Photo Provided
Heart-shaped entremets are a classic French dessert with a Valentine twist that Olivier Thiry, patissier for Good Mansion Wines, produces for the holiday. The four-layered confections — which include a thin layer of brownie, raspberry puree, mousse and a bright red glaze — are available in limited quantity.
WHEELING — The interview begins with an extended discussion of whether Olivier Thiry is a pastry chef.
That’s a definite “non” in his native France, he says, where the term is regulated by law. In Wheeling, where the maker of all things dessert for Good Mansion Wines has lived and worked since 2015, customers would more likely respond with an “oh, yeah” muttered around a mouthful of food.
In spite of the fact we are speaking on the phone — the weather is abysmal — I suspect we have each shrugged as we settle on the term patissier. This bodes well as Thiry — a recently minted American citizen who prefers his kitchen to the media spotlight — is somewhat reluctantly on board.
No photos of him at work, merci beaucoup. But, he agrees to interpret what makes the red-glazed Valentine hearts he brings to area tables French. And, to guide this very American home cook — whose French ancestors (in a stroke of good or bad timing, depending on how one views it) arrived in the U.S. in 1775 — toward something similarly if less complicatedly tres bon.
AT THE MANSION
“I’m fully dedicated to desserts. It takes a lot of time — six to seven days a week,” says Thiry, who is married to engineer Dominick Cerrone, the food entrepreneur who launched the store and prepares savory Italian delicacies for the East Wheeling shop.
“I think I would say that I’m addicted to sugar,” Thiry continues. “It makes it exciting to make desserts. In general, what I like is the challenge of making something more elaborate, like the hearts.”
The hearts in question — four-layer confections of brownie, raspberry puree, mousse and a bright red glaze — are his addition to the shop’s Valentine menu. (Holiday fare will also include macarons and chocolates from Thierry Atlan Confectionary on the French side and Cerrone’s take-home lasagna dinners on the Italian side.)
Such entremets, Thiry explains, are a classic, somewhat cake-like French dessert any time of year. His Valentine version reflects that nation’s holiday preference for treats that are red and feature berries.
“There’s always a little adjustment,” Thiry says of matching production to a holiday or gearing it up or down in volume or toward an American palate. He explains that French desserts are generally less sweet than American ones. Some customers like this. But, he always tests recipes on staff to make sure the sugar level is Wheeling good.
“I would see times that they were not sweet enough,” he says of the taste tests. “It’s always rewarding when you find something that works the way you want it to.”
And, the Valentine entremets’ popularity suggests they are among those things. They are in demand to the point Thiry allows a maximum of four hearts per household so that more customers have a chance to enjoy them.
“We’re a small bakery and I work by myself,” he says. “I’m not going to make 500.”
But, he notes that readers who cannot secure one of his desserts but would like some homemade joie de vivre in their Valentine celebration have another option. Truffles – the sweet kind, not the fungi.
Also French, these decadent combinations of cream and chocolate (and, perhaps, a bit of berry puree as a nod to Valentine’s Day) are within reach for many home cooks, he says. “There are recipes all over the internet,” Thiry encourages, going on to add some general directives.
BRINGING IT HOME
I tend toward savory, rustic food — but my interview with Thiry is inspirational.
I am particularly intrigued with the idea of making my own truffles as a couple of members of my family are dairy free and coconut milk is a viable substitution for traditional heavy cream.
After selecting a recipe from a “plant forward” site called minimalistbaker.com, I set about making it more French in a Valentine kind of way by incorporating Thiry’s advice.
I begin by weighing out then finely chopping 9 ounces of dark chocolate (dairy free) and setting this aside in a medium-sized bowl. I do this by hand, with a chef’s knife.
This is mostly because I prefer being slow and quiet in my home kitchen. I also enjoy thinking it’s what my French ancestors would have done.
This is before I realize they would have been long Americanized when chocolate first took solid form and when one or more pastry chefs there developed truffles — both of which occurred in the mid 1800s. I shrug and get back to work.
In a small pan, I heat 6 Tablespoons of canned, full-fat coconut milk and 1 Tablespoon of smooth and seedless strawberry jam (Thiry’s suggestion for holiday authenticity) to the point at which tiny bubbles begin to appear. Before a rolling boil can commence, I quickly pour the coconut milk over the mound of chocolate pieces and put a lid over the bowl to trap the heat.
(Thiry combines the two more slowly, but I’m afraid to diverge from the recipe as I’m subbing in coconut cream and he was speaking of dairy.)
It works. After five minutes, I add ½ teaspoon vanilla and gently stir until the mix is smooth and shiny. I cover the resulting ganache with a thick towel (Thiry uses cling wrap) and let it cool on the counter just until a knife inserted into the mix comes out clean.
(The counter cooling is slower, but Thiry said refrigerator-cooled ganache tends to get grainy.)
About two hours later, the ganache is ready. Using a measuring Tablespoon, I scoop up the mix, shape it into balls with my hands and then dredge each through unsweetened cocoa powder.
Voila! A dozen truffles are looking surprisingly good.
And — merci, Monsieur Thiry and minimalistbaker.com — they are tasting très bon for the most part. A hint of berry, a big and silky dose of dark chocolate, a bit too much cocoa powder. (The truffles are dusted to the point that members of my own sampling crew are coughing a bit between bites.)
Not as good as Thiry’s work, clearly, but better than some truffles I’ve purchased in tiny, expensive boxes. It could be his advice. Another shrug. It could be in the genes.
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Dining and Cooking