archives
contact
links
knock-off
it seems like every time i visit a restaurant or pastry shop there is some sort of mojito. ten variations of the traditional cocktail, mojito pate de fruit, mojito bombon, mojito entremets, mojito plated desserts, it is either a coincidence or very trendy…. i opt for the later. my turn!
this dessert copies an idea from a class at valrhona. they use the flavors from a mojito: rum, mint, lime and the addition of dark and white chocolate – white chocolate mint ice cream, lime streusel, lime gels, rum gel, lime foam and chocolate cream. this version sticks with the mint white chocolate ice cream (with a slight change) and the lime gels. there is still a crumble but it is cubes of white chocolate sable. the rum gels are changed to a rum jam. the “cocktail” is finished with lime air and a mint sugar straw.
there were a few reasons for wanting to copy this – the idea of dessert cocktails, copying paco torreblanca’s sugar straws, working with rum jam, using the mint from our garden and following in alinea’s footsteps by using balloons to mold sugar.
the lime gels are straight from a valrhona recipe. they are set with a mixture of pectin nh and alginate. what i really like about this recipe is that the gels cut like an agar jelly but have a much nicer mouth feel and flavor. yes, yes, agar has no flavor… but it does not help flavor either as agar does not easily melt in the mouth.
on a previous dessert i wanted to make cubes of rum jelly. i used this same recipe (using a rum syrup instead of lime juice) and found a nice surprise. it did not make a gel that could be cut but rather a jam texture. the first batch was pretty strong but after playing with the sugar, water and rum a little it made a nice jam.
the ambiguous mint sprig. the most abused garnish ever. hate it… but had to do it. when was the last time you had a decent mojito that did not have a bunch of mint leaves getting in the way?
Tags: isomalt, jam, mojito, pectin, plated dessert, sable
This looks great, especially the sugar bowls. But who said that agar has no flavor? It has a very distinctive flavor. It’s not an extremely noticeable flavor–average diners aren’t gonna taste something and think it tastes like seaweed–but it’s always detectable if you know it’s there. I’m to the point now where I have entirely stopped using agar because I find the flavor to be pretty gross. I use gellan in place of most agar applications.
thanks, glad you liked it. i think i have to agree with you but what really gets me is the texture. not a fan of that… “mealy” mouthfeel. gels with alot of agar in them always taste a little bland to me as well, may just be personal preference. thanks for the input
Nice remake of the mojito! We have all done it one way or another. Makes me miss my days living in Miami where the mojitos are always good!
Couldn’t agree more about the mint. Cant stand it but it does have it’s place.
I also hate agar, dont like the flavour or texture. I replace it with Iota carrageenan for a better mouth feel.
thanks ryan! mojito on the florida beaches…. that sounds gooooood
[...] we did the mojito a couple months ago we played with the idea of using balloons to mould sugar. it made a great sugar [...]