Mid-ish summer update

Hello! I wanted to share a quick note as we move our way (not always effortlessly) through summer. I have a few things that I’m working on for the blog but have allowed myself to get side tracked with a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle of a vintage map of Paris (very cool!); going through recipes - editing, updating links to past posts and vetting the reams I have in various folders on my shelves; exercising (always!!) and generally cruising through each day as it comes. We rarely go to movies, but we even saw “The Odyssey” in the IMAX here in GR - talk about in your face!!

And . . . . this first week of August happens to include both my birthday as well as our 43rd wedding anniversary so we have cause for celebration on many fronts.

Even though the heat has kept me out of the kitchen on and off, I tend to keep our own larder/fridge/freezer stocked with burger/sandwich buns, braided cheese bread, pizza dough, nutty granola, energy bites, oaty breakfast cookies, brownies for Steve, ice cream, oat crumble, scones . . . after all, there are certain things that are great to have at the ready when we need a little treat.

Here are a few other goodies I’ve baked in recent months, a couple of which are destined for their own blog post. We’ll see how that all plays out.

Chocolate pearl pecan spirals

Pain de mie

Check out that crumb!

Chocolate chip scones

Another nice crumb!

I’ll finish up with a few florals seen along my walking route - some native, some cultivated - they all have their own charm.

Hydrangea

Purple coneflower

Black eyed susan

sweet pea

Enjoy what summer as yet to bring!

As always, I look forward to autumn. Ciao for now.

Oat and coconut (a.k.a.ANZAC) biscuits

7/24/26 NOTE: a big thanks to friend and blog reader Shirley who discovered my recipe PDF was missing the baking soda - a very important ingredient! I’ve corrected and updated the link to the recipe.

Although we’ve been dealing with heat and wildfire smoke, we were fortunate to have had a perfect weather break recently for our yearly neighborhood cookout. Great turnout, good conversation and plenty of food. Steve and neighbor Don were at the griddle/grill doing up the brats and dogs. It’s summer, there’s no doubt about it.

While baking has been and is currently reserved for shorter projects and earlier in the day oven sessions, this recipe find from the NYT and chef Brian Levy caught my eye! Made with oats and coconut using an interesting stove top preparation for the dough, these are tasty indeed. Just another example of using Lyle’s Golden Syrup, an ingredient that adds a toasty caramel nuance to the flavor. Yum.

The story goes that during WWI (think Gallipoli) the Australian New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) were supplied with a hardtack kind of biscuit at the front, one that wouldn’t go stale. Further research tells me that the current iteration of these cookies became very popular down under in the years following the war and remain popular still. Web search “ANZAC biscuits” and you’ll find many references/recipes. Depending on the baking time the result is either chewy (shorter bake) or crispy/crunchy (longer bake). Either way I can vouch for their deliciousness!

Here’s the recipe PDF which includes a few comments on the different batches I baked.

I’ve already made them several times - for my first trial I opted to leave out the coconut and up the oats (just because); second round went with a portion of the coconut and subbed in chocolate pearls for the rest; third round went with the base recipe.

Mise for the first round sans coconut

Basically you need a saucepan and a mixing bowl (and smaller bowls for your mise if that’s how you roll). Oats, flour, coconut (if using), granulated sugar and salt go into the mixing bowl.

Unsalted butter, Lyle’s golden syrup, brown sugar and a little water go in the saucepan. Have 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda standing by. This is the fun part.

Warm and melt the ingredients in the saucepan. When the mixture just starts to bubble, remove it from the heat and stir in the baking soda. The mixture will foam up as seen below.

Pour the warm mixture over the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl and blend together.

Press the mixture into the bottom of the bowl, cover the surface directly with plastic wrap and let sit 5-10 minutes. This makes it easier to scoop.

For my first round I scooped generous one+-ish tablespoon sized portions, rolled them smooth then lightly push down to flatten a bit. You’ll need two sheet pans for the batch. They do spread so give them some room. The more you make them, the easier it will be to gauge that.

Oven at 325ºF. Bake for 19-20 minutes for a crispy, chewy result. My yield was 29 cookies with the first batch sans coconut.

First of two pans in the first round of baking

For the second batch I adjusted the oats a tad, used half the weight of the coconut in the recipe and replaced the other half with mini chocolate pearls. See the recipe for more detail!

A quick word on coconut - as you see below I used Trader Joe’s unsweetened “flake coconut” which is really what most of us think of as medium shredded. I do lightly toast it, cool and crush it up a bit before adding it into the mix.

Flake coconut is typically more likely to refer to large flat pieces of coconut, often used for garnish; shredded can also be more finely shredded than what I used here while desiccated coconut is typically much, much finer.

As for the chocolate pearls - oh Susan what were you thinking?! I had mixed the pearls in with the dry ingredients and, of course, when I poured the hot mixture over the dry - guess what - the chocolate melted toute de suite!

Not to worry - still delicious! My yield for this batch was 38 cookies using a tad smaller scoop. The chocolate added a lovely color as well as flavor.

For the third batch I followed the base recipe and purposefully made my scoops petite. Yield of 47 cookies! Whoa!

20 on the first pan

Oh that golden goodness

27 0n the second!

Just have fun with it!

Lastly, on a very different note - maybe it’s the reference to WWI regarding this cookie recipe, but I’d like to end with a bit of nostalgia (I’ve been experiencing a lot of that lately). . . . Dad was a navigator in a B-24 bomber during WWII. He died back in 1999 just a month or so after he turned 77, an age that we can’t help but think of now as “young” as we continue to age. And it’s been a touch over a year and a half already since Mom left this earthly life at the age of 97.

The current world seems so unusually disrupted (although historians tell us that “history repeats itself”), and I’m thankful my parents don’t have to experience the hatefulness and rancor that we’re seeing each and every day. OK. I’ve said it.

I’ve got a few things in the hopper for the blog plus I’m slowly working through my recipes, up dating posts and creating more links to recipe PDFs. Lots of work but it keeps me out of trouble. Take care all.

A memorial day visit to my parents’ gravesite

Tart cherry mascarpone custard torta (and one more)

Mascarpone here we come! I don’t typically keep this Italian style cream cheese on hand as a staple ingredient but, when I’ve used it for a specific project, there are usually leftovers that are begging to go into something delicious.

I’ve had mascarpone on the brain for a while now. It all started with a full day of three demo sessions for a local seniors group back in April. In addition to a couple of savory offerings, I prepared and served whipped lime mascarpone cream vol-au-vents topped with fresh strawberries. During the ensuing days I used the leftover mascarpone for a home freezer stash of strawberry lime mascarpone ice cream and some delightful raspberry teacakes (more on that later).

As it turns out, I still had one unopened tub in the fridge and - wouldn’t you know it (I believe it was kismet!) - a request came in to create something delicious for my cousin Mary’s afternoon book club group. You can guess where this is going.

*Just a quick note about mascarpone’s shelf life - if it remains unopened, it’s fine in your fridge for awhile - the use by dates are typically some months out. BUT . . . . once opened and the plastic sealer is removed it’s best to use it within 5-7 days. If I’ve used only a portion of the tub, I press plastic wrap directly on the surface to exclude air which helps keep it’s texture until I’ve finished it off.

Most commonly found brand on grocery store shelves

Purchased mid may - use by date 9/14/26 - if unopened!

Let’s get on with it! I had pasta frolla, Michigan tart cherries (the end of last year’s crop) and oat crumble in my freezer so, along with the unopened tub of mascarpone, I had a clear vision for the book club dessert. With a few additional ingredients always at the ready (cream, sugar, cornstarch, egg, lemon zest and vanilla) I was set.

Here’s the recipe PDF which includes all the components - if you prefer not to read through the entire post, you can go right to it and get to work on your own torta!

The book group torta

Cousin Mary’s book group gave the torta a thumbs up so, as Memorial Day approached, I thought it fitting to make another one for a family gathering at cousin Jen’s cottage! Yippee!

Let’s walk through the steps - or you can go to the full recipe here.

I decided to use an 8” springform pan so I could build up the sides a bit deeper than I might with a standard tart ring. I ended up using about 280-300 g of pasta frolla (the same dough I used for the crostata della Nonna last October). I lightly buttered the bottom of the pan and lined it with a parchment round.

Roll the dough to about a 10” circle 4-5 mm thick and ease it into the form. I wanted a height of about 1.25” so gave myself plenty of dough to work with. Score the dough at your desired height then remove the excess. Save scraps to re-roll for cookies or petite tarts.

Starting the lining

Here it is all neatened up with a distinct edge. Prick all over with a fork. I always place my lined form in the freezer while my oven is heating to 350ºF (325º convection) - it helps the dough keep its form during baking.

Ready for blind baking

Ease your parchment round into the pan, snugging it up against the dough. Fill with weights.

Bake 20 minutes, remove from the oven and gently lift out the parchment/weights. You want the edges of the dough starting to set. The bottom will still look wet but continue to bake without weights another 10-15 minutes until it looks dry.

Egdes set, bottom needs more time

OK now we’re on a roll

At this point you have the option to let it cool and refrigerate it overnight (or freeze for up to a couple of weeks) if you wish to complete the project later.

If proceeding with filling and baking, make the mascarpone filling. The shell does NOT have to cool completely before filling with the custard and baking.

Here’s the mise for the filling . . . . I didn’t use lemon zest in this one.

In a medium bowl blend 75 g / 1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons sugar with 3 tablespoons cornstarch and a pinch of salt. Whisk in 2 large eggs and 3/4 teaspoon vanilla. Lemon zest is an option and would be added here as well.

Blend in 170 g /3/4 cup mascarpone and 170 g /3/4 cup heavy cream

You can make the filling a day or several hours ahead and hold it in the fridge. Simply stir it back up to re-blend before pouring into the blind baked shell.

Ready for the oven

Bake at 350ºF (325º convection) about one hour - start with 25 minutes (it will still be quite jiggly), rotate the tray, allow another 25 minutes (should be setting around the edges and browning), rotate again then finish with another 10 minutes or so. Look for a nice golden brown surface and only a hint of jiggle in the center.

Now we’re talking!

I loosen the outer ring of the springform and let the torta cool to room temperature. Remove the ring. You can hold the torta in the fridge until the next day if you’re not ready for garnishing.

I make my cherry filling earlier in the day or the day before and keep it refrigerated. Spoon a layer of cherries over the center of the torta, leaving an inch or so clear around the edges. Sprinkle oat crumble around the edges then dust that with powdered sugar. TIP: hold a small bowl over the cherries while you dust - keeps them nice and cherry-y.

Slice and serve . . . . . the marriage of tart cherries, crunchy crumble, creamy filling and buttery crust can’t be beat.

Leftovers will keep for a couple of days in the fridge although the cherry topping/sauce may get a tad more runny.

Yum!

Whoa! That one went on didn’t it! But there’s one more thing.

To help you use up any of your own mascarpone here’s a straight forward mascarpone cake that serves as a great blank canvas for adding fruit, nuts, and/or topping with various swirls of delight. The recipe makes one 8” or 9” cake or about 30 small teacakes.

As many of you know, I prefer baking petite teacakes versus a large sliceable cake. These do not disappoint.

For these babies I turned back to an oil based mascarpone recipe I originally found at “An Italian in My Kitchen” about seven years ago. The site is chock full - the section on cakes alone will knock your socks off.

I’ve made it a number of times over the years, tweaking ingredients here and there (e.g. melted butter for the oil; different combos of mascarpone/yogurt/heavy cream; adding chopped nuts and/or fruit). It’s quite adaptable.

Below is the mise for my current iteration of the recipe. Don’t let the 8” springform distract you - I ultimately topped that one with a lovely thin-ish layer of lemon Swiss meringue buttercream and a few chopped candied pistachios. Darn - I didn’t take photos. Sometimes I simply get lost in the moment.

No worries. The mise remains the same for the teacakes - recipe makes about 30.

I’ve thrown enough at you so I won’t take you through the steps - just follow the recipe and create your own version. For these I piped the batter into flexi mini muffin molds, pressed some frozen raspberry pieces in and baked ‘em. If you’re not ready to garnish and serve them, they keep very well in the freezer for a couple of weeks.

When you’re ready, thaw and garnish as you wish. Here I drizzled them with caramel then gave them a nice cap of raspberry/tart cherry Swiss meringue buttercream. You could even sprinkle on some chopped pistachios.

I served these at our exercise facility as a treat for friend Kim’s last day working there. We miss her!

Until next time! Ciao.

Spring update - it’s not all about baking!

Now that I’ve finally published the bagel post that I started working on some weeks ago, I’m going to offer you a brief diversion. While I have several more baking project drafts in the hopper, I’m focusing my energies not only on the joys of baking but also some favorite activities like exercise (yes!!), spending social time with friends, enjoying nature and doing my best to cruise along life’s pathways. It’s not always easy, is it.

Most recently it was wonderful to gather with four high school (and beyond) classmates for a mini reunion. Angie and I began our friendship in grade school then on into junior high and high school. We met Jane, Luanne and Mary Beth in 10th grade and some of us also continued on through college and med school together. We’ve all traveled different paths and experienced life in various ways over the years. Now, particularly in the wake of the death of Angie’s husband (also a high school classmate) a few months ago, we were all eager to reconnect.

The five of us spent a couple of nights in northern Michigan near Crystal and Glen Lakes at Jane’s lovely lakeside home. Beautiful skies, dunes, many lakes, loons, country roads, wildflowers, beach rocks, cool shops - a popular traveler/tourist destination here in Michigan.

The lead photo above is a view from the dunes in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore down onto the gorgeous deep blue/aqua/turquoise waters of Lake Michigan (known to us as “the big lake”). The water seems to go on forever.

Two favorite lakes in the area are Big Glen and Little Glen (in the foreground in the photo below), adjacent to Sleeping Bear and just inland from the shores of the “big lake”.

Look out over big and little Glen Lakes

As we drove here and there we saw tons of trillium blooming on the woods’ floors.

We stopped for a lovely woodland hike and, in addition to lots of trillium, found many other wildflowers like jack-in-the-pulpit and Dutchman’s breeches. The path took us out of the woods, through a meadow and finally out to a dune overlook on Lake Michigan where we experienced a chilly wind.

Trust me - it goes down a ways!

All bundled up!

We took a lunch break back at Jane’s then ventured forth to Point Betsie Lighthouse, a favorite spot to search for beach rocks, particularly Petoskey stones. We couldn’t wander into the lighthouse grounds since the park wasn’t even officially open for the season yet, but we could go down to the beach.

There were a few diehard rock searchers out on the fairly long stretch of beach. Angie did find one Petoskey as well as a number of other rocks that she’ll place in some of the garden areas around her home.

It was a relaxing and meaningful time for all of us. After a safe arrival back home I look forward to more adventures, baking or otherwise.

Of course I simply cannot leave you without at least one baked good - a mascarpone custard torta with cherry topping and oat crumble. I made it to honor a request from cousin Mary S. for something delicious to share with her book group. I do hope to write more about it.

And finally (I promise) here are some stunning blooms from Meijer Gardens tropical conservatory . . . . .

There’s so much beauty to experience. Until next time!

Bagels

I first wrote about bagel making back in May, 2017. I’ve tested out a couple of other recipes since that first success with admittedly varied results. Having a load of unbleached bread flour on hand put me in the mood to bake both pain de mie (post coming up soon I hope) and bagels, knowing they would be well received here at home.

Here’s the printable recipe PDF. The process is pretty standard as far as bread making goes. I like to use my 6-quart Kitchenaid - the bowl size is perfect. The yield for the base recipe is 8 bagels but I prepped a 1.5x recipe to give me 12. I figured as long as I was making them I’d go for more. They freeze beautifully.

Mix unbleached bread flour (I use King Arthur), fine sea salt, instant yeast and a skosh of brown sugar in your mixing bowl. Add in lukewarm water and 4 teaspoons of barley malt syrup (or molasses or honey) and blend together then knead on medium speed with the dough hook for 5-6 minutes (8-10 minutes if doing by hand). The base recipe is here. The dough should come together and be fairly smooth. Let proof for an hour or until doubled. I know that can be hard to determine - I like to take a photo at the start to give me the needed comparison later on.

It didn’t seem quite full enough after an hour so I gave it more time. Looks good now! Remember - cool kitchen, longer rise.

Place the risen dough on a lightly floured surface and divide into pieces about 100-113 g each. In this case it meant 12 pieces. Do a rough pre-shape, cover with a damp towel and let rest 15 minutes.

Now form each piece into a tight ball, cover again with a damp towel and let rest about 20 minutes.

Have a sheet pan ready lined with a lightly oiled piece of parchment. To form the bagels push your thumb through the center of each ball then, using both thumbs, gradually pull the hole a bit wider as seen below.

Then insert your index/middle fingers through the center and rotate the dough as you gradually enlarge the hole. What fun!

Place shaped bagels on a sheet pan lined with lightly oiled parchment and cover with a damp kitchen towel.

Just shaped

Let them rest/proof about 30 minutes, meanwhile heating your oven to 450ºF (425 convection)

Place 4 quarts water along with 3 tablespoons barley malt syrup in a pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling stir in 4 teaspoons baking soda - it will foam up!

Have a cooling grid placed over a separate half sheet pan.

Place 3 or 4 bagels into the boiling water, boil for 30 seconds then flip over and boil another 30 seconds. Lift out and place on the cooling grid. Continue the same process until all bagels are boiled.

Below are the boiled bagels ready for the oven. Kinda shriveled, eh?

Place bagels in the heated oven and bake 15-20 minutes - I tend to go the longer time frame for a nice deep golden brown result. Don’t open the oven for the first 10 minutes or they may deflate.

Yum!

Cool on a rack and enjoy!

Simple cream cheese is always good. These bagels freeze beautifully so we’re spacing out our enjoyment of them, treating ourselves every now and then. We’ve enjoyed egg/cheese sandwiches, PB with or without jam (with pickles for Steve!) and more cream cheese. What’s not to like!

Spring is still deciding what it wants to be. My tulips came up early and the flowers have been dunzo for a good week and a half. Oh my. Here they are a few weeks back.

Whatever you’re doing and wherever you are - enjoy! Until next time.

Pasteis de Nata adventures at home

After a wonderful class in nata making at Nat’elier in Lisbon a few weeks back, I was determined to make these popular Portuguese treats at home. I went through several rounds and definitely learned a few things in the process.

When I started drafting this post, I felt like I was getting carried away with too much info on steps and recipe variants (you know me!). Instead I offer you the recipe that I plan to use from here on out as well as what I discovered about making these gems. The recipe is an amalgamation of the one I received from Nat’elier and the one that came with the nata tins I purchased - very similar.

The puff dough is easier/quicker than traditional puff pastry. It can be made with butter or margarine, although I’m told that margarine is what the “big houses” in Portugal use to make these. Our instructor at Nate’lier explained that margarine is more plastic, rolls more easily and stands up to very high heat. Oven temps are generally anywhere from 480º to 550º for these tarts but the word is that some shops bake as hot as 800º! Obviously we home bakers won’t be doing that, although hmmmm . . . . how about some of the pizza ovens available these days that get super hot?

The folding steps are fewer and there are no chilling and resting times other than a short rest before rolling the dough into a log and a final fridge rest once the dough is completed (45 minutes up to 2 days). The final tight log rolling of the dough is what yields the many layers. Here’s the recipe again.

One of my tests involved a more complicated and more fussy way to make the puff pastry - I’ll show you a bit about that later.

Isn’t that so cool!

Below is my initial trial with the reverse puff I had in my freezer (I make it with spelt and all purpose flour) just to give you a visual of the log rolling process. The dough is brushed with water to make it sticky . . . . .

. . . . then rolled tightly from the bottom edge a couple of times to get things going . . . .

. . . . then finished off. The diameter of the log should be about the same as the diameter of the tart tin bottoms (3.5 cm). Wrap and chill at least 45 minutes up to 2 days. It can also be frozen.

The custard is straight forward with ingredients much like a classic crème pâtissière - milk/sugar/flour cooked to thicken; egg yolks added. Traditionally lemon rind and cinnamon stick are steeped in the milk mixture. I left the cinnamon out but am certainly not opposed to it. You can also sprinkle cinnamon and powdered sugar on top of the baked natas.

Nat’elier uses 2% milk, feeling that the lower fat content makes for a more creamy, less flan-like custard. I used both whole and 2% in my trials and didn’t see much difference. Some recipes I reviewed instruct that skim, 2% or whole are options.

Nat’elier also allows the cooked milk, sugar, flour mixture cool before whisking in the egg yolks, again feeling that gives a creamier end result. I also added a splash of vanilla extract at the end.

The following image is hazy (sorry - a fair amount of steam coming off the pan) but shows the amount of thickening to look for in the milk, flour, sugar mixture. A track should remain as you pull a spatula through it. It also thickens a bit more once cooled.

Here’s one more visual of the thickness as I was getting ready to whisk in egg yolks for one of my trials . . . .

Let’s take a look at my results.

My first round - As mentioned earlier, I used some of my reverse puff pastry from the freezer and made a half recipe of Nat’elier’s custard (a very close version to the one I’m sharing with you); I used a mini muffin tin and baked 10 pasteis. NOTE: I did not butter or oil the wells.

Slice the log, place a portion in each well and, with a thumb dipped in water, press directly down into the center of the dough. Using thumbs or index fingers push the dough up to the rim forming a lip at the top.

Have your oven heating for a good 30-40 minutes. I baked these at 480º, 5-10 minutes, rotate, then another 5-10 minutes. The custard shouldn’t jiggle - if it does give them another couple of minutes. You know my mantra - pay attention to what’s going on in that oven of yours!

The shape of the mini muffin tin is taller and narrower than the traditional pasteis tins and the end result looked more like a muffin with the custard puffed up above the rim. These popped out of the wells easily.

In my eagerness to taste one, I cut one in half while still quite warm. Note the bottom dough layer - doesn’t look fully baked. However after waiting until they fully cooled, I cut open another and the dough looked much better. And they tasted great!

General rule - they taste best when freshly baked with a hint of warmth or at room temperature. Warm in the oven gently the following day (if you still have some hanging around).

Just out of the oven

Moving on - being one who prefers doing things in a traditional fashion, of course I succumbed and ordered a set of 12 nata tins - made in Portugal and accompanied by a recipe which, by the way, is very much the same as the one I received from Nat’elier. Hmmmm.

The tins come in two sizes, one shallower than the other - I went for the shallower one. Made from galvanized steel, they arrive with a protective coating that requires the tins to be seasoned before use - 500º - 550º oven for 90 minutes! Whoa! Wipe clean with a cloth or paper towel once cooled. With continued use they are meant to be non-stick - a bit more on that next.

The tins arrive shiny but develop the darker patina once seasoned

My second round: Always one to poke around, I discovered David Leite’s nata recipe during an online search. He’s a Portuguese American foodie who has a great web presence with lots of recipes and more. Comparing his dough to that of Nat’elier’s, he uses a higher ratio of butter and water compared to the all purpose flour. It’s not so much the actual recipe that caught my eye but his method of creating the puff pastry (note he uses butter NOT margarine).

I’ll leave it that he rolls the dough much more thinly, spreads soft butter on portions of the dough then folds it to create the layers. The dough is very soft and has to be handled with a gentle touch.

The image below gives you a sense. Butter spread over two thirds, the left third gets folded over the middle then the right third over that for the first 3-fold. He completes that process one more time.

It’s thin! Ready for the first fold

The last step is rolling the dough into a rectangle and spreading butter over the entire surface of the dough before doing the final rolling into a log. Quite a process. Here’s the fully folded/buttered dough ready to log roll.

rollin’, rollin’, rollin’

Leite also uses a different approach to making the custard by cooking a sugar syrup to 220ºF/104ºC which is then whisked into a milk/flour mixture and cooked to thicken then cooled until warm.

Vanilla and egg yolks are whisked in and the mixture is then strained and allowed to cool to room temperature. As I’m learning, the addition of the yolks when the mixture is not piping hot yields a more creamy custard texture. The custard keeps in the fridge for a couple of days as well.

Remember - you can check out his recipe here.

Set up for custard - more pans required

Leite bakes his natas at 550º (I did 525º). I had seasoned my tins so I thought a light oiling or buttering wasn’t needed. I was wrong.

Here are the tins lined with dough; filling recommendation about 3/4 full. I went a little too full.

ready for the oven

General baking time is about 12-15 minutes, rotating the tray half way through the bake. Tops classically have browned spots and the custard shouldn’t be jiggly.

I admit (and regret!) that I forgot to take pictures of the tray just out of the oven. I was side tracked by the mess - custard spilled over the edges and onto the parchment. I had to carefully pry the tarts out with a paring knife and offset spatula and was left with stuck on crust particles in the tins. Whoa!

But the good news is they were delicious! Fortunately I was able to preserve the bulk of each one even after prying them out.

A little rough around the edges

Check out that crispy crust!

They had that shattering crispness with a lovely creamy filling.

I soaked the tins and was able to get them clean - popped them back into the hot oven to dry. No harm done.

My third round: OK. Take a deep breath. We’re almost there. Remember - I share all of this for your benefit, but also so I can remember what I did!

This time I made the dough with the recipe I’m sharing with you - one batch with butter and one with margarine. I lightly oiled (use a neutral oil) most of the tins but left two of them un-oiled (one for butter and one for margarine). So I shaped six of each, five of each going into oiled tins (let’s call it paranoia) and one of each into un-oiled.

The two center right are un-oiled

Fill just below the rim

Baked at 500º - convection this time. I’ll add here that the recipes I reviewed didn’t specify conventional or convection but our chef teacher at Nat’elier mentioned a more even bake with convection.

Six minutes, rotate, six more minutes then 2 minutes more to finish. Voila!

Oh yeah!

Notice the margarine versions (on the right in the image above) baked up more generously with more obvious layers of the puff.

Good news - they ALL released easily from the tins so I think the seasoning has reached the proper stage. It should only continue to improve with ongoing use. Hurray!

Here’s a cross section of a butter and a margarine version showing a more ample bake with the margarine one.

Do I have a scientific reason for that? It turns out that margarine has a higher melting point, is more stable and less likely to melt out of the layers during the bake, resulting in more consistent and dramatic layers. OK I get it!

I also discovered (had NO idea) that there exists a “puff or pastry margarine” that has a higher fat content. I used a basic Land O’Lakes margarine and found those results to yield a crisp, shattering crust. Wonder how much better the “puff margarine” might be?

They were both delicious yet I lean more toward the butter version for the flavor. It’s clear that one can reheat these the following day and they’re still pretty good, but I notice the pastry does become less tender and develops a hint of “toughness” or chew to it. That was the same with both butter and margarine.

Yum!

The final word? I’ll use the recipe I’m sharing with you and will most likely stick with butter as my fat of choice. I typically don’t keep margarine on hand but I do have 3 sticks left from the pound of Land O’Lakes I bought so . . . . why not use it up, eh?

Here’s to hints of spring (my tulips have started coming up!) and happy baking.

Along my walking route

Pastel de Nata

Bom dia! Having recently returned from Portugal, I’m here to share my experience with pastel de Nata (pastel is the singular of pasteis), the classic custard tart seen everywhere in this small country.

This being our first visit to Spain’s petite neighbor, we enjoyed many experiences in spite of weather that was all over the place. We had coolish days with spurts of wind and rain and occasionally sunny breaks interspersed. So windy in fact that mid Portugal sustained damaging winds with many trees blown over or snapped off, metal road signs twisted into pretzels and debris strewn here and there. Our planned train trip from Lisbon to Porto was canceled (all trains going north were affected) but fortunately there were buses aplenty that got us to our destination in almost the same amount of time as the train. Gotta love it!

As many of you well know, I’m a huge fan of custard in most any form so I knew that when we were planning this trip to Lisbon and Porto, I should search for a class experience to learn the secrets of this delectable treat. And so I signed up for an afternoon session at Lisbon’s Nat’elier.

Turns out the shop was just a few blocks walk from our AirBnB so Steve and I decided to check it out a couple of days before my class.

The case was chock full of pasteis (plural of pastel) in different flavors ranging from the traditional to a take on the currently popular Dubai chocolate bars; apple crumble, tiramisu, crème brulée and cherry were just a few of the many other options. The space is airy and open with seating on the main floor as well as on a wrap around sort of balcony offering a great view of the main space. There’s a robust coffee and drinks menu as well.

I chose the traditional pastel and Steve the Dubai version along with an espresso. I foolishly went with an over the top hot chocolate with whipped cream and caramel which made me wonder if I’d even want dinner ((I don’t indulge very often!)

The pastry was crispy, flaky and delicious; the custard smooth with a hint of cinnamon. Steve’s Dubai tart had chocolate hidden under the custard and pistachio cream dolloped on top.

There happened to be a class going on that afternoon - we could see the activity through the windowed teaching kitchen at the back of the shop. My turn would come in a couple of days.

Whereas the class we had witnessed was chock full (I think they take a maximum of 12 in a class), my class had three attendees - Ulrich from Germany, Michi, a pastry chef from Japan and myself. The space is laid out simply with a couple of work tables, all essential tools, a sheeter, mixer, oven etc.

Our chef Adriano had come to Lisbon from Brazil and was able to speak English as well as some Japanese. Michi didn’t speak any English, while Ulrich spoke it fluently. Interesting how one can communicate even when not knowing a particular language. Somehow it just works.

We all went through the steps of creating the laminated dough. One surprise for me was the fact that we used margarine instead of butter in the puff pastry. Our chef explained that because it’s more “plastic”, it’s easier to create the finished dough in a relatively short period of time without the usual rests in between the folds and turns. It also stands up well to high oven heat. With a bit of online reading I found that some pasteis are baked in as high as 800ºF/400ºC ovens!

SIDE NOTE: the recipe we were given at the end of class uses butter in the puff. Every other recipe I’ve looked at on line does as well. Also - one can use a high quality all butter puff from your local grocer if you prefer not to make your own.

Another eye opener was making the base dough by hand, kneading for a good ten minutes then starting the beurrage after only a short rest period for the dough. Certainly different than the way I’ve been making puff pastry for years! I guess you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!

I’ll give you more detail about ingredients and the process in the upcoming post when I share my “at home” adventures with making pasteis.

For this class, we enveloped our margarine in the dough . . . .

. . . . then rolled it out long, did a three fold, rotated 90º, rolled out again and did another three fold, all back to back without resting. I was amazed at how smoothly it rolled out without any resistance.

Then, placing the dough with the long edge facing us, we gave the surface of the dough a light brush with water (helps the layers stick) and starting by rolling the leading edge over tightly. Continuing on, we then rolled it into a snug log. We wrapped the logs and refrigerated them for 10-15 minutes as the oven heated to 500ºF.

Lightly oil or butter the tins. Slice the log into pieces as wide as the height of the tins then place them cut side up in the tins.

Next we dipped a thumb in water and pushed down directly into the center of the dough. Push firmly to flatten the bottom then work the dough evenly up the sides to create a rim just over the edge.

We had made a big batch of custard a little earlier in the class - made with 2% milk, cinnamon stick and some lemon peel first brought to a boil. Reduce heat to low as you add a flour/sugar mixture, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Then cook over medium heat until thickened a bit (it should leave a trail when lifting the spoon) then set aside to cool to room temperature. Egg yolks shouldn’t go in when the mixture is boiling hot - add the yolks to the base custard mixture right before filling the shells. I’m told this lends itself to a nice silky custard that isn’t too firm or flan like.

Fill each shell with custard almost to the top.

We each made four (there was plenty of dough left that our instructor used to created palmiers). Bake at 250ºC/480ºF for 5-6 minutes then rotate trays and bake another 10-12 minutes until set.

The well browned tops are a sign of a well baked pastel - if the center wobbles a bit, bake a couple minutes more. Let cool briefly then remove from the tins. HINT - more about my experience with this in the next post!

After class we were invited upstairs to a sitting area to enjoy our freshly baked pasteis along with a coffee beverage of our choice.

Next up we’ll see how my experience at home went! I didn’t want to overwhelm you all in one go so stay tuned . . . . adventures await.

A little taste of Portugal

Steve and I recently returned from Portugal where we spent time in Lisbon (6 nights) and Porto (5 nights). We enjoyed our stay in spite of weather that was quite variable - from brief torrential rain showers and wind to occasional blue skies and sunshine with temps in the mid to high 50s. At least there wasn’t any snow!

Check out Steve’s blog for LOTS of detail on what we saw and did.

The ubiquitous custard tarts - pasteis de Nata - were all over the place and we tried them at a handful of bakeries and cafes. All a bit different in their flavors and textures but generally pretty tasty. The highlight for me was taking a hands on class in making these little delights at Nat’elier, a shop right in the heart of Lisbon’s old quarter not far from our AirBnB. We even got certificates to prove it.

Here’s the group - Michi from Japan, our chef instructor Adriano from Brazil, Ulrich from Germany and moi.

The class was well orchestrated, interesting and offered a couple of unexpected variations on ingredients and process. Now I’m poised to make my own version soon which I’ll share in a separate post.

Below are a few images of things we enjoyed (mostly food related of course).

We paid Nat’elier a visit a couple of days before my class so we could test out the product.

Dubai version on the left and traditional on the right

Architecture abounds. One day we visited the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon’s Belém neighborhood - what a marvel of design and structure.

Central courtyard in the cloisters

Tiles and tile work are also HUGE around the city - here are just a couple of examples of tiling in the monastery . . .

While randomly strolling one can always find flowers . . . .

The image above shows you a perfect example of the street surface in many parts of Lisbon - small, square stones laid by hand. They can be very uneven and slippery when wet so it pays to be careful!

Bakeries are everywhere . . . . .

Chock full of cookies

In Porto we met up with our British friends, Richard and Pauline (remember - Steve has written about all of our adventures). The WOW (World of Wine) was quite a place and lots of fun. Our lunch there at Root and Vine was delicious - I had been craving lighter, fresher dishes after some meals on the heavy side and this quinoa salad was just the ticket. Citrus, nuts, sun dried tomatoes, sunflower seeds, lovely greens . . . YUM.

Our hotel in Porto had a wonderful breakfast spread . . . .

One could also get made-to-order omelettes or choose from hot dishes like scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon.

Richard celebrated a birthday during our stay and he was supplied with a lovely Happy Birthday breakfast treat that morning.

We enjoyed dinner a couple of nights at the hotel as well. I had a delicious apple tart for dessert one evening - right up there with The French Tarte’s!

Now we’re back in the land of snow and ice and look forward to spring.

I’ll get to work on my pastel de Nata project/post and be back with you before too long (I hope).

ice and snow along our roofline

Chocolate and pistachio (a match made in heaven): Caramel pistachio ganache tarte plus one more

I admit I’ve been on a bit of a pistachio kick lately. Pistachio millionaire’s shortbread and pistachio amaretti just to name two. I’ve made the amaretti a few more times lately - so, so delicious and pretty straight forward to boot. And the best thing is they hold beautifully in the freezer!

Pistachio amaretti

When I contemplate dessert ideas for a dinner gathering with friends (thanks Shirley!), a tarte (of course) is usually at the top of my list. How about caramel pistachio chocolate ganache - well that was easy!

First - a quick aside, health wise. Nuts are a favorite of mine, and I keep a stash of lightly seasoned, toasted mixed nuts on hand, usually walnuts, pecans and/or almonds. Along with my morning latte, I can jump start my day with fresh fruit, a small bowl of said nuts, some cubes of cheese and a small energy bite (almond butter, honey, toasted old fashioned oats and finely chopped dark chocolate). What a great way to fuel up for my mid morning exercise classes at our local fitness club - they lift my spirits every day!

OK - let’s get to work. This caramel-y, nutty, chocolate-y tarte is an amped up version of the chocolate ganache tarte which I have oft mentioned over the years. I posted specifically about the pristine all-ganache version on November 25, 2023 (click on the post in the right sidebar if you’d like to read about it.)

It’s a great dessert basic which comes together in a straight forward fashion. I keep it au naturel most of the time but when I want to add something to the flavor profile, bring in some crunch and dress it up, I go with a bottom layer of caramel and nuts in a blind baked pâte sucrée au chocolat shell (or choose a basic pâte sucrée). The ganache is then poured over and chilled to set then garnished with a little Chantilly cream and additional candied nuts (or however you might like to add your own touches).

Pouring the ganache - this one’s from a few years back with mixed nuts/caramel in a pâte sucrée crust

I’ve created a PDF for you which includes recipes for the chocolate dough, the ganache filling, my base caramel recipe plus guidelines for quantities of the components for different sized tartes. It’s all there for you.

For planning ahead, you can blind bake your tarte shell even a couple of days ahead and hold it in the freezer until you’re ready to proceed. I always have my house made caramel sauce in the fridge so I’m set there, but you can opt to use a decent store bought version. Have your choice of lightly toasted nuts ready - do that ahead as well since, once toasted, they’ll be fine in a covered container at room temp for several weeks.

On a caramel note - if I’ve EVER purchased store caramel, it’s been a long, long, long time! I did a quick look for highly recommended brands and it looks like Coop’s, Williams Sonoma and Trader Joe’s do a pretty good job. You definitely want something that isn’t too runny and those three are touted as thicker than many others. Look for good ingredients like cane sugar, cream, butter, maybe vanilla, a little sea salt. I avoid high fructose corn syrup at all costs.

Moving on . . . . fill the tarte shell early in the day of your event.

Below are an 8” tarte (used my 200 mm ring) with a couple small 65 mm / 2.5” ones on the side (extra for Steve and myself!). The caramel pistachio layer is spread in the baked tart shells with the mise for the ganache in the foreground.

For this I used a scant cup of toasted pistachios and a scant 3/4 cup caramel which works for either an 8” or 9” tarte. Here I simply kept a small amount aside for the two minis.

For the ganache heat the cream to a boil, pour over the chocolate and butter and blend. Blend in a teaspoon of espresso powder dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water. Remember the recipe here.

Pour somewhat slowly as to avoid air bubbles. If they do happen, I pop them with the tip of a sharp knife. Let cool at room temperature for an hour or so. You don’t want to refrigerate immediately when the filling is still pretty warm - you’ll get unwanted moisture droplets forming on the surface. Not good. Then refrigerate for at least an hour to fully set the ganache. You can let it be in the fridge for several hours if needed before doing your final garnish.

As in this case, when preparing for a dinner gathering, I garnish the tarte an hour or two ahead - sprinkle on some chocolate crumbs leaving a bare edge for a nice piped ring of Chantilly. Lightly dust the crumbs with confectioner’s sugar for a light snowfall look. Hold in the fridge until 20 or so minutes before serving.

Once sliced, top each serving with an additional dollop of Chantilly and some lightly candied, chopped pistachios. So good.

The diners loved it!! It was a perfect end to Shirley’s “shrimp in purgatory” served over pasta along with a lovely side salad.

But . . . . . . before I go, one more chocolate pistachio creation. Using my go-to financier recipe, I subbed ground pistachios for half of the almond flour, made the base mixture and refrigerated it overnight. When it was time to bake, I finely chopped ~120 g 61% Guittard chocolate discs and blended them into the batter.

Blended and ready to pipe

You see my favorite mini muffin sized silicone molds below, filled about 2/3 - 3/4 full.

Bake at 375º 15-18 minutes. Let rest a few minutes then turn out of the molds and let cool.

I froze some for later enjoyment - I do that a lot - then garnished a half dozen with dark chocolate ganache and a fine sprinkle of pistachio crumbs. Steve and enjoyed two and the remainder went to accompany some vanilla-buttercream-topped pear almond teacakes as a gift for friend Kim S.

May 2026 bring peace, joy and quietude - and plenty of baked treats for those you love!

Laminated pastries - what fun you can have!

I love both the process of making laminated dough as well as the variety of treats one can create with it. Through the summer months I don’t do much in that particular realm (just doesn’t seem quite right), but once autumn/early winter rolls around, it’s a new ball game folks!

Of course the standards are always on the table, my favorites being croissants, pain au chocolat, and croissant aux amandes. It’s often when I have a croissant class coming up (as I did in November), that I start making completed dough as well as portions of detrempe with which the students can work. They leave class with fresh croissants (and sometimes pain au chocolat) plus their own half batch of completed dough to play with at home.

Here’s my standard croissant dough recipe. For those of you familiar with the process, I’ve been playing around with the folding steps. I was taught in pastry school (whoa - going on 20 years ago!) that croissant dough is put through three 3-folds (also referred to as business letter folds). For awhile now I’ve been doing a 4-fold (or book fold) and a 3-fold and calling it good. But lately I’ve added a 2-fold at the end of that process. I like the way the layers come out. Don’t be afraid to play around with it.

A past project - looking good!

As a result of preparing for the class, I was left with some 1/2 portions of dough in my freezer (never hurts to make extra!). It was definitely time to use those babies up. NOTE: yeasted dough can be frozen, but it’s best to use it within 4 weeks or so. Much longer and the yeast sort of dumbs down and the rise isn’t as good.

As some of you may realize by now, I prefer my treats in smaller portions - you know that “everything in moderation” mantra I swear by. I aimed for three different laminated pastries, each version made using a half portion of completed dough.

Technical steps coming up!

For this project I initially intended to veer away from the standards (like pain au chocolat) but since I have a stash of chocolate batons on hand, I thought it best to use some of those for one of the three versions. For the other two I chose classic “Danish” and some twisty spiral knots.

Let’s go through the steps of each (I’ll try to keep it succinct!)

For standard Danish one would typically cut six ~4”x4” squares from a 1/2 portion (rolled out 8”x12”). To yield 12 smaller pastries I rolled the dough out to 9”x12”, cutting 3”x3” squares as seen below.

Pipe a round of crème d’amande in the center.

/

Fold the corners into the center and press them down to hold them in place.

Don’t be afraid to push down in the center pretty firmly. Lightly brush with egg wash.

It’s important that laminated dough not rise at anything warmer than 78ºF. If too hot, the butter leaches out during the rise and the bake. I create a warm moist environment (yeast loves that!) either in my turned off oven with a pan of hot water in it or under an overturned clean tote bin with cups of hot water tucked next to the sheet pan(s).

Below is one example of my proof set up - my tote is large enough to stack 2 half sheet pans (using three wooden blocks) and have room on the side for a couple of cups of hot water to provide moisture. Here the bottom pan holds croissants and the top pain au chocolat - you can see the condensation inside the lid. Works great!!

Proof box set up

Let the pastries rise about 2-2.5 hours. Look for a more pudgy appearance and more visible layers.

Top them with an additional dollop of crème d’amande, some apricot jam, crushed almond slices and a sprinkle of raw sugar. Give them a second egg wash.

Start the bake at 400º - I always check at 10 minutes in and will reduce temp to 375º if browning seems to be going too fast. Total bake time is typically 20-25 minutes. Here my jam sort of slid off - next time I’d mix the jam and crème d’amande together, both to protect the jam from burning (Susan - you should have known better) and keeping the filling more in the center. Invariably the corners do open up some but, believe me, the end result doesn’t suffer.

Oh yeah!

For my twisty spirals I decided on a hazelnut orange filling. For my 1/2 portion of dough I blended 42 g / 3 tablespoons soft unsalted butter with a large pinch salt, zest of an orange and 66 g / 1/3 cup brown sugar (light or dark - you decide).

I rolled the dough out to a 9”x18” rectangle and crumbled the filling mixture over one half. TIP: I didn’t do this here but, when you have a crumbly filling, it helps to blend in a bit of egg white to give it some cohesion.

Fold the bare half of the dough over the filling covered half and lightly go over it with the rolling pin to press things together. I end up with a 9”x9” -ish square.

I wanted a yield of 12 pastries so I cut 3/4” strips and twisted and knotted each. Every time I do this it comes out a bit differently. Play around with it.

Egg wash, let rise a couple of hours. You should appreciate more fullness as they’ve risen. Lightly egg wash a second time.

See that Pudginess?

Bake at 375º about 20-25 minutes. I brushed ‘em with some vanilla simple syrup just out of the oven.

Last but not least - pain au chocolat. Normally a p.a.choc is about 3” wide (the width of the batons used) and a half batch of dough yields six standard sized pastries.

To go for a smaller, narrower version, I cut my batons down to 2”, allowing me to get 9 portions out of the half batch of dough. To achieve that, roll the dough out to a touch over 6” wide and about 15” long

For each pastry rectangle you want enough length of 4.5 to 5” to form a decent log. Place one baton piece across one end, just in a bit from the edge. Roll that edge over the baton then place the second baton (or pieces placed together) tucked up against the dough/first baton. Get it? Then roll it up into a snug log.

It’s important that the visible cut end of the formed roll be face down on the sheet pan - enough to keep the pastry from rolling open during baking. Don’t worry - it does happen, but they still taste good!

Below is the side view of the finished shaped logs - you can see how the end edge is just underneath. If you roll it back too much, the whole thing will unfurl during rising/baking; roll it more forward and that cut end will open right up.

Here they are after a 2.5 hour rise. More pudgy and the laminations more visible. The dough takes on a softer more supple look and when you jiggle the tray a bit, the pastries also jiggle. It takes practice - eventually you just know.

Bake at 400º about 20 minutes. A bit of unfurling but not bad at all. You want the visible edges to be lightly browned (not pale). A sign of a well baked pain au chocolat or croissant is it’s lightness when picked up. If it feels heavy, it’s not done inside.

Okay! So much for that project. It’s pretty wintery here in west Michigan.

Like fluffy cotton balls

Recent snow and more to come

A bit of holiday cheer for you. Until next time - happy baking!

Shortbread gift boxes

Happy Halloween!

This one’s a quickie to say hello and wish all of you continued enjoyment of this autumn time of year. I know there are many Halloween lovers out there too!

Steve and I visited nearby Frederik Meijer Gardens a couple of nights ago to see the pumpkin walk through the woods - very cool and fun, especially for the kids. There were lots of folks out on a beautiful evening, not too cold and with a clear starry sky. My most beloved time of the year.

I had hoped to share a recent cake baking project here but, alas, even though it sounded good up front (a Norwegian twist on a honey almond cake), the end result was, in my humble opinion, THE most boring cake I’ve ever eaten. Enough said. I’ll just have to jump to a new project . . . . hmmmm, what might it be? I’m overdue for the next FAVE post so I’m chewing on the possible topics. Stay tuned.

In the meantime I’ll share a few photos of past pumpkin bakes. Steve prefers to keep pumpkin at a very far distance from his mouth so it’s not a regular ingredient in my larder. But it’s kinda de rigueur, especially leading up to T-day, don’t you think?

Pumpkin custard tarte with sesame brittle

Pumpkin scones

Pumpkin financier

Pumpkin pecan Danish

I’ve got my thinking cap on! Until next time.

Steve and I under the spooky lights

Chocolate tahini tartelettes

My oh my these are tasty. (Remember those pistachio tahini shortbread I wrote about in August?) Here’s another recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi’s book “Sweet” in which the filling incorporates flavors that marry so deliciously - dark chocolate, tahini and honey.

Invariably at this time of year (baking season!), I go through my supplies and ingredients with an eye to using some that often sit patiently waiting in the cabinet. As it turns out, this summer I had just refreshed my larder with the likes of sesame seeds and tahini as well as a fresh jar of local raw honey from Melody Bee Farms. Even though their shelf life is great, it’s good to start thinking of the delicious treats that might ensue.

This is a three component project (not including garnish) - a classic pâte sucrée crust, blind baked, then a dollop of tahini-honey topped by a lovely chocolate mousse filling baked in the shells. For garnish I whipped up a caramel mascarpone cream and sprinkled on some toasted sesame seeds and a few chocolate pearls.

For planning purposes, you can make the pâte sucrée ahead, line your chosen rings or tins and hold them in the fridge a couple of days or in the freezer for several weeks before blind baking and proceeding with the fillings. It’s all about making things a bit easier folks!

When you’re ready for the full project, blind bake the shells at 350ºF.

Here’s the full recipe PDF. NOTE: for this trial I used 2/3 recipe of the chocolate mousse filling since I was making a smaller number of tarts. The full recipe calls for 3 eggs so don’t let the 2 eggs in the photo below confuse you.

My house chocolate is Guittard’s 61% Lever du soleil in disc form so, since the recipe here calls for a darker chocolate, I picked up some 70% Lindt at our local supermarket. It’s pretty good and worked well here.

The mousse filling is four simple ingredients - chocolate, butter, sugar and eggs. Voila!

I melted my butter and chocolate in a 4 quart Pyrex in the microwave using bursts of medium power and stirring until melted. You can also place the two in a heat proof bowl over a water bath and slowly melt. Let the mixture cool while you whip the eggs and sugar on high speed for 10 minutes until nice and pale, foamy and tripled in volume.

Then fold the whipped egg/sugar gently into the chocolate/butter mixture in two additions until well combined. My 4 quart Pyrex was able to accommodate the volume (remember I made a 2/3 recipe mixture here).

Beat the tahini and honey about 3 minutes to thicken. Here’s the full recipe again.

Chocolate/butter and egg/sugar Waiting to be combined plus tahini/honey at the ready

Have your cooled shells standing by and increase the oven temp to 400ºF. Place a tablespoon of the tahini mixture in the bottom then either pipe or spoon in a generous mound of mousse. You want them to bake up puffy (they will deflate once cooled as is true for most baked mousse fillings).

Ready for the oven

Bake about 9-10 minutes until the top looks matte (not shiny) and a crust has formed. The center should still be gooey.

Let the tartelettes cool completely then gently remove from the rings. Note the deflated filling below.

A nice swirl of caramel mascarpone, a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and a few chocolate pearls did the trick.

Yum!

Of course Steve and I enjoyed a taste test and saved a couple in the fridge for another day. A few friendly folks were on the receiving end of the remaining treats. We can’t eat everything can we??

We’re finally seeing some brilliant autumn color - it’s hit or miss but the hits are gorgeous. Even a few simple fallen leaves on the walking path offer a rustic artful display.

I love it so!

Hmmm . . . . . what’s next?

Crostata della Nonna (and one more)

Continuing on my Italian kick, this crostata is as classic to Italians as apple pie is to Americans. Based on another recipe from the book “Dolci” by Renato Poliafito (remember the peach semifreddo?), the name is literally translated as “grandmother’s tart”. A tender, buttery, hint of lemon short crust, a pastry cream filling topped with a lattice of the same crust. Oh my.

A quick note on vocabulary. I’ve seen this type of tart referred to as either a crostata or a torta with some differences in the variables that make it what it is. Some say a crostata may have a more chunky fruit filling and no top crust, similar to a French galette or may be filled with pastry cream and topped with a lattice crust (as in this case). Torta might refer to either a cake or tart-like creation that can be either sweet or savory. In Spanish torta refers to a crusty roll or bread sandwich.

Not too gloss over it too much but I don’t think I’ll worry about which word I use, especially with regard to Italian pastries in the tart family. If you travel a fair amount, you’ll find similar treats in other countries in Europe, Scandinavia and beyond - everyone has their own take on a good thing!

Now back to our topic - just two components and a pretty simple assembly (the lattice can be a bit tricky), the pasta frolla dough bakes up light and tender, a true match for the luscious pastry cream filling. The full dough recipe makes about 750 g of dough of which you’ll use about 450 g, give or take. It’s somewhat akin to my favorite Breton dough but even a bit more ethereal.

Both components can be made a day or two ahead. Then it’s a matter of assembling and baking. I won’t go through the steps for the dough here - just check out the recipe. Any extra dough can go to making cookies (end of post!).

I used my favorite recipe for the pastry cream - 500 ml whole milk, 100 g sugar, 5 yolks and 50 g corn starch (or a mix of 32 g cornstarch and 18 g flour), 1.5 teaspoons vanilla, 40 g unsalted butter.

Heat the milk with half of the sugar. In a separate bowl blend cornstarch/flour, the other half of the sugar with the egg yolks, whisking until well blended. Temper the hot milk into the yolk mixture then return all to the pan. Continue to cook while whisking constantly until thickened and see a couple of “blub, blubs on the surface. Then blend in the butter and vanilla.

I line a quarter sheet pan with plastic wrap (long enough to bring up over the cream), transfer the hot cream to the pan, spread into a layer (more surface area, quicker cooling) then cover with the plastic as you expel any air bubbles. Chill in the fridge until cool.

You’ll most likely use about 2/3 of the cream, but you could always bake up some choux puffs and fill ‘em right up with what’s left.

Heat your oven to 350ºF. Line a half sheet pan with parchment. Have a 9” tart ring at hand. Using about 280-300 g of chilled pasta frolla, roll the dough out to a thickness of about 3-4 mm, lightly flouring the work surface and lifting the dough periodically to keep from sticking. Line the tart ring, creating a rim along the top of the ring. Prick the bottom all over with a fork.

Remove the pastry cream from the fridge and give it a paddling in a stand mixer to smooth it out. Spread the cream into the lined ring to just below the top edge of dough. Smooth the top. Save any extra cream for another use.

Using another 170 g or so of dough, roll it out and cut strips about 3/4 - 1 “ wide. The dough is fragile so if it gets too warm and difficult to handle, place the strips on a sheet pan and pop them in the fridge to firm up.

I’m sure many of you are expert pie makers and can whip off a woven lattice crust licket-y split. It takes a bit for me. I didn’t even try to weave them - just laid some across the cream then the rest at a bit of a diagonal. You can see my patching here and there - it’s OK - it all comes out in the end. Seal the dough strips along the edges.

Bake at 350ºF for about 40 minutes until the dough is golden and the pastry cream is set.

Let cool, gently lift the tart ring off and give it a nice dusting of confectioner’s sugar for that extra special look. It does something for it don’t you think?

Rustic and ready

So delicious as an accompaniment to afternoon tea or coffee or for a simple, yet tasty dessert. Maybe a few fresh berries on the side?

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for 3-4 days.

I had planned on a separate post on occhi di bue (bullseye cookies) but thought I’d just tack on a few images for you here. Made with the same pasta frolla dough, simply roll out the dough, cut your desired size rounds then, with half of those rounds, cut out a center bullseye (re-roll the center cutouts for more cookies or bake them for snacks!)

Bake at 350º F about 20 minutes. Let cool then spread a thin layer of apricot jam (or other jam of your choice) on the full rounds, pop them back into the oven for 5 minutes or so to set the jam. Then top with the bullseye rounds. Cool and give them a dusting of confectioner’s sugar. Enjoy!

Until next time (waiting for the autumn colors to burst forth)!

This one’s from 5 years ago at this same time of year. Back then we were deep into Covid and Steve and I wanted to get out of the house. We took a drive to see some autumn color and stopped at Meinert Park, a Muskegon county park on Lake Michigan. Of course I had to put my toes in the water!

AAAAHHHHH!

Why I love Paris

I’m working on a couple of additional Italian treat posts, but first I want to take time to share some images and thoughts about the City of Light where we’ve been spending the past 9 days. For us it’s not Michelin starred restaurants or la haute couture but the day to day life, the history, the monuments, the parks, the light, the art, the wine, the flowers, the ever changing variety of cuisines from all over the world . . . . . and even more.

We envy the neighborhoods (quartiers) in every arrondisement that offer within easy walking distance most everything you might need on a daily basis; the parks and green spaces where families and friends can enjoy the fresh air and the children run and play; the transit system that can take you from one end of the city to another in less time than it might take us to drive several miles round trip to our favorite cheese shop (or many other things in Grand Rapids). The societal camaraderie in general here is refreshing and healthy.

And, on an eco-friendly note, our friend Marie B. shared with us that pollution is down 40% in Paris due to limiting cars in the city.

You can also read more about things we experienced through Steve’s blog here.

Following are a variety of images from Paris that demonstrate what it is about this place that draws us in. There’s always something interesting around a corner or an unexpected find to surprise you.

FLORA AND PARKS (in no particular order)

A bit of green space at Place de L’Hôtel De ville, 4th arr.

Florist shop near Le Bon Marche, 7th arr.

Just a small part of Le Jardin de Luxembourg, 6th arr.

Playing petanque in Le Jardin de Luxembourg

Florist shop near Le Jardin de Luxembourg

Le Jardin des Plantes, 5th arr.

Les Jardin des Plantes

Le Jardin des Plantes

Lovely natural garden near Le Petit Palais, 8th arr.

Vineyards near Musée de Montmartre, 18th arr. (the only vineyards actually in the city)

Everyone’s out in the park on a Sunday afternoon, near our AirBnB in the 12th arr

Walking along Le Promenade Plantée, 12th arr.

In the courtyard at Musée Jacquemart-André, 8th arr.

CULINARY AND PASTRY TREATS and a bit more (again, in no particular order)

The following images are from outings that occurred over a series of days, focused mainly on our lunches out and afternoon coffee and treats. Our evening meals were either at home prepared by chef Steve using roasted chicken plus fresh veggies and potatoes, all purchased at the local Place d’ Aligré market (literally just outside our door). We also enjoyed Vietnamese, Algerian and classic French cuisines at nearby eateries.

Chocolat chaud, macaron au passion, praline chocolat at Foucher, 7th arr. (Steve had espresso)

On one outing we had lunch at Café du Trocadero - Steve a tasty chicken salad and I a classic goat cheese/greens/tomatoes/carrots/cuke/walnuts arrangement.

My salade au chèvre chaud, delicious and filling

Below is our shared dessert - pâte sucrée crust, layer of crème d’amande baked in, topped with crème de pistache and fresh raspberries. It reminded me of a non-pistachio version I make. Good!

Tarte au pistache et framboise at Café du Trocadero, 16th arr.

Savory galette artisanal (classic Breton buckwheat crepe with ham, egg, cheese), Breizh café, 18th arr.

Classic Flan Parisien, Musée d’Orsay café, 7th arr. (not as good as The French Tarte’s!)

pâtisserie Gosselin, near the Orsay (we tried paris-Brest and Religieuse au café)

Wine and cheese tasting at Ô Chateau, 1st arr.

A nice Rosé, La Vieille Tour, 5th arr. (just off rue Mouffetard)

Plus . . . . .

Fresh baguettte

And . . . . . .

Soupe à la oignon (classic French onion soup!)

Le Gouter (afternoon snack time): èclair au café, brioche feuilletée, espresso, cappuccino, at Blé Sucre, 12th arr.

After initial days of cool temps and rain showers on and off, we enjoyed our first afternoon “sitting-out” coffee experience at Blé Sucré (above) as the weather had turned sunny. Since it was just around a corner from our AirBnB, we opted for another round of treats at the end of our stay.

Another day - èclair chocolat et tarte au citron (reminded me of The French Tarte’s!)

Of course, I had to throw this one in . . . . . .

We all know what this is!

STROLLING AND DISCOVERY (once again, in no particular order)

This one was unexpected. When in Paris we typically stop on rue Monge at Pâtisserie Pascal Pinaud where I did two stages (internships) in 2007. The last time we stopped there was back in 2022 when Pascal’s wife was still manning the counter.

This visit we were surprised to see a new look and new name, now called Maison Monge. The shop is definitely refreshed from the days I recall - new faces, newer/cleaner look, more open and inviting. They have some outside tables for morning coffee and pastries or enjoying a lunch time baguette sandwich or slice of quiche. The range of breads and pastries looked good (sorry - forgot to take an inside picture!)

We popped in and talked briefly with the man who seemed to be in charge - I tried my broken French, he did speak some English. Turns out that Chef Pascal has retired! The fellow I just mentioned says he’s in touch with Pascal by phone to receive tips and guidance about the shop’s operations. They just opened three weeks ago! Bon chance I say!

Maison Monge, 5th arr. New owner, new look

We did try an oranais, one of Steve’s favorite pastries made with Danish type dough with a filling of pastry cream and apricot. We gave it a thumb’s up. Once again, I forgot to take a picture, but here’s a version I made a while back that will give you an idea (whoops - should have been in the pastry section!). Oh well.

Oranais

Next up was one of those “what’s going on here” as we approached a number of white tents like you might see at a craft fair in the USA. Much to our surprise it was a VERY cool vintage furniture market (brocante) and definitely not one of the often grungy flea markets/rummage sales (know as vide greniers) that one often sees here and there around Paris.

We certainly are in no market for furniture but the quality of what we saw was quite stunning. Below is just one “room” set up that could certainly appeal to many who fancy vintage stuff or retro looks.

Vintage furniture market, rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard, 5th arr.

Interior of Saint Medard church, 5th arr

Love the light and shadow on the seating

Fountain at the base of rue Mouffetard, 5th arr.

Typical market

Crossing the Seine on Pont Marie to Isle St Louis, 4th arr.

Les Bouquinistes along the Seine

My favorite statue at Le Grand Palais, 8th arr.

A beautiful day for a stroll in Père Lachaise cemetery, 20th arr.

Grave of Frederic Chopin in Père LaChaise Cemetery

Vivant Denon - the bouquet of flowers caught my eye - one of the first curators of the Louvre; has a wing named after him

A visual of a few monuments in Père Lachaise - gives some sense of the topography - you really gotta be there

Lovely house boat along the seine

Line six metro crossing the seine; near the Eiffel Tower, 7th arr

What better way to end this post than with . . . . . . .

Le Tour Eiffel, 7th arr.

Again

And one more!

I hope to be back with you with more baking adventures in the next several weeks. Enjoy!

Pistachio amaretti

Hi all. I’m publishing this post from Paris!!!

After my recent semifreddo post I still have a few things up my sleeve whilst on a bit of an Italian tangent. One of them is amaretti, a delectable meringue based cookie that’s not only easy to make but delicious to boot. Interestingly, when I put amaretti into Google translate from Italian to English it gives me “macaroon” (like our coconut macaroon). There’s also amaretti morbidi which translates to “soft macaroon”. If I translate macaron from Italian to French, Italian to English, French to Italian, English to either French or Italian it all comes out as macaron. Curious, eh?

Let’s just say that the word “macaroon” for me will forever mean the coconut one that many Americans know and love. Otherwise “macaron” goes for anything almond-meringue-y-like, whether it be French, Italian or some other nationality.

Amaretti’s ingredients are indeed very similar to those of French macarons, the ever popular colorful sandwich treats, save for the fact they contain a bit of wheat flour in addition to almond flour, confectioner’s sugar, egg whites and nuts. The process is less fussy than the classic macaron and the batter comes together quickly. No resting times or waiting or special mixing methods. I like that.

Here’s a bit of back story.

One of my favorite books

I purchased this book back in March, 2010 while I was in Paris for a month or so. I was taking French language classes at L’Alliance Français, attended a croissant class at Le Notre, went to Mulhouse to visit my friend Misato, attended the civil ceremony for friend Val’s marriage - all good stuff. That was the year of the volcanic eruption in Iceland - my return home was delayed a few days so I was able to tack on a day trip to Giverny (lovely!) and a small group tour of a well known Paris pastry shop showing us the ins and outs of macaron making. Sometimes it pays to have travel plans change!

What attracted me to the book was not only the inclusion of assortments of petite treats (love ‘em all!) like choux, tartelettes, sablés, meringues and small cakes such as moelleux and financiers but also instructions/patterns for making your own boxes (I loved shopping at BHV in their craft/paper department).

A lovely assortment of biscuits from the book’s pages

My notes on a number of the recipes I tested indicate that I had made these pistachio amaretti (as well as the box to contain them) to take along to a celebration at Val’s parents’ home after the civil ceremony. Even though the book is in French, the amaretti are truly Italian in nature.

The page in question

Here’s the process: in a medium bowl blend 150 g / 1.5 cups confectioner’s sugar, 100 g / 1 cup almond flour, 30 g / 1 ounce either lightly toasted/cooled, chopped pistachios or crushed sliced almonds and 50 g / slightly mounded 1/3 cup all purpose flour. Here’s the recipe in printable PDF form.

In a separate bowl whisk two large egg whites to soft peaks then fold gently into the above ingredients in 2-3 additions. While the recipe calls for blending in a tablespoon of pistachio paste, I added just a bit of extra ground pistachios instead - it worked just fine. As you see below, the batter is rather rough and tumble.

Scoop small boules onto a parchment lined sheet pan - I use a tablespoon sized scoop - and roll in additional confectioner’s sugar. Yield should be around 25-30 small cookies.

Press a pistachio half in the center of each cookie.

Bake at 300º F for about 20 minutes, rotating the tray half way through.

Let cool and enjoy! They have a delightfully crisp exterior and chewy interior. They’ll be fine in a container in the fridge for a number of days, although I tend to freeze them and pop out a few to enjoy when the mood strikes. They’ll remain very happy in there for several weeks.

I’ll be back again in a while - enjoy autumn!

florist shop sidewalk display in Paris

Caramelized peach semifreddo

Hello from autumnal west Michigan! It feels so good to be away from the seemingly weeks and weeks of heat and humidity. My baking juices have been flowing - yippie!

Peaches have been around for a few weeks now and are ever so delicious. In addition to the mixed fruit galette I shared with you recently, I’ve made a peach cake for a cousin’s gathering a couple of weeks ago, I have peach ice cream in the freezer and just baked a peach/blueberry custard tart to share with neighbors.

My favorite stone fruit vendor

This post has been underway for awhile after my discovery of the book “Dolci!” by Renato Poliafito at our local library. Hence I’ve been off on an Italian tangent with this delicious semifreddo (I’ll have a few other Italian bakes to share with you in the coming weeks.)

As a bit of back story, let’s not forget that my first foray into professional pastry school was at Apicius in Florence, Italy back in early 2006. By the way, at the end of this month it’ll be TWENTY years since I left my medical career - wow!

At Apicius I enjoyed the basic pastry program and had hoped to continue with a second semester, but, alas, the proposed summer session wasn’t going to happen. As Steve and I contemplated our next move, he so wisely said “If you want to learn pastry, why not go to Paris?” And the rest is history as they say.

Like a big sparkler

Let’s get back to the task at hand. I recently taught a French macaron class to a couple of teenagers (good fun!) which meant I had to have egg whites on hand a few days ahead so they could age in the fridge. When I need egg whites, I look for something tasty to make using the yolks. Semifreddo (Italian word meaning half-cold) is just one of those. Basically a still-frozen (not churned) egg/sugar or Swiss meringue base to which whipped cream is added, it can take on many flavor profiles.

For the base mixture: option one is a sabayon/zabaglione made with eggs + yolks (or all yolks) + sugar + a flavoring liquid such as a nut liqueur/fruit juice/Marsala/Champagne or a fruity white wine; option two is a Swiss meringue base to which one can add fruit purees, melted chocolate and/or ground nuts to name just a few.

Both options end with folding in whipped cream and the whole shebang is frozen in a plastic-wrap-lined loaf pan.

Cover with the plastic and into the freezer

An alternative is to spread the mix into shaped flexi-molds of choice for an interesting single serving approach. The below image gives you the general idea. Top with fresh fruit or coulis plus a crunchy crumble and you’re good to go.

Waiting for garnish

Let’s go over the process. This is a plan ahead-er for sure. Just be organized and you’ll find it’s pretty straight forward. Peaches diced, sautéed and cooled; base mixture whisked/heated over bain marie and fully cooled; cream whipped; then it all gets combined, spread into a pan and into the freezer. Here’s the full recipe PDF.

Lightly oil a 9”x5” loaf pan and line with plastic (the oil keeps the plastic in place) so that it overhangs the edges by 2-3 inches.

For the peaches I peeled/large diced 4 ripe peaches. Sautéed in a bit of sugar, butter and a splash of lemon juice to cook off the liquid, then stir in a couple of drizzles of my homemade caramel at the end makes for a tasty addition to the base.

Bubble . . . bubble

Transfer the peaches to a 1/4 sheet pan in a single layer and let cool fully. If not using soon, cover and refrigerate.

Make the sabayon by whisking 2 large eggs, 3 yolks and 100 g / 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a medium heat proof bowl over a bain marie. Whisk with vigor until the mixture pales, thickens and ribbons off a spatula or bowl scraper, about 5-8 minutes. It should reach 170ºF. Place directly into an ice bath and let cool completely, whisking occasionally.

Whip 360 ml / 1.5 cups heavy cream to medium soft peaks.

Components ready

Blend the whipped cream into the cooled base then fold in the peaches.

Spread evenly into the prepared pan. Fold the plastic wrap over the surface, smooth down to eliminate air bubbles then place into the freezer for at least 4 hours. I made mine a couple of weeks before actually serving and enjoying it. Make ahead - gotta love it!!

When it came time for the first taste, I opted for an ice cream scoop approach. I admit I might have been in a teensy bit of a hurry and this is an easy way to enjoy - a scoop into a bowl, topped with toasted sliced almonds and/or oat crumble, a few blueberries and a drizzle of caramel - YES!

The remainder went back into the freezer until I got my wits about me.

The next time I was feeling a bit more relaxed so took time to lift the semifreddo out of the pan, slice it and top with the same garnish of crumble, blueberries and caramel - never gets old.

I was left with enough to empty the loaf pan and press the remaining mixture into one of my decorative silicone molds (photo earlier above). Covered with plastic wrap and back into the freezer (again!) where it’s at the ready for another round of goodness.

A quick note - I would typically decide ahead of time whether I want to make a full loaf (e.g. sliced and garnished for a dinner party) or opt for the silicone individual portions that can be popped out and served singly or with just a handful of folks. It’s all in the planning.

OK - enough of the semifreddo. Here’s the peach cake I mentioned earlier. The recipe is the same as one I posted back in late August of 2023 as mini cakes - this time I went with a 9” springform.

Hmmmmm . . . . what should go on top??

I topped it with my favorite caramel mascarpone cream plus a drizzle of caramel over all. I don’t have a photo of an individual portion (we were at my cousin’s cottage and it just didn’t happen), but I also made a blueberry sauce to top it. Boy oh boy was it good!

Happy baking and enjoy autumn!

Along my walking route

Sour cherry and farmer’s cheese tart

As a result of my mid-summer browsing in the baking and pastry book section at our nearby East Grand Rapids Library, I discovered an intriguing Nordic collection of very interesting baked goods. It reminded me so much of our trip back in the spring of 2022 when we enjoyed a variety of delicious treats throughout Scandinavia (and elsewhere!).

Just one of the many options in Nevada Berg’s “Norwegian Baking”, this recipe gave me a great excuse to use some of this year’s tart cherries now resting in my freezer. I was so taken by the offerings in the book that I purchased my own copy using an early August birthday gift card. Yes!

This treat combines a sweet pastry dough and a sour cherry compote made by combining cherries and sugar, cooked to thicken. Then there’s a layer of farmer’s cheese (a somewhat-drier-than-ricotta curd-y product). Although one can make farmer’s cheese at home, I opted to purchase a farmer’s cheese from California which I found at our favorite Cheese Lady shop here in GR.

Starting the assembly

Here’s the full recipe PDF. A bit about the dough - the pastry for this one is much like a typical pâte sucrée, so common in French tarte recipes. I sub whole wheat pastry flour (also known as graham flour) for about a third of the all purpose - love the whole grain nuttiness it imparts.

I’m a big fan of Bob’s Red Mill but learned not too long ago that they’re no longer making whole wheat pastry flour. I found a milling company, The Birkett Mills, in NY state and ordered a quartet of 4 pound bags at a pretty decent cost, even with shipping.

Pay attention to the shelf life of this type of flour - whole wheat doesn’t keep as long as all purpose. But remember you can freeze it to prolong its freshness. I shared one bag with sister Joyce and I’m getting close to using up another. For the remaining 2 bags my autumn plans are robust for making a variety of tart and cookie doughs that I can hold in the freezer until ready to bake (including homemade graham crackers!).

As for butter, one thing I’ve noticed in many Scandi recipes is the use of “lightly salted” butter. I’ve begun to keep a Danish creamery style salted butter on hand for just such occasions. I also keep my eyes open for sales on Kerry Gold or Land-O-Lakes salted “extra creamy”. These salted butters are also great for a variety of cookies, especially classic shortbread or cookies that offer caramel-y or chocolate-y flavors. My mouth is already watering!

For this tart two thirds of the dough is rolled out to line the bottom and sides of a 9” springform pan. Cherries and crumbled cheese go in . . . . . .

Filling all in

and the other third of the dough is rolled out, cut into strips and latticed on top. Seal the edges with your fingers.

Brush with a bit of milk, sprinkle with raw sugar and bake at 350ºF for about 45-50 minutes.

Cool in the pan about 15 minutes, release and remove the outer ring then let cool completely.

For my unadorned first small sample taste I thought the dough was wonderful but the filling perhaps a bit dry. Steve disagreed. For a more composed offering, our enjoyment of the first full slices was of course accompanied by vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel. What can I say - it never gets old.

The good news - the flavors and textures continued to improve over the several days that this tart can remain covered in the fridge. Yay!

Lest you think all we do is eat dessert, think again! I space my projects out so we have small portioned treats every now and then. Taking desserts to family gatherings, sharing goodies with neighbors or the staff at our local health club and/or freezing the end results for a later date are great ways to avoid over indulging.

With a focus on moderation, regular exercise, using good ingredients, a diet that incorporates fresh fruits and veggies (local whenever we can) and excellent locally raised poultry (just to name a few), we’re doing our best to stay healthy. Gotta do it!

Autumn is coming!

This past weekend we enjoyed a lovely afternoon, a delicious supper and evening at the Lake Michigan home of one of my many cousins. After what has seemed like weeks of heat, humidity and not so great air quality, our group of twenty was so ready for the gorgeous weather, cool breezes, warm sun, beautiful waves and . . . . ahhhhh, the sunset.

Fulton Street Market and a mixed fruit galette

It’s that wonderful time of year! Hurray!! It’s happening at our local Fulton Street Market where we find all manner of beautiful fruits and veggies. And there’s more to come before the chill of autumn arrives.

Not only a feast for our tummies, the gorgeous natural colors and hues are a feast for the soul and the eyes as well.

Nyblad farms is one of our favorite vendors, especially for stone fruits like the plums above and peaches below.

Sweet cherries were going strong but alas are finished for the season. But I now have a nice stash of pitted tart cherries in my freezer for upcoming projects. Yay!

Tortoise and Hare offers beautiful, fresh and delicious veggies, herbs and greens.

OK! Let’s do some baking! Since I had some of my favorite pâte brisée handy in the freezer, I decided to whip up a lovely rustic mixed fruit galette using peaches, plums, blueberries and raspberries. I’ve written about galettes on and off over the years but it never hurts to focus on what summer’s bounty has to offer.

Heat the oven to 400ºF while you proceed with preparation and assembly. I bake my galette on a sheet pan placed directly on my heated baking stone.

For a finished galette of about 9”, roll the dough out to an approximately 10-11” round to give yourself enough to pleat the edges up around the fruit. The dough should always be cool yet malleable. NOTE: Pâte brisée is generally a bit stiffer than a more flexible pâte sucrée, but be patient with it and you’ll be happy with the end result (such a delicious dough!).

I use about 4 cups of fruit - I had a couple of peaches, four small plums and added frozen blueberries and raspberries to reach that goal. I toss the fruit with a few tablespoons of sugar mixed with half as much flour (I tend to go light on the sweetening - sometimes you just have to experiment).

DO NOT mix your fruit until you’re ready to load it onto the dough, particularly if using frozen fruit. If it sits too long, it’ll become juicy and may lead to soggy dough.

I mix a tablespoon each of raw sugar and flour (or almond flour) to sprinkle over the dough - it helps protect that bottom.

Ready for assembly

Gently place your fruit in a pile in the center of the dough, then carefully start pleating the dough up around the fruit.

Once the pleating is complete I take both hands and encircle the galette with my palms, giving it a nice squeeze to help set the pleats.

Brush the dough edges with a little milk and sprinkle raw sugar over them. I keep a mix of raw sugar and golden cane sugar on hand (I often add some coriander and a bit of freshly grated nutmeg) - love it with all kinds of fruit.

If for some reason, your oven isn’t ready yet, pop the tray with the assembled galette into the freezer to hold it until you’re ready to bake (once again - helps avoid a soggy bottom). Pâte brisée is one of those doughs (like puff pastry) that likes going directly from a cold freezer into a hot oven.

Bake at 400º F about 30-35 minutes. I check after the first 10 minutes or so and as the baking continues, if the edges look too brown but the fruit isn’t bubbly yet, I’ll turn it down to 375º. You want golden brown crust, bubbly fruit.

Once out of the oven I drizzle some caramel all over.

As is our wont, Steve and I enjoyed a slice topped with a bit of my homemade vanilla ice cream - so simple and delicious! That crust - oh my!

I’m currently working on a couple of tart related posts - an Italian crostata and a Nordic terte (tart) that I hope to share in the next week or two. Good stuff.

Schools around here are back in session this week - hard to believe it!!

Until next time.

Love the markings on these maple leaves

Pistachio tahini millionaire’s shortbread

I have always and will forever continue to love shortbread cookies. Back in my childhood days the Lorna Doone brand was a fave, but, as I look at the ingredients today, I won’t go near them (say NO to high fructose corn syrup!).

Here I’m taking the opportunity to try an amped up spin on a delicious cookie base, and I’m going for it!

This is another delight in a line of inspirations from Yotam Ottolenghi’s “Sweet”. It’s my take on his middle Eastern twist on millionaire’s shortbread. Millionaire’s is traditionally created with a baked and cooled shortbread base topped with a layer of caramel which is then spread with melted chocolate. A quick search tells me that this three layered treat is believed to have originated in Scotland and, due to it’s sweet richness, someone dubbed it “millionaire’s”. I reviewed a number of recipes, many of which use sweetened condensed milk to create the caramel layer. Finding that particular canned product WAY too sweet for my tastes, I looked for other ways to create a not-too-over-the-top tasty caramel-like component.

Here’s where Ottolenghi comes in - he omits chocolate and combines a layer of halva (a Middle Eastern tahini based confection) topped with tahini caramel to set off his cookie base. I went for my own mish-mash - O’s base (to which I added coriander sugar) and a homemade tahini halva layer made with honey rather than granulated sugar. I then topped it with a thin layer of dark chocolate ganache and sprinkled with chopped pistachios. Yup.

Right here is my recipe PDF which also includes a second shortbread base option (I used that one on my second trial of the recipe). I’m giving you the ingredients with weights in the narrative below. Go ahead and skip all of that if you want to go directly to the recipe.

First up - the base. For those of you in the know, a basic shortbread recipe is classically 1 part sugar/2 parts butter/3 parts flour by weight e.g. 75 g sugar, 150 g butter, 225 g flour. That’s what I used to make at Gracie’s back in the day. Sand diced cool butter into the sugar and flour then press into a 8”x8” pan. Once baked, I’d sprinkle some raw or sparkling sugar on top and cut it into short batons to accompany a chocolate pot de crème or post dinner coffee. A tasty, tender end result.

There are many shortbread variations out there - here’s my mini shortbread primer to give you a sense of some of them. They’re all delicious, each offering a slightly different texture and taste.

the French Tarte’s shortbread assortments

Naturally I HAD to try “Sweets” recipe in which the big difference is melting and cooling the butter a bit before mixing. The beauty of a shortbread recipe is the option to make it ahead - you can store it in the fridge covered for several days or freeze well wrapped for a couple of weeks before proceeding with the additional layers.

The recipe calls for 40 g each of confectioners and granulated sugars (80 g total); 35 g cornstarch; 170 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; 1/8 teaspoon salt; 255 g flour. The cornstarch and confectioner’s sugar help to create a tender end result. In place of the plain granulated sugar I used a mix of coarse raw sugar and golden cane sugar mixed with coriander. I used a Danish lightly salted butter and added 1/2 teaspoon ground vanilla bean.

Line an 8” square pan with parchment (enough to let it extend over the edges). Heat oven to 400ºF (this temperature caught my eye - much higher than my usual 300-325ºF baking temp for shortbread).

In the bowl of a stand mixer, briefly hand whisk the sugars and cornstarch together then, using the paddle on low, drizzle in the melted butter to combine. Blend in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon ground vanilla bean (OPT), the flour, a large pinch of salt and mix until the dough comes together.

Press dough into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake at 400ºF and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely before proceeding.

For my second layer I checked out a few make-it-yourself halva recipes rather than purchasing a mass produced version. Halva is a fudge like confection made with sesame paste (tahini) and sugar. I opted to use honey in place of sugar since it offers a bit more in the “healthy” department - it’s a simple sugar (fructose) and tends to have a slightly lower glycemic index (doesn’t amp up you blood sugar quite as much as cane sugar). Plus it contains a mix of amino acids, minerals, iron and zinc. But let’s be clear - it is still sweet. Check out the recipe PDF for the halva process.

Spread a thin layer over the cooled shortbread. Chill for an hour or so. The image below is my second trial using my standard shortbread base recipe (except using melted rather than cold, diced butter) in a 9”x9” pan for a slightly thinner base.

Spread a thin layer of ganache over the tahini layer and sprinkle with lightly toasted chopped pistachios. Chill to set the ganache.

Slice into squares or batons or whatever shape you’d like. These keep extremely well in a covered container in the fridge over 1 to 2 weeks. The tahini layer does tend to “ooze” a bit at the edges but it certainly doesn’t detract from the wonderful flavors and textures.

Give ‘em a try - it’s worth it!

My go-to honey vendor at our Fulton Farmers Market

Enjoy what’s left of summer - it may go on longer than we think!

Mid-ish summer check in

Hi all. Hope you’re staying cool and beating the heat the best way you can. I long for those perfect Michigan summer days that bring fresh breezes, crystal clear blue skies and low humidity. They seem few and far between this season.

I’m working on a couple of posts featuring goodies that incorporate tahini, honey and chocolate and hope to share them with you soon. I’m taking it slowly but surely - steady wins the race, right? But wait! I have a few summer treats that I’ll share with you now.

For July 4th I made my favorite tarte au citron and topped it with whipped cream and raspberries.

For serving I made a simple blueberry topping to dollop on each slice. Cool, creamy and delicious!

Picnic style!

In spite of the heat, we did have a day (or two) that actually lent itself to croissant making. I was prepping for a private croissant class with a soon-to-be junior in high school who has her sights set (possibly!) on pastry school. I hadn’t baked croissants for some months and it felt good to get the feel once more for the process of the beurrage and laminations. Here they are all proofed - check out those layers!

For a recent group dinner with some of our exercise buddies, Steve made a load of delicious panko crusted chicken tenders with roasted little potatoes. Host Shirley provided appetizers and made a lovely fresh green bean salad. I went with freeform cherry/berry puff tartes. Michigan tart cherries are available and blueberries are coming fast and furious. I love using the fruits when fresh but have also been getting freezer stock ready for autumn and winter projects.

I rolled out two 1/4 batches of puff (~300 g), using my 4”x11” tart form as a guide. I trimmed the edges away leaving a border outside the form to build up the edges. I saved the scraps to bake separately for my top decor. A slit at each corner allowed me to turn the edges over to create a thicker border.

After lifting the form out of the way, press down the turned in edges to create the rim. Then score lightly with a paring knife just inside the inner edges. This gives you some demarcation when baking and subsequently filling. Prick all over with a fork. I lightly brushed the puff with milk and sprinkled raw/golden cane sugar mix all over. I hold the puff in the freezer as my oven heats to 400º (remember - cold dough into hot oven - better puffing!)

Bake the unfilled puff at 400º about 20-25 minutes until nicely browned. If you’re a plan ahead-er, you can do this a day or two before and hold the baked puff in the freezer. Remove it when ready to add the fruit and pop into the oven.

Bake the edge scraps too - use for top decor if you wish.

I placed blueberry filling down the center then the cherry filling along the sides. Place into a 325º oven for 10 minutes or so to refresh the puff and set the filling.

Once cooled I placed the “scrap” strips diagonally across, crushed some of the extra baked scraps to sprinkle over all, then a nice dust of powdered sugar just because.

When baking free form puff shapes, I love the longer narrower versions like these - when slicing across, each serving has the benefit of TWO edges of puff (and the end portions get THREE!). So delicious with the fruit. Love that!

Serve slices with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and a few fresh blueberries sprinkled on top.

Finally, as often happens, I had egg whites in the fridge that needed to be used. Guess what - my favorite financiers were the choice once again. I had prepared a smallish batch of lemon curd for a lemon Swiss meringue buttercream (another good use for egg whites!). There was some left so I added about 3 tablespoons of that into my citrus zested financier batter after it had chilled overnight.

After piping the batter into muffin sized silicone molds, I topped each with an additional dollop of the curd and a few fresh blueberries. A top sprinkle of a mix of golden cane, coarse raw sugar with coriander finished ‘em off.

Bake at 375º about 25 minutes until golden brown. Let ‘em cool about 10 minutes then release from the molds and finish cooling on a wire grid.

Remember that lemon buttercream I just mentioned? I piped a swirl on one freshly baked cake so Steve and I could trial it. Yum. The rest went into the freezer ungarnished for more fun later.

Delicious!

Stay cool everyone! Until next time.

Here are a couple of images from our recent trip to visit family in New England.

Lovely window box in Chester Connecticut

Sunset near BAngor Maine

And finally - a recent daylily sighting. Cheers!