Introduction to Sorbet (Limey)

Further romance with the $5G ice cream machine today. Every team of two did a sorbet and a cookie.The cookies today were tuiles and tulipes, which are loose egg-white based batters who cook up fast, thin, and crisp. When they are hot out of the oven, they can be bent around forms before they firm up. They're usually used as garnish on a custardy dessert.

Norbert was absent today, so I got to rock out the lime sorbet myself. It consists of three components mixed up then thrown into the machine: simple syrup, meringue and lime juice. First things first, a squeezed one full pint of lime juice and strained it. Simple syrup was, ummm, simple to make, tossed quart of water with 22oz of sugar and 1/4 ounce of unflavored gelatin and 6oz of light corn syrup. Boil it up, then chill in an ice bath. (To kick it up a notch, I peeled some lime zest and tied it in a sachet, let it steep in the syrup for about 30 minutes.) The meringue was about 4 egg whites and 8oz of sugar, whipped over a hot water bath until the sugar dissolved, then whisked in the stand mixer until it looked exactly like marshmallow fluff.

When the three components were mixed together, the meringue kind of dissolved unevenly and looked like a thrown-up mess. When ran through the ice cream machine, the sorbet took on a wonderfully pale sheen and was as smooth and creamy as any ice cream you've ever had. It's milk-free, but sure looks like it's full of cream.

Chocolate tuilipes weren't a big deal. Butter beaten to soft in the mixer, added sifted confectioner's sugar, add vanilla, then two parts of egg whites and two parts of flour and cocoa. Finish with a shot of heavy cream. Put a template down on a silpat (silicone-covered fiberglass mat, nothing sticks to it nohow) and spread over with a spatula. Decorate with a contrasting batter, remove template, bake for a few minutes till crisp but not burnt.

On Tuesday, we should have some more interesting pictures, as we venture into something suited for food porn: plating desserts.

On a side note, there were various templates to make the tuiles and tulipes. There was one that no one could figure out what they were supposed to be:

Any ideas?

ADDENDA:

BREAKFAST: 6:30am, smoothie, 1 bowl, hunger 3/5
Good milk & yogurt, banana, blueberry, cherry, ground flax, pinch of salt.

AM TASTINGS: 9-11am, tulipe batter, various burnt and broken tulipes, small tastes of assorted sorbets including lime, lemon, passion fruit, orange, grapefruit and strawberry, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 1:30pm, mock chicken parm hero, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Lunch at Red Bamboo with Y. Was nice to be hungry for lunch at lunch time.

PM WATERING: 6:45pm, quart of water

DINNER: 8:30pm, half a lombardi's pepperoni pizza, water, 2 bowls, hunger 4/5