tangerine gingerbread coconut black sesame

Gingerbread– a western invention inspired by eastern spices– makes perfect sense when paired with other asian flavors: coconut, tangerine, and black sesame. Although lemon verbena is not widely used in the east, its exotic flavor fits in with the aromatic cuisines of Southeast Asia and provides this dish with a lilting high note. 

An interesting synergy developed with the tangerine component. It had started out as a whipped gelatin where sweetened juice was blended with 3% gelatin. Upon whipping, it felt thin. In an attempt to raise the viscosity, I decided against xanthan and opted for methocel. In the initial test, 0.5% of methocel F50 showed a marked improvement in texture. In a subsequent test, increasing the amount to 1% resulted in a dense foam with a rich mouthfeel reminiscent of a fruit curd…definitely something to play with.