Savarin-Yeast in my cake!! Twin Trials for Daring Bakers

 

Yeast in my cake!!! 

Thanks to some amazing Baking groups that I have joined, a whole new world of baking has opened for me. Bakes I had never heard of in my life, are being experimented and tasted in my kitchen. Daring Baker's is a place where I get to learn amazing unique bakes from all over the world. Never in my wildest dream would I ever try yeast in my cake, but for the Daring Baker's challenge.

Savarin, this month's challenge, is a yeasted cake which is of French origin and named after Brillat-Savarin, the famous 18 th century Gastronome and writer. It is made with the same dough as Rum Baba or Baba au Rhum. The cake is almost a bread and is not very sweet. After being baked, it is soaked in a sugar syrup which gives sweetness and moistness to the cake. Traditionally the sugar syrup includes some form of alcohol, often Rum. The Savarin hole is filled with different creams or custards and decorated with fresh/candied fruits.

Notice the holes in the cake, almost like a light bread

The cake has a light and tender crumb and is very moist, almost juicy.  It just melts in your mouth with  incredible flavours from the syrup. Together with cream and fruits, it sure is a mega treat. 

Since, I was in the mood for some Experiments, I tried two versions. One, a classic rum soaked with cream and fruits loaded and another enriched with chocolate. I soaked both in the rum sauce and made a quick chocolate mousse for the small savarins. Decorated with easy tempered chocolate decorations, the cake was not only a treat for the eyes but for the tongue as well!!

Recipe Source : Natalia of Gatti Fili e Farina challenged us with a Savarin recipe which is adapted from Adriano Continisio of Profumo di Lievito and Italian Chef Luca Montersino.
 
 Ingredients : I used 1/3 of the recipe to make a 5" Savarin and two 3" mini savarins

• 10 tbsp + 2 tbsp All purpose flour
• 2 eggs, separated and at room temperature
• 2 tsp lukewarm water
• 1/4 tsp Instant yeast
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp butter, at room temperature and extra for greasing baking pan
• pinch of salt

Procedure:
Sponge
Take 2 tsp lukewarm water in a small bowl and add 1 tbsp flour and sprinkle 1/4 tsp yeast. 
Cover with a cling film/damp muslin cloth and let it rise for 1 hour.

Dough 
After 30 mins of making the sponge, put egg whites in a bowl and add 10 tbsp flour. Knead till you have a sticky dough. Cover with a cling film/damp muslin cloth and let it rest for 30 mins.

After 30 mins, add the sponge to the egg white-flour mixture and add 1 tsp flour and mix. (I used my hands to knead, you may use a mixer)
Add 1 egg yolk and as soon as it is absorbed, add 1 tsp of flour and 2 tsp sugar. Mix well.
Add second yolk and as soon as it is absorbed, add 1 tsp of flour and a pinch of salt. Mix well.
Mix dough till it is elastic and makes threads.
Add butter and as soon a sit is absorbed add 1 tsp of flour. Keep mixing till the dough passes the Window pane test.(I had to add extra 2-3 tsp of flour)
Cover with a cling film/damp muslin cloth and let it rise till triple in volume for 3 hours.
Prepare baking tins(I used a 5" savarin tin(ring shaped tin like a bundt pan) and two 3" mini savarin tins) by buttering it. 
Put the dough in the prepared tins filling only till 1/3. Let it rise for another hour. 
Preheat the oven to 170 degree Celsius and bake savarins for 25-30 mins or till the top is golden brown(I had to cover my savarins midway with an aluminium foil as they were browing faster)
Let it cool and carefully remove from the tins.
Till then make the syrup for soaking.

 
Rum sauce -soaking syrup

Ingredients :

• 1 cup water 
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp Rum

Procedure :
Heat water and sugar in a saucepan. As soon as sugar melts add rum. Remove from heat just before it begins to boil. Cool.
Put the savarins back in the baking tins and pour the Rum sauce dividing between the three till all of it is used up.
Remove savarins from tin and place on a wire rack with a plate underneath so that excess syrup drains.

Mixed fruit Glaze : 
Mix 1 tbsp mixed fruit jam and 1 tbsp water in a saucepan and warm it up. As soon as it gets mixed, remove from heat and brush the savarin with this glaze.(I brushed only the bigger savarin)
 
Garnish :

• 100 ml Whipped cream
• Assorment of fruits-I used mango, kiwi, black and green grapes.
• 2 tbsp of melted chocolate
• Tempered chocolate decorations

For the bigger savarin, I filled the center with both kinds of grapes and piped some whipped cream on top. Decorated the top with thinly sliced mango shaping like a flower, halved kiwi and tempered chocolate decorations. 

Tempered Chocolate Decorations 
Melt some chocolate(microwave in 10 sec pulse for a min or melt in a double boiler) and beat it very well. As it begins to cool, enough to handle, put them in a piping bag/homemade plastic cones and pipe any design on a sheet of butter paper. Transfer to the refrigerator to cool and peel off to use.

   

Chocolate Savarins 
Very carefully fold the melted chocolate with the remaining whipped cream and fill the centers of the smaller savarins. 
Make a thin chocolate sauce by pouring little milk in some melted chocolate and pour over the savarins.
Decorate with a drop of melted chocolate and tempered chocolate decorations. 

Happy Savarin experimenting 
Amrita