Chantilly Dragon
I usually post about ways to use ZANDA PANDA molds, but I just had to share this
I was smitten by an image of Chantilly Swans — And of course I immediately thought of dragons.
How to Pipe your Dragon
If you don’t already have them, I recommend picking up some tips (small round and medium star) and pastry bags , but you could use a zip lock bag with a corner snipped if you had to. I piped and baked them on parchment/baking paper.
Piping Dragons
I used a small round tip to make the ‘S’ shape and added a looping tail. I switched to a smaller round tip and added nostrils, a brow ridge and eyes, ears and then scales down the spine and tail. I’m not the best at piping designs, but the batter is very forgiving and you can blend/smooth the shapes easily.
Dragon Bodies
Just remember, when piping, you’re not ‘drawing’ it onto the paper, you’re holding the tip just above the paper, guiding the line and letting it drop onto the paper in a flowing motion. Just practice a little and you’ll get it.
To make the wings, I made the outline first, added ‘ribs’, then filled in between them in a zig-zag fashion. I then went over the ribs again and added claws at the tips. Don’t forget to extend the front of the wing a little, to press into the whipped cream.
Dragon Wings
For the bodies, instead of a mound (for making swans), I started by coiling the batter for a base. Then I built up the sides to make a basket shape, with each layer just a bit wider than the one beneath it.
Bake the heads and tails for about 5 minutes at 400°F. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake the bodies for an additional 5 minutes.
While the dragons are cooling, make the whipped cream. Using a star tip, pipe the whipped cream into the bodies. You can coil it or pipe it into little puffs (my favorite). You can also add fillings under or on top of the whipped cream, like berries, Nutella, chocolate, etc.
Dragon Construction -Body
Gently place the head and tail pieces into the whipped cream (if you’ve misjudged the length of the body, just break them into two separate pieces). You can add more whipped cream after placing them if needed.
Dragon construction – Head, Tail & Wings
You should serve these soon after assembling them, especially if you made them large, as the whipped cream softens the pieces. They could begin to get droopy and sag a bit, making them look a little less majestic :). Or you could make them with their wings spread and not worry about it.
Or make them like this (But add more whipped cream to the top after assembling).
If you smush the whipped cream like this when assembling it, just add more rosettes on top of it.
Smushed Cream
Sandy