The Art of the Confectioner

A showpiece created entirely from sugar is truly a work of art, and it takes an eye for design and strong pastry skills to work with this delicate medium. The Art of the Confectioner is the ultimate guide to working with sugar to create beautiful sugar and pastillage shapes, flowers, figurines, and breathtaking full-scale showpieces. Author and award-winning pastry chef Ewald Notter shares wisdom gained from more than 35 years in the pastry kitchen, and combines straightforward advice and step-by-step instructions with lessons on developing artistry and design skills.

The book begins with a basic overview of sugar, including information on the equipment and ingredients needed to work with sugar and Isomalt. Subsequent chapters cover Pastillage, Sugar Casting, Sugar Pulling, Sugar Blowing, and New Trends in Sugarwork, and include detailed instructions on how to make everything from delicate flowers to whimsical blown sugar figurines. And the final chapter shows how readers can bring together all the skills learned throughout the book to create award-winning sugar and pastillage showpieces. From working with shapes and color and choosing a focus point to developing a sculpture based on a particular theme, Notter provides insights into all the tricks of the trade and expert advice on preparing for competitions.

Throughout the book, techniques are explained with simple, step-by-step instructions and illustrated with clear how-to photos, while stunning showpiece beauty shots provide inspiration. The book includes hundreds of color photos as well as beautiful hand-painted watercolor illustrations by the author, and an Appendix of templates is provided to help readers replicate the showpieces shown throughout the book. For pastry students, aspiring confectioners, and professional pastry chefs looking to improve their skills for restaurant work or competition, The Art of the Confectioner is a must-have guide from one of the field's most well-known experts.

5 Acknowledgments

8 Preface

10 Chapter 1 Introduction

30 Chapter 2 Pastillage

72 Chapter 3 Sugar Casting

104 Chapter 4 Sugar Pulling

152 Chapter 5 Sugar Blowing

242 Chapter 6 New Trends

284 Chapter 7 Competition

314 Appendix: Templates

362 Index

"For anyone who is considering venturing in to the world of sugar work, this is the book for you! You're sure to learn a lot from this book." (cake-talk.co.uk, September 2012)

Ewald Notter is the founder and owner of the Notter School of Pastry Arts in Orlando, Florida. Renowned as a master of sugar and chocolate work, he was the first pastry professional inducted into the Pastry Art and Design Hall of Fame. He has won numerous awards, including National and World Pastry Team Champion and Pastry Chef of the Year. In 2001, he won the gold medal with the U.S. Team at the Coupe du Monde de la Pátisserie in Lyon, France, with the highest score ever recorded in sugarwork. He has taught at pastry schools around the world and served as a pastry advisor to the American Culinary Federation's Culinary Team USA.

The Art Of The Confectioner

Creating complex and beautiful sugarwork showpieces, whether for display or competition, requires a wide range of pastry skills in addition to creativity and artistic vision. Among the best practitioners of this art in the world, famed pastry chef Ewald Notter explains those techniques and skills in The Art of the Confectioner.

Though edible showpieces and displays have graced the tables of banquet halls and the lobbies of high-end restaurants, hotels, and country clubs for more than a century, the last several years have seen a revolution in this most complex form of the confectioner's art. Since the development of isomalt as an ingredient, confectioners can now create sugar that is as clear as glass and ideal for more delicate and complex designs. In The Art of the Confectioner, Notter presents a gorgeously illustrated guide that covers the full range of pastry and confectionery skills needed to create fantastic and imaginative showpieces. Chapters include:

Introduction to Sugarwork and Pastillage. The history of sugar; working with sugar, isomalt, and pastillage; and the essential tools, equipment, and ingredients for the pastry kitchen.

Pastillage. Recipes and techniques for rolling, cutting, and drying pastillage and for creating textures, modeled shapes, flowers, and much more.

Sugar Casting. Casting techniques for sugar and isomalt, including casting into clay, metal bars, and silicone molds; creating your own custom molds; and assembling cast sugar pieces.

Sugar Pulling. Basic sugar pulling techniques and step-by-step instructions for pulling flowers, ribbons, bows, and even a woven sugar basket.

Sugar Blowing. Blowing basic spheres as well as fanciful shapes and figures, from fruits, birds, and animals to elegant human figurines.

New Trends. Exciting new techniques for working with sugar and isomalt, including ice casting, rock sugar, saturated sugar, clear pulling and blowing, and a simpler, cleaner technique for spun sugar.

Competition. With expert advice on preparing for competition, including detailed information on using color, shapes, and proportion; researching a theme; and the processes of design and assembly, this section shows how you can use all the skills from previous chapters to create your own stunning full-scale showpieces.

Whether you're a pastry student, an aspiring confectioner, or a professional pastry chef who wants to improve your skills for restaurant work or competition, The Art of the Confectioner is a must-have guide from one of the field's most respected figures.

"In this exceptional book, sugar master Ewald Notter shares hissecrets for a vast array of techniques, from pastillage and pulled sugar to advanced showpiece construction. The beauty of this book liesin its detail—Notter's instructions are finely tuned, and the book has hundreds of color photos clearly illustrating every technique. The Art of the Confectioner is a must-have for anyone seeking to hone their sugar skills or learn more about the fine art of sugarwork."
—Tish Boyle, Editor of Dessert Professional

"Here is another masterpiece from Ewald Notter. I have always been inspired by Ewald's sugar creations, and I know this book will inspire tomorrow's talent as well. The Art of the Confectioner conveys Ewald's passion, knowledge, and love for the craft of sugarwork, and well represents one of the most beautiful arts in the culinary industry."
—Laurent Branlard, Executive Pastry Chef for the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort

"Whether you are dreaming of your first sugarwork moment or are a seasoned professional, The Art of the Confectioner is indispensable. We all want to take our sugarwork to the next level, and with its integrated recipes and flawless technical methods, this book shows us how. Ewald Notter is the best in the business, and this truly beautiful and completely inspiring work renders all previous sugarwork books obsolete!"
—Keegan Gerhard, Owner and Executive Pastry Chef of D Bar Desserts