The word "verrine" was not one I knew, and the thought of making one was even further off my list of probabilities. But Nathan Jacobs, head pastry chef at the Saxon Hotel, which is well-known for impossibly fancy food production, promised that by the end of his class we would create not one but five. And be able to replicate it at home.
I learned the word verrine comes from verre, French for glass, and the dessert or savoury is essentially a layer of flavours, textures and colours. A tiny glass would be filled with a crème, raspberry jelly, lemon mousse, decorative elements ... and topped with a fresh raspberry with herb shoot. It was nearly too much to bear, when you struggle to get a simple scone recipe right.
But Jacobs talked the class through step 1. Double boiling of white chocolate, blooming of gelatine (fish or agar if you are averse) and blending with double cream to make a crème, a version of a ganache. We set the first layer in the glass in the fridge and suddenly it seemed possible that this impressive dessert could be a reality to wow the crowds.Next, raspberry jelly - puréed fresh fruit, sugared and set with gelatine - tart and radiant followed onto layer two. Then a cheat to take home, small malted beads to add texture. Layer four is a lemon mousse, made with strained eggs (another skill I will value for life is to mix and put eggs through a strainer to get a better texture), mixed with sugar and lemon juice and more cream ... voilà.
This we piped in interesting waves using minimal effort, a clever technique shared by the chef. Decoration followed: and the verrine was ready. Not at all impossible, and definitely replicable. So impressive!
Some ingredients were prepared for us, such as the strained eggs, and the greatest pleasure was all the dishes were cleared and washed. I cannot wait for the next class ... the frightening macaron. Then again, the impossible is only a verrine lesson away from possible, in the right hands.
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For more information on Nathan Jacobs' Pastry Classes visit @njpastryclasses. Macrons are the topic of the next class, R770pp, which is taking place on Saturday, June 9, in Johannesburg...