Chef Carlos Gonzalez

Chef Carlos' original recipe for Aztec Chocolate Cloud Cake with Chocolate Glaze, over Jalapeno Crème Anglaise with Pomegranate Coulis, accompanied by Churros coated in Vanilla/Orange Sugar, took top honors at a Chef's Competition on Feb. 25, 2007. The competition was held in conjunction with the International Flight Services Association's Global Leadership Conference - Latin America & The Caribbean, in San Jose, Costa Rica. 

Chef Carlos designed the recipe to pay homage to his Mexican heritage and to use a combination of Latin/Caribbean ingredients that were familiar to a broad audience, and at the same time introduce flavor combinations that would provide a customer with something unique. 

In addition, he plated and presented the dessert in exactly the same way that it would be served on an airline. "It won’t collapse or be too hard for a flight attendant to recreate," he said.  "Given all of the responsibilities of today's cabin crew, it's important to us in the inflight catering industry to board menu items that are flavorful and appealing to passengers but that don’t involve too many steps for flight attendants to recreate the final dish."

Sharing the "secret ingredients" here, Chef Carlos here encourages you to "combine the recipes as you desire and indulge in the flavors!"

Aztec Chocolate Cloud Cake

Ingredients

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and position rack in the center.

2. Pour 1/2 -inch water into a large roasting pan and place in oven. Butter the bottom and sides of a 2-inch round muffin tins. Flour the tin on all sides and shake off excess flour.

3. Put 1 cup of sugar and the milk in a medium saucepan over a high heat. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Remove from the heat add the chocolate and return to low heat. Keep stirring over heat until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder and salt until smooth. Add brandy. Whisk in the egg yolks until no trace of yolk is left. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Whisk the flour into the chocolate mixture.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the 6 egg whites with the cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and beat on high until peaks are almost stiff.

5. Stir about 1/4 of the egg whites into chocolate mixture (no need to fold at this point). Then gently fold in the remaining whites, 1/3 at a time, until no streaks of white remain. Add hazelnuts and fold in the batter. Pour into tins about three-fourths up the side. Bake in water bath for 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Place cake on wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Remove from tins and chill for at least 2 hours before glazing.

6. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and place it on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Pour the chocolate glaze over the cake, covering it completely; spread evenly with a metal spatula. Serve the cake immediately or refrigerate. Bring the cake to room temperature before serving.

Chocolate Glaze

Preparation

1. Put chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a gentle boil. Whisk in the honey. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and let the mixture stand for 30 seconds to melt the chocolate. Whisk the mixture until smooth. Whisk in powder until smooth. Cover the surface of the glaze with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 10 minutes.
   
   Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Jalapeno Crème Anglaise

Preparation

1. Prepare a large bowl of ice water.

2. In a heavy saucepan, add milk, vanilla beans, and jalapeno and bring to a simmer on medium heat. In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs and sugar together. When the milk reaches a simmer, whisk in 1 cup of the hot milk to the egg mixture. Whisk this mix back to the hot milk, reduce heat to low and constantly stir with a wooden spoon.

3. When mixture thickens enough to coat the back the wooden spoon and a line drawn with your finger holds it shape (about 12 to 15 minutes), immediately strain through a chinoise (fine sieve) into another bowl (a little smaller than the ice bath bowl) and place in ice bath. Stir occasionally to cool down. If there are any vanilla beans left on the pods, scrape into the anglaise. Stir to incorporate and chill sauce until ready to use.

Pomegranate Coulis

Preparation

1. Combine the sugar and water in a medium heavy pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Add the pomegranate seeds and cook, stirring occasionally, until the syrup thickens and reduces by 3/4 in volume, about 5 minutes.

2. Transfer to a blender or food processor, and puree on high speed. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, pressing down with a rubber spatula to extract as much juice as possible. If too thick, add water a teaspoon at a time to reach the desired consistency.

3. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. (The coulis can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.)

Vanilla/Orange Sugar

Preparation

1. Combine ingredients in an airtight container and seal for 3-4 hours.

Churros

Preparation

1. Preheat fryer to 350 degrees.

2. Place flour in a bowl. In a pot bring water to a boil and then add to flour.

3. With a wooden spoon mix well until a pasty dough forms (something like a pate choux).

4. Place dough into a pastry bag with a ¼ inch star tip and pipe out 3 inch long strands straight into the frying oil. Turn churro over in oil to cook all sides. Remove from oil and place on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.  Toss churro in sugar and shake off excess sugar.