Saturday, April 27, 2013

Savarin from The Daring Bakers

Natalia of Gatti Fili e Farina challenges us to make a traditional Savarin, complete with 

soaking syrup and cream filling! We were to follow the Savarin recipe but were allowed to be

creative with the soaking syrup and filling, allowing us to come up with some very delicious 

cakes!





















Well folks, despite how nice this may look, I assure you it was a total debacle. The Savarin is actually a really interesting cake and challenging recipe to play with, but somehow it didn't work out properly for me. All the elements were wonderful: bread-like cake, blackcurrant liquor to soak it with, apricot glaze, lemon cream, and fruit on top. Yum, yum, scrumptious. Except that despite how amazing each section was, they didn't go well together at all.

Something went wrong with this sucker and I don't know what. I followed the recipe exactly but either the pan I baked it in was wrong or the yeast wasn't good or I over-beat the batter or didn't do the envelope fold enough, I don't know. Something.

My mom tried to help me with this but mostly said: "Why don't you just make a banana bread instead? That's easier. I never bother with yeast dough." She did manage to find a Julia Child recipe for the Savarin which recommended that I pierce the cake several times over before soaking it in the liquor. It made sense to me, but this did nothing for the cause. The cake felt extremely heavy and drank nearly all the liquor I bathed it in, but it all sunk to the bottom or clung to the sides. The middle barely got tipsy. This was a huge disappointment, especially considering that surely Julia would know how to get a cake drunk.

My cake really turned out to be bread, no doubt about it. Bread, not cake at all. That is why I don't see how smothering it with cream would help the matter. I'm glad to learn bread baking but this wasn't supposed to be the lesson I'm sure. Still, the bread part was pretty awesome. It was soft and flaky and tasty with the bits of orange zest in there. I just wish I didn't put liquor or cream on it!

As for the challenge this was a really good one. This is something I've never heard of or would have attempted otherwise, and I definitely want to improve on my first try. Since no one wanted more than their first bite, the cake ended up being taken to it's land fill doom. Initially I was upset about the time and ingredients wasted, but now I feel like I must know what Savarin is supposed to taste like. If all the pieces of the puzzle are beautiful then I must find a way to fit them together. I was hoping to do 2 this month, but alas the 27th comes so soon.


4 comments:

  1. Don't bother: I know a lot of persons who don't like the taste of savarins, even if they are perfectly made. The cake tastes like bread. Only the sirup makes the difference.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry your savarin didn't come together as you would have liked. It's an acquired taste, I think, but a learning experience all the same!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Aahhh, you win some, you lose some. I think you have the right attitude. Better luck next time, if you do try it again!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds like over-kneading & under-proving. Don’t give up, never let it beat you! 😊

    ReplyDelete