Flowers From Our Garden, a Touch of Citrus Fruit by Sebastien Barriere

This dessert first came to my mind when I saw cooks filling zucchini flowers, and I asked our farmer if he could manage to provide a big edible flower that I could fill. He proposed the Althea, and it was a match straight away! I think of this dessert as a perfume, with flowers and aromas of citrus to take people on a dégustation with something they know – citrus fruit flavor – and something beautiful that they are not used to eating – flowers and stems!

Yield : 15 servings

Timut Pepper and Orange Blossom Custard

• 300 g soy milk
• 200 g soy cream
• 1 g timut pepper powder
• 5 g orange blossom extract
• 90 g egg yolks
• 40 g organic granulated sugar
• 45 g cornstarch

1. In a saucepan, combine the soy milk, soy cream, pepper powder and orange blossom extract and bring to a boil. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar, then whisk in the hot milk mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan and while whisking constantly, bring to a boil again. Cool completely.

Immortelles Flowers Sorbet

• 1lt water
• 40 g organic granulated sugar
• 180 g glucose
• 200 g lemon juice
• 75 g inverted sugar
• 8 g sorbet stabilizer
• 50 g immortelles flowers

1. Boil all the ingredients together and allow to infuse overnight.

• Pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and process in an ice cream machine. 

Puffed Quinoa

• 6 g olive oil
• 70 g quinoa
• 25 g organic granulated sugar

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan until very hot, then add the quinoa and cook until it puffs. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sugar.

Almond and Quinoa Praliné

• 150 g almonds
• 70 g quinoa
• 200 g organic sugar

1. Roast the almonds and quinoa in the oven at 350°F (180°C) for 8 minutes.

• Caramelize the sugar and pour it over the almonds and quinoa. Let it cool down and blend the mix until you obtain a praliné.

Quinoa Cream

• 1 grapefruit
• 400 g water
• 150 g quinoa
• 10 Mandarin marigold flowers
• 15 g honey

1. Zest the grapefruit into the water and then press the juice into it. Add the flowers, along with the green parts, too. Add the honey and boil the quinoa in that water until it’s completely overcooked.

• Mix the quinoa with an immersion blender to make a thick cream.

Mandarine Marigold Oil

• 100 g grapeseed oil
• 100 g Mandarin marigold stems

1. In a blender, mix together the oil and the stems. Transfer to a very hot pan and cook until there is no more smoke coming off the mixture. Cool in an ice bath, then pass through a torchon or fish paper.

• Freeze in a piping bag to separate the rest of the water in the oil.

Plating

• 15 Althea flowers (same family as hibiscus)
• 200 g cornflowers
• 30 g Mandarin marigold flowers
• 15 nasturtium flowers
• 30 small agastache leaves, fried

1. Fill the Althea flowers with the custard. Pour some of the Puffed Quinoa on the plate and place a quenelle of the sorbet dipped in fresh flowers on top. Add the oil on top of the two elements.

• Fill the agastaches leaves with the Quinoa Cream, one leaf on top the other at the bottom, like a cracker.

• Fill the inside of the nasturtium with the praliné, and present both the flower and the cracker on the side.To eat it the right way, you should start with the peppery leaves, so the nasturtium first and then the cracker to finish with the plate.

(This recipe appeared in the Fall 2023 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)

About Sebastien Barriere

Sébastien Barriére is a pastry chef at La Table de Castigno, Assinan, France. During his time in the US, he received training in organization and efficiency from Angela Chung, a former pastry chef at Restaurant Monsieur Paul in Orlando, Florida. Chef Sebastien defines his signature style as instinctive pastry, incorporating a variety of unconventional elements such as vegetables, herbs, seaweed, and hot peppers. He prioritizes organic ingredients and opts for less refined sugar, avoiding excessive use of animal products in his creations.