Linzer Tart Cookie Idea - Need Feedback

Matt_118984

I love Linzer tart cookies, and am planning to make them for the holidays.

Inspired by the look and concept of the ChefSteps Blini, I decided I'd like to try making a fruit juice fluid gel for the Linzer tart filling instead of using jam.

FYI, this will be my first attempt at a fluid gel. Here's my recipe idea, based on what I've learned from the ChefSteps fluid gel class and other fluid gel recipes.

600 g fruit juice (like Ocean Spray 100% Cran-Raspberry)

200 g fresh raspberries

8 g Kelcogel F

3 g sodium citrate

Steps:

1. Blend the fruit juice and raspberries

2. Dry mix the Kelcogel F and sodium citrate

3. While blending the fruit juice/raspberry mix, slowly add the Kelcogel F/sodium citrate mix to disperse

4. Transfer the contents of the blender to a pot and heat to about 200F to hydrate

5. Cool the heated mixture to gel

6. Shear the gel in the blender

7. Pipe or spread onto the Linzer tart cookies

What do you think? Will this work? Proportions right? Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Matt_118984

Gave this recipe a shot last night, and it worked.

Not sure that the sodium citrate is necessary, but it didn't hurt.

This was my first attempt at a fluid gel. Not sure if these things are obvious to other folks, but they weren't to me, so here are my observations:

- The final texture/viscosity is like a very smooth apple sauce that "melts" into a liquid in your mouth. Unfortunately, the texture is not right for a Linzer tart. I'll have to figure out another use for the gel.

- There is absolutely no stringy-ness or stickiness.

- The gel seems to be completely heat stable. I put some in a metal spoon and blasted it with a blowtorch to see what would happen. It bubbled a bit and the sugar started to burn, but it didn't break, melt, etc. I also put it in the fridge overnight, and it was just as "spreadable" this morning, with no syneresis.

- The gel is also structurally stable. It holds whatever shape you give it.

- As indicated in the ChefSteps class, I did have a hard time getting the gel chunks to vortex in the blender. I ended up switching to an immersion blender, and that worked.

- Unlike the ChefSteps video, my gel was not at all glossy. Maybe that was the air that I didn't remove, maybe it was the fresh raspberries - I'm not sure.

Hope this info helps other folks thinking about giving this a shot.