Donuts, desserts, and much more can become magical creations with eye-catching designs with the help of professional artistry and new tools of the trade.

Chef Susan Notter, corporate pastry chef for Felchlin Switzerland, demonstrated the multiple uses of Felchlin’s nut and fruit-based shelf stable fillings called OSAs, during a recent virtual decorating demonstration organized by the Wisconsin Bakers Association along with AUI Fine Foods.

Notter demonstrated the multiple uses of Felchlin’s nut and fruit-based shelf stable fillings called OSAs. No artificial colors or flavors are added to this very easy to use and versatile line of products. They are ideal for dipping, whipping, filling, flavoring, and enrobing.

Notter points out that this innovative product is not cocoa butter, and it can be used to coat, aerate and whip into buttercream, or use straight out of the bucket as fillings.

“The flavors come from nuts or fruits,” she explains. “It’s a firm paste. When it’s in the bucket, it’s firm at room temperature (shelf stable). It offers 18 months shelf life. A few are vegan. If you have customers who want vegan fillings, this is a very good option.”

Flavorful options

With this creative product, you can easily create flavorful products such as a nice pound cake with lemon, which gives you a nice flavor profile.

Explaining the product’s wide versatility, “I can put in the mixer and aerate it. It gets a lot lighter,” Notter says. “Then you have a creamy aerated solid, and it stays like this. There is no cocoa butter in it, so don’t think of it as a chocolate product. It is made with sugar, coconut oil, coconut fat, and other ingredients including milk powders.”

You can easily add this product to create a burst of flavor. It holds its shape nicely, she points out, and you can make “super quick.” Don’t use heavy cream (it will separate). Instead, simply use whole milk.

“It gets a little lighter in color when you whip it, and it aerates it. The one thing you can do wrong is put it in the microwave too long.”

Equipment considerations

Sonia Bal, director of marketing of Unifiller Systems, points out that premium fillings often have larger fruit inclusions. Unifiller equipment is ideally suited to accurately portion and deposit all types of fillings and toppings.

The unique product SV valve is designed with smooth passages that can portion delicate fillings with fruit inclusions easier and with more integrity than other depositors. Unifiller offers a range of single and multi-piston volumetric piston depositors for spot deposits and spreading fillings and creams on pastries, as well as several solutions to apply dry goods toppings and injecting into pastries.

“Our partner Boyens also provides a world class glaze sprayer unit, which finishes pastries with a wonderful tasting glaze, that helps pastries stay fresher longer,” Bal says.  

Further, a premium dough uses higher quality ingredients including butter. The dough may be more delicate and temperature dependent. Accurate control of the dough process is important.

“Starting with a premium dough indicates that the pastries will be of higher quality, and fillings may have larger particulates and creams have more natural ingredients,” Bal explains. “Unifiller equipment is perfectly suited to integrate into any production process of pastries. Servo piston depositors can portion fillings more gently and repeatable than pneumatic piston depositors.”

Spring trends

Spring brings fresh flavors such as ripe strawberries and verdant arugula, providing a bright pop of color to Princi’s seasonal menu.

Starbucks Reserve locations including the Starbucks Reserve Roasteries in Chicago, New York and Seattle have revealed the new foods and beverages that will be available throughout the spring season. Among them are Princi Bakery foods that can be ordered for take-out or dine-in.

New desserts at Princi include fresh strawberry tart – a sweet tart filled with pastry cream topped with fresh strawberries and a strawberry glaze.

Beverage items available at Reserve locations include Espresso Dolce beverages with a complex layering of espresso, fruit puree and sweet cream and seasonal cocktails such as the Blush Mint Julep and Pineapple Rum Float.

On a larger scale, Starbucks Corporation, which recently reported positive financial results for its 13-week fiscal second quarter ended March 28, 2021, is celebrating its 50^th anniversary.

“Our strong results validate our ability to adapt to changes in our environment and the needs of our customers,” said Kevin Johnson, president and chief executive officer. “We have positioned Starbucks for the inevitable great human reconnection that we see unfolding in the U.S. and will propagate in every market around the world, where people once again connect with others face-to-face to heal, to belong, to reflect, to share and to celebrate. Starbucks was built for this moment, and as we celebrate our 50th anniversary, we remain confident in our ability to execute our Growth at Scale agenda and unlock the full potential of the Starbucks brand.”