Many of you love cooking, love to please, and would like to become pastry chefs . You can already imagine yourself taking out a cake worthy of the great pastries , with a superb decor and a magical cut that reveals beautiful colored layers . However, we quickly realize that our knowledge is limited, and we know in advance that the end result will not be at all what we imagined.
And why would it be impossible? We are going to give you advice and tips so that you can make your most beautiful pastry dessert insert .
What is an insert?
Let's start with the beginning. What is an insert? As its name suggests, it is an added part, which can be of a different shape and/or texture, without it mixing with the rest of your cake. For example, you must surely know the frozen Yule logs with different flavors. A vanilla set with a chocolate heart cut out. The heart therefore constitutes the chocolate insert. Thus, you can have a frozen log with several flavors or even textures, replacing the chocolate glazed heart with a fruit jelly for example.
Making an insert is not that difficult, even for the most novice bakers. The only thing to plan for is time. Indeed, either you take a few hours to make your cake, or you make your insert the day before to devote yourself only to assembly the next day.
Insert recipe and essential ingredients
It all depends on what you want to achieve. We will describe the recipe for a fruit insert to you.
First you need:
- Fresh fruit or fruit puree
- gelatin sheets
- Sugar (optional)
First, let's soften two sheets of gelatin . Take a bowl of cold water and soak them in it. Leave them for 5 to 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, if you have fresh fruit, puree it, pass everything through a sieve (this step will allow you to remove all the grains and residue), then pour your fruit puree directly into a saucepan and start to heat up.
At this time, you can add a little sugar as you wish to soften the acidity of your fruit purée. Mix with a silicone spatula preferably.
Bring your fruit purée to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat. Add the previously drained gelatin sheets. Mix or mix your insert, while keeping it off the heat.
Pour your insert into the mold , which you will have chosen beforehand, and put it in the freezer for at least 6 hours. Your insert will thus freeze, so that it is easier to handle during assembly. After this period, take your insert out of the freezer and start assembling your dessert or other pastry. In our case, we cut small rectangles from our insert mold . So we are going to place them in our cake mold on a layer of vanilla mousse that we will have laid out beforehand.
If you are making a dessert, then you will need a dessert mould . Above our small insert rectangles, we cover everything with a layer of foam . We will repeat these steps one more time. We will place everything in the freezer again, for a few more hours.
Choosing the insert mold
You have made an insert, but what about the material? It is now that we must choose our mould. You could almost say that this is the most important step. There are many and in different shapes. Large, small, round, square, rectangular, rug with edge, there is something for all tastes and all your creations. If you want to make a half-sphere , you can take special molds in classic silicone . If you want to make small thin rectangles, just pour your insert preparation on a silicone mat with edges. So you can cut into it after your insert has set in the freezer.
The best known are silicone molds . They are easier to use, as they withstand extreme temperatures very well. As a result, they go just as well in the oven as in the freezer. They are very malleable, so it is easier to unmold your insert . However, there are also plastic insert molds . It's up to you to choose which one you prefer.
You will also find different shapes on the market. The ideal molds for logs are rectangular in shape, not very wide and rather long. Then there are different lengths if you want to make sticks . Regarding this type of realization, there are a multitude of creative possibilities. You can put an effect mat in your log mould . These are carpets to have for example an imitation wood log, a padded log or even a braided log .
You will also find insert molds in the shape of a flame or savarin , for your most original creations.
Tips and Tricks
When you assemble your insert in your pastry mould , press it a little so that it sinks slightly into the foam. This maneuver will evacuate any air bubbles that may be present.
Regarding log moulds, be sure to choose your mold according to its use. Indeed, for baking , do not choose a plastic log mould. The mold that guarantees optimal use in all circumstances is the food-grade silicone mold .
How to make an insert without gelatin?
If you do not have gelatin on hand, it is possible to replace this gelling agent with other ingredients such as agar agar , cornstarch (maizena), potato starch, or gum arabic to the most effective.
Note that gelatin is often of animal origin (pork, beef, chicken, fish) so if you want to know exactly which one is right for your recipe, we recommend reading our article on this subject .
The advantage of making an insert without gelatin allows you to obtain a chocolate flowing insert , or raspberry flowing insert in your cake.
Setting time of the entremet?
There are 3 types of entremets:
- the hot entremet: charlotte, soufflé, creams
- cold dessert: flan, bavarois, jellies
- the frozen entremet: parfait, bombe, mousses
Depending on the type of entremet chosen, the setting time will be different and each entremet recipe is also different. In order not to take the risk that your entremet is not well set before taking it out to finish its icing, for example, we always recommend letting it rest overnight in the freezer.
Concerning the thawing of the dessert, it is generally done in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours or at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
The more your dessert is made up of cream and mousse like the famous 3-chocolate dessert , the faster it will defrost!
How to make an insert in a cake
You have just made an insert dessert . You see, it was not that difficult! All you have to do is taste and be proud of your work.
It's not just desserts that deserve a pastry insert . The most beautiful chocolate fondants are often garnished with a gourmet insert in dark, white, praline, etc. chocolate.
There are all kinds of pastry inserts that you can make, whether in a log, in desserts, in cakes , everything is possible. The steps remain the same, so get to your stove!
Click on the image below to discover our collection of insert molds and pastry desserts :
