Boston pie is not actually a pie, but a cake, the origin of which is said to have been in 1855, a New York newspaper printed a recipe called Pudding Pie Cake, which did not contain the chocolate syrup characteristic of today's Boston pie, and then in 1856 a man named Harvey D. Parker opened a Parker House restaurant in Boston, with a pudding pie cake with chocolate syrup on the menu, which is said to be what we know today as Boston Pie.

Boston pie is a very light and quick dessert, soft cake can be made with cream or jam filling, whether it is chiffon cake or sponge cake can become the Boston pie dough, in fact, it is like a double cake base in a cake, if you like, you can also add jelly.

However, the simpler the dessert, the more it can reflect the level of a pastry chef, and the Boston pie is precisely because of its simplicity, the more you can see Jean's ability, this kind of Boston pie that is only composed of cake base and chocolate sauce fully reflects his basic skill level.

Sikong Yao took the Boston pie handed over by Jean, like a large dorayaki, sprinkled with a layer of frosty icing on the top, and the chiffon cake baked just right on the surface had a slightly charred chocolate color, which added a lot of polish to this Boston pie.

Gently kneading this Boston pie with her fingertips, Sikong Yao was shocked by the soft touch that fed back from it, this extremely elastic chiffon cake is not something ordinary people can make.

The biggest feature of chiffon cake is that it is soft and light like a cloud, and if you want to create an elasticity comparable to a sponge cake, it means that Jean has changed the use of cream cream.

Sikong Yao asked softly, "You beat the egg whites to the wet one?" ”

The degree of egg whites is very critical, after beating to dry foam, do not continue to whip, if the whipping is too much, the egg whites will start to be lumpy, which will cause the failure of chiffon production, when lifting the whisk. The egg white can pull out a short, upright sharp corner, which indicates that it has reached a dry foaming state and can stop whipping.

In the dry state, keep the whisk perpendicular to the table. Draw a large circle to stir, the mixing head collides with the side wall of the mixing basin to make a clicking sound for the best state, and there can be no gap between the mixing basin and the mixing head, so as not to cause defoaming when the surrounding meringue and the meringue that has been foamed in the center are in contact with each other.

Jean nodded and said, "Yes, generally speaking, the chiffon cake should be stopped when it is indeed sent dry." But we're not going to make chiffon cakes, are we? So I made it into a wet meringue and adjusted the amount of ingredients a little to create such an elastic texture, although it was not as soft as chiffon cake, and because of the separation of eggs and egg whites, it could not be shaped into a sponge cake, but the Boston pie made in this way was very interesting, so give it a try. ”

Sikong Yao nodded, Jean's idea was indeed very interesting. Generally speaking, when making cakes, in addition to mixing the ingredients into a uniform batter, another important purpose is to beat the bubbles into the batter, and the bubbles will greatly affect the texture of the final cake. To pump, whip the ingredients and beat the sugar or flour into the fat, eggs, or all liquids. The tiny solid particles carry small air pockets on the surface, and these particles and whipping utensils carry these air pockets into the fat or liquid. The sifted flour will bring in more air.

The flour is usually added after it has been foamed, and then it is not whipped and only lightly chopped. So that most of the bubbles will be burst, and gluten will not be generated. The same principle is also applied to granulated sugar, which is also used to bring air into the mixture, so extra fine granulated sugar is generally used. In order to increase the sugar as much as possible, the small sharp edges are cut into the fat or eggs. Bubbles are added during the mixing of sugar and eggs, so cake recipes are not usually formulated to use chemical bulking agents.

However, Jean whipped the meringue to a wet state, which reduced the density of the air in the meringue, so the baked cake did not have the softness of chiffon cake, and if it was according to the recipe of normal chiffon cake, the result of beating the egg whites to a wet state would cause the cake itself to collapse. Because there are not enough air holes to shape the structure of the cake body itself.

Therefore, when Jean was making this Boston pie, he also appropriately adjusted the amount of materials used in the cake base, which requires a lot of experience to be able to grasp accurately, which shows that Jean's strength is still worthy of recognition.

Sikong Yao nodded lightly and said, "It seems that your strength is above mine." ”

Sikong Yao did not shy away from saying, only in terms of techniques, Sikong Yao felt that he was inferior to Jean, after all, it is not easy to change the recipe of the dessert itself, especially for chiffon cake, this kind of dessert is famous for its high failure rate, Jean's boldness and carefulness are enough to lay the foundation for him to become a professional pastry chef in the future.

Jean smiled and said, "These are the accumulation and precipitation of experience, as long as you study in this field for a while, anyone can do it." ”

Jean's smile was slightly bitter, in fact, although he was a little more skilled than Sikong Yao in terms of technique and experience, but this was only temporary, he could see that Sikong Yao's contact with desserts was definitely not as long as his.

Whether it is the technique or the ingredients, it can be seen from the details that she is a layman who has not received any formal education, but Jean began to learn desserts from the age of five under the halo of his mother who is a professional pastry chef.

has been leading at the starting line for more than ten years, but it is not as good as this uncarved jade.

Seeming to feel a bit of self-deprecation in Jean's smile, Sikong Yao asked with concern, "Jean, what's wrong?" ”

Jean shrugged his shoulders and threw these thoughts out of his mind, the difference in talent does exist, but it is never what determines a person's success, Jean firmly believes that hard work can make people go far.

If not, why bother to come to this Tuscan farm and fight so far for the assessment of professional pastry chefs?

Talent and talent will not be the reason for a person's passion for a certain field, the key is his own belief, and for Jean himself, the heart that he wants to pass on to his family is what pushes him forward.

It has nothing to do with others, nothing to do with talent, nothing to do with talent, it is precisely because you like it that you will be fearless.

Jean adjusted his mood, the most important thing is to work with Sikong Yao to complete the dessert with the characteristics of the Tuscan farm that Eric wants, and jointly obtain the certification qualification of a professional pastry chef.

Jean said without reservation: "Actually, there is nothing, if you make the point, you can actually do it." In addition to the change of ingredients, the most important thing is baking, what really determines whether the cake body will collapse is the grasp of baking, not the beating of egg whites. ”

Sikong Yao nodded, whether it is wet or dry, the purpose is just to shape the cake body with different tastes, the key to the real collapse of the cake lies in the grasp of baking, only here is the key to the success of the cake.

Jean was silent for a moment and said, "You shouldn't have received a formal dessert education?" ”

Sikong Yao smiled without hesitation, and responded truthfully: "There really isn't." ”

Jean shrugged, and then introduced to Sikong Yao, "Okay, then I'll teach you a lesson." ”

Sikong Yao nodded and said with a smile: "Okay, please advise." ”

Untying a knot in his heart, Jean said with some pride: "Roasting is not just a process in the oven, in fact, the roasting process can be divided into three stages: expansion, shaping and browning. ”

Sikong Yao nodded, tirelessly recording the experience that Jean had imparted.

For Jean, Sikong Yao is just a friend he meets on the dessert road, so he unreservedly explains: "During the first stage, the batter swells to its maximum volume. As the temperature of the batter increases, the gas contained in the air pockets also expands, and if there is a chemical bulking agent, carbon dioxide is released at this time, and then the water begins to convert into water vapor at about 60°C, causing the air pockets to expand further. ”

"During the second stage of cake baking, the fluffy batter is fixed into a permanent shape. From about 80°C, the egg protein solidifies and forms, and the starch grains absorb water and gelatinize and swell. The actual setting temperature is greatly affected by the proportion of sugar, which will delay protein coagulation and hinder starch expansion. Cakes with high sugar ratios may need to be heated to 100°C for the starch components to gelatinize. ”

In the final stage, when the batter is cured, the dried surface has a browning reaction that enhances the flavor, and the cake tends to shrink slightly at this point, which means that it is ready to be baked. The baking temperature of a cake generally has a temperature zone, not a fixed temperature. The batter will set more slowly in the lower temperature zone, and the air pockets will gather together during the expansion process, forming large air pockets, resulting in a rough and heavy texture, and the upper surface layer will also be concave. Above this temperature zone, the inside of the batter has not yet swelled, and the outside has been set, so that the cake will have a volcanic surface and the surface will be too brown. In fact, the temperature error of each small oven is relatively large, and it needs to be adjusted according to experience in its own situation. The case mentioned above is the case with standard temperatures. This means that there is no standard temperature for baking, even if you use a built-in oven with a precise temperature such as Siemens, there is a temperature zone for baking. A little higher or a lower temperature can bake a cake. It's just that if it exceeds this temperature zone, the chance of cake problems is greater. (To be continued.) )