third Saturday of April. This day is internationally known as “Record Store Day”. There were also a lot of things to do in Belgium: special vinyl releases, concerts in famous record stores, … I really wanted to do something witha couple of old vinyl records. Unfortunately I hadn’t a lot of time to prepare and cook this dish. Time flies, as you know. So I had to wait until yesterday (Tuesday). Sharing a dessert for Record Store Day four days after RSD is what we – literally translated – call with a Dutch proverb “mustard after the meal”. Better late than never and half a loaf is better than none, though. Remember also the famous French pilot and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery, who once said “The time for action is now. It’s never too late to do something.”
That “something” is explaining you how to make this dessert. It takes a lot of work to make it, so be prepared for at least 5 minutes of reading. The dessert consists of 8 various dishes.
- Apple chips
- Ricotta Mousse
- Caramelized Pecan Nuts
- Forest fruit Mousse
- Coulis of Forest fruit
- Red Raspberry jelly
- Forest Fruit and Yoghurt Ice Cream
- Tulipe batter cookie
It seems like it’s very difficult to make, but it’s not. It’s just a lot of work. Let’s start with number one, the apple chips.
1. Apple chips
What do you need? 1dl water, 70 gr sugar, 1 apple
What do you do? Slice the apple very thin. You can use a mandoline or just cut it by hand. Bring the water and the sugar to the boil. In the meanwhile, preheat the oven on 90 degrees Celsius. When the water is boiling, cut off the heat. Poach the apple slices for a couple of minutes and place it on a baking sheet. When the oven is hot enough, place the griddle with the apple slices in the oven. Take the apple slices out of the oven, when they are crispy. I can’t tell you how long it takes. It just depends of the power of your oven. My oven needed for instance more than one hour. When the slices are crispy, take them out and put aside. First dish: check. It’s not so difficult, isn’t?
(Recipe: “Kookbijbel voor de Hobbykok”, by Spermalie)
2. Ricotta Mousse
What do you need? (4 serves) 125 gr Ricotta cheese, 1 egg yolk, 1 egg white, 50 gr sugar (a bowl with 30 gr and one with 20 gr), 5 gr vanilla sugar, 0,5dl cream, 10 gr honey, 1 sheet of gelatin, 10 gr Cointreau
What do you do? It’s very important that you prepare everything. Weigh everything carefully, place it in front of you and when everything is ready, you are ready to start. First, whip the egg white until stiff, add 30 grams of sugar and the vanilla sugar. Whip until the sugar is dissolved.
Whip the egg yolk with 20 gr of sugar “au ruban”. (The mixture has to be almost white) Add the ricotta cheese. Soak the gelatin in cold water. Heat the honey with the Cointreau and add the soaked gelatin. Mix this with the ricotta. Whip the cream until the cream looks like yoghurt. Mix it with the ricotta. Be careful, the mixture has to be smooth, so you better use a whisk. Now, mix the whipped egg white with the ricotta. First, use a whisk to get it smooth and finish with a spatula. Pour it in a stainless steel ring or in a small springform cake pan, cover it and place it in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Second dish: check. It’s not so difficult, isn’t?
(Recipe of René De Baets, “initiatie koken”)
3. Caramelized Pecan nuts
What do you need? 1dl water, 100 gr sugar, a handful Pecan Nuts
What do you do? Start with heating the mixture of sugar and water in a pan over lower-heat. Wait, don’t stir, wait, don’t stir, wait…watch the mixture carefully. When the water turns light brown, add the pecan nuts. Cut off the heat and stir. Pour the nuts on a cutting board. When the nuts are cooled, chop them very thin or just put them in a blender. Third dish: check.
4. Forest fruit mousse
This part of the dessert wasn’t so good. The texture wasn’t ok at all and the taste was just ok. Next time, if the mousse is ok, I will share the recipe.
5. Coulis of Forest fruit
What do you need? Two handful Forest fruit (raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, …), two Tsp sugar
What do you do? Blend the fruit and strain. When strained, add the sugar to the juice and heat it. Fourth dish: check.
6. Red raspberry jelly
What do you need? 100 gr raspberries, 20 gr sugar, 1 gr agar-agar
What do you do? Blend the raspberries. Bring the sugar, the blended raspberries and the agar-agar to the boil. It’s really important that the mixture boils. Pour it on a plate and refrigerate. When the mixture is stiffen, blend it until you have a creamy mixture. Pour in a piping bag and put aside. Fifth dish: check.
(Recipe: “Kookbijbel voor de Hobbykok”, by Spermalie)
8. Tulipe batter cookie
What do you need? 2 egg whites, 65 gr powdered sugar, 55 gr butter, 65 gr flour
What do you do? Just like with dish nr. 2, it’s better to weigh everything first. Be sure that the butter is soft. Beat the egg whites shortly (just a minute or two) Mix the butter with the sugar and add the egg whites. Sieve the flour and add to the mixture. Mix everything very well. Put the batter aside for about 15 minutes. In the meanwhile you can preheat the oven on 190°C. After 15 minutes, use a spoon to spread the dough on a baking sheet. You can make little circles or something else. I doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that it’s very thin. Bake at 190 – 200°C until the edges are brown and the dough is dry, approximately 10 to 18 minutes. Sixth dish: check
This dough is perfect to shape into cups, corns or cigarettes. To shape into cups, lift the hot cookies off the sheet pan one at a time with an offset spatula. Immediately place over an inverted glass and top with a ramekin or small bowl. The cookies cool very quickly, becoming firm and crisp. The cookie bowls can be used for serving ice cream, crème brûlée, fruit or other items.
(Recipe of René De Baets, “initiatie koken”)
7. Forest fruit and yoghurt Ice Cream
What do you need? (4 serves) 500g mixed frozen berries, 3-4tbsp honey, 500g natural yoghurt, a few sprigs of fresh mint
What do you do? This dish is the last thing you have to do. If you make this, make sure all the other dishes are ready. Put them in front of you and start making the ice cream. It’s really easy and fast. Put the honey and yoghurt and leaves from the sprigs of mint into the food processor and whiz, then add the frozen berries and whiz again until combined. Seventh dish: check
(Recipe of Jamie – yes the real one – Oliver: link)
So, this was everything. Now you only have to decorate the (vinyl) plate. I liked the decoration of the vinyl and taste of my dessert. I know that the decoration is still not refined enough, but practice makes perfect. I’m curious what real dessert specialists think, so feel free to share your opinion with me.
