Thanks to a 35-year pastry career, time teaching at Harvard, and many awards, including the "Best Chocolate Book in the World," Pastry Chef Ramon Morató is uniquely qualified to bring pastry science into your kitchen.
The Global Innovation Leader and Creative Director of Cacao Barry generously unfolds his knowledge of pastry ingredients, reactions, and reimagined techniques.
Expect a smorgasbord of information from theory to practice: chocolate, sponges, sable, gels, jams, cremeux, meringues, ganaches, crumbles, mousse, glazes, and decorations - you'll find it all in this class! Chef Morató has extraordinary knowledge, the biggest heart, and a genuine love of sharing.
Lesson 1: Welcome to Class! Meet Your Instructor
Creative Director of Cacao Barry, Pastry Chef Ramon Morató, shares his pastry story that began over 35 years ago in a small village in Spain. Curiosity for pastry, chocolate, and innovation led him to "the best job in the world." His generosity and obvious love for sharing have us eager to learn about pastry's science, techniques, and formulations.
Lesson 2: Cocoa Bean to Chocolate
A curiosity about chocolate is necessary for all of Ramon's creations. Chef takes us through the steps to transform cocoa bean fruit into chocolate and explains how to create dark, milk, and white chocolate. He shows us the real bean shipped from the plantation and outlines which part of the bean is responsible for the chocolate's taste, viscosity, and texture.
Lesson 3: Theory of Sponge Cakes
Sponge cakes are Ramon's second deep love after chocolate. He grabs a pen and a whiteboard to take you on a journey to discover the science behind baking a sponge cake.
Lesson 4: Lemon Pie: Almond Sable
A self-proclaimed book fanatic, Ramon has read many pastry books over 100 years old, and one thing he's learned is that the basics of pastry don't change—even in 100 years! He teaches us the timeless basics of Sable recipes while describing how each component reacts within the dough. This class will give you endless substitutes to pull from when building your unique creations.
Lesson 5: Lemon Pie: Basil Gel & Lemon Curd
Ramon created his famed Lemon Curd for the renowned Relais Dessert association. His goal was to make a Lemon Curd with a cream recipe that had reduced sugars and fats while maintaining the same texture and making the flavors more natural. Don't lose the taste. Innovate!
Lesson 6: Lemon Pie: Lime Air Meringue
One innovative recipe after another, and we're only getting started! Loading our meringues with sugar is the most natural way to make them — I mean, how else! — but Ramon teaches you how to reduce the sugar and increase the taste of the citrus notes with his Air Meringue recipe. "It's super airy - it's not sweet!".
Lesson 7: Lemon Pie: Assembly
Lime is one of Ramon's favorite flavors, and it soaks into this recipe piece by piece. Learn the tart assembly steps: crunchy Almond Sable, killer Basil Gel, fresh Lemon Curd, cloudy Air Meringue. But most importantly, join Ramon to taste this tart! What we worked for is worth thousands of bites.
Lesson 8: Guava Tartelette: Cocoa Sable
Ramon whisks you back to the world of Sable, describing in detail its specific ingredients. Once you've completed this lesson, you'll be able to make smart ingredient selections, just like a pastry chef!
A little sneak peek: Do you know how many types of icing sugar you can find in the supermarket? They probably all look the same to you, but Ramon sees a different world behind each package. Get ready for him to explain this to you.
Lesson 9: Grapefruit Compote and Guava Gelée
Ramon teaches you the steps to his new signature Guava-Pink Grapefruit-Angostura® bitters Tartelette. The name of this dessert is as long as Ramon's lecture about each component! Chef also explains Pectins and the reactions they create in your recipes.
Lesson 10: Guava Tartelette: Whipped Chocolate Ganache
"Sexy" is how Ramon describes the final texture of this Ganache. Throughout the class, he demonstrates how to reduce fats within the recipe, but just enough to still be able to whip it at the end. You can also use this Ganache as a mousse, a cream, a decoration, or a filling - so many options! "Pure silk," he calls it, and based on what we're seeing, we have no choice but to believe him!
Lesson 11: Guava Tartelette: Chocolate Decoration
Chef's lesson on chocolate tempering stands out because, this time, it's not only a chocolate pre-crystalization demonstration; generous Ramon also gives a lecture on the science behind tempering chocolate and how to include that when you're tempering.
Lesson 12: Chocolate and Cookie Croustillant
Learn how Ramon united the pastry and cocktail industries when creating his new signature Guava-Pink Grapefruit-Angostura® bitters Tartelette. There was no better ingredient than the herbal Angostura® bitter to highlight the combination of the plain taste of Guava fruit and the bitterness of Grapefruit. Cheers!
Lesson 13: Foret Vert: Marcona Crumble
Ramon does something we've never seen before and creates a paste from a crumble recipe. Have you ever seen anyone do this? More importantly, you will learn the proportions, percentages, and component variations achieved with crumble recipes.
Lesson 14: Foret Vert: Griotte Jam
We didn't expect a lesson on jams, but here it is! Ramon gives a class on the Jam Triangle, the components that ensure the success of any jam you make, including the concentration of sugars, pectins, and PH level for activation. Have you tried to make your own pectin yet? Well, Ramon guides you through the pectin how-to in this class. He also gets personal with an anecdote about his jam collection from all around the world.
Lesson 15: Foret Vert: Chiffon Sponge Cake
Matcha is traditionally associated with the lightness of tea; that's why in Ramon's creation, it's logically paired with Chiffon - the lightest sponge of them all.
A unique aspect of Ramon's class is that he shares the creative process of each recipe with you. How to combine flavors and textures? How to stay curious about the world around you? How to bring each edible particle of this world into your pastry? You'll find these answers and more in lessons!
Lesson 16: Foret Vert: Cream and Kirsch Mousse
With mousse, the first challenge is to whip the cream correctly. Ramon demonstrates the steps and techniques he uses to help you master your mousse recipes.
Lesson 17: Foret Vert: Decorating
Foret Vert or Foret Noir? Green Forest or Black Forest? Ramon transforms "Black" to "Green" in an innovative, creative and unusual way so we can experience the classic.
Lesson 18: Bourbon Barrel: Flexible Sponge
When Ramon makes Pate a Choux, he focuses on the butter and teaches you how to avoid lumps in the final step of the preparation process.
Lesson 19: Pecan Crumble, Filling and Crustillant
Ramon explains the endless possibilities of crumble recipes! The variety and potential are why he loves sandy crumbles so much. In this lesson, you'll learn how to play with sugar types, nuts, flours, cocoa products, powders, and even make it gluten-free if you like.
Lesson 20: Kumquat, Orange, and Passion Fruit Compote
We all know the mashing, blending, and cutting of fruits involved for this type of insert, but Ramon demonstrates a different way to prepare fruit and berries that results in equal pieces included in this compote.
Lesson 21: Bourbon Barrel: Bourbon Whiskey Cremeux
The various textures and layers in the Bourbon Barrel cake make this Ramon's most complex recipe. This cake shows off the golden array of knowledge you can get from Chef Morató.
Lesson 22: Bourbon Barrel: Glossy Glaze
You jump right into the lesson when you hear Glossy Glaze, right? Ramon teaches you how to make a glaze that keeps its shine for a long time and demystifies the ingredients responsible for the shine.
Lesson 23: Bourbon Barrel: Dark-Milk Mousse
Do you find it crazy when your dark chocolate mousse thickens within seconds without giving you a chance to even cast it into the molds? Chef Ramon helps you overcome the common difficulty of making mousse with dark chocolate. He gives you a sneak peek into his process and the tiny gap you should focus on when mixing the chocolate base and the whipped cream that will keep your mousse fluid for a long time and help you achieve the perfect texture.
Lesson 24: Bourbon Barrel: Decorating and Glazing
Roll up your sleeves and prepare for the most shocking combination of information, knowledge, and cake layers you can get from master Ramon: Flexible Cocoa Sponge; Pecan Crumble; Pecan Filling; Reconstructed Pecan Croustillant; Kumquat, Orange, And Passion Fruit Compote; Bourbon Whiskey Crémeux; Dark-Milk Mousse and Glossy Dark Chocolate Glaze. No words needed, just taste buds.
Lesson 25: Pure Perou: Chili Sable
Ramon provides the humidity levels of sable components. He then explains that when we take certain ingredients with their qualities, textures, and reactions and bring them together in a recipe, we actually create a whole new product with new reactions, textures, and flavors.
Lesson 26: Pure Perou: Alto el Sol Chocolate Sponge
Knowing that chocolate is a solid product, how do you ensure each particle of chocolate is incorporated into the sponge? Ramon teaches us about the different reactions of chocolate within the sponge. Hot tip: Simply melting the chocolate won't ensure it's mixed.
Lesson 27: Pure Perou: Pineapple Gelée
Ramon explains how you can manipulate and increase the freshness of your fruity inserts and then teaches you how to work with pasteurized and unpasteurized fruit purees.
Lesson 28: Pure Perou: Alto el Sol Cremeux
Do you know what's crazy? Making cremeux with water to reduce the fat in the recipe. Guess what's even crazier? Removing the eggs from the recipe. And now you're saying I can still achieve a silky and creamy outcome with those changes? I don't believe it!
Well, you better believe it, as Chef Ramon shows us how.
Lesson 29: Pure Perou: Alto el Sol Mousse
A theory teacher in its purest form, Ramon focuses on the mousse basics that will allow you to conquer mousses of all kinds. He shows the whipping of the cream, temperatures, and textures of combining the components while also explaining kitchen safety.
Lesson 30: Pure Perou: Decorating
Ramon explains the tasting temperature of various desserts, depending on their ingredients, highlighting which will get the most flavor, texture, and emotion from a spoon of cake.
The temperature in Ramon's class is definitely one that melts hearts.
Learn More
Thanks to a 35-year pastry career, time teaching at Harvard, and many awards, including the "Best Chocolate Book in the World," Pastry Chef Ramon Morató is uniquely qualified to bring pastry science into your kitchen. Expect a smorgasbord of information from theory to practice: chocolate, sponges, sable, gels, jams, cremeux, meringues, ganaches, crumbles, mousse, glazes, and decorations - you'll find it all in this class! Enroll today on PastryClass.
