Tammy Alana
ALIZÉ | Las Vegas

Thirty-one year old Tammy Alana is the master of special deliveries. She first identified her passion for pastry arts when she was working for the post office in Orange Country, California. Tammy would regularly honor her colleagues’ birthdays with homemade cakes and eventually recognized her true calling. A year after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, she moved to Las Vegas to work in the pastry shop at the Bellagio Hotel on the banquet, restaurant and wedding cake teams. Tammy currently oversees the dessert menus at Andre’s Restaurant at the Monte Carlo and Alizé at the top of the Palms Hotel, where her clean and elegant desserts are driven by the bounty of each changing season.

Chocolate and Pandan Leaf Spring Rolls
Chef Tammy Alana of Alizé at the Top of the Palms Casino – Las Vegas, NV
Adapted by StarChefs.com

Yield: 6 Servings

Ingredients:

Pandan Cheesecake Filling:

• 1 cup mascarpone ½ pandan leaf, chopped*
• 1/8 cup cream
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
  *Pandan leaf can be found in most specialty Asian food markets

Tapioca Sauce:

• 4 cups milk
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup tapioca
• 1 egg
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Spring Rolls:

• Pandan cheesecake filling
• 6 spring roll wrappers
• 1 large bar dark chocolate
• ½ cup egg whites
• Oil, for deep frying

Method:
For Cheesecake:
Preheat oven to 300° F. Heat 4 ounces of mascarpone in a small pot with the chopped pandan leaf and cream. Let steep and set aside. Place remaining mascarpone in a mixing bowl with sugar and vanilla extract. Using a spatula to mix, add eggs to mixing bowl one at a time until thoroughly incorporated. Strain hot pandan leaf mixture into mixing bowl, making sure to press all the infused cream through the strainer, and mix together. Butter and sugar an 8-inch x 8-inch baking pan and pour all of the cheesecake mixture in. Place in oven and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes. When cooked it will have a gelatinous consistency. Remove from oven and allow to cool in refrigerator for 20 minutes.

For Tapioca Sauce:
Place milk, salt and tapioca in a small pot. Stir until boiling, and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Combine egg and sugar in a bowl. Temper mixture with a small amount of the hot milk and return to the pot. Place on low heat, stirring constantly until mixture achieves sauce consistency. Remove from heat, add vanilla extract, and let cool.

For Spring Rolls:
Scrape cheesecake into a pastry bag. Lay spring rolls on a flat surface, facing you as a diamond. Pipe cheesecake mixture from corner horizontally about 1-inch thick, leaving 1½ inches from each end. Break up chocolate bar into 6 pieces and place one piece along the cheesecake mixture. Using the directions on the back of the spring roll wrapper, roll cheesecake tightly. Use egg whites to seal the spring roll wrapper. Refrigerate rolls for 20 minutes to ensure shape. Deep fry spring rolls until wrappers are golden brown.

To Serve:
Slice spring roll in half on the bias and arrange on a plate. Drizzle with tapioca sauce.

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