Savarin

Ingredients

• For the savarin dough
• 250 g Type 55 flour
• 125 g whole eggs, beaten (50% of flour weight)
• 65 g unsalted butter, softened, cut into small pieces (25–30% of flour weight)
• 15 g caster sugar, (5–8% of flour weight)
• 4 g fine salt, (1.5% of flour weight)
• 11 g fresh yeast, crumbled (4–5% of flour weight)
• For the mould
• 20 g unsalted butter, softened, for greasing
• 10 g plain flour, for dusting
• For the soaking syrup
• 500 g caster sugar, 30° Baumé: approximately 1:1 sugar to water by weight
• 500 ml water
• 60 ml Grand Marnier, kirsch, or rum, optional flavouring
• For the apricot nappage
• 150 g apricot jam, strained
• 30 ml soaking syrup, to thin the jam
• For the Chantilly cream
• 250 ml double cream, cold, whipped to soft peaks
• 20 g icing sugar, sifted
• To finish
• 200 g seasonal fresh fruit, prepared and sliced as appropriate

Method

1. 1
   Butter a large savarin ring mould thoroughly, then dust with flour and tap out the excess. Set aside.
2. 2
   Place the flour, beaten eggs, and crumbled fresh yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Beat on second speed for 8–10 minutes. The dough is ready when it is extremely elastic and smooth, and slaps audibly against the sides of the bowl.
3. 3
   This is where the savarin lives or dies. Reduce to first speed. Add the softened butter in small pieces, incorporating each addition fully before adding the next — no piece of butter should be visible before the next is introduced. Continue until all butter is absorbed and the finished dough is soft, glossy, and sticky, halfway between a batter and a dough.
4. 4
   Add the sugar and salt; mix briefly on first speed until evenly combined. Pipe or spoon the dough into the prepared mould, filling it exactly one-third full. The dough should sit level and uniform around the ring.
5. 5
   Proof at 27°C for 45–60 minutes. The savarin is ready to bake when the dough has risen precisely to the rim of the mould — no further.
6. 6
   Bake at 190–200°C for 18–22 minutes. The savarin is done when it is evenly golden and a skewer inserted into the thickest part comes out clean.
7. 7
   Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly in the mould, then turn out onto a wire rack. Meanwhile, dissolve the sugar in the water over heat to produce a 30° Baumé syrup; maintain at 60°C. Add any chosen spirit. Submerge the slightly cooled savarin in the warm syrup, turning it occasionally, for 10–15 minutes. The saturation is complete when, on pressing the surface gently with a finger, syrup weeps from the surface and is drawn back in when pressure is released.
8. 8
   Lift the soaked savarin onto a wire rack set over a tray to drain. Warm the strained apricot jam with a little syrup until fluid and smooth; brush over the entire surface of the savarin while both are still warm. The glaze should appear sheer and glossy, not opaque.
9. 9
   Whip the cold double cream with the icing sugar to soft, billowing peaks. Transfer to a piping bag and fill the centre of the ring generously. Arrange the prepared seasonal fruit over and around the cream. Serve immediately: the contrast between the syrup-saturated cake, the cool cream, and the bright fruit is the essence of the dish.