Who told you that you might gather my roses? Was it not enough that I allowed you to be in my palace and was kind to you? This is how you show your gratitude, by stealing my flowers? But your insolence shall not go unpunished!

For the longest time I have been wanting to serve a cocktail under a cloche. One of my favorite drinks is the Jack Rose, a Calvados cocktail that gets a rosy color from grenadine. When I thought of serving a Jack Rose under a cloche, it reminded me of the rose in Beauty and the Beast, and I realized I wanted to create a dish around this theme. Ultimately, we did not end up serving a Jack Rose, but this was the idea that set us on the path towards the Enchanted Valentine’s Dinner.

The merchant, terrified by these furious words, dropped the fatal rose, and, throwing himself on his knees, cried: “Pardon me, noble sir. I am truly grateful to you for your hospitality, which was so magnificent that I could not imagine that you would be offended by my taking such a little thing as a rose.

Our final and third course is also a dessert, since you can never go too sweet on Valentine’s day, inspired by Beauty and the Beast by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. I wanted a dessert to have a rough exterior with a unseen sweet and dreamy interior. So I made a Choux au Craquelin with rose crust and two layers of filling, a smooth pistachio custard and a creamy rose chocolate ganache. Joe at Measure and Stir went with the idea and made a cocktail worthy of being a rose. The rose is from the Disney version of the story, and paired a rose shrub with vanilla infused bourbon,  a drink he calls, Be So Kind as to Bring Me a Rose.

The Sweet Heart of the Beast

Craquelin

100g Pastry Flour
100g Butter (Unsalted Soft)
100g Demerara Sugar
2g Dried Rose (Powder)
4 Drops Red Food Color

Choux

150g Water
100g Whole Milk
100g Butter (Unsalted)
3g Salt
3g Sugar
150g Bread Flour
200g Eggs
8 Drops Red Food Color

Start with the Craquelin by combining all the ingredients. Once they have formed a red paste roll the paste out between two pieces of parchment paper. Roll it out to an even 2mm thickness. Place in the freezer to set for 2 hours. For the Choux dough start by placing water, milk, and butter in a pot and place over medium heat until butter has melted. As the butter has melted turn up the heat and boil the liquid. Once the liquid is coming to a boil put the flour, sugar, and salt in as you remove the pot from the heat. Stir for your life as soon as you add the flour. Once mixed place it back on medium heat while you continue to mix and cook the flour out, dough will start to make coating on the surfaces of the pot. Pre-heat the oven to 175c. Let the dough cool for 10 minutes and add to the stand mixer. Add one egg at the time while you use the paddle attachment on medium speed. If you have a ThermoMix this dough is a breeze to make. Pipe golf ball sized balls onto a baking sheet (with Silpat). Take your Craquelin out of the freezer and use a cookie cutter and make 4cm discs. Place the discs on top to the Choux balls. Bake for 20 minutes and turn the heat down to 160c, continue to cook for 15 minutes. Cool on racks so that the bottom doesn’t get soggy. What ever you do, do not open the oven door to check on them. This will make them not puff up. You want to cook them golden, try on non dyed choux to get a feel for how they should look.

Pistachio Custard

130g Pistachio (Roasted)
500g Heavy Cream
150g Sugar
250g Eggs
5g Vanilla Paste

I made this using my ThermoMix by finely grind the Pistachio into a flour/paste (any type of blender/food processor will do this). For the next step if you do not have a ThermoMix can temper your egg/cream mixture, by bringing the cream to a boil and slowly add into your eggs. Place the mixture back on the stove and gently cook until it thickens. In a ThermoMix you can place all the ingredients after the pistachios are grinded. Cook at 80c for 8 minutes on speed 5, then another 2 minutes at 90c. Place in a piping bag to cool. Pipe the choux half full with custard.

Rose White Chocolate Ganache

200g White Chocolates (Valrhona Ivoire 35%)
200g Heavy Cream
6g Dried Rose (Petals)

Add the dried rose to the heavy cream and bring it to 70c and steep the rose for 10 minutes.Bring the cream to a boil and strain the rose petals over the white chocolate. Stir the cream into the chocolate until it is all melted. Place in a piping bag to cool. Pipe the ganache to fill up the choux.

See you next time. Hungry Eyes Full Heart, Can’t Lose!