Top Chef: Just Desserts, Season 1, Episode 10, Quickfire Challenge, Winner

Coconut Tapioca Soup:

• 1/4 cup tapioca pearls
• 500 grams cold water
• 600 grams milk
• 110 grams sugar
• 20 grams ginger
• Kaffir lime leaf
• 1/2 stalk lemongrass
• 400 grams coconut milk

Coconut Foam:

• 319 grams Boirion coconut puree
• 129 grams milk
• 18 grams sugar
• 29 grams cream
• 2 ea gelatin
• 1/2 ea vanilla beans
• 1 ea lime zest

Pineapple Chips:

• 1 pineapple
• 200 grams 10x sugar

Coconut Tapioca Soup:

1. Soak the tapioca in the cold water over night.

2. Heat the coconut milk, stir to emulsify the fat, and put aside

3. Make an infusion with the milk, lemongrass, ginger, Kaffir lime leaves. Strain and bring back to original milk amount, and combine with the sugar. When mixture is at 50C add the tapioca pearls and cook on low heat until the pearls are translucent, and the mixture thickens. (don’t over cook the pearls)

4. Off the heat mix in the warm coconut milk, and cover with plastic on top and chill. When cold place into the shooter glasses ¾ way full.

Coconut Foam:

1. Bloom the gelatin in ice water, then drain, set aside

2. Bring the milk, cream coconut puree, and sugar to a boil in a pot with the vanilla bean, infuse covered for 20 minutes. Then dissolve the gelatin into this mixture, strain and cool to about 20C. Zest in the lime, then put 500 g of the mixture into a 1L Issy bottle and charge with 2 chargers. Chill in the fridge at least 1 hour before use.

Pineapple Chips:

1. Heat oven to 150F.

2. Slice Pineapples on a slicer very thin and translucent

3. Spray a silpat lightly, then place the pineapple rounds, pat with paper towel to absorb excess moisture, and sift 10x sugar over them just until they can absorb it. Cover with another silpat on top and bake until they “steam” in between them for about 20 minutes. Remove the top silpat, and keep baking at a low temp until they are dry and crispy when dried.

4. CAUTION: If you cut the fruit too thick, or put too much 10x on them, they will be chewy.

Assembly:

1. For plating take 3-4 pieces of the pineapple and keep covered in a low oven so they are warm on the plate

2. Take out the cake/chibouste combo, top with 10x, caramelize with a torch, and top with 10x for contrast.

3. Place the shooter glass with the coconut soup on the right.

4. Last second, place the warm pineapple slices next to the chibouste, then squeeze a little lime juice over it for acid. Top the soup with the coconut foam.