Whisk Wednesdays: Savarin aux Kiwis et aux Fraises (Rum Savarin with Kiwis and Strawberries)

      The recipe prepared for this week's assignment for Whisk Wednesdays is from Class 25, Menu 2:  Savarin aux Kiwis et aux Fraises (Rum Savarin with Kiwis and Strawberries)

.  It can be found in the cookbook Le Cordon Bleu at Home on pages 409-410.  

       Look good?  It was...very good. 

       I usually make recipes as close to the specifications as possible the first time through and then change things up a bit sometimes in subsequent trips.  This one I made in mini form as I didn't have a savarin mold (which is basically a pan with a place for a hole in the center), so I decided I would use a bundt pan, which I did have on hand, and then I decided I would make mini portions as I had a mini bundt pan also. 

      The minis, I figured would be good so that the kids could have their versions without the rum, which was at full strength alcohol and did not have the alcohol cooked out of it.  It made 5 little bundt minis, as you can see, and they turned out lovely. 

      The recipe was easy, and when it came together, I was expecting something more bread-like because it has yeast in the recipe, but it was actually more of a thick cake-like batter that never did gather into a ball like a bread dough would.  I poured it into the pan, baked it, and it came out just great.  Very cute. 

      The little bread/cake is then soaked with a vanilla rum syrup and glazed with an apricot glaze.  Thin slices of kiwi and strawberry graced the top, and since mine were minis, I could only decorate with half slices of kiwi and quarter slices of strawberries to get the proper effect and not have it look like giant fruit perched on the top.  The remaining touches were a Chantilly cream (cream, vanilla, confectioner's sugar) piped into the center hole of the little savarin and piped stars around the base of it all.  It makes a great presentation and is relatively easy to do once the little bread cakes were made. 

      The taste was very nice.  The savarin tastes like a rich bread, you can taste the yeast in it, but is lighter like a cake.  It isn't sweet like you would think it would be looking at it, but it isn't not sweet either...I know, confusing, but I can't think how to describe it.  The syrup, glaze, fruit, and whipped cream make it sweet, but the actual savarin part is just a nice bread/cake type of taste.  The only way you are going to tell from this description is to make it!  Then you can tell me how you would describe it.  Let's just call it delicious! 

      Would I make it again?  In a heartbeat.  Would I eat an entire mini?  Half would be more than plenty.  A nice treat with fresh fruit.

The Next Assignment 

• Civet de Lapin à la Française (Rabbit Stew with Red Wine) pages 452-453 (Post Wednesday, June 17, 2009)
• Soufflé au Comté (Cheese Soufflé) pages 82-83 {discussion of soufflés} (Post Wednesday, June 24, 2009)
• Bavarois à la Vanille, Coulis de Framboise (Vanilla Bavarian Cream with Raspberry Coulis) pages 40-41 (Post Wednesday, July 1, 2009)