Page 343 - Pie It Forward: Pies, Tarts, Tortes, Galettes, and Other Pastries Reinvented

want a smooth paste. Add a few drops of food coloring (or, if you
want brown, a few tablespoons of cocoa powder), mixing one last
time to distribute the color.

2
. Make a guide for the decorations of the side of your pie: Take two
pieces of parchment the size of a half sheet pan, fold each in half
lengthwise, and use the fold as a guide to draw a dividing line with

a permanent marker. You should be left with two “zones” on each
piece of parchment, each measuring roughly 18 by 7½ inches.
Using the marker, write “LOVE” continuously down the center of
each zone, leaving a few inches between words so each “LOVE”
stands alone. I write the letters at least 4 inches tall. Continue
writing your message and making other designs (like small hearts)

on your parchment and place it, face side down, under a nonstick
silicone baking mat on a sheet pan. (When making joconde décor
sides, always pipe your batter directly onto a nonstick baking mat,
not onto parchment; the batter tends to stick to everything but
baking mats.) Using the words and shapes on the parchment as
your guide, trace the letters and shapes onto the baking mat with
the tuille batter. (The reason you flipped the parchment around and

are now writing the words backwards is that when you remove the
sides to wrap around the cake, the side facing up on the pan is the
side that will attach to the cake.)

3
. When you have written all of your messages and made all the
decorative elements you want with the batter, freeze them for at
least
1 hour, until they’re rock hard.

4
. Remove the parchment stencil from underneath the baking mat
and discard.

Procedure for the joconde sponge
1
. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the almond flour and
confectioners’ sugar. Process for a few minutes, until you have a