Noliette: Gateau Marjolaine

This week's visiting shop at Isetan is P. Noliette, which I haven't posted on. I could not resist the Gateau Marjolaine for 518 yen. It was better than mine, I'll tentative say, so it must be excellent. Certainly, the cake was softer, although you can make Marjolaine with sponge rather than a Japonaise, like my recipe (which I should mention I really do need 180 deg C rather than 170 to get the middle properly caramelized), and I have to wonder whether this is buttercream filling rather than creme chantilly. Still, I'm somewhat inspired to try again soon. At the very least I'm inspired to get back to Isetan while Noliette is there and get their Opéra Révision, which is a pistachio opera.

My own cooking was to make a biscuit noisette, even without "bubble emulsifier" and without an oven that can be set for 225 deg C on top and 165 deg C on bottom (and fits a 40 x 60 cm pan). It worked, but I didn't spread the better thin enough in the pan (it needs to be pretty thin, like just a few millimeters). Tomorrow I plan to try making, I think, "creme brulée au praliné" (the recipe puts an extra "au" in there, "creme au") despite not having a candy thermometer to figure out whether the syrup is at 121 deg.