Chef: Christian Faure

Feuillantine de Poire au Caramel de Truffes, Creme Glacee Onctueuse

By Josie Wu
Translated by Ann Lee

Sherwood Hotel Taipei: Toscana
111, MinSheng E Rd, Sec 3
(02) 2718-1188 ext. 3001
www.sherwood.com.tw

Since mid-December, the Toscana Italian restaurant at Sherwood Hotel Taipei has been promoting an afternoon-tea special called "Le Cordon Bleu Dazzling Chocolate Festival". For this set, the first-class pastry chef Christian Faure had designed a series of chocolate-themed desserts like Pave de Chocolat au Croustillant de Pralin, Tarte Passionnement Chocolat, Pithiviers aux Amandes, and Marcaron Fourre au Mascarpone.

Back in Europe, Faure was the long-term designated chef for Prince Albert of Monaco. He also worked for many years at Ducasse's Louis XV, a high-end restaurant in Monte Carlo. When I visited, he made a dessert called Feuillantine de Poire au Caramel de Truffes, Creme Glacee Onctueuse. As you can imagine by the name, this fancy dessert is a combination of caramel sauce and French truffles, accompanied by crispy tarts, pears, and smooth, vanilla ice cream from Madagascar. The overall flavor is (surprisingly) not too sweet and tastes even better with a pot of hot English tea.
If you can't make it to the restaurant, Chef Faure did leave a quasi-recipe for this delicious treat, though it is suggested that you just let the pros handle it. The Sherwood Hotel in Taipei does have dine-in and take-out options, so you can buy the dessert (6-inch NT$800, 8-inch NT$1,200), or give the simplified version a try.
To make: Smear egg yolks into a baking dish. Set pears inside and bake. After they are done baking, brush caramel sauce on top, then top with black truffle slices. Finally, finish with a bit of vanilla ice-cream.

Step 1: Smear on the egg yolk sauce
Step 2: Place the baked pears onto the dish
Step 3: Then put the plate into the oven
Step 4: After the baking is done
Step 5: Brush on the caramel sauce
Step 6: Sprinkle the black truffle slices on top
Step 7: Then add on the ice cream