Chef Thomas Keller’s “Puck Cake”
Yield: 24
Chocolate Cups
You’ll need 24 silicone muffin cups and 2 lbs tempered dark chocolate. NOTE: Bouchon Bakery used a specific mold for their chocolate pucks that is not readily available for the home cook. We suggest the below as a perfect solution that is easily accessible and achievable for someone looking to execute the product in a home setting
Place muffin cups in a muffin pan to provide extra stability.
Spoon 2 tablespoons of tempered chocolate into each cup. Using a pastry brush, brush the chocolate up the sides of the cup to make a shell that is approximately 1/8 inch thick. Allow cups to fully solidify in a cool dry place. Reserve and maintain remaining tempered chocolate until cups are filled with marshmallow and cookie.
Shortbread
- 90 g / 3.15 oz Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)
- 45 g / ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 g / ¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 3 g / ½ teaspoon Vanilla Paste
- 135 g / 1 cup All Purpose Flour
Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat oven to 325F. (Convection or Standard)
Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachement. Turn medium-low speed and cream until smooth. Add the 90 grams / ½ cup cugar and the salt and mix on medium-low speed for about 2 minutes, until fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the vanilla paste and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds to distribute it evenly.
Add the flour in 2 additions, mixing on low speed for 15 to 30 seconds after each, or until just combined. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate any flour that may have settled there.
Mound the dough on the work surface and, using the heel of your hand or a pastry scraper, push it together into a 5-inch-square block. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until firm. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.)
Line two sheet pans with Silpats or parchment paper.
Unwrap the dough and place it between two pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap. With a rolling pin, pound the top of the dough, working from left to right, to begin to flatten it, then turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat. (This will help prevent the dough from cracking as it is rolled.)
Roll out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8 – ¼ inch thick. Using a 2.5” round cookie cutter, cut out cookies and place them on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Using a fork, dock a few holes into the shortbread disc. This will help prevent bubbles from forming in the cookie, creating a flat cookie.
Bake for 15 minutes then turn the baking sheet around and continue baking for 10 minutes until the shortbread is light golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave on the baking sheet to cool.
Marshmallow
- 116 g / 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 128 g / 1 cup Cornstarch
- 19.2 g / 8 sheets Silver Leaf Gelatin
- 174 g / 3/4 cup Egg Whites
- ½ each Vanilla Bean, split lengthwise
- 550 g / 2 ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- 224 g / 3/4 cup Water
- 100 g / 5 tablespoons Light Corn Syrup
Place the gelatin in a bowl of ice water to soften.
Remove the gelatin from the water and squeeze out excess water. Place the gelatin in a small metal bowl set over a small pot of simmering water and melt it (do not let it simmer), then reduce the heat and keep it warm.
Meanwhile, place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add the seeds to the egg whites.
Combine the granulated sugar, water, and corn syrup in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then simmer for about 5 minutes, until the syrup reaches 250F.
Letting the syrup continue to cook, turn the mixer to medium speed. The goal is to have the whites at medium peaks when the syrup reaches 281-284F. Should the whites reach stiff peaks before the syrup reaches the proper temperature, reduce the mixer speed to the lowest setting.
When the syrup reaches 281-284F, remove it from the heat. Turn mixer to medium speed and slowly add the syrup to the egg whites, pouring it between the side of the bowl and the whisk. Pour in the gelatin, increase the speed to medium-high, and mix for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is thickened, glossy and warm, but not hot.
Puck Cake Assembly
Using a pastry bag, pipe marshmallow into the cups, filling each approximately 2/3 of the way full. Place the shortbread disc on top of the marshmallow to create a flat surface. (Note: there should be approximately 1/8 of an inch of space left in the cup.) Allow the marshmallow to rest and get firm in the cup for a minimum of 1 hour. Once the marshmallow has firmed, spoon approximately 1 tablespoon of tempered chocolate into the cup and spread it to the edges so it seals the filling inside and the surface is flat. Depending on how full the cup is with the marshmallow and the cookie will determine if you need slightly less or more than 1 tablespoon of tempered chocolate to achieve a flat, smooth surface.
Allow the cups to rest a minimum of 1 hour in a cool, dry place before unmolding.
Unmold cups and serve. If not serving the same day, store in a cool, dry place in an air-tight container, where the Puck Cakes will maintain their integrity for up to 1 week.
ABOUT BOUCHON BAKERY
Since 2003, Bouchon Bakery has been Thomas Keller’s unique take on a French boulangerie, offering sandwiches, quiche, soups and salads, as well as a wide range of artisanal viennoiserie, confections, pastries, tarts and cookies both French and American in influence. The Bouchon Bakery cookbook, coauthored by Chef Keller and Sebastien Rouxel, Executive Pastry Chef, for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, was on The New York Times Best Sellers List for nearly two months after its release in 2012.
Now with seven locations across the U.S. in Napa Valley, Beverly Hills, Las Vegas and New York, Bouchon Bakery showcases specialty items such as custom cakes, wedding cakes and favors, as well as various seasonal and holiday offerings available for special order. For more information about Bouchon Bakery, visit www.bouchonbakery.com.
