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| Blown glass cake pedestal by Phil Grenyer. Turned figured maple platter by Thomas Saunders. |
About ten years ago, I came across a Williams-Sonoma Paris cookbook at Costco, a mix of recipes, great photos and wonderful insight into Parisian cuisine. I was intrigued and challenged by the Charlotte Aux Framboises, or Raspberry Charlotte, and decided to give it a go. It was delicious but the bavarois (Bavarian cream) was a fussy component to make; not a favorite task. Haven't made another Charlotte since; some recipes are best left to the professionals. I'll look forward to one day enjoying a Charlotte slice made by a patissier somewhere France :^)
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| Rear view. See the "raspberry pulp" in the bavarois? |
The appearance of the miniature Charlotte is based more or less on what I remember of the one I made versus the book photo. The finished bavarois had specks of raspberry pulp that passed through the sieve while in the process of making the raspberry brandy coulis.
Each raspberry was built from scratch, by covering a polymer clay base formed on a toothpick tip with tiny clay spheres formed by hand. My initial efforts in March 2010 were clumsy and the base was left exposed in the underside of the berries. Practice and repetition brought improvements. It's a tedious process, but I've yet to develop a quick technique for a realistic raspberry. Shortcuts like molding will speed up production but it doesn't work for me; I'm terrible at making molds and cleaning up pieces takes more time and effort than building or sculpting from scratch.
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| Mat measles! Approximately 1,000 raspberry bumps :^) |
If you're in the mood to zone out while listening to your favorite music for hours on end, make raspberries ;^)
Wishing you an enjoyable weekend...
Beautiful work Alison. The tecture of the pastry fingers look so realistic I expect them to crumble under the weight of a tiny spoon =0)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pepper! I suppose I should make the real cake again, too, it's so rich and delicious. But for all the effort put forth in making miniature food, I am sometimes a lazy cook in the 1/1 kitchen.
DeleteAlison, you continue to present such eye-opening creations, Stunning work once again !!
ReplyDeleteI am in awe of your talents, you push the creation of Miniatures out of the boundaries once again
I just love your work !!! Keep it coming
Big Hugs, xox
Athena
Athena, many thanks for your support! I promise to keep it coming :^) HUGS
DeleteHi Alison, you know when i saw your photo it made me smile its simply divine !! the last photo is astounding and makes me and i'm sure many other people appreciate just how much work goes into your pieces...they truly are little gems :) Best wishes Tony.
ReplyDeleteHappy dance with a huge smile on my face! Tony, your message lifts my spirit, thank you :^))))
DeleteAdemas de preciosa,esa tarta se ve deliciosa!!!!!
ReplyDeleteBesos.
Many thanks, Pilar!! ♥
DeleteHummmmmm, cela semble délicieux ;-) Magnifique travail, félicitations!
ReplyDeleteMerci, Jean-Claude. It one of my favorite desserts (my husband says I have the taste of an old woman, haha) but alas the patisseries in Honolulu do not make it and I am too lazy to do so :^(
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