Sarah Frankland reveals the secrets of Inaya Lulo
What do you get if you put some of the best ingredients into hands of some of the best pastry chefs?
Results are desserts which are as beautiful as they are delicious. This is exactly what happened when Sarah Frankland, Hideko Kawa, Cherish Finden and Ramon Morato were inspired by the delicious chocolate of Cacao Barry: Magnificent masterpieces were created, showcased and offered for tasting at the Cacao Collective event at The Langham.
Starting with Sarah Frankland, we will introduce each of them to you.
Inaya Lulo by Sarah Frankland, Head Pastry Chef of Yauatcha, London
Sarah, how did it all begin?
Each story for me always begins with a couverture. This is the starting point which drives my inspiration behind every chocolate dessert at Yauatcha. Every couverture works in a different way and has different characteristics and tasting profiles. For me it was an exciting two and half year journey through all the flavours of the extensive Cacao Barry chocolate range.
The first dessert we created with Cacao Barry chocolate was the Yauatcha Signature Raspberry Delice created by Chef Graham. Pairing the red berry fruit notes of Madirofolo chocolate with the raspberry in the dish was a natural combination.
For each dessert we play with a different couverture in order to discover a perfect match for a new creation. So later we paired Alunga chocolate with toasted rice, whilst Saint Domingue worked really well with mandarin. The Yauatcha top seller - the Chocolate pebble - is Peruvian Alto el Sol prepared in such a way that it showcases this wonderful chocolate in different textures, highlighting its unique flavor profile.
What was the reason for choosing Inaya for the dessert you created for Cacao Collective event?
Inaya, and all the Purity From Nature range with the Q fermentation process is a very interesting and important concept in the development of quality couverture. With the problem of chocolate shortage in years to come the development of such a unique technique by Cacao Barry that leads to a better usage of the cocoa beans from each harvest is a great progress. This also means that the dedicated farmers that Cacao Barry works with are receiving more profit from each crop.
For me as a chef it is also important that the key aromas that inspire a dish remain as close as possible to the original from one season to another. The scientific work done by Cacao Barry to ensure the consistency of aroma, gives me confidence that my dishes will remain as full of flavour in the next seasons as when created. So the decision to do something with Inaya chocolate was quite easy for me.
Your Inaya Lulo is a pure poetry of flavours and textures. Can you tell us more about it?
Prior to Inaya, I have not explored many of the dark chocolates of the Purity From Nature range.
Inaya, has a low fluidity designed for applications like mousse, cremeux and ganache, with intense chocolate flavor and a hint of fruity and floral notes which is one of the reasons for choosing it as the chocolate part of this dessert.
On the other side, I was recently given a sample of Lulo (naranjilla) puree - a citrus fruit from South America. It has intense acidity like passion fruit but with a nice floral note in the back. I love experimenting and I discovered that blending these two ingredients was a perfect combination - Lulo sets a perfect balance to the lovely bitterness and intense cocoa notes of the Inaya chocolate – It highlighted and intensified its floral flavours.
When creating a dish it is not only about the looks – it's incredibly important to create balanced layers of flavours and textures to invigorate as many taste receptors as possible - Inaya Lulo touches the four main taste receptors - sweet, sour, bitter with a touch of salt.
The dessert consists of a base, created from layers of chocolate jaconde sponge, lulo cremeux and Cara Crakine™. Piped onto the top is Inaya lulo cremeux centred with lulo confiture, topped with an Inaya mousse cylinder.
How did you feel about the Cacao Collective event?
I really enjoyed the event - it is key for the development process to see, taste and understand the products you are using and to work closely with the company that produces them. In addition it was great to work with and talk to other chefs using Cacao Barry chocolate like Ramon, Cherish and Hideko and exchange ideas and experiences about working with the chocolate.
Another enjoyable part of the event for me was the relaxed networking at the end - it is really great to catch up with other pastry chefs and suppliers to discuss what they are working on.
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