Comments on: The Orange Bar - In Progress http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html In LA, but Still Exploring Desserts Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:07:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Sweet Napa » Blog Archive » The Scotch Bar http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html#comment-10258 Sweet Napa » Blog Archive » The Scotch Bar Sun, 20 May 2007 17:23:54 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html#comment-10258 [...] Spiced Caramel Nut Bar S’More Bar The Coconut Peanut Butter Bar Coffee Bar Malt Bar Banana Bar Beer Bar Orange Bar [...] […] Spiced Caramel Nut Bar S’More Bar The Coconut Peanut Butter Bar Coffee Bar Malt Bar Banana Bar Beer Bar Orange Bar […]

]]> By: Nina http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html#comment-9457 Nina Fri, 04 May 2007 08:03:41 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html#comment-9457 Thanks, Lucette! Yeah, the meringue is something that excites me in a candy bar -- I think that even more could be done with it b/c it's so versatile, but I have to experiment and brainstorm more to see just what it's capable of. Thanks, Lucette! Yeah, the meringue is something that excites me in a candy bar — I think that even more could be done with it b/c it’s so versatile, but I have to experiment and brainstorm more to see just what it’s capable of.

]]> By: lucette http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html#comment-9407 lucette Wed, 02 May 2007 20:03:05 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html#comment-9407 I'm not as excited by the idea of chocolate and orange as some, but even though it might not be my first choice, this sounds very good; especially the meringue layer. I don't know if I've ever eaten anything like that in a candy bar. I’m not as excited by the idea of chocolate and orange as some, but even though it might not be my first choice, this sounds very good; especially the meringue layer. I don’t know if I’ve ever eaten anything like that in a candy bar.

]]> By: Nina http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html#comment-9376 Nina Tue, 01 May 2007 23:14:05 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html#comment-9376 Aaron - OMG! I'm dying to take the conserve class this summer, but since the class price went up to $140 and I'd have to fly up and find lodging, I think it might be a little too much. I have a wild idea to use homemade preserves in my bars for fruit flavors (including the strawberry preserves in the peanut butter bar), but all the recipes that I see have so much sugar compared to what she uses (I bought 3 books this past week on preserves, including a couple from her list of recommended books from the marmalade class). I know that she says that her conserves have a soft set, but how is she able to get them to set at all without much sugar or commercial pectin? I'd really appreciate any information about it. After taking the class with her and sampling her products, I feel like I'm making an inferior product if it has too much sugar or added pectin. I also want to ask more about her method of putting the jars in the oven... some of my books talk about boiling the jars before filling and boiling again after to process... Of course, I like her simpler method better, but I'm kind of amazed that it's that simple. I liked the marmalade class a lot, but it was totally my first experience preserving anything, so I was just trying to pick up on the basics.... and didn't really understand then how different her process is from a lot of other producers -- such as using a jelly bag to extract the pectin from the membranes and seeds. I went to the same class that Elise went to, and she has a great write up here -- http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001860making_marmalade_with_june_taylor.php And thanks, as always, for the candy bar thoughts. I went to the store with the intention of buying Pedro Ximenez, but when I inspected the Lustau bottle, I liked that it was a blend of PX and Oloroso because I didn't want it to be too sweet (esp w/ the meringue in the bar), which seems to be a common issue with PX. I like that it has more alcohol than regular wine but less than hard liquor, so I can use a fair amount of it without worrying about having too much water content in the ganache or a too astringent alcohol taste; and I can use less cream. And PX with chocolate pot de creme sounds like the ultimate cozy winter dessert (Sigh... or the first weekend in May :) ) Gary - Glad that this passes the test of an orange-and-chocolate fan! And that cake sounds great! Since the meringue didn't have nuts like in a dacquoise cake, I was inclined to say it would be called a mousse cake or meringue cake, but I just did some searching around the web, and it seems to fit the description of a Megeve cake, which is named after a Swiss resort, where it was probably invented. A napoleon traditionally is a slice of layers of puff pastry and pastry cream/diplomat cream, but it's often used to describe plated desserts with almost anything as the crunchy and creamy layers...but I haven't seen one served as a whole cake or with meringue layers, so I'm going to go with Megeve. Doug -- Thanks! Aw, I love fruit and chocolate together. I'm kind of proud that I snuck some into my peanut butter bar. :) And btw, guess what I bought yesterday? Sunflower seed butter from Trader Joe's. It's wonderful! It tastes almost like a honey roasted peanut/cashew butter at first, and then goes into a more complex nutty flavor. I'm not sure what to pair it with yet to do it justice, though... I pretty much know sunflower seeds as part of trail mix, so I thought about a crispy oat cookie and maybe some dried cranberries topped with a sunflower seed butter/chocolate mixture (like in the pb bar).... but I'm not sure if people would really be into that without sampling it first, and I don't want to stereotype it... I want to make it as cool as peanut butter... :) Aaron - OMG! I’m dying to take the conserve class this summer, but since the class price went up to $140 and I’d have to fly up and find lodging, I think it might be a little too much. I have a wild idea to use homemade preserves in my bars for fruit flavors (including the strawberry preserves in the peanut butter bar), but all the recipes that I see have so much sugar compared to what she uses (I bought 3 books this past week on preserves, including a couple from her list of recommended books from the marmalade class).

I know that she says that her conserves have a soft set, but how is she able to get them to set at all without much sugar or commercial pectin? I’d really appreciate any information about it. After taking the class with her and sampling her products, I feel like I’m making an inferior product if it has too much sugar or added pectin. I also want to ask more about her method of putting the jars in the oven… some of my books talk about boiling the jars before filling and boiling again after to process… Of course, I like her simpler method better, but I’m kind of amazed that it’s that simple.

I liked the marmalade class a lot, but it was totally my first experience preserving anything, so I was just trying to pick up on the basics…. and didn’t really understand then how different her process is from a lot of other producers — such as using a jelly bag to extract the pectin from the membranes and seeds. I went to the same class that Elise went to, and she has a great write up here — http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001860making_marmalade_with_june_taylor.php

And thanks, as always, for the candy bar thoughts. I went to the store with the intention of buying Pedro Ximenez, but when I inspected the Lustau bottle, I liked that it was a blend of PX and Oloroso because I didn’t want it to be too sweet (esp w/ the meringue in the bar), which seems to be a common issue with PX. I like that it has more alcohol than regular wine but less than hard liquor, so I can use a fair amount of it without worrying about having too much water content in the ganache or a too astringent alcohol taste; and I can use less cream.

And PX with chocolate pot de creme sounds like the ultimate cozy winter dessert (Sigh… or the first weekend in May :) )

Gary - Glad that this passes the test of an orange-and-chocolate fan!

And that cake sounds great! Since the meringue didn’t have nuts like in a dacquoise cake, I was inclined to say it would be called a mousse cake or meringue cake, but I just did some searching around the web, and it seems to fit the description of a Megeve cake, which is named after a Swiss resort, where it was probably invented. A napoleon traditionally is a slice of layers of puff pastry and pastry cream/diplomat cream, but it’s often used to describe plated desserts with almost anything as the crunchy and creamy layers…but I haven’t seen one served as a whole cake or with meringue layers, so I’m going to go with Megeve.

Doug — Thanks!

Aw, I love fruit and chocolate together. I’m kind of proud that I snuck some into my peanut butter bar. :)

And btw, guess what I bought yesterday? Sunflower seed butter from Trader Joe’s. It’s wonderful! It tastes almost like a honey roasted peanut/cashew butter at first, and then goes into a more complex nutty flavor. I’m not sure what to pair it with yet to do it justice, though… I pretty much know sunflower seeds as part of trail mix, so I thought about a crispy oat cookie and maybe some dried cranberries topped with a sunflower seed butter/chocolate mixture (like in the pb bar)…. but I’m not sure if people would really be into that without sampling it first, and I don’t want to stereotype it… I want to make it as cool as peanut butter… :)

]]> By: Doug http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html#comment-9342 Doug Tue, 01 May 2007 00:50:14 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html#comment-9342 I love the scientific approach you take to each candy bar. While I'm not a huge fan of the fruit/chocolate combo, I think this could work. I imagine the Pecan Meringue Cookie lightens everything up and provides the stability you alluded to. I love the scientific approach you take to each candy bar.

While I’m not a huge fan of the fruit/chocolate combo, I think this could work.
I imagine the Pecan Meringue Cookie lightens everything up and provides the stability you alluded to.

]]> By: Gary http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html#comment-9337 Gary Mon, 30 Apr 2007 21:57:08 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html#comment-9337 Speaking of chocolate and meringue, a long time ago I made a cake shown in Gourmet Magazine. The footprint was 8x3" and it was about 4" high – three chocolate meringues (each 8x3x1/2"). The first two meringues were each topped with about 1 1/4" of chocolate mousse, the top covered with whipped cream, then sprinkled with chocolate shavings. The mousse was a variation on the classic – no egg yolks – just whipped whites with melted chocolate and whipped cream folded into it. It was done this way to create tiny little bits of chocolate throughout the mousse. Exquisite, though a fair amount of work making it and putting it together. And not to be made on a hot day. :*) I can imagine a version with grated orange peel and maybe a little Cointreau. Please correct me, but this concoction is a kind of Napoleon, isn't it? Speaking of chocolate and meringue, a long time ago I made a cake shown in Gourmet Magazine. The footprint was 8×3″ and it was about 4″ high – three chocolate meringues (each 8×3x1/2″). The first two meringues were each topped with about 1 1/4″ of chocolate mousse, the top covered with whipped cream, then sprinkled with chocolate shavings. The mousse was a variation on the classic – no egg yolks – just whipped whites with melted chocolate and whipped cream folded into it. It was done this way to create tiny little bits of chocolate throughout the mousse. Exquisite, though a fair amount of work making it and putting it together. And not to be made on a hot day. :*) I can imagine a version with grated orange peel and maybe a little Cointreau. Please correct me, but this concoction is a kind of Napoleon, isn’t it?

]]> By: Gary http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html#comment-9336 Gary Mon, 30 Apr 2007 21:49:38 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html#comment-9336 I reread your description... chocolate, orange, meringue layer, bits of peel, rounding out with pecans and sherry. Yes! I reread your description… chocolate, orange, meringue layer, bits of peel, rounding out with pecans and sherry. Yes!

]]> By: Gary http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html#comment-9335 Gary Mon, 30 Apr 2007 21:42:19 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html#comment-9335 Now you're talking! Chocolate – and orange, one of my favorite combinations! Now you’re talking! Chocolate – and orange, one of my favorite combinations!

]]> By: Aaron http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html#comment-9327 Aaron Mon, 30 Apr 2007 17:32:50 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/04/29/the-orange-bar-in-progress.html#comment-9327 I think this sounds great. Clearly it's not for everyone. However, us fruitcake lovers would surely appreciate it...candied peel, alcohol. I think those flavors work great with chocolate. At my last dinner party, I served Pedro Ximenez sherry with bittersweet chocolate pot de creme, and I was literally stupified by what a great pairing that is. Does it still work with the solera and its higher alcohol content with the fino in it. Also, the cream of tartar thing makes sense with how you explain the corn syrup. Cream of tartar breaks the sucrose into fructose and glucose. Was JT's marmalade class good? I took a conserves class and loved it...made the process (no pun intended) so accessible. I think this sounds great. Clearly it’s not for everyone. However, us fruitcake lovers would surely appreciate it…candied peel, alcohol. I think those flavors work great with chocolate. At my last dinner party, I served Pedro Ximenez sherry with bittersweet chocolate pot de creme, and I was literally stupified by what a great pairing that is. Does it still work with the solera and its higher alcohol content with the fino in it.
Also, the cream of tartar thing makes sense with how you explain the corn syrup. Cream of tartar breaks the sucrose into fructose and glucose.
Was JT’s marmalade class good? I took a conserves class and loved it…made the process (no pun intended) so accessible.

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