Stir the granulated sugar into the water, bring to a boil on a high heat, skim, and add glucose.
With a wet brush, repeatedly wash the sugar away from the edge.
Heat the sugar mixture to 239 °F (115 °F), to the firm ball stage (see simple syrup p.
40).
Pour onto a marble board dampened with water, sprinkle the top with water, and pull from the inside to the outside with a wooden spatula until the mixture is body temperature.
At first it will be milky white, then become more and more transparent and will finally solidify as you work it.
Cover it with a damp towel.
Knead until smooth and use as desired.
Use: for punch cakes or punch tortes, for glazing Danish pastries, or for cream schnitten
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
Tips:
The glucose syrup in this recipe is a purified, concentrated, liquid solution of edible saccharides from starch. It can be hard to find in a “normal” store, but it makes cooking sugar much easier, unlike the potato syrup that used to be used for this purpose. Put your trust in a confectioner to sell you some of this “wonder ingredient,” or ask around in drugstores.
Fondant can be stored for longer in a well sealed container covered with aluminum foil.
Couverture—The Queen of Chocolate
Chocolate is good, but couverture is better. Based on this motto, patissiers around the world agree that the finest chocolate desserts can only succeed with the most noble chocolate. Couverture differs from common chocolate in the high quality of all the ingredients, the high proportion of cocoa butter, and a comparatively low sugar content. In addition, it is “conched,” or kneaded, until a fine, soft sheen and an irreplaceable aroma appear. Couverture is never cheap and so it should be used with proper care. So that it shines in the glaze as well as the package, it must be carefully tempered. The cocoa butter has a melting point of 93 °F (34 °C), which is exactly the temperature at which the couverture should be melted in a bain-marie before use. No water should get in the couverture. After being tempered, the couverture can be removed from the heat and stirred cool until just before it hardens. Now you can really begin to work with couverture. Warm it to 93 °F (34 °C) again and follow the recipe. And one more thing: If you have soft couverture left over, you can simply let it harden. After being tempered correctly, it will serve you just as well later.
Ingredients for about 900 g (glaze for 6–7 tortes 10in (26 cm) in diameter)
1cup250 ml Milk
⅓cup85 ml Whipped cream
¼cup50 g Sugar
¼cup65 ml Water
¼cup65 ml Glucose syrup
viscous starch syrup, see tip below
14oz400 g Dark couverture chocolate
Instructies
Boil all the ingredients except the couverture chocolate in a saucepan.
Remove from heat and then stir in the finely chopped chocolate until it is completely melted.
Then homogenize the mixture by moving an immersion blender in circles.
While blending, do not bring the blender near the surface, or else air will mix in and emulsify the smooth, glossy glaze.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
If you do not have glucose syrup at your disposal, it can be replaced with simple syrup (see p. 40) or you can raise the amount of milk and whipped cream by a total of ¼ cup (65 ml). The finished glaze can be stored for 2–3 weeks and must only be warmed in a warm water bath. You may also want to thin it with some water or make it more viscous by adding chocolate.
Mix together sifted confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice to a thick consistency.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
The Right Way to Glaze a Torte
Successful glazes don’t only delight the eye, but also the palate. Always follow these rules:
Always glaze tortes that call for marmalade under the glaze very thinly.
Pour the glaze over the torte while warm and hold a knife ready in the other hand so you can spread the glaze from the middle of the torte out to the edge.
Never push too hard on the glaze with the knife, but rather let the glaze flow slowly and evenly with an angled knife.
To dry out the glaze, set the torte in the half-open, still-warm oven before cooling it.
Boil water with granulated sugar for a few minutes at a high heat, then remove from heat and let cool for several minutes.
Chop up the cooking chocolate and dissolve little by little in the still-warm sugar solution until a thick, smooth glaze is created.
The glaze should remain viscous and be kept lukewarm.
If it is too hot, it will not have any gloss and will remain dull after hardening.
Pour the glaze over the torte and quickly smooth with two or three strokes of a spatula.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
Tips:
• Never put a Sachertorte in the refrigerator, otherwise the glaze will start to sweat.
• Since the recipe of the original Sachertorte has been a closely guarded secret since 1832, this Sacher glaze is not the original recipe.
Skim off the foam and continue boiling until the liquid is clear.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
• If you add a few more tablespoons of cold water just before the mixture boils and stir it once more, it will be easier to skim off the foam. • Cover the pot for a few moments as soon as it begins to boil. The sugar that is stuck to the edge will be dissolved in the steam and will not go to waste. • Simple syrup is simple to prepare and can be stored in a tightly closed container in a cool place without a problem for 2–3 weeks.
Spinning Tales; or, How to Cook Sugar
Simple syrup is as important to the sweet kitchen as stock is to sauce, from glazing to canning. But simple syrup (see recipe above) is just a basic product. To be able to use it further in any of the many possible ways, it usually must be boiled to a particular consistency, or as they say in the trade, spun. To be as exact as possible, a candy thermometer is absolutely necessary in a professional kitchen. However, there are a few old confectioners’—and housewives’—tricks to knowing the right consistency without a thermometer.
SIMPLE SYRUP
Temperature: (98–100 °C) How to Tell: The liquid should be clear and transparent.
THREAD
Temperature: just over (100 °C) How to Tell: The sugar syrup drops from a spoon in wide threads. Use: for stewed fruit and brushing on baked goods
SOFT THREAD
Temperature: (104–105 °C) How to Tell: Dampen your thumb and forefinger, put some of the syrup on your finger, and see if a thread forms as you open and close them. Use: for ice cream, glazes, candied fruit, stewed fruit
HARD THREAD
Temperature: (107–108 °C) How to Tell: The test is just like the “soft thread,” except the sugar threads must be significantly longer. Use: for compote, jam, and thick glazes
SOFT BALL
Temperature: (112–113 °C) How to Tell: Quickly dip a wire loop in the syrup and blow on it lightly. The sugar mixture should form small bubbles. Use: for fondant glazes, shiny glazes, for brushing on Danishes and schnecken pasties
FIRM BALL
Temperature: (114–117 °C) How to Tell: The test is just like the “soft ball,” except the bubbles should be larger and should form a chain. Use: marmalades, fondant, and meringue
HARD BALL
Temperature: (123–125 °C) How to Tell: If you dip a silver spoon in ice water, then in the sugar syrup, then in ice water again, the sugar should form a pliable, unbreakable ball. Use: fondant for bonbons and sugar foam
SOFT CRACK
Temperature: (135–138 °C) How to Tell: Dampen the end of a wooden chopstick or cooking spoon handle and dip first in the sugar, then in cold water. When the sugar releases from the wood, it should break like glass and, when tasted, should not stick to the teeth. Use: for candy, sugaring fruit, and for creating sugar thread decorations
HARD CRACK
Temperature: (146–150 °C) How to Tell: Caramel sugar is light brown/golden, viscous, and uniform. Use: Grillage and Dobos glaze
