Crash cake
“It’s both a dessert and a main dish,” said Oriol Balaguer.
If I said this to you, you would flee, and you’d be right to do so. But Oriol Balaguer, of Barcelona, is a world-class pastry chef, and I am not. He’s talking about his Concept Cake, which I had the pleasure of eating last night. There are many elements to it, only some of which I actually noted, but the premise, from the bottom up, is:
- crunchy crust
- baked apples
- caramelized sugar crust
- cream cheese
- arugula
- white chocolate shards
This sounds like an especially fiery train wreck, but it was so delicious I went back for a second one. Balaguer also makes some unusual chocolates which I can’t describe yet because I’m bringing some back for Laurie and Iris as a surprise.
Comment by Neil
Ooooh - I’m a big fan of Balaguer. I’m jealous you got meet him and taste his stuff. What else did he talk about and is he coming out with any more books?
Posted on November 3, 2006 at 9:36 pm
Comment by mamster
I knew you would know this guy. Do you have his book? I hope you do, because I was going to buy it for you until I learned that the special discount price was $140.
He also showed a video about his store and production facility. Incredibly high-level stuff.
Posted on November 4, 2006 at 11:00 am
Comment by Neil
I do have the book and it’s worth the price (which is average for professional pastry books). I would buy another from him sight-unseen.
Any chance I could see photos of the stuff you saw?
Posted on November 4, 2006 at 9:02 pm
Comment by mamster
I didn’t bring my camera, but I did take a photo of his Mascletà chocolates, which have hazelnut cream and pop rocks in them. Iris and Laurie loved them.
Is there a generic term for pop rocks?
Posted on November 5, 2006 at 3:10 pm