The Architecture Of Pastry

Imagine a dessert that has sleek lines and innovative design ideas.It's happening around the world  and especiacally in New York, thanks to former architects now becoming pastry chefs. They are creating mind bending and thought provoking afters using the simple elements of baking. Yet their creations are far from simple.

It was the topic of an article in today's New York Times Food section. Written by Priya Krishna, the author of  Ultimate Dining Hall Hacks, a cookbook that relies on college dining hall ingredients.interviewed several pastry chefs, who started out with blue prints instead of blueberries. The idea of applying architectural ideas to pastry is nothing new. Over two hundred years ago, in 1805  renowned  French chef, the famed Marie-Antoine Careme wrote  "Le patissier Royal" a treatise that codified how architectural principles like drawing and planning could be applied in pastry making. chefs have long played and experimented with the structural possibilities of sugar, egg whites, flour and other ingredients.Now pastry teachers are also using those ideas to teach . At the International Culinary Center in New York and Los Angeles the second half of the school's six month pastry course has incorporated lessons on sketching, making timelines and project planning. There's also a chapter they have to study about elements of design. Thy learn about architectural principles such as dynamism and scale in relation to desserts.

The designs are incredible. Ukranian born pastry chef,, Dinara Kasko has created a cake that looks like two layers of cherries along with one that has three D chocolate sculpture floating atop a tart. Baruch Elsworth 's signature dessert has a large chocolate spiral sitting on what looks like light chocolate ganache spikes.In the hands of a architect come pastry chef, a lime tart becomes a tube as in pastry chef's Jennifer Yee's case. It's the shape of a bone and it's filled with a tangy lime curd. Toasted meringue is piped around it , not just for more texture and flavor but to anchor the tart in place. Pomegranate seeds are then scattered around it for color and bite. However not everyone is impressed. Stella Parks, a senior editor at Serious Eats and creator of Bravetart feels that the culinary element may be forgotten. She compares them to a trip to a  modern art museum.it's fine there but ot at home. People would rather have a memorable slice of cake or cookie.Agatha Kulaga, a self taught baker  and found of Ovenly, a Manhattan bakery has stated thus. Also diners are more willing to eat something that reminds them of their usual dessert as opposed to a puff of this or a tube of honeyed that.

Floating layers of pastry? Squares of cake that look like cherries. Is it art ?Or just dessert. Thar's up to the eater to decide