|
Monday, July 7, 2008
Ever since returning from Barcelona, I have been slightly obsessed with peta zeta, or as we say in English, pop rocks. It’s Oriol Balaguer’s fault. When we were in Spain, one of the must-visit places on my wife S’s itinerary was Balaguer’s boutique. She’s been slightly obsessed with this genius chocolatier ever since a pastry chef friend gave her Balaguer’s cookbook as a present some years back. Balaguer’s Barcelona boutique is a very small, chic corner space, located in the middle of a wealthy residential neighborhood. (It is also just around the corner from the showroom of Tresserra, an amazing Spanish furniture brand I am currently in love with but cannot afford — and probably won’t be able to for decades to come.) As you can imagine, we tried many of Balaguer’s chocolates and even some of his pastries. Everything was delicious, but one thing in particular blew me away — his pop rock filled chocolate truffles. These were simply fabulous, not just because they were made with the very best chocolate but because they were fun. Really fun. I hadn’t eaten pop rocks in years. In fact, I wasn’t even aware that these effervescent candies were still being made.
Pop rocks, for those of you who have never had them (and I was amazed to discover that one of my colleagues and a close friend were among those unfortunate few), is a carbonated candy that releases carbon dioxide when popped into one’s mouth. The candy pops and sizzles on the tongue, which makes your whole mouth tingle in the most delightful way. One of the most amusing facts about this candy is that for some strange reason, back when it was really popular, some freaks started spreading a rumour that if you ate pop rocks and drank Coke at the same time, your stomach would explode. Obviously, this isn’t true, but countless kids did try and test the theory for themselves. The Balaguer peta zeta truffles were so outstanding that the day before departing Barcelona, S and I went back to the boutique in order to purchase several boxes, for ourselves and a few friends. Of course, these lasted only a week or two. Since then, I have been sporadically doing research of how we home-chefs can play with pop rocks in our own desserts.
The pop rocks are mixed into melted milk chocolate. This in turn is mixed into a hazelnut paste and pressed into the bottom of a ring mould (Heston suggests making one cake using a 12cm ring mould but S and I used 9cm moulds and discovered that his recipe provides enough to make 3 smaller cakes). This becomes the base of the cake. From the pictures, you can tell that we really should have made the base quite a bit thinner (but hey, this was our first attempt). The mousse was rich and tasty. Very delicious in fact. But when chilled, it became dense and a little too heavy for our tastes. S and I have decided that if and when we make another popping-candy cake, we’ll use a light gelatin-based mousse a la Hidemi Sugino (i.e. a Japanese style mousse cake).
That said, the cake was fun to make and even more fun to eat. We ate one, gave one to our colleagues, and another to a friend (the one who had never had pop rocks before). I have 26 packets of pop rocks left so I plan on experimenting a little more. Here’s the recipe in case some of you can get your hands on some pop rocks and want to try the recipe also. Heston Blumenthal’s popping-candy chocolate cake For the popping-candy base For the chocolate mousse For the chocolate glaze To make the base, preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/Gas Mark 4 and roast the hazelnuts for about 10 minutes until lightly coloured. Blend to a paste in a food processor, then set aside. Melt the milk chocolate in a bain-marie (a large basin over a saucepan of simmering shallow water — take care that the water does not touch the basin) and stir in the ginger spice and popping candy. Next, fold in the hazelnut purée. Place the 12 cm ring mould on a serving dish and gently press in the base mixture to a depth of about 1cm. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until hard. To make the mousse, chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a metal bowl. Bring 150ml of the cream to the boil in a small saucepan. Pour it over the chopped chocolate and stir extremely gently until all the chocolate has melted, watching carefully to ensure it doesn’t take on a granular texture. Add the salt to taste. Once the chocolate cream has cooled to room temperature, lightly whip the remaining 250ml cream to soft peaks, but do not overwhip. Fold into the chocolate mix. Pour over the base in the ring mould and place in the fridge to set for two hours. To make the glaze, chop up the chocolate and set aside. Place the water, coffee beans and salt in a pan, whisk in the cocoa powder, then set over a medium heat and simmer for about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, put the sugar in a small pan and melt over a medium heat. Unrefined sugar will caramelise quickly, so keep an eye on it; when it does, pour over the coffee and cocoa mix — stand back, as it will bubble and spit. Beat in the chopped chocolate and, when melted, pass through a fine sieve. When cool, but still liquid, pour over the mousse to your preferred depth and return the cake to the fridge to set. To serve, run a hot knife around the inside of the ring before removing the cake. When slicing it, again make sure the blade of the knife is nice and hot.        Posted by Chubby Hubby 
|
The first thing I had to do, of course, was get my hands on some pop rocks. Thank the gods for eBay. A couple clicks and within a week, a carton of 36 packets of pop rocks (half of them strawberry flavoured and the other half watermelon) was delivered to my door. As you might imagine, there aren’t a whole lot of interesting recipes out there. Most of them were the “sprinkle your pop rocks on your finished dessert” variety, which to me seems like a bit of a culinary cop-out. Then I found Heston Blumenthal’s “popping-candy chocolate cake”, a chocolate mousse cake built over a hazlenut and pop rock base. The recipe seemed promising and relatively easy to make.
RSS 2.0
Is there any way to download your recipe pages to print them?
Posted by: Ahna | 8 July 2008 @ 12:10 am
ooh what an inspiration - i have a soon to be 11 year old and he’ll be hte envy of his mates with this for a birthday dessert!
Posted by: Mei | 8 July 2008 @ 12:16 am
Did the pop rocks actually retain the effervescent actions after being incorporated into the cake?
Posted by: Mei | 8 July 2008 @ 12:40 am
What a glamorous use for a silly candy!
(I remember when Pop Rocks first came out in a few test markets. All of us kids tried desperately to find someone, anyone, who could send us some! Oh, that was a long time ago.)
Posted by: Kitt | 8 July 2008 @ 1:01 am
Love this! You cake looks and sounds delicious!
Posted by: My Sweet & Saucy | 8 July 2008 @ 1:50 am
I loved pop rocks as a kid! I haven’t had them since I was little. I remember we used to be scared of accidentally swallowing a few (it wasn’t very pleasant). I’ll be sure to try out Balaguer’s boutique when I am in Barcelona next month!
Posted by: L | 8 July 2008 @ 3:14 am
How fun! This post made me giddy. =)
Posted by: Julie | 8 July 2008 @ 3:53 am
I let my kids have PopRocks for the first time in their little kiddie lives and the expressions on their face was priceless! I don’t know if I’m brave (er..really, talented) enough to make desserts with poprocks, but certainly admire yours!
Posted by: steamy kitchen | 8 July 2008 @ 6:41 am
Thanks for the recipe. My partner purchased lots of Pop Rocks after Oriol visited Melbourne in March. A friend gave us some of his truffles to try & so we have being experimenting. No recipes with them in the Thermomix yet but will let you know when we do.
Posted by: Thermomixer | 8 July 2008 @ 10:39 am
Thanks for the recipe, I am dying to give it a shot!
By the way…try pop rocks with Coca Cola….hahahaha the explosion in your head is quite thrilling
Posted by: Vanessa | 8 July 2008 @ 4:40 pm
Ooh, that sounds like so much fun. Now I have to get pop rocks and play! Btw, is the Sugino book published in English and do you know where I can buy a copy?
Posted by: Annette | 8 July 2008 @ 7:31 pm
this is so interesting! definitely a must-try recipe.. now i just gota get those pop rocks.
Posted by: denise | 8 July 2008 @ 11:40 pm
I’m Haley, Key Ingredient’s Chief Blogger. We would like to feature this recipe on our blog. Please email haleyglasco@gmail.com if interested. Thanks
Haley
http://blog.keyingredient.com/
Posted by: Haley | 9 July 2008 @ 1:44 am
you can buy Neutral flavor pop rocks at www.chefrubber.com and incorporate any flavor you like
Foie Gras anyone???
Posted by: Chicken Fried Gourmet | 9 July 2008 @ 8:31 am
This is a delightful post! Pop rocks are a popular ingredient in chocolate candy bars in Israel, but I am in love with this cake. It looks divine and the mischievous side of me would love to serve it at a posh party without telling guests that pop rocks were in the cake! Hehe.
Posted by: Ari (Baking and Books) | 9 July 2008 @ 9:16 am
That is such a cool idea! How fun!
Posted by: Stephanie | 9 July 2008 @ 11:49 pm
This cake and this blog are awesome!!
Posted by: Johnna Knows Good Food | 10 July 2008 @ 5:40 am
What a fun way to enjoy cake
I’ve used poprocks as a garnish for an ice-cream bombe before. It was meant to be a play on the whole bombe/explosions-in -the-mouth thing.
Posted by: Y | 11 July 2008 @ 9:08 am
I’ve been lurking in your kitchen for ages, nicking recipes and living vicariously through your travels, so I figured it was time to say hello.
Hello.
I love pop rocks, and after reading this I’m desperate to get my hands on some so I can play too.
Also, I made the Vietnamese Caramelised Ribs and loved them. Then I tried your Mentaiko pasta and fell in love again. Now, I’m pretty convinced that anything I pinch from your recipe stash is going to rock!
Posted by: Dee | 11 July 2008 @ 11:57 am
i absolutely love the idea! In Switzerland at easter we can find some chocolate eggs with somme poppy candy insinde of them…
Last time i ate something similar it was chez Denis Martin, a chef near the lake of Geneva.
Thank you for the recipe i can wait to try!
Posted by: sooishi | 12 July 2008 @ 5:53 pm
I was reminded of pop rocks only recently when I tasted a macaron creation called Krac Krac at Pain de Sucre in Paris. Lots of fun in the surprise, and of course a wave of kiddie memories. Nice to see this is a culinary craze!!
Posted by: Duncan | Syrup&Tang | 12 July 2008 @ 9:15 pm
It’s my first time to visit your blog, and what can i say? you easily impressed me. All my senses were trying to rebel against my diet when i saw that Heston Blumenthal’s popping-candy chocolate cake!
I think i have found another excuse to stay away from my diet. lol. Thanks, for sharing this great recipe. You may want to try this recipe http://www.foodista.com/2008/06/23/perfect-tart-crust/
I tried this just recently and the outcome is oh so delicious!
Posted by: Melanie D | 14 July 2008 @ 3:49 am
Wow - what a great idea for Pop Rocks! I loved them as a kid and it’s good to see an adult use for them too
Posted by: Allen | 20 July 2008 @ 2:25 am
And I was doing so well this summer. I think you just ruined my diet. eBay you say…I’m there
Posted by: Gift Bird | 21 July 2008 @ 1:46 pm
another alternative to experience this choc and pop sensation would be to grab a bar of cadbury’s popping candy from Candy Empire.
http://candyaddict.com/blog/candy_images/cadbury_popping_candy_bar.jpg
Posted by: Mab | 23 July 2008 @ 11:09 am
Such a strange combination…pop rocks and chocolate cake. Yet I’m sooo intrigued!!
Posted by: Holy | 28 July 2008 @ 1:43 pm
Would you know if pop rocks can be incorporated into a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe? Do they retain their explosive nature? This would be a winner at the school bake sale. Susan
Posted by: Susan at Black eyed susans kitchen | 28 July 2008 @ 11:20 pm
FYI if you accidentally type in the authentication code incorrectly it deletes your comment and you have to type it in all over again. Kind of frustrating if you’ve just typed in a long comment.
Posted by: sam | 12 August 2008 @ 1:40 am
In San Francisco Elizabeth Falkener has also incorporated pop rocks into the menu at her latest restaurant, “Orson” in an appetizer dish called: “parmaggiano pudding, pepper jam, cocoa nib explosion”. It’s a light and unusual dish that never fails to make everyone who tries it for the first time, smile. It certainly brings some unabashed fun back into dining out!
Posted by: sam | 12 August 2008 @ 1:49 am
The cake looks amazing, and I love the fact that it is made of pop rocks! You’d never think something as sophisticated looking as that would be an ode to kid’s candy
Posted by: Lorraine E | 14 August 2008 @ 9:36 pm
Oo! How fun to give this cake to someone who never had pop rocks before - I can just imagine their face!
Posted by: Robin | 15 August 2008 @ 8:31 pm
You have no idea how excited I am about this! Thank you for this recipe! I have been obsessed with chocolate bars with pop rocks for awhile but never did I realize my boundaries could have been expanded! SOOO excited!
Posted by: Hillary | 20 August 2008 @ 5:24 am
Maybe a bit of a cop out, but they are fun to rim a cocktail glass with.
Posted by: brenna | 22 August 2008 @ 12:45 am
I recreated this gem Alaska style for a book group where we were discussing Afghanistan. This cake blew them away! Thanks for the great idea and recipe!
Posted by: Alana | 23 August 2008 @ 6:16 am
PopRocks and chocolate cake! Davine. I think I might have to try this out just for the heck of it. Sounds really delish!
Posted by: Personalized Baby Bags | 21 September 2008 @ 5:42 am
on the list of ingredients it says mixed spice, in the directions it says ginger spice- which is correct and what is “mixed” spice?
Posted by: Jennifer Rucinski | 10 October 2008 @ 2:07 am
Your pop rocks comments reminds me of a dinner I had in Beijing at the Blu Lobster, where more than a few of the dishes gave that sensation, including a small plastic bag of chocolate mousse diners put in their mouths and then break with their teeth, with the ensuring sensation being a pop rocks one.
Cheers, JB
Posted by: boyce | 16 October 2008 @ 2:57 am
Thanks for the information…I bookmarked your site, and I appreciate your time and effort to make your blog a success!
Posted by: Rachael | 8 November 2008 @ 3:09 am
Heston Blumenthal is coming to Melbourne along with other awesome chefs from the UK like Sat Baines, and Thomas Keller from the US. Pretty worth it to attend the dinners considering that you can save the cost you’d need to pay to go to different parts of UK and the US minus the cost to head to Melbourne. Would love it if you can head there and blog about it! I’m bummed out that I can’t go…
Posted by: ann | 20 November 2008 @ 10:31 am
hi,
I love the fork that’s in the photo with th popping candy cake. Is it part of a set, are they available to buy?
Many thanks,
Patrick
Posted by: patrick | 23 March 2009 @ 12:52 am
well i was just woundering if you ate too much of this would you explode
Posted by: anoymous | 15 May 2009 @ 9:10 pm
Hi, I too have tried this recipe and I agree with you. The proportions of the hazelnut base are wrong for the size mould and the chocolate mousse is too heavy and dense. Heston suggests this as a good cake for a children’s party. It’s far too dark and intense for children.
This is not one of Heston’s best….needs work.
Posted by: msmarmitelover | 21 January 2010 @ 7:58 am