The Expert: Talita Setyady on Dessert
Last year, Talita Setyady travelled 18,000km from New Zealand to study the art of French patisserie at the Cordon Bleu institute in Paris – in June, she gained a Grand Diplome, ranking first. She’s documented her beautiful exploration of delicate sweet treats on her website, and when she offered to create an exclusive dessert for the Simon James Wedding Journal, we couldn’t say no – particularly after seeing the dessert she created in homage to her favourite Tom Ford lipstick shade.
Inspired by one of our favourite products, the Curio Noir Vetyver Bouquet Glass candle, Talita created a dessert that includes some of the fragrance notes found in the candle – orange flower and jasmine.
As Talita explains, she “incorporated orange flower water lightly into the chiboust cream which has a meringue-like melt-in-your-mouth quality. I chose to make a rich “crème brulée” by infusing jasmine tea with the cream. The two main components are separated by the subtle nuances of the caramelized pear center. I glazed the cake with an apricot and vanilla glaze which is totally out of this world good,” she says.
“It was probably my weekend’s proudest moment to figure out that recipe. The cake is placed on a square of almond and cinnamon streusel for crumbliness and textural contrast. I topped the cake with a caramel-dipped hazelnut. The reason being because to me, not only does it resemble a burning flame of a candle, it also brings the “glass” element into the dessert. The cake is finished with rose petals for a romantic wedding feel,” she adds.
For more on Talita’s beautiful creations, visit her website here. You’ll also find the recipe for the Curio Noir inspired cake.
