COTTON CANDY 3 WAYS
Serves 6
Almost everybody has a childhood memory of eating cotton candy at a carnival or amusement park. Cotton candy is a deceptively simple dish: It takes as little as a teaspoon of sugar to create a massive cloud of candy. Here, we take that simple sweet and add a little more complexity to it.
We start with cotton candy, melted and spun into a sorbet that forms the shell for a white chocolate truffle with a liquid center. Then filo dough is shredded, fried, and flavored with cotton candy to create “fried cotton candy,” the ultimate carnival food. Finally, the cotton candy is represented in its 2-D form, with a piece of edible cotton candy paper. It’s delicious and fun to eat, a dessert to bring out the kid in us all.
COTTON CANDY SORBET:
60 grams sugar
400 grams boiling water
3 grams salt
COTTON CANDY TRUFFLE:
300 grams white chocolate, chopped
50 grams cocoa butter
Frozen Cotton Candy Sorbet scoops
30 grams sprinkles
COTTON CANDY PAPER:
12 grams sugar
DEEP-FRIED COTTON CANDY:
60 grams sugar
50 grams shredded filo dough
1700 grams (2 quarts) canola oil for frying
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
Cotton candy machine
Pacojet (see Sources, here) or ice cream maker
5-mm melon baller
Dipping fork or other chocolate dipping tool
Edible rice paper for printing (see Sources, here)
Printer and ink for edible printing (see Sources, here)
Handheld steamer (optional)
COTTON CANDY SORBET:
Put 10 grams of sugar at a time inside a cotton candy machine, run a cycle, and collect the cotton candy. Repeat 5 more times to use up all the sugar, and reserve the cotton candy.
Put 400 grams of boiling water in a heatproof mixing bowl. Add the cotton candy and salt to the bowl and mix with a whisk until the cotton candy dissolves. Pour the sorbet base into a Pacojet canister. Freeze overnight. The next day, run a full cycle in the Pacojet. Alternatively, chill the sorbet base and then freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Allow the sorbet to harden in the freezer for 2 to 3 hours, or until scoopable.
At least 1 hour before scooping, chill a sheet pan in the freezer. Use a 5-mm melon baller to scoop out spheres of sorbet and place on the frozen sheet pan; you will need at least 6, but it’s a good idea to do a few extra for tasting. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and store the scooped sorbet in the freezer until completely firm and ready to coat, at least 2 hours.
COTTON CANDY TRUFFLE:
Put 3 inches of water in a medium saucepot and set over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Put the white chocolate and cocoa butter in a stainless-steel mixing bowl. Set the mixing bowl on top of the simmering saucepot to create a double boiler. Stirring constantly, melt the chocolate and, once melted, remove from the heat.
Line a sheet pan with a silicone mat. Remove the frozen Cotton Candy Sorbet scoops from the freezer and use a dipping fork to dip the sorbet in the chocolate coating. Once coated, lift them out of the bowl, making sure the truffles are uniformly coated, with no drips or cracks. Place on the prepared sheet pan and sprinkle 5 grams of sprinkles on top of each coated truffle. Repeat until you have coated all of the sorbet scoops. Place the tray in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to let the sorbet melt inside the chocolate shell.
COTTON CANDY PAPER:
Print off 6 pictures of cotton candy on edible paper. Spin the sugar into cotton candy in a cotton candy machine. Lay out a piece of parchment paper and place the cotton candy picture face down on top of the parchment. Steam the paper with a handheld steamer or brush the back of the paper lightly with boiling water to soften the top layer and make it sticky. Lay the cotton candy on top of the paper and use a handheld steamer to melt the cotton candy onto the paper. Put another sheet of parchment on top of the candy-coated paper and set a cutting board on top of the parchment to press the paper. Once the paper is dry (after 20 to 30 minutes), use a paper cutter or sharp scissors to cut out the pictures into individual bites.
DEEP-FRIED COTTON CANDY:
Preheat a deep fat fryer or pot of oil on the stove to 300°F.
Put 10 grams of sugar at a time inside a cotton candy machine, run a cycle, and collect the cotton candy. Repeat 5 more times, or until you have used up all the sugar, and reserve the cotton candy.
Place a wire rack on a sheet pan. Mound 10 grams of shredded filo dough together in the bowl of a slotted spoon and gently lower it into the fryer, so that the filo stays together, and fry it into a small nest for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Repeat 5 times for a total of 6 nests. Once fried, transfer the filo to the prepared cooling rack. Put 10 grams of cotton candy on top of each fried filo nest and use a heat gun or hairdryer to melt the cotton candy into the fried shredded filo dough. Let cool and reserve in an airtight container until ready to plate.
TO FINISH:
Place the Cotton Candy Truffle in one corner of each plate. Place the edible cotton candy picture next to the truffle. Finally, place the fried cotton candy nest next to the edible picture to create a progression of cotton candy forms. Serve immediately.
