Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Dessert

28 Feb 2010

8-Course Dessert Tasting at Providence – Los Angeles

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By nature and nurture, I’m not a very excessive person. My television is cable-less, I drive a Camry, and my idea of a good time involves dinner and conversation, rather than booze and booty. Okay, maybe a little booty. [Wink, wink.] However, I have my weaknesses. When it comes to sweets, I throw restraint out the window and go buck wild. I’m not just talking about an extra slice of pie or an additional scoop of gelato; when I need a serious sugar fix, the town gets painted red. Thus, it’s no surprise that I’ve long had my eye on the dessert tasting menu at Providence.

Orchestrated by Chef Adrian Vasquez, the eight-course dessert extravaganza ($50) is a feast for the senses. The two-hour symphony of delights features daring flavors, gorgeous plating, and unparalleled creativity. While an octet of sweets might seem like too much of a good thing, diners leave perfectly satisfied under the pastry chef’s brilliant care.

Thanks to the Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 program, I was able to treat The Astronomer, my mama, and my lovely friend Esme to Providence’s dessert tasting this past Saturday evening. While everyone around us was digging into salt-roasted prawns and sea urchin in fresh eggs, we took a stroll through the entire dessert menu. From beginning to end, we were oohing and ahhing with contentment.

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Course I: “Cocktails”

The parade of desserts began with a trio of “cocktails”—mojito, gin and tonic, and greyhound. The mojito and greyhound were held together by the thinnest of membranes. One slip of the tongue and the orbs burst in our mouths. The gin and tonic was taken with a squeeze of fresh lime juice. It was cold, jellied, and potent.

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Course II: Kalamansi Gelee

Next, Chef Vasquez sent out a kalamansi gelee floating in a soup of white chocolate and coconut milk with tiny tapioca balls. The fruity gelee was topped with a quenelle of litchi-shiso sorbet and coconut crumbles. Every refreshing spoonful captured the tropical flavors of Southeast Asia.

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Course III: Mandarin-Rose Sorbet

The mandarin-rose sorbet was accented with a miniature pistachio macaron, airy fluffs of yogurt cake, cardamom, and a disc of orange gelee. The yogurt cake’s sour notes were so pronounced that I swore I was eating a carton of plain yogurt.

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Course IV: Apples in Butterscotch

After three courses featuring citrus fruits, a plate of apples in butterscotch arrived next. The tender slices of fruit were beautifully caramelized and rested atop a cashew cake along with poached north star cherries. A quenelle of miso ice cream provided a delicious contrast to the sweet and warm fruits. This course highlighted the chef’s ability to juxtapose unlikely ingredients deftly.

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Course V: Caramel Pudding

The sticky sweet layer of caramel married luxuriously with the smooth pudding. I loved how the flavors teetered between sweet and slightly burnt. The caramel popcorn provided a crunchy contrast, while the dried apricots cut some of the pudding’s richness. Both accouterments were well chosen, but a part of me yearned for a sprinkling of sea salt, just like Pizzeria Mozza’s butterscotch budino.

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Course VI: Milk Chocolate Ganache

While the centerpiece of this creation was meant to be the chocolate ganache, it was the banana-passion fruit ice cream, cayenne marshmallow, and peanut butter that captured my attention. It seemed to me that this dessert was inspired by classic childhood sandwiches—peanut butter and banana, as well as the Fluffernutter. A little whimsy always makes for a fun sweet.

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Course VII: Dark Chocolate Mousse

Candied kumquats and ginger, along with a scoop of goma (sesame seed) ice cream were just the thing to brighten up this traditional chocolate mousse.

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Course VIII: Affogato

The final course was an affogato. A shot of hot espresso was poured over the canelé-flavored ice cream tableside.

The espresso’s bitterness was tempered by the ice cream’s double punch of richness and sweetness. The layer of hazelnut streusel beneath the ice cream was an awesome surprise.

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Finally, we were treated to a plate of mignardises—banana caramels, white chocolate snowballs with coconut flakes, and barley gelees.

Thank you to Foodbuzz for making this avalanche of desserts possible!

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Providence
5955 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Phone: 323-460-4170

Recipe

26 Feb 2010

Orange Angel Food Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Frosting

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30 Comments

The Astronomer recently made a lovely batch of lemon bars that resulted in seven egg whites chilling in the fridge. In the past, I’ve whipped up Pavlovas, coconut macaroons, and meringue cookies to avoid wasting perfectly good whites. This time around, I wanted something different—something substantial and with a bit more oomph.

“Does anyone have an amazing dessert recipe that calls for 7 egg whites? Don’t wanna make meringues or macaroons,” I tweeted early this morning. The ideas came back fast and furious. “A sour cherry financier,” suggested @nandita. “Chocolate mousse or lemon souffle,” offered up @EatingLA. “Lemon meringue pie,” said @Savour. “Make angel food cupcakes!” enthused @TheRunawaySpoon.

The vote for angel food cupcakes excited me the most because I initially wanted to make an angel food cake but couldn’t due to my lack of a proper tube pan. Making cupcakes meant that I could have my cake and eat it too!

I paired whipped cream with these light and airy citrus cupcakes because a traditional butter cream would’ve weighed down the delicate package. And just in case you’ve got a lot of whites lying around, this recipe easily doubles.

For cupcakes

3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup cake flour, sifted
5 large egg whites, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest from two oranges

For frosting

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon granulated white sugar

Make cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350F. Very lightly grease a 12-cup muffin pan (skip this step if your pan is nonstick).

In a small bowl, sift together cake flour and 1/4 cup of sugar.

In a large bowl, beat room-temperature egg whites until foamy, then add in cream of tartar and salt. Gradually add in the remaining 1/2 cup of superfine sugar while the mixer is on high speed, beating the egg whites to soft peaks. Blend in vanilla extract.

Fold in flour mixture, adding it in two or three additions, and fold in orange zest when all other ingredients have been incorporated.

Divide evenly into prepared muffin tins, filling them just about to the top.

Bake for 16-18 minutes, until tops are golden brown and the cakes spring back when lightly touched.

Cool completely before using a butter knife to release the cupcakes from the muffin pan.

Make frosting

In a large mixing bowl, place the whipping cream, vanilla extract, and sugar and stir to combine. Cover and chill the bowl and wire whisk in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. When chilled, beat the mixture until stiff peaks form. Garnish with additional orange zest if desired.

Makes 12 cupcakes and 2 cups of whipped cream frosting.

[For Printable Recipe Click Here]

Restaurant Review

24 Feb 2010

Coni’Seafood – Los Angeles (Inglewood)

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Whether it’s kept in a well-worn Moleskine notebook, a meticulous Excel spreadsheet, or simply in one’s mind, every serious eater has a “To Eat” list. Mine is currently 47 items long and resides in the drafts folder of my email inbox. Every time I come across a noodle house or a bakery that piques my interest, it gets added to the document. Since my capacity for reading about food far exceeds my ability to eat it, I’ve come to realize that I’ll never get around to sampling everything. Nevertheless, it will be very fun to try.

Mariscos Chente has been on my list for almost a year. It was added right after I wiped up the drool that resulted from reading Dylan’s write up on his blog Eat Drink & Be Merry. Any place that’s dubbed a “shrimp morgue” definitely deserves a visit.

The Astronomer and I, along with our friends Bill (Street Gourmet LA) and Fiona (Gourmet Pigs), met up for lunch at Mariscos Chente a few weekends back. The informal room was filled mostly with locals when we arrived. There was also a trickle of folks from outside the neighborhood who may have learned about the place from C. Thi Nguyen‘s glowing review in the Los Angeles Times or from Jonathan Gold‘s praise in the LA Weekly. Or perhaps, like me, they’ve been scrounging the food blogs.

Mariscos Chente was started over 20 years ago out of a home in Hawthorne. The Mar Vista location opened early last year. Similar to the earlier incarnations, its menu is devoted to seafood from the Mexican states of Nayarit and Sinaloa. Sergio Penuelas, a native of Sinaloa, runs the kitchen while his wife Angie, a native of Nayarit, takes care of customers in the dining room. All of the restaurant’s recipes are from Angie’s father Vicente, or “Chente” as his friends were fond of calling him.

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