Indulgent efflorescence
Cercle V

Indulgent efflorescence

Made with Almond Inspiration

An original recipe by Thierry Bridron

5 steps

Makes 20 desserts

Recipe Step by Step

Step01

Candied tomato in syrup

250g Mid-size vine-grown tomatoes
95g Caster sugar
190g Water

Peel and seed the tomatoes.
Quarter them, then place them on a dish.
Boil the water and sugar, then pour the mixture over the tomatoes.
Leave the tomatoes to steep overnight, then drain them and boil the syrup again.
Pour the syrup back over the tomatoes, and leave them to steep once again.
Step02

Sugar coated pine nuts

65g Sugar
25g Water
120g Pine nuts

Toast the pine nuts in the oven until they take on a golden color.
Cook the sugar and water at 240°F (115°C).
Add the pine nuts to the cooked sugar.
Break the mixture up into pieces and leave to chill on a tray.
Step03

Tomato coulis

2000g Mid-size vine-grown tomatoes
25g Starch
30g Tomato paste
SQ Sugar
SQ Celery salt
SQ Black Sarawak pepper
8 drops Tabasco

Bring the water to the boil and peel the tomatoes.
Chop them into large pieces and put them in a saucepan.
Cook them for 15 to 20 minutes and strain.
Weigh the resulting tomato juice and set aside 500g.
Add the tomato paste and use the starch to thicken the juice as you bring the mixture to the
boil. Season with the celery salt, sugar, Tabasco and pepper.
Store in the refrigerator.
Step04

Unsweetened crème anglaise Almond Inspiration

6g Gelatin
30g Water for the gelatin
1 000 g ALMOND INSPIRATION
600 g Whipping cream
600 g Unsweetened Crème Anglaise

Add the rehydrated gelatin to the warm, strained crème anglaise.
Gradually combine with the melted ALMOND INSPIRATION. Immediately mix using an immersion blender to make a perfect emulsion.
Once the mixture is smooth, check the temperature is at 75°F (24-25°C) and add the frothy whipped cream. Pour immediately and freeze.
Step05

Tomato Jelly

50g Vegetable gelatin
1 000g Finely chopped tomatoes
SQ Strawberry-red food colorant

Warm up the finely chopped tomatoes and add the vegetable gelatin.
Bring to the boil.
Add the food colorant and set aside.

Assembly and finishing

Indulgent efflorescence

Make the tomato coulis and use it to half-fill the 2cm half-sphere molds.
Add the candied tomatoes and a few sugar-coated pine nuts. Freeze.
Make the ALMOND INSPIRATION crème anglaise. Pour into 3.5cm half-sphere molds and place a tomato coulis half-sphere in the center. Freeze.
Fix each half-sphere to another, then store them in the freezer. Temper the tomato jelly at 160°F (70°C), then dip the spheres in it with help from a toothpick.
Drain and put them on a sheet of confectionery dipping paper.
When you are ready to serve, put five or six spheres on a plate to form a “vine”.
Place a tomato stem with leaves on each sphere.
Optional: You can also serve this dish with some almond milk ice cream, or some left-over tomato coulis that you have already frozen in a Pacojet container and turned into a tomato sorbet.

Meet the Chef

valrhona.com-portraits-chefs-thierry-bridron
Executive Pastry Chef at Paris

Thierry Bridron

My aim with this beautiful optical illusion of a cherry tomato vine was to surprise people, and I’ve enhanced the tomatoes themselves with a touch of almond and slightly spicy seasoning.

Learn more