Lemon, lemon, lemon!

NOTE: I’ve updated the recipe as of 11/13/22.

While visiting my mom in Grand Rapids, Michigan recently I simply had to do a little baking.  Why of course!  What could be more natural?

I've had lemon on the brain, finding these days of ongoing winter, with some early (dare I say it?) hints of spring, so conducive to the fresh, bright taste of lemon.  I wanted to make lemon scones for sure.  Mom just LOVED them when I made them over our Christmas visit, and, in addition to serving them for a couple of family luncheons, I wanted to bake up a stash for her freezer.

This recipe for lemon cream scones is the one I made all summer long back in 2007 at Gerrish's cafe in Winter Harbor, Maine.  Full of lemon zest, cream and butter, they were a big hit with the locals and tourists.

Making them by hand is the key. Whisk the dry ingredients (320 gm/2.5 cups flour, 50 gm/3 TBSP + 1 teaspoon sugar, 12 gm/1 TBSP baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and zest of 3 medium or 2 large lemons) and sand in the diced, cold butter (140 gm/5 oz/10 tablespoons).

Then add the wet ingredients (220 ml / one cup minus 4 teaspoons heavy cream, 1 large egg + 1 large yolk, 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice, 1.5 teaspoons vanilla and mix quickly and gently to achieve a shaggy dough.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface, give the batter a few quick kneads, shape a one inch thick round about 8” in diameter and cut into 8 or 12 wedges, depending on your size preference (I prefer smaller portions). For more petite scones form the dough into a 5”x10” rectangle, divide into eight ~2.5” squares then cut each square into two triangles.

Once I have them on the parchment lined baking sheet, I pop them into the freezer for 10-15 minutes to stabilize the dough before baking.

Brush with a little cream (or egg wash) and sprinkle with sugar. . . .

then bake at 400º for about 20 minutes.

When ready to serve for brunch or lunch, just place them in a cloth lined basket and they're ready for the table!

For a luncheon dessert I had in mind a lemon custard of some sort.  The whole custard discussion is a topic unto itself - stove top vs. oven; milk or cream; yolks, whole eggs or a combination of both; starch or not - it goes on and on.

I decided on a straight forward stovetop lemon custard, à la crème pâtissiére, with milk, egg yolks, lemon zest and juice, sugar and cornstarch.  It's a practical do-ahead preparation, especially since it holds well in the fridge up to 2-3 days.

A little side note here:  when I'm working in someone else's kitchen and don't have the tools that I normally have at my disposal, it can take some improvising.  Lo and behold, I discovered a new way to juice a lemon using a beater from a Kitchenaid hand mixer . . . .

Just halve the lemon and twist the beater into the half to release the juice - not bad!!

The custards came out silky smooth, not too heavy or eggy and with just the right burst of lemon. Topped with a little chantilly and fresh raspberries - what could be better?  Perhaps a moist little financier?

Yes!!

A chocolate génoise entremet

When we're invited to someone's home for a weekend supper, I always (almost) volunteer to make dessert. Thus it was that I was on the hook again to provide something tasty and not too heavy for the meal's finale.

My dessert leanings tend to veer towards a simple tarte (classic apple, fruit/almond, lemon, caramel nut, ganache to name a few) or something custardy like pots de crème, perhaps served with some buttery shortbread. But, every now and then, I like to create a layered entremet.

The word entremet is actually translated as "between servings" and can refer to a small dish served between courses or to a dessert. In the modern pastry world it most often refers to a layered dessert made with some type of cake along with various creamy, crunchy textural components. The possibilities are pretty much limitless - just look in any French pâtisserie window and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about!

Since Steve and my brother Dick are both chocolate lovers (truth be told Dor and I don't mind the stuff either), I focused on a chocolate plan. I had it in the back of my brain to utilize the leftover "duja" (a mixture of chocolate and ground hazelnuts) that I had made for the sablés au praliné post on 1/25/15, so I popped it out of the freezer and into the fridge for an overnight thaw.

Whenever I have a cake question or need ideas for the type of cake I might like to make, I turn to Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible. The information in this book is exhaustive - just in the section on génoise alone, you'll find many variants with detailed explanations about the differences.

Génoise belongs to the sponge cake family and is typically made with eggs, sugar and flour. It tends to be on the dry side and thus is imbibed with a syrup to moisten it before being layered with cream or mousse of some sort.

I chose the "moist chocolate génoise", a recipe I've made several times before. It calls for bittersweet chocolate, so I got out my favorite array of chocolates.  I like to mix and match, combining different percentage chocolates to achieve about a 60-62% result.

This recipe utilizes an interesting technique with the chocolate (described below) - Rose says this releases the chocolate's flavor.

The ingredient portions here are for 1/2 recipe since I only wanted to make one cake (the full recipe makes two 9" cakes). In the picture below you see the chocolate mixture in the forefront, made by pouring 120 gm (1/2 cup) boiling water over 113 gm chocolate, then simmering it until it achieves a pudding like consistency. It has fully cooled and is ready to go!

Remember - this is 1/2 recipe!  Beat 4 eggs and 100 gm sugar in the mixer using the whisk on high speed until tripled in volume, about 5 minutes.

Amazing how eggs and sugar transform from a yellow, grainy mixture to a light, pale and airy froth of goodness!

Sift 75 gm of cake flour over the mixture and fold it in gently. The flour has a tendency to fall to the bottom, so pay attention so you don't have lingering clumps of flour in your batter. Then fold in the chocolate mixture until incorporated.

Pour the batter into a 9" cake or springform pan that has been lined with parchment then buttered and floured.

Bake at 350º for about 30-35 minutes. I use the touch-the-center technique to decide if the cake is done - it should feel firm, set and spongy (get it? Sponge cake!). I also gently jiggle the pan, and if there's movement in the center, it needs more time.

Loosen and remove the outer ring of the springform (if that's what you've used) and let cool on a wire rack.

Then invert the cake onto a rack, remove the pan bottom and re-invert.  Once cooled you can wrap it and hold it at room temp or in the fridge for a couple of days OR freeze it for a month or so.

Earlier in the day I had made my go-to ganache-for-whipping using 3 parts heavy cream to 1 part dark chocolate (240 gm cream and 80 gm chocolate in this case). Once the mixture is chilled it is whipped to a spreadable consistency and ready for layering.

I also created a thin round with the chocolate/hazelnut ("duja") mixture by softening it over a bain marie along with a tablespoon or so of butter, then spreading it in a 220 mm circle on silpat. Into the freezer it went until assembly time.

Now it's time for assembly. My components, seen below, are the genoise (split in two layers), vanilla simple syrup, the "duja" round, whipped chocolate ganache, plus a mixture of hazelnut nougatine and chocolate crumbs that I had in my freezer from previous projects.

First a layer of genoise; brush it with simple syrup; top it with the round of "duja".

My thin round is a tad too big, so I took my kitchen scissors and trimmed around the edge.

Then I spread a layer of whipped ganache . . .

topped it with my crunchy mixture . . .

then my second cake layer topped with more ganache and crunchies.

Looking good!

The assembly can be completed a day before serving - just store the entremet covered in the fridge.

One can take this a step further and coat the sides with additional whipped ganache and crunchies, but I decided to leave it au naturel. Nothin' fancy here.

Now slice it up and enjoy!

The consensus was all thumbs up on this lovely blend of chocolate and hazelnut, not too heavy and not too sweet - just delicious!

OK, so I admit I didn't go the extra mile as far as any garnish for this dessert, but some great accompaniments would be a dollop of chantilly, some chopped candied hazelnuts and a flourish of candied orange rind.

Or how about a nice pool of apricot coulis and a drizzle of caramel? Or a dose of warm créme anglaise and some fresh raspberries?

You get the idea. Now get into that kitchen of yours and create your own entremet!

A little Valentine's treat

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Here's a quick look at two of my favorite shortbread flavors, baked, boxed up and ready for that special someone.

salted caramel

chocolate

tucked into the box

ready to be closed up

sweets for the sweet!

And the icing on the cake -  beautiful flowers from my valentine.

Enjoy your weekend and think spring!

Craquelins - a Belgian brioche treat from Thomas Keller

I've been salivating over Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery book that's been sitting on my pastry library bookshelf for several months now.  Thus far I've made a few of the shortbread recipes and have read through a good deal of the book, soaking in the advice and tips from Sebastien Rouxel, the head patissier.  His way of presenting things is right up my alley and is so in line with how I've come to view my own approach to pastry and the French way of doing things.

His energy, passion and attention to detail come through loud and clear, especially on the heels of my ever growing disillusionment with Philippe Conticini's La Pâtisserie des Rêves book, it's imprecision and sloppy editing.

The craquelins recipe was calling my name, and, as usual, I did some research on this enriched dough treat.  It is classically a Belgian specialty made by mixing citrus zest and sugar cubes into brioche dough.  Lemon is most commonly used, but some versions use orange and add some orange liqueur as well.

The method that is described in a number or recipes involves mixing sugar cubes into brioche dough and then covering and enclosing the shaped dough balls with a smaller disc of brioche dough.  This apparently acts as a seal to keep the sugar cubes from popping through during baking.

Bouchon's version calls for candied orange rind, orange zest and orange liqueur, and I figured I'd follow their lead on this one.

First I made my candied orange rind, which can be done ahead and kept in the fridge for several weeks.  It's a straightforward process with the fussiest part being the separating of the rind from as much of the white pith as possible.

I typically slice the rind off the orange, then remove any remaining pith before cutting the rind into narrow strips.

Make a simple syrup and set it aside.  Place the rind in cold water in a separate sauce pan, bring it to a boil, then strain it.  Do that two more times (this helps reduce the bitterness of the rind),

boiling the rind

then place the rind into the simple syrup and simmer until translucent (that might take 20-30 minutes).

the candied rind

Let the rind cool to room temp before refrigerating it in its syrup until you're ready to use it.

Time to make the brioche!  Every time I make this enriched dough I am amazed at the transformation that occurs.  What begins as a somewhat dry, firm dough develops into a satiny, shiny, buttery mass of goodness.  Whoa baby!

This recipe has a starter made with 60 gm whole milk, 8 gm instant yeast and 90 gm all purpose flour.  It's dry and not terribly attractive.

Mix it, cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for an hour.

starter

Meanwhile, get the orange rind mixture ready:  finely chop the candied orange rind, mix with orange zest and liqueur.  The recipe calls for 150 gm candied rind, 15 gm orange zest and 1.5 tsp orange liqueur.  I used 80 gm rind, 10 gm zest and 1.5 tsp hazelnut liqueur, since that's what I had on hand.

Proceed with the mise en place for the remaining dough.

all the ingredients

Place 390 gm all purpose flour, 52 gm granulated sugar and 12 gm kosher salt (see side note below) in the mixer bowl.  Give it a quick whisk, then mix in the starter dough and blend for 30 seconds or so.

Side note:  in the book 12 gm of kosher salt is equated to 4 teaspoons; however my 12 gm was closer to 2-2.5 tsp; remember - not all kosher salts are created equal!!  And that, folks, is just one example of why weighing trumps measuring!

Add 225 gm eggs in three additions,

starting to add the egg

. . .  then mix on low speed for 15 minutes to develop the gluten.

The dough at this point feels kind of tough and not at all satiny smooth.

Start adding the butter, several pieces at a time, incorporating each addition before adding more.

Once all the butter is added, mix for a couple more minutes . . .

and voila!  What a beautiful piece of dough!!

At this point it's time to turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape a rough rectangle, onto which you place the orange rind/zest mixture.

Knead the orange mixture into the dough and then pat into a rectangle again.

Do a fold-over of the dough, side to side . . .

then top to bottom . . .

then flip it over, form a ball and place in an oiled bowl.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough sit at room temp for an hour.

Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, pat it into a rectangle and repeat the side-to-side/top-to-bottom stretching and folding process.  Place the dough, seam side down, in the bowl, cover and refrigerate over night.

Here's the dough after its overnight chill . . .

ready for shaping

Turn the chilled dough onto a lightly floured work surface, shape it into a rough log . . .

getting ready to divide

and divide it into 12 approximately 100 gm portions.  Have 12 sugar cubes at the ready.

all weighed out

Now form each portion into a ball . . .

then push one sugar cube into the bottom of each.

Turn them back over and re-roll to push the sugar cube more centrally into the dough.


Now place them in lightly oiled paper baking molds on a sheet pan and brush with egg wash.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let proof for 1.5 to 2 hours.  I turn the proofing setting in my oven on at 85º for just a few minutes and then turn it off.  It makes for a nice proofing environment (I think about 75º is ideal).  Of course, if it's summer and your kitchen is nice and warm, just proof at room temp!

With brioche it can be difficult to appreciate a dramatic rise due to the quantity of butter which tends to weigh the dough down.  However I think you can see in the photo below that the dough has indeed filled out in the baking cups compared to the photo above.

After proofing brush again with egg wash and sprinkle each with pearl sugar.

ready for the oven

Bake at 325º convection for about 20-25 minutes - and don't forget to watch what's happening in that oven!

c'est fini!

 These rose beautifully and baked to a lovely golden color - and the aroma - oh la la!

like little moonlit nuggets

Once they had cooled I simply had to try one.  I didn't feel too guilty since I'd already had my morning oatmeal and berries - and it was lunch time, after all.

The crumb is moist and soft, the crunchy sugar a treat like none other and the orange rind and zest adds the perfect note.  I can't wait to try these with lemon.

And, of course, Steve liked them too.

Yes indeed!  Thanks Bouchon Bakery!!

Playing in the kitchen on a snowy day

A few days ago, during a bout of scattered snow showers, I was in the mood to play a bit in the kitchen.  First I wanted to try my hand at using puff pastry scraps from my freezer as though they were pristine pâte feuilletée (i.e. never been used), and, second, I had some unopened tahini that was dying to be put to use!

First up - the puff pastry project was to test how well puff scraps might actually puff on their second go around.  Up until now, when working with puff pastry or teaching classes on the topic, I've always followed (and given) the advice that one should use the scraps only for things in which you don't desire or need much of a puff factor.  Some good examples are cheese straws, palmiers, tart, flan or quiche crusts and even millefeuille, in which pâte feuilletée is one of the main components.

Chausson aux pommes is one of my favorite apple pastries to make, and since I had a couple of Granny Smith apples in the fridge, chausson was my choice for this test.  I love how the tartness of the apples marries so well with the buttery pastry.

I peel, core and dice the apples and sauté them in butter and vanilla sugar.  This time I also added some of my homemade caramel sauce, hoping to have a richer end product.

sauté under way

pretty nicely caramelized

I divided up my puff scraps and rolled each out into a rough circle.  After a short rest I cut rounds

which were then rolled out into ovals and topped with apples and an extra drizzle of caramel.

After egg washing the lower edge I close them up, press the edges to seal, egg wash and score the surface and sprinkle 'em with vanilla sugar.  Heat the oven to 450 and, meanwhile, pop the unbaked chaussons in the freezer to firm them up and stabilize the dough before they go into the hot oven.

ready to bake

I usually bake these for about 20-25 minutes, watching what's going on in the oven and ratcheting the temp down as I go to achieve a nicely browned surface and a fully baked interior.

And YES, they puffed!!

Now I will admit that some of my edge seals left a bit to be desired and some of the innards leaked out, but these guys were mighty tasty.  Just ask Steve.

The moral of the story - yes, puff scraps will rise again!

Next came the tahini challenge.  I had shortbread on the brain as a follow up to a tahini shortbread recipe I had tried several years ago.  That one was from Maura Kilpatrick, the pastry chef at Sofra Bakery in Cambridge.  I enjoyed the taste but wasn't quite sure how I felt about the texture - kind of like a PB cookie, but more of a stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth yet crumbly number.  It definitely had possibilities, and I wanted to give tahini another go.

After some online research I decided on "Chocolate Tahini Sablés", a recipe I found on the site "one hundred eggs".  I've developed a taste for coriander and wondered how that might fit into the flavor profile.

Off I went to my trusty "Flavor Bible", a book that was strongly recommended to me by my former chef at Gracie's, Joe Hafner.  One can find almost any ingredient accompanied by a list of all of the things that might go well with it.  I was surprised that "tahini paste", as such, was not included in the book, but, upon checking out sesame seeds, I found that coriander was indeed one of the possibilities.  Hmmmm, now there's an idea.

the sesame seed (white) list

Interestingly, this recipe calls for a hard boiled egg yolk, which brought back memories of making Italian canestrelli cookies while in school in Florence.  It seems that the "hard boiled egg" type of cookie is common in Germany, Poland, Slovenia and Italy (and probably many others).  The yolk contributes to the light, crumbly nature of this class of sablés.

First I boiled a couple of eggs (so I would have plenty to make myself an egg salad sandwich for lunch!), cooled them down in ice water and extracted one of the yolks for the recipe.

I assembled my ingredients, replacing a teaspoon of instant espresso powder with ground espresso, adding 1/2 teaspoon of coriander to the mix, and planning a mini-chocolate-chip stir-in at the end.

Here goes:  In a separate bowl whisk together 195 gm flour, 28 gm cocoa powder (I prefer Dutch process), 1 teaspoon of ground espresso and about 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander.

dry ingredients

Push the egg yolk through a fine strainer, then add 140 gm room temperature butter, 140 gm well stirred tahini (see side note below), 42 gm granulated sugar, 42 gm brown sugar (I used dark) and 1 teaspoon of salt.

pouring the tahini in

Blend all these in a mixer and cream for about 4 minutes till lightened and smooth.

nicely creamed

Side note - the online recipe calls for one cup/5 oz of tahini; I found that when weighing the 5 oz or 140 gm, it was actually closer to 2/3 cup.

Add the flour/cocoa mixture and blend just until combined.

Stir in 100 gm mini chocolate chips  . . .

ready to shape

and divide dough into 4.

Another side note:  I prefer to work with smaller amounts of dough when shaping logs, so, whereas the online recipe suggests dividing the dough in two, I divided it in 4.

logs ready for the fridge

I shaped 2 square, 1 triangle and 1 round.

This dough is soft, so it's important that it has a proper chill after forming the logs, before slicing and baking.

I like to bake my shortbread "low and slow" so I heated the oven to 300º, coated my shortbread log in raw sugar, sliced 1/4 inch slices and popped them in the freezer before baking.

ready for the oven

I baked them approximately 20-25 minutes until set and looking dry.

Boy oh boy, are these crumbly with a lovely, melt-in-your-mouth texture.  And the espresso and saltiness comes through very nicely.  Whether the presence of coriander is detectable is unclear, but the overall flavor is definitely a thumbs up!

Since I'm known to crave shortbread with my morning cappuccino or my afternoon tea, I popped these chocolate tahini sablés into the fridge with some salted caramel that I had baked the other day.

I'm set.

yes sirree!

Tickles tea room

Last week for a nice mid-week break, sister-in-law Dorothy and I met up at my condo in Providence, hopped into the Subaru and made the quick 10-15 minute drive east on 195 to Swansea.  Our tea goal this time - Tickles - a boutique/cafe/tea room rolled into one.

I had first learned of Tickles a couple of months ago from Tish Bodell who has a classy "permanent botanicals" business at Hope Artiste Village in Pawtucket.  It had been on my radar for an after-the-holidays outing, and it was time.  As it turns out, they also have a newly opened restaurant, The Aviary, right next door.

We had no trouble finding a parking spot in, what we later discovered, was a HUGE parking lot stretching around the back.  Upon entering the building one can go off either left or right and browse the sprawling boutique, full of jewelry, clothing, cards, bags, tea accoutrements and more.

Heading back toward the hostess stand one passes a display case full of assorted chocolates . . .

and, a few steps farther, a pastry case holding cupcakes, cookies, bars, cannoli, cakes, pies and what appeared to be large baking dishes of perhaps fruit crisp or bread pudding.

The tea room is cozy with a cottage like feel, decorated in pink hues (with a bit of Christmas decor still in view) and lined with high shelves along the walls displaying an assortment of tea cups and tea pots.  There are a dozen or so tables and most of them were occupied during our visit.

We were seated promptly right next to the fireplace, and our server arrived shortly thereafter.  We had already taken a brief look at the menu, and it didn't take us long to choose the "afternoon tea" option, which would be perfect for the two of us to share a light repast.  We chose the white ginger pear tea to go along with our tea sandwiches, scones and sweets.

check out the tea sandwich options

Once our tea arrived we started right in . . .

Dor did the honors

and our two tiered afternoon tea assortment soon followed.

We were served classic cucumber, brie and apple and pesto chicken salad sandwiches, having been informed that the kitchen was out of the other two offerings (fig/prosciutto and salmon).

The bread was the same for all three - a soft, yet sturdy white bread which seemed a good vehicle for the toppings.  The cucumber was definitely our favorite with its lemon and dill cream cheese spread that was bright and oh-so pleasing with the crisp cucumbers.

We found the brie and apple to be uninspiring, kind of blending right into the white bread and lacking in any forward flavor.  Dor's observation on the pesto chicken salad was the need for some seasoning (just a touch of salt and pepper folks!), and I felt it didn't lend any particular attractiveness to the plate.

Next up - scones and sweets . . .

The cranberry scones had a pleasant flavor, nice texture and crumb, and the raspberry jam accompaniment was tasty (I was less fond of the fig jam, but, hey, it's all a matter of taste, right?).

The mini-chocolate-chip biscotti were a tad on the chewy side, although the hint-of-spice, caramel-y flavor was delightful, and they dunked nicely in our white ginger pear tea!

In addition we had some candied pecans and, the surprise of the bunch, a fudgey looking chocolate triangle that was ethereally light in the mouth.  Yes!

After a bit of tea sipping and conversation we headed to the boutique for some browsing, and then decided to check out the neighboring "Aviary" restaurant.

The short walk from the tea room passes through some outdoor patio areas and is nicely landscaped, as I'm sure the grounds in front of the building will be once they're completed.

When we entered, the hostess kindly allowed us a walk-through of the space, which consists of a large open room with a bar, lots of windows and light, and the "garden room" with a fireplace, potted plants and plenty more windows and natural light.

the garden room

All in all, the Tickles trip was worth it - a unique combination of shopping, food and atmosphere - and certainly there is nothing like it in greater Providence!  It's obvious the proprietors are putting their all into making Tickles/The Aviary a destination.

Kudos to them!

My first English muffins!

Not long ago Steve and I had lunch at one of our favorite local haunts (Nick's on Broadway) where Steve ordered a fish sandwich served on the house-made English muffin.  Boy was it good!  Nothing at all like the store-bought varieties - thicker, flavorful and a wonderful vehicle for sandwich fixins.

I decided it was time to try my hand at making some, and what better day than when we were expecting (and ultimately getting) a blizzard here in Providence.

only the beginning

lots more comin'

Whenever I'm making something new, I enjoy reading and reviewing a number of recipes for whatever that something new might be.  I checked out Rose Levy Beranbaum, Bouchon Bakery, Peter Reinhardt and King Arthur Flour and settled on Peter Reinhardt's recipe as my initiation into English muffin making.

Little did I know that English muffins are "baked" on the stove top - I had no idea!  Plus I find it so intriguing to compare techniques and processes - Rose's uses a poolish (dough starter), Bouchon bakery uses a liquid levain (another version of a starter), whereas the one I chose to follow is a straight forward direct dough that is as easy as pie to put together and can sit in the fridge for up to four days!  I like that.  Thanks Peter!

On to the recipe.

ingredients

Whisk 14 gm (2 teaspoons) honey and 14 gm (1 tablespoon) olive oil into 1.5 cups (340 gm) of lukewarm milk.  In a separate bowl whisk together 340 gm (2 2/3 cups) unbleached flour, 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt and 6 gm (2 teaspoons) instant yeast.

the dry and the wet

Now blend the wet into the dry, mixing for a minute or so to moisten all the flour.  Scrape down the bowl and mix the batter for a few more seconds.

ready to cover and refrigerate

Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 4 days.

On the day you plan to bake the muffins remove the dough from the fridge a good 2 hours ahead of time.  I chose to bake the following day, so my dough had an overnight rest in the fridge.

just out of the fridge after an overnight rest

After a couple of hours you should see that the dough has bubbled a bit.  It's subtle, but it's there.

can you see the difference?

Now it's time to dissolve 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda in 3 tablespoons of warm water and fold that gently into the dough.

Let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes.  In the meantime prepare your English muffin rings (in my case I used my 7/8" high, 80 mm tart rings) by oiling them and coating the insides with corn meal (I used semolina).

Heat a flat griddle or cast iron skillet over medium heat and place the prepared rings on the cooking surface.  I'm using a non-stick flat griddle, but if you're using a classic cast iron "stick" pan or griddle, mist or coat it with oil first.

Sprinkle cornmeal in the rings . . . .

Lightly oil a 1/3 measuring cup and use it to scoop the dough into the prepared rings.

The dough is a bit sticky but just go for it - scoop away!  Sprinkle a little more cornmeal on top . . .

and cook the muffins for about 12 minutes over low-medium heat - the dough will start to rise and fill the rings.

away we go!

Then it's time to flip them over, rings and all . . . .

all flipped

You want them to be golden on the bottom before the flip, and then you cook them for another 12 minutes or so to achieve the same golden-ness on the flip side.  You can peek underneath to check for the degree of browning, and they should also feel springy to the touch.

At that point remove them from the pan, let them cool a couple of minutes and then remove the rings.

Based on some of the techniques I gleaned from reading different recipes, I decided to pop them into a 325 oven for 5-10 minutes to finish them off.  Since I haven't made these before, I wasn't sure how they should feel when they're done, and there's nothing worse than an under baked end result.  Think of it as "baking insurance"!

the finished goods

After a good 30 minute cool down Steve and I simply had to do a taste test.  I performed a "fork-split" and found the interior to have that quintessential "nooks and crannies" appearance that one hopes for in an English muffin . . . .

First we toasted one and topped it with a little butter . . .

and then a second one with butter and cherry jam . . . .

yup - that's good!

So the English muffin test was a success.  Crispy outside yet tender with an almost custard like interior, a medium-coarse crumb and a just right taste.

Yes, I would make these again!

Sablés au praliné

The next recipe in the Biscuits Secs section of Philippe Conticini's book La Pâtisserie des Rêves is a sablé, a classic buttery, crisp cookie.  As I reviewed the recipe I came to realize that, even though he doesn't identify it as such, this is actually a sablé Breton, which happens to be one of my favorites!

the recipe

This dough differs from a basic butter/sugar/flour sablé by the addition of egg yolks and baking powder, giving the end result a somewhat different texture and flavor.  And, depending on how thick you roll the dough, it will come out crisp (rolled thinner) or softer with a more prominent crumb (rolled thicker).

The dough is very easy to put together and should be chilled before using, so make that part of your plan.

les ingredients

Mix 250 gm flour, 125 gm room temperature butter, a couple of pinches of fleur de sel (I use my favorite "Beanilla" vanilla fleur de sel) and un paquet de levure chimique (see side note below) to a coarse, sandy consistency (you can do this by hand or on low speed in the mixer).

  

Side note:  typically one finds baking powder sold in packets in France.  I can't recall the weight of one of those packets, but when I've made other Breton doughs, I've decreased the amount of baking powder called for.  For this one I added one teaspoon.

 Whisk together 3 egg yolks with 100 gm sugar plus the seeds scraped from one vanilla bean . . .

the yolk/sugar emulsion

and add this to the flour/butter mixture . . .

mixing just until it comes together.

like really coarse cornmeal

squeeze some to see that it's holding together

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour (or overnight if your schedule demands it.)

ready for the fridge

That part was easy.  What became a conundrum was the duja preparation which is meant to serve as a garnish for the baked cookies.  I determined that the word duja is a shortened form for gianduja, that classic mixture of nut (typically hazelnut) paste and chocolate (what many of you know as "Nutella").

Here the recipe calls for grinding 140 gm hazelnuts with 60 gm powdered sugar, followed by the addition of 35 gm milk chocolate and 2 carrés de chocolat noir (both melted.)

The carrés de chocolat noir threw me a bit, not knowing how much a carré weighs.  On to the trusty (?) internet to find a reference stating a small carré weighs 5 gm and a large one weighs 10 gm.  So, throwing caution to the wind, I decided 20 gm of chocolat noir just might do the trick.

ground hazelnuts, powdered sugar and chocolate, waiting to be melted

NOT SO!

There was no way this mixture would hold together to be piped as any sort of garnish!

So I added another 60 gm of melted chocolate so that it at least formed a cohesive (sort of) ball.

I still had my doubts.  So I turned back to the internet and found a source describing DIY gianduja made by processing equal weights toasted hazelnuts and chopped milk chocolate to create a paste.

I did a little figuring and ended up adding an additional 80 gm of melted chocolate to my ever developing gianduja . . . . and my paste was born.

my duja paste

Time to bake the cookies!  An interesting note about this recipe - the yield is reported as pour 6/7 personnes.  Now what the heck is that supposed to mean?  Typically a cookie recipe tells you how many cookies you might expect, rather than how many people it will serve.

So for the instructed 5 mm thick, 6 cm round cookie I determined that each cookie weighs about 16 gm. The total dough quantity is 525 gm which should yield about 32 cookies per batch.  So  pour 6/7 personnes means everyone gets 4-5 cookies each.  A goofy way to look at it à mon avis!

6 cm round, dough about 5 mm thick

Heat the oven to 325º.  Roll the dough out to the above mentioned thickness and cut 6 cm rounds.  Place on a parchment lined sheet pan and put into the freezer for 10 minutes or so before baking for 12-15 minutes selon votre four.  Ahhhh - those oh so important words - depending on your oven!

ready for the oven

My cookies baked for about 18 minutes . . .

and came out nicely set and golden brown.

Once the cookies are cooled it's time for the garnish.  The recipe instructs one to pipe a dome of duja on each cookie, sprinkle on some chopped hazelnuts and then pop them in the fridge.  Then it mentions that one has the option of "enrobing" the cookies in chocolate (no further instruction as to how to pursue that one!).

My duja was definitely not pipe-able, so I rolled it out between two layers of plastic wrap and cut circles of a smaller diameter than the cookie.

I placed the duja round on the cookie but realized it wasn't going to stay put - there wasn't any chocolate-to-cookie sticking power.  I tried a little schmear of chocolate glaze on the cookie to act as glue, but no way.  I then sprinkled some hazelnut nougatine on top but knew that I was not going to be able to dip the whole thing in "enrobing" chocolate unless prepared for total demolition.

So I simply used some ganache I had in the fridge, squiggled some on top of the cookies, sprinkled some hazelnut nougatine on top and called it a day.  The cookies accompanied Steve to work the next day.

So much for sablés au praliné!  And the batch of duja?  Into the freezer along with the crushed tuiles from my last post.  Maybe I'll mix the two together and create something new!

Oh, and by the way, the flavor of these was OK but nothing to write home about.  Another recipe I would not make again.

Tuiles au caramel et gingembre confit - trials and tribulations

Now that I've resumed working on the recipes in Philippe Conticini's book La Pâtisserie des Rêves (Biscuit Secs section, to be exact) I am reminded of the frustrations I encountered with some of the previous recipes.  Editing?  Recipe testing?  Who's doing it??

the recipe

I've made tuiles on rare occasions, and, since I'm always up for doing something that isn't in my usual repertoire, I approached this recipe with a light heart and an excitement for a unique version of this crisp cookie.

Tuile is the French word for tile and refers to a light, thin cookie which is usually formed over a rolling pin while warm, giving it a curved, terra-cotta-roof-tile appearance.  It's a great dessert vehicle, particularly as an accompaniment for mousses, ice creams, sorbets or what-have-you.

Most tuile recipes are very straight forward and come together in a flash!  Some use ground nuts and most use egg whites, not yolks or whole eggs.  You refrigerate the mixture until you're ready to bake.  What's not to like?  This one, although not really time consuming, takes a bit of thought before putting it all together.

In a nutshell, it requires making two different caramel sauces (la sauce au caramel and la ganache au caramel) in addition to the pâte à tuiles.  The sauces are then incorporated into the pâte.

A word about caramel sauce: it isn't difficult - it's a matter of cooking sugar (110 gm here) and a little water (3 tablespoons here) to an amber color, removing from the heat and adding cream (in this case 25 ml of milk and 35 ml of cream ) and a bit of butter (10 gm), creating a lovely, smooth concoction that is so good for sooooo many things!  And it keeps for weeks in the fridge.  I always have a batch of caramel sauce on hand (I've been using the recipe from Emily Luchetti's "Star's Desserts" for years and love it!).

les ingredients pour la sauce au caramel

Pay attention!  Wear gloves, particularly when adding the dairy, since there's a lot of bubbling going on - and this stuff is hot, hot, hot!!!

adding the dairy - notice the oven glove!

This caramel sauce recipe led me to contemplate some differences.  While Em's recipe uses a 3:2 ratio of sugar to cream, this one uses 2:1.  The end result was indeed a deeper, richer amber caramel due to the lower amount of cream (you'll see it in an upcoming picture.)

The second caramel recipe was a tad more involved.  It called for 80 gm sugar and 3 tablespoons water cooked to 125º C at which time a scant teaspoon of glucose is added.

The addition of glucose (I substituted honey) at the early stage of sugar boiling is intended to prevent crystallization, but I'm not sure why Philippe uses it here and not in the first caramel.  Artistic license?  Perhaps it's to insure a smooth, silky caramel ganache with the addition of the white chocolate at the end?

les ingredients pour la ganache au caramel

Continue the cooking to a nice amber color, then, off the heat, add 65 ml heavy cream and a noisette de beurre (use your judgement - I used a walnut sized piece).

After a bit of cooling add 45 gm chopped white chocolate and a pinch of fleur de sel and blend til smooth.

Both caramel sauces can be made ahead and refrigerated.  Since I was making the pâte à tuiles the same day, I proceeded once the caramels had cooled a bit.

les ingredients pour la pâte à tuiles

This preparation is trés simple:  melt 180 gm butter; whisk together 4 egg whites, 4 eggs and 35 gm brown sugar; add 90 gm flour and the melted butter; after brisk whisking add in 130 gm sauce de caramel (there was just enough!) and 30 gm ganache au caramel (plenty with leftovers) and blend.

In the above photo note the deep caramel sauce on the right and the lighter ganache au caramel below it.

the finished pâte à tuiles

Place the covered mixture in the fridge for a good hour (I left it over night).

Mince 20 gm crystallized ginger and have some fleur de sel on hand for garnish.

When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350º.  Philippe calls for parchment lined sheet pans and instructs you to form oval discs, the diameter of which you choose.  The recipe claims a yield of 20 tuiles, but there is no guideline as to how much batter to use per tuile or how thin it should be.

 To get a sense of apportionment I divided the total batter weight by 20 and came up with 40 gm (or about 3/4 of a 1/4 measuring cup).  I had to start somewhere, so I used the 1/4 cup as my ladling device . . .

ginger and fleur de sel garnish, tuile batter

and proceeded to scoop the batter onto the sheet pan.  I must admit I was harboring some skepticism, so I only did three on a 1/4 sheet pan as my initial trial.

I spread them out into ovals and sprinkled some ginger and fleur de sel on top.

ready for the oven

 I wasn't sure how long they would bake, since the recipe gave no hint of baking time.  Now I do understand that principle, since I was always taught that "you bake until it's done", but it is a bit helpful to have a general time frame, ne c'est pas?

This first batch baked for about 15 minutes.  The batter ran together and I had to trim around the edges to neaten up the shapes.  They stuck to the parchment paper and were obviously too thick and underdone.  I did proceed to shape them but knew this was NOT the result I was seeking!

the first try - too thick and soft!

For the next batch I used one of my handled ice cream type scoops to dole out a lesser quantity of batter in hopes of making a thinner, smaller tuile.  This batch baked about 15 minutes, and I even bumped up the oven temp a tad;  the batter again ran, requiring some trimming before they finished baking.  Not a pretty picture.

running batter and weird shapes!

However, I was getting there - even though these also stuck to the paper, they shaped up quite nicely and didn't look too bad in the final analysis . . .

the second batch

Finally the light bulb went on - Silpat!!  Why didn't I think of that sooner??

For my final batch I used even less batter and tried to smooth it out thinly on Silpat lined sheet pans.

ready for the oven

This time they baked about 15 minutes, became nicely browned and peeled off the silicone as easy as pie!

and no running!

Onto the rolling pin they went . . .

At last!  These shaped beautifully, came out nice and crisp and didn't look half bad!!

I used vanilla fleur de sel - see the grains?

And finally - what about the taste??  Steve and I agreed that, even though I used a light hand (or so I thought) with the fleur de sel, there was too much salt - and there should have been more ginger coming through.  They were also very greasy, leaving our fingers with a coating that had to be wiped off.

The texture was crisp and the caramel flavor quite pleasing, but overall a disappointment, particularly considering the steps involved for component prep, and the trials and tribulations of portioning and baking times.

Too bad - here's another one that's going into the "don't do again" file!

If I ever makes tuiles again, I'll go to the many basic recipes available in my baking books or on line and choose a straight forward approach.  Live and learn.

And what did I do with the finished product?  Crushed 'em up, put 'em in the freezer and hope to use the crumbs to create a croustillant (a crunchy layer for desserts generally made with ground toasted nuts (or nut paste), melted chocolate and crushed gavotte crepe cookies.)  Yeah!

Biscuits fondants amande et fruits épicés

After a bit of a hiatus (King Arthur bread class, holidays, travel and all that!) I'm turning back to more of the enticing recipes in Philippe Conticini's book La Pâtisserie des Rêves.  Even though I've discovered a variety of inconsistencies and some errors in the recipes I've made so far, I'm nonetheless eager to continue on.  You know me - always up for a challenge!  Plus I get to work on my French!!

My focus is not to regurgitate the exact recipe but to explain processes and techniques and talk about how the recipe works (or doesn't).  But that doesn't mean I won't throw in some quantities and instructions as I go!

This time I'm focusing on the Biscuits Secs (dry biscuits) section which particularly intrigues me as I develop my afternoon tea menu.  It's not only the recipes in this book and the end results that hold my fascination, but the delicious colors and photos.

A "word" about the word biscuit.  In America we all know this as a flaky, unsweetened, shortcake-y type of "quick bread" made with baking powder, whereas in the UK it is the general term for cookie.  In France it has a couple of meanings - cookie OR sponge cake.  In this case, when referring to cookies sec, we're talking crisp, light goodies, not the soft, chewy, cake-y stuff.  So I expected the Biscuits Secs recipes to be the buttery, crisp sablés types.  

But . . . the first recipe in the section is biscuit fondant, which brings to mind a soft, melting type of cake.  Artistic license, I guess.

I went back to my recipes from Pâtisserie de Base at Le Cordon Bleu and found the petits-fours secs/petits-fours biscuit recipe group, which includes things like tuiles, langues-de-chat (cat's tongues), cigarettes and duchesse (basically the French version of Pepperidge Farm type milano cookies).  Then comes the petits-fours moelleux/ meringue petits-fours group, with macaron, éponges, miroirs and bâtons de maréchaux.  All of these are soft, chewy, spongy types of goodies.  Nothing like a little review, eh?

Anyway . . .  now for the biscuits fondants amande et fruits épicés!

the recipe

One component of this recipe is tagine de fruits, an apple-citrus-raisin compote-like mixture which has to be made ahead - just another example of the importance of planning and doing one's mise en place, no matter how simple or complicated the recipe might be.  So off I went on the day-before preparation.

(Quick side note - I've always found it fascinating that the French include both nuts and dried fruit in the category fruits secs.)

The fussiest part of the recipe is prepping the fruit, and, in reality, it really didn't take long at all.  Once you've peeled, cored and diced apples (2 here) and sectioned citrus (2 oranges and 1 grapefruit here) a bunch of times, it's a breeze.  For this recipe when segmenting the citrus, save all the juice you can from that process.

All the ingredients for the tagine . . . .

I began by making le beurre mousseux et citronné.  Simply put - melt 30 gm butter in a saucepan, add 50 raw sugar and one scraped vanilla bean, then deglaze with 35 ml lemon juice, stirring to homogenize the mixture.

Now add 2 Golden Delicious apples (peeled, cored and diced) . . .

adding the apples

then 65 gm golden raisins and 25 gm whole almonds.

raisins added

 
Cook that mixture about 3 minutes then add 175 gm each of orange (about 2 oranges) and grapefruit (about 1 grapefruit) segments and cook another couple of minutes.  You really can fudge on these quantities - everything gets cooked together and reduced so it doesn't have to be terribly precise.

Now add half of the reserved citrus juices, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, 10 gm minced crystallized ginger, 40 gm raw sugar, a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of épices à pain d'épices.

Just a note about that last pinch - this spice is quatre-épices which is a mixture of 4 spices (or sometimes more).  I did a little research and found different formulas, most commonly including white or black pepper, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.  Some might contain cinnamon or allspice too.  At any rate, I didn't have quatre-épices on hand, so I used just a pinch each of ginger, black pepper, allspice and nutmeg.  Works for me!

starting the reduction

Now cook the mixture over 20 minutes or so, adding the remaining citrus juice as you go.  The idea is to reduce it until you have a nice compote like mixture.  At the very end add 10 leaves of fresh mint.

c'est fini!

Not all of the compote is needed for the final cake baking step, and it should keep well in the fridge for several days.  So, of course, Steve and I plan to serve it warm with some delicious grilled pork tenderloin - Mmmmm!

Another prep-ahead component in this recipe is some additional (60 gm) golden raisins marinated in 110 ml of rum.  This can sit in the fridge overnight.  Since I am not a rum fan, I substituted about 80 ml of hazelnut liqueur, feeling I didn't need as large a quantity as the recipe called for.

Now it's time for cake baking day!

The ingredients should be at room temp, so I did my mise en place and let things sit while I did a little house cleaning.  Pourquoi pas?!

les ingredients

Here goes nothin'!

Cream 170 gm soft butter; add 140 gm sugar and 60 gm almond flour and beat just to lighten; add 2 eggs and 2 yolks, mixing to incorporate, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go; add 25 ml of milk and 75 ml of heavy cream and then the marinated raisins with their liquid; finally add 110 gm of sifted flour in 2 additions, just blending until incorporated.

ready to pipe

I baked these in my favorite silicone flexi-mold (Silikomart SF098; bakedeco.com is a good source), a straight sided cylinder mold that yields such a lovely, simple shape.  I use it for financiers all the time too!

Fill the molds about 1/2 full and then top each with a small spoonful of the tagine mixture.

ready for the oven

True to the recipe, it made 20 cakes, although the baking time at 400º was closer to 15-20 minutes in my convection oven, rather than the stated 8-10 minutes.  Another example of paying attention to what's happening in your oven!

just out of the oven

I left them in the molds for 10-15 minutes before popping them out to finish cooling.  They un-molded very easily, no sticking, no muss, no fuss!

looks pretty good

Of course I had to taste one while it was still warm - a very moist, tender, yet dense crumb with a subtlety of spice, and just the right proportion of fruit.  However I was left with a not so pleasant hint of greasy "after-coating" (did I just make that up?) on my lips.  Steve's reaction was "I like your financiers so much better!"  And I wholeheartedly agreed!!

Now I will admit that I've become less and less inclined to bake with raisins over the years, but I at least wanted to give the recipe it's due.  I used to love my mom's Boston brown bread and her sweetened rice with raisins and brown sugar, and I certainly wouldn't refuse them if they were put in front of me now.  But tastes change, and I'd much rather use dried tart cherries, cranberries or even apricots in my baking.

In the final analysis I'm glad I made the compote since we'll enjoy the leftovers with savory foods, but it seems a lot of work simply to add to a handful of small cakes.  Having said that, there is something about creating all the components for your baked goods with your own two hands.  There is that, after all.

I think I'll just stick with financiers and add my choice of fruit and/or confiture.

And there you have it!

Pâte feuilletée inversée and galette des rois

Happy New Year everyone!

Epiphany is upon us, and it's time to make a galette des rois or king's cake, that very popular, scrumptious, almond-and-pastry-cream-filled puff pastry treat.  During the month of January in France most pâtisserie windows are laden with these "cakes" in various sizes, from the individual to the more traditional 9-10" size.  And they even sell them with a lovely golden paper crown!

Some years ago I began my stage in Paris two days before Epiphany, and the crew at Pascal Pinaud's had already assembled and frozen many unbaked galettes (ahhhhh the beauty of the freezer).  I don't recall how many were baked every day, but, suffice it to say, those babies were flying out the door - and it didn't stop for weeks to come.

Traditionally the galette is baked with a fève (literal translation:  broad bean) inside, and the person who gets the slice which holds this "treat" is crowned king for the day.  Over the years the whole fève thing has evolved into a mini industry of small porcelain or ceramic figures that have become collector's items.

A few years back on a Parisian sojourn to Mora (a wonderful pastry supply shop with plenty of cool stuff to get your baking juices flowing) I purchased a set of 12 or so of these ceramic figures - mine were little marionettes.  I still had a couple of them left (along with a miniature olive oil bottle that I had saved from my own galette eating experience) and was looking forward to choosing one for my current project.  Imagine my disappointment when I found them in their storage spot (which I thought was safe!) all broken.  What a bummer.  But, thankfully, I had an intact sphinx that would just have to do.

Since my freezer stash of puff pastry was gone, I was inspired to make a batch of pâte feuilletée inversée or what I call reverse puff pastry.  When I was first introduced to this version in pastry school, I found it non user friendly and wondered why anyone would make it.  Buuuutttt. . . . now I have a completely different view.

A few years ago I tried the recipe from Dorie Greenspan's book "Paris Sweets" and, while I found the process a bit frustrating, I loved the result!  It puffs beautifully and has a lovely texture to boot.  I've fined tuned my process to make it easier and have become a true convert to this method for pâte feuilletée.  

So here we go . . .

As is true for classic puff pastry there are two components in this method - the butter part and the dough part - but here the butter portion is on the outside, rather than being enveloped by the dough portion.

The ingredients are simple.  What I'll call dough #1 is 400 gm of butter blended with 175 gm of flour.

The butter should be room temp - beat it with the paddle and then add the flour . . . .

Mix it until clumps form . . . .

Turn it out onto plastic film wrap . . . .

and form a block about 6" in diameter.  I use the plastic to help me form the dough into a square.

What I'll call dough #2 consists of 113 gm butter (melted first, then cooled slightly), 180 ml water,  2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon vinegar and 390 gm flour.

Just a side note about the vinegar - I've seen puff recipes with and without it, so I did a little online review and found that it helps to tenderize the dough and also keeps it from oxidizing or turning gray. It is said to strengthen the gluten, making the dough stretchier and less likely to tear during rolling.

Mix the water, salt and vinegar and set aside.  Blend the melted, cooled butter with the flour to moisten it . . . .

Slowly pour in the water mixture, blending with the paddle on low . . . .

until the dough comes together and cleans the sides of the bowl.

Turn it out onto plastic wrap . . .

and form a square about 4-5" in diameter.

Both doughs should be chilled for a couple of hours or even over night if you need that time in your schedule.

Now the two doughs have to be formed into a package, and this is where the process gets a bit sticky (and I mean literally!).

I pull the doughs out of the fridge a good 20-30 minutes ahead so they will be somewhat malleable and easier to roll.  Since dough #1 is primarily butter it's important to work efficiently and with enough flour on your surface to avoid sticking.  I really struggled with this step for awhile, but I finally figured out that if I kept the dough between 2 sheets of film wrap, periodically lifting the film and flouring the dough surface a bit, I could roll to my heart's content.

Once I've rolled dough #1 into a rectangle I place dough #2 on one end to check for sizing.

Then I simply lift the still-plastic-wrapped #1 and fold it over to see if I have enough length to properly encase dough #2.  No butter sticking to the rolling board!

If needed I'll roll #1 a little longer and then unwrap #2, rolling it so it will fit nicely on one half of the outside dough.

 The outer dough is folded over the inner, edges pinched together, and the whole thing is wrapped and chilled for an hour or so before beginning the folds.

The dough is rough around the edges and not at all pretty at this stage, but just wait for the transformation!

After a 30-60 minute chill I roll the dough, still between plastic wrap since the outer butter is still a bit sticky, to a rectangle that is about 3 times long as it is wide. No precise measurements are necessary - just eyeball it.  Remove the top plastic . . . .

and do a "double turn", which I prefer to call a "four fold", since I'm folding the dough ends into the center and then onto themselves, thus creating four layers.

The completed fold . . .

Now chill the dough for another 30-60 minutes.  At this stage I see the beginning transformation from a somewhat marbled, rough, irregularly edged slab into a more uniform, smooth, supple dough.  I ditch the plastic wrap for the next step, since the buttery stickiness has decreased considerably.

Now do another four fold just like the one above . . . .

and wrap and chill the dough for another 30-60 minutes.

Roll the dough into a rectangle. . . .

and now do a "single turn" or what I refer to as a "three fold" since I'm folding the dough into thirds.

By this point the dough has achieved a beautiful light color, an oh-so-smooth feel, is easy to work and is simply lovely!  Oh how I love the feel of cool, smooth dough.

The dough should be chilled again before rolling it out for its final use, or it can be frozen at this point as well.  Many sources suggest that, if you plan to freeze your dough, you complete the two "double turns" or "four folds" but do the final "single turn" or "three fold" once you've thawed the dough and are ready to use it.  I tend to do all the steps and then freeze - works for me!

Whew - now that the dough is finished, let's make a galette des rois!

The rest is pretty simple: two rounds of puff pastry (I use about 175 gm of puff for the bottom and about 250 gm for the top) filled with an almond cream (and a fève of course) and baked to golden perfection.

The filling for a 9"galette is a combination of about 250 gm of crème d'amandes (63 gm soft butter; blend in 63 gm sugar; blend in 63 gm almond flour; blend in 1 egg and a splash of vanilla; blend in 10 gm flour) and about 50 gm of pastry cream (just choose a basic recipe and go for it!).  An option is to add a tablespoon or so of rum or orange liqueur, although I prefer an almond or hazelnut liqueur if I'm going to add one.

You can make your filling a day or so ahead if you wish, then you'll be at the ready when you want to assemble and bake.

I roll out both top and bottom puff using a 9" fluted tart form to gauge the size. I hold the top layer covered in the fridge until I'm ready for it.  Don't cut the dough round yet - that happens AFTER its assembled.

Still using my fluted tart pan as a guide I pipe my almond cream in a nice coil, mounding it in the center and leaving an inch or so around the periphery.

Remove the tart pan, position the fève . . .

and now egg wash the periphery.  Gently place the top layer of puff over the cream and press firmly around the edges to seal.  Then I use my tart pan to cut the scalloped round - push down firmly and gently pull away the edges.  All right - scraps!

Lift off the tart pan, make a nice flat edge around the dome of cream and poke a little steam hole in the center.

Brush some egg wash over the surface and score decorative lines, kind of like a pinwheel, on the domed part.  Then do some linear slashes in the opposite direction along the flat edge.  I also add a little button of puff on the steam vent.

Whenever I bake anything with puff pastry, I pop the assembled goods in the freezer for 10 minutes or so before baking to stabilize the butter/dough layers.  The contrast between the cold galette and the hot oven increases the steam produced by the moisture in the butter, thereby causing the puff to puff.  Yeah!

I heat my convection oven to 450º, give the galette 5 minutes at that temp and then reduce to 425º.  After another 10-15 minutes, as I observe the baking process, I often slowly ratchet down the oven temp toward 350º over the total 30-40 minute baking time to achieve a nicely browned and fully baked end result.

We were heading to brother Dick and sister-in-law Dorothy's for supper, also joined by brother-in-law Carl.  The galette was destined for dessert so to cap off the flaky, buttery, almond-creamy goodness, I added some lightly sweetened whipped cream, Cara-cara orange segments (love that pinkish-orange color), a drizzle of caramel and some toasted, sliced almonds.  Yes indeed!

None of the five of us had the honor of being king for the day since the fève was still hidden, but the leftovers were destined for breakfast the next morning. Who was the lucky one - Dick, Dor or Carl??

Until next year!

My second recipe from "Baking Chez Moi"

I was delighted to receive Dorie Greenspan's recently published book "Baking Chez Moi" as a Christmas gift from Steve.  I simply love immersing myself in a new baking book, perusing the recipes and all of the great tips and techniques offered throughout the pages.  And, to top it off, Dorie's Paris connections and on-the-ground access to so many local French recipes makes it all the more enticing!

A few weeks back I made the custard apple squares recipe that had been highlighted online, and, being on the hook for dessert for a family gathering this past weekend, I was eager to delve deeper into the book for my second trial.

But, before I launch into that . . .

Last evening we took a quick drive through the entrance roads to Meijer Gardens to take a gander at the holiday lights.  The sun had just set and there was still a hint of pink in the western sky, but the lights were all illuminated and a pleasure to behold!

entrance to the main building at Meijer Gardens

There were many more lights to see and the picture doesn't even begin to do them justice, but, suffice it to say, if you happen to be in Grand Rapids over the Christmas and New Year holidays, be sure to stop in for a visit.

Now on to the recipe!  I decided on a version of the "pear tart with crunchy topping", since I had already purchased apples for my dessert prep.  I even had some of my pâte d'amande tart dough in Mom's freezer from my late summer visit, so out it came, making my prep much more straight forward.

In a nutshell this tart consists of a fully blind-baked crust, fruit filling and a crunchy nut topping made with egg whites, confectioner's sugar and nuts (in this case sliced almonds).  Dorie's recipe calls for sautéeing diced pears in sugar and butter to caramelize them, after which they are placed into the blind-baked crust and topped with the nut mixture.  Bake at 400º for about 25 minutes until the topping is golden and shiny and voila!

just out of the oven

For my version I used a combo of Golden Delicious and Granny Smith apples instead of pears and added some orange zest and a splash of OJ to my sauté mixture.  My fruit didn't caramelize like I had hoped, but I didn't want to cook it too long for fear of mushiness (I always prefer a hint of crunch to my apple tarts.)

My first bite gave me pause.  Although the apples were just the degree of al dente I wanted, I wasn't sure about the overall flavor of the apple mixture and the ever-so-subtle hint of orange.  The crust was done to perfection, but the crunchy almond topping seemed almost too much.  I think I prefer a nice nut crumble to add the necessary crunchy texture and light buttery sweetness that marries so well with the fruit.

All in all the tart was a hit with the family, no doubt due in part to the accompanying vanilla bean gelato.

And I must say - not bad with the next morning's cup of coffee!

Sportskage finale and then some!

I've been off the blog schedule for a bit, so today is the day for catching up. This past weekend Steve and I had an uneventful drive across the eastern US and Canada from Providence, Rhode Island to Grand Rapids, Michigan to spend the Christmas holiday with my mom. We enjoyed a night's stay at a B&B in Niagara-on-the-Lake, a lovely town on Lake Ontario at the mouth of the Niagara River.

Prior to our departure I had a busy week preparing goodies for a 50th birthday bash, including the final rendition of the Danish specialty sportskage (you can read about the trial preparation and assembly in my 12/7/14 post.) Early in the week I had prepared the various components (choux puffs, nougatine and dacquoise), and since I was making two of these creations, I opted to make one almond and one hazelnut.

The choux puffs are to be dipped in caramel which you see cooking on the stovetop below.

The whipped cream is the one component that has to be done just before assembly, so I made sure I had everything at the ready, including my well chilled cream.

The nougatine is folded into the whipped cream and then formed as a domed mound on top of the dacquoise base.

Next up is the part that was making me apprehensive - piping more whipped cream decoratively over the mound. I started with a small star tip and piped vertical lines around the base of the mound (reminded me of piping the collars of buttercream on the religiueses at Pascal Pinaud's à Paris!)

Then, using a petal tip, I finished it off . . . .

Hey, that actually went better than expected - hooray!!

Next I placed caramel-dipped choux puffs over the surface, pressing them in ever so slightly . . .

and the deed was done - whew!!  I will say this is one of the most interesting things I've made over the years.  Never let it be said that I won't accept a challenge, yessir, you betcha.

In addition to the Danish "cakes" and seven different flavors of shortbread (salted caramel, espresso, pistachio, orange hazelnut, honey herbes de provence, toasted coconut and lime ginger), I made three versions of moelleux chocolat - espresso . . . .

orange rosemary . . . . .

and raspberry.

Also several tarts:  chocolate ganache, caramel nut, pear almond and Breton pistachio-raspberry.

It was a busy, but organized and enjoyable week of planning and preparation - a lot of what the pastry world is all about!

Now it's time for some Christmas relaxation, being with family and friends and scheming about new projects for 2015!  Joyeux Noël, Buon Natale and Merry Christmas to all!

Some small treats for a Friday morning meeting

I trust everyone is enjoying their holiday season and not getting too harried.  Just remember to slow down and take some deep breaths every now and then!

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way . . . .

Early this past week I received a request to provide an assortment of small goodies for the annual board meeting of Urban Ventures, a state funded, non-profit organization that exists to assist micro businesses get started in Rhode Island.

I had worked with UV back in 2010-2011 as I was developing my small pastry business, so when the call came in, I was happy to oblige. I turned to some of my tried and true favorites - financier, pain au chocolat, profiterole, and bouchon.

I also wanted to offer something else made using croissant dough (in addition to the pain au chocolat). It just so happened that I had a small amount of crème d'amandes in my fridge just begging to be used, so I proceeded to make a small batch of crème pâtissière and blended equal parts of the two crèmes to make frangipane.  

I had been envisioning an apricot-almond combo and finally settled on cutting the rolled out croissant dough into small rectangles, proofing, then topping with frangipane and apricot slices before baking.  And here they are!

. . . . the hit of the meeting!

I've made a number of different financier over the years, including pear-ginger, chocolate-hazelnut, orange-cranberry, apple-cheddar, pumpkin, herbed goat cheese, lemon-berry, just to name a few. It's such a delicious and versatile base - definitely one of my faves!

This time I went with matcha-raspberry, a regular (and very popular) offering in the past during my Saturday winter farmers market days in Pawtucket. I love to bake them in different shapes too and find that the vast array of silicone flexi-molds currently available makes for all sorts of tempting choices.  Squares!  Thanks Joe!

My bouchon are based on a recipe entitled "French Puffs" that I found in Portland, Maine's Standard Baking Company's book . Once I had made them I wasn't sure why the word "puff" was used, since they aren't at all puffy.  In fact they are a dense, moist cake, full of flavor.  I adapted the recipe, adding coriander and ginger to the nutmeg in the batter and then rolling the warm, butter-dipped nuggets in coriander sugar.

My sister Joyce once described these as "the best donut hole I've ever had".  I bake them in small, round flexi-molds, the result prompting Steve to name them bouchon 'cuz they kinda look like champagne corks.

I happened to have some choux puffs in the freezer (a great item to have on hand for those unexpected requests!), so profiteroles here we come.  A truly delicious combo is to pair fresh fruit with whipped caramel mascarpone cream - what a marriage of fresh, sometimes tart with creamy, smooth goodness.

For the cream I combine equal weights heavy cream and mascarpone, add in some vanilla and, in this case, my homemade caramel sauce to provide a hint of sweetness, then whip it all to soft peaks. I cut the tops off the puffs, pipe a swirl of cream into the bottom and top with fresh fruit. I used kiwi, orange and pomegranate seeds, primarily for the lovely seasonal color combination. And don't forget - it tastes good too!

The table . . .

The pain au chocolat and apricot almond pastries . . .

I anticipated the possibility of leftovers and had small, to-go bags on hand. Many of the attendees took advantage of the "doggy-bag" option and left with an assortment to share with office mates, co-workers, friends or family.

A good morning indeed.

Christmas tea at Blithewold Mansion in Bristol, RI

It's been raining and dreary here in RI the past couple of days, so the timing couldn't have been better for Dor and I to add some holiday cheer and sparkle to an otherwise dismal day.

We had made reservations for Blithewold's Christmas tea some weeks ago, and, since December 9 was the date, we couldn't let the rainy, windy deluge stand in our way.  Dor picked me up in Providence and about 30 minutes later we were pulling into the parking lot at Blithewold, an English country manor style home on the waterfront in Bristol.

You can read more about the history of the place here:  http://www.blithewold.org/blithewold-history

Steve and I had visited Blithewold once before during the summer months and enjoyed touring the mansion and the grounds.  However, the place takes on an entirely different aura when it is decorated for the holidays.  And decorated it was!  What a sumptuous, lavish feast for the eyes!

I'll share just a few examples of what we saw, since, if I included every photo of every room, it would be simply overwhelming.  The entrance hall was inhabited by a two story high tree - here is the view of the treetop from the second level balcony.

We were directed into the main dining room for our tea experience.

All of the rooms in the mansion were decorated with a different holiday theme, the dining room's being "A New Year's Eve Party".  All was white, bright and glowing - we could just imagine spending New Year's Eve in this festive setting.

Mounted on the windows at either end of the dining room were clocks whose hands were poised at 5 minutes to midnight, as though everyone was waiting to shout "Happy New Year"!

Dorothy and I were assigned to Table 8 . . .

which was set with mix-and-match tea cups, saucers, and our own sugar and creamer.

We had a view out to the water, but, sadly, it was foggy and rainy and there was not much of a view to be had.

Soon the servers were bringing Yorkshire/Earl Grey tea and warm scones to each table.  We weren't given a menu, so we rendered a guess as to the scone's flavor - I thought it perhaps a pumpkin or ginger-spice raisin (?cranberry) version, but it wasn't totally clear.  It did have a delightful texture and nice crumb.

Next we received our two-tiered server with sandwiches and sweets.

The tea cozy was a nice touch, something we felt was missing at our other tea experiences earlier this fall.

We had two sandwich offerings - one the classic cucumber cream cheese on white bread and the other a cheese/red pepper jelly on wheat bread.  Both breads were moist and flavorful, however the cheese on the red pepper sandwich was very thin and hard, almost as though it had been sliced from the end of the rind.

The chocolate madeleine was a tad dry (why do you think Marcel Proust dipped his?) with a subtle chocolate flavor.  Of the two small cakes I believe one was a financier with a berry baked on top and the other a moist, sense-of-pumpkin cake.  The meringue peppermint kisses were a cute addition to the plate and had a typical crispy-outside-slightly chewy-inside texture, however the mint flavoring was too much for our palates.

We sat, sipped tea, relaxed and chatted until it was time to vacate the dining room and allow the staff to prepare for the 3 pm tea seating, the second of the afternoon.  So up and away we went.

We strolled past all of the themed, decorated rooms in the mansion - all so well done, absolutely stunning and a delight to behold!

The afternoon teas are offered Tuesday through Friday at 1 and 3 pm and continue on through the New Year weekend (reservations required), so, if you're looking for a fun, festive holiday outing, head over to Bristol and Blithewold mansion!

Cheers!!

Sportskage trial

I'm on a pastry detour to Denmark!  Who woulda thunk it?!

I recently received a request to make a sportskage (sports cake), which, as I've come to learn, is a classic "cake" created back in the late 1800's by La Glace, a pastry shop in Copenhagen, for the opening of a play entitled "Sportsmen".  It's been around ever since and continues to be a popular offering at the conditori.

It is basically whipped cream with chopped caramelized nuts (nougatine) folded into it, domed on top of an almond macaron type base, then topped with more whipped cream and caramelized choux puffs.  When I first saw photos of this pile of cream, I was curious, not only as to how one approaches the assembly, but also the slicing and serving of such a thing.  How does it hold its shape, I asked myself?

What better way to find out than to jump right in and make it.  My trial was underway!

Unlike the recipes I reviewed on line which use almond paste, egg white and sugar for the "cake" base, I opted to substitute one of my (and Steve's) all time favorite components.  Dacquoise is in the meringue family, made with ground nuts (almonds or hazelnuts or pistachios or walnuts - you name it), egg whites and sugar, much like the ever-so-popular French macaron.  

For me the beauty of a dacquoise is how much easier it is to make than the fussy macaron.  In this case I wanted to know if the small version of my go-to recipe would be enough for a 9-10" diameter base for the sportskage.

I decided on a hazelnut version and proceeded with my mise en place.  Very straight forward, no muss, no fuss.  When making a meringue I typically weigh out my egg whites and let them sit at room temp for an hour or so, since they mount better when no longer refrigerator cold.

Here I have egg whites (99 gm or about three), confectioner's sugar (75 gm), ground hazelnuts (99 gm) and granulated sugar (25 gm) at the ready.

Whisk the ground hazelnuts and confectioners sugar together . . .

Start the egg whites on low speed, using the whisk attachment, and, once they start to look foamy, add the granulated sugar . . . .

foaming up!

adding the sugar

then continue beating on high speed to firm peaks.

look at these peaks!

Now gently fold in the hazelnut/confectioners sugar mixture just until incorporated . . .

and pipe into a nice round!

ready for the oven

You can appreciate that my coil doesn't quite reach the periphery of my 240mm cake ring, so I might need a slightly larger recipe when it comes time for the real thing.  We'll see.

Out of the oven . . .

I was happy with the thickness, feeling it would nicely support the cream that would later be mounded on it.  But to give me a slightly larger base for the final dessert I'll consider a 15-20% increase in my base recipe.

Next I prepared the nougatine by making a standard caramel into which I stirred toasted hazelnuts. This mixture is poured immediately onto a Silpat and allowed to cool until hard.  BEWARE!  Hot caramel is dangerous!!  Wear protective oven gloves or hot mitts to prevent burns.  I know - I've been there.

I prefer blanched hazelnuts as a rule, but this time I used a mixture of blanched and natural hazelnuts. When I learned from my local nut vendor that blanched hazelnuts are currently very hard to come by and expensive due to a poor crop in Turkey, I opted for the skins-on version from Oregon to supplement the small supply of blanched nuts that I had in my freezer from earlier in the year.   I initially tried the toasting-in-the-oven/rubbing-the-skins-off technique, but boy-oh-boy, those skins did NOT want to come off, try as I might.  I just had to go with the flow and move forward, skins and all.

Once the nut/caramel mixture was cooled I ground it up to a coarse texture.  I want a nice crunch to the final dessert but am careful to avoid caramel pieces that are too big since they can be quite hard and difficult to chew.  No broken teeth allowed!

coarsely ground hazelnut nougatine

The next component is pâte à choux for the small profiterole style puffs that will be dipped in caramel (another CAUTION HOT!) and placed on the surface of the sportskage.  I used my usual base recipe (à la Michel Roux) which calls for 125 ml water, 125 ml milk, 100 gm butter, 1/2 tsp salt, 3/4 tsp sugar, 150 gm flour and 4 eggs.

I've found a number of recipes that use only water as the liquid, but I find the combo of water AND milk gives the puff a nicer flavor and more golden hue.  Granted the choux isn't really there to provide much flavor but serves primarily as the vehicle, whether for sweet or savory applications. Yet, it's good to have a puff with a bit of character, if you ask me!

mise en place for choux

The water, milk, butter, salt and sugar go into a saucepan on the cooktop and heated to melt the butter and bring to a boil.  Take it off the heat, stir in the flour in one fell swoop, then place it back onto the heat to dry the mixture out briefly.

You can mix the eggs in either by hand or in the mixer.  I opt for the mixer since it's easier.  Dump your hot panada (what it's called before the eggs are added) into the bowl and, using the paddle attachment, add the eggs one-by-one until each is incorporated.

This part of the choux making process is fascinating - with each egg addition the mixture looks all clumpy and lumpy, but it magically comes together, becoming a silky, shiny paste.

finished choux paste

OK, so mine looks a little lumpy, but it piped out beautifully and baked up just right!

piping choux

out of the oven, looking good

Most of the work is done!  As is the case with soooooo many baking projects, it's all about planning. The three components I've made so far can all be made ahead.  The dacquoise freezes beautifully, the nougatine will keep well in a closed container at dry room temp conditions for days, and the choux puffs can also be frozen. Now all I have to do is whip the cream and assemble.

For my test case I decided on a smaller version, so I cut my base down to 16 cm size.

ready to assemble

 I folded the nougatine into the whipped cream and mounded it on the dacquoise with nary a hitch.  It was much easier than I anticipated and certainly held its shape.

interesting, eh?

My puff garnishes were way out of proportion, since they rather dwarfed this smaller base version.  I popped a few on anyway and attempted piping "petals" of whipped cream. 

just think of them as profiterole "tumors"

kind of like weird layered growths on the bark of a tree

 

Yikes!!  Needs work.

Let's just say I have to practice this part for the final - kind of like studying for a test.  Decorative piping has never been a big interest of mine - I think of a piping bag as a practical tool for dispensing, since it gives one control and direction to get the product exactly were you want it.  But I'm game for some decor - just need the right tip!

At any rate I put the whole thing in the fridge and, several hours later, Steve and I did a mini tasting.  I was delighted that it sliced very easily and held its shape to boot.  And it tasted good - yes!

we had already popped all the choux puffs off and eaten them

This test run taught me a few things - make a slightly larger base to achieve my 9-10" diameter; make sure the nougatine isn't too coarse or caramel pieces too big; make the choux puffs smaller; practice "petal piping".  Shouldn't be too hard, right??

I hope to share pictures of the final finished product with you in a couple of weeks.  Stay tuned!

In the meantime stay warm, enjoy December and may visions of sugarplums dance in your heads.

Thanksgiving weekend

Just a quick post today to wish everyone a quiet, peaceful close to their Thanksgiving week.  It was a busy one here, yet with time to relax and slow down too.

I was happy to have received a number of requests for desserts and goodies from a handful of folks. Since pumpkin flan, apple-cranberry/caramel nut/chocolate ganache tarts, shortbread, croissant, pain au chocolat and croissant aux amandes were on my to-do list for others for the holiday, I kept my personal dessert offerings for family and friends on the simpler side.

On Thanksgiving day Steve and I traveled up the road to brother Dick and sister-in-law Dorothy's home in Douglas, Massachusetts for our afternoon meal which included a turkey breast roulade (good job Dor!), green beans, a savory cranberry orange relish, baked sweet potatoes, Steve's potato-Gruyere galette and Cathy's pearl onions baked in a bread-crumb-topped, creamy filling.  Everything was deelish!

For dessert I brought a small ganache tart, but I also took the opportunity to create another treat with components I had on hand.  I still had a portion of the brioche loaf from my King Arthur bread class, plus some crème d'amandes in the fridge and berries in the freezer, so it was time to make a berry version of Bostock!

After slicing, the brioche is imbibed in vanilla simple syrup and topped with berries, almond cream and sliced almonds. It's then baked at 350º for about 20 minutes until the almond cream is nicely browned.

Now some might consider this breakfast food, but it was so delicious warmed, topped with a dollop of Chantilly cream and served along side a petite slice of chocolate ganache tart - a lovely duo!

For another weekend gathering at friend Barbara's home I was in a maple syrup mood. Custards are one of my all time favorite desserts, so, after comparing a few recipes, I created my own version of a maple custard, baked in my favorite square ramekins.

I mixed hazelnut nougatine, chopped toasted hazelnuts and my own chocolate cookie crumbs as a garnish, and the crunch added just the right touch to the smooth, cool, silky custard.  Definitely a hit!

It's been a good week.  And away we go to December and 2015!

Boston teatime No. 2

This past week on a sunny, but chilly November day I met up with sister-in-law Dorothy for another afternoon tea adventure in Boston. Our destination this time was the Langham Hotel on Franklin Street not far from Downtown Crossing.

We had decided that, before heading to Beantown, an IKEA stop was in order, so we met up in Attleboro MA, and partnered up in my Subaru.  We made it to Stoughton's IKEA in no time and, after a leisurely stroll through the store (which was not very busy on a Wednesday morning) we made our few purchases and then - on to the big city!

Driving north and exiting into Boston off I-93 has always been a challenge.  The nexus of interstate, Mass Pike, service roads, and poorly marked exits is soooo confusing!  Needless to say, we got all turned around and ended up heading west on the Mass Pike.  But, we were able to take the U-turn back into Boston and, with Dor's guidance, we exited at Copley and handily made our way to the Boston Common Garage to park.

A brisk stroll across the Common led us to Winter St. on through Downtown Crossing, where we saw the Macy's Christmas tree being decorated, and eventually to Post Office Square and the Langham.

We soon found ourselves in the Langham’s lobby, which, as it turns out, is also home to The Reserve, where we would be enjoying our afternoon tea experience.  We found the ambience inviting with a casual yet elegant feel.  A very pleasant spot to while away a couple of hours.

I had made a reservation ahead of time, and it turned out that we were the only ones there at 2 pm for the "Tiffin Tea".  In the photo above you'll see in the far upper left corner our white table-clothed spot.

Once seated at our table with a view back out toward the lobby we were presented with the menu as well as the Harney and Sons tea selections for the day.

There were a few additional specialty tea selections as well.

After savoring the aroma of a number of the tea choices Dor opted for pomegranate oolong, and I went for one of the specialty blends, a black tea likened to an English Breakfast (the one on the top right above).

Not long after we had made our tea selections we were served two plates, one with our tea sandwiches and the second with our sweet treats. We wondered where the third plate was and were also disappointed in the lack of the classic three tiered server placed directly on the table, which typically serves as a center piece.

But have no fear - a basket of warm scones arrived and was placed on the table-side server stand where we could access it easily.  And, of course, it was accompanied by three classic garnishes - strawberry jam, clotted cream and lemon curd.  Oh boy, we were in for a treat!

After the obligatory 3-minute steep (with mini hourglass timer table-side) our server poured our tea, and we started in on the sandwiches, which were presented simply and attractively on Wedgwood china.

The standard fillings of egg salad, chicken salad, cucumber and salmon were all delicious, although a couple of the breads were a bit dry.  Dor and I agreed that the highlight was the oh-so-moist and slightly sweet Boston brown bread with salmon - an unexpected but tasty combo!  It brought back memories of my mom baking Boston brown bread in cans oh those many years ago.

We paused a bit, sipping our delicious teas, before starting in on the scones.  They were just the right texture, broke apart nicely with a perfect crumb, just ready to be topped with the quintessential garnishes.

As I observed the somewhat pale exterior I thought a brush with milk or egg wash and a sprinkle of sugar before baking would have added that just-right final touch to these otherwise stellar scones. And, although the jam, clotted cream and lemon curd married nicely with the buttery crumb, the curd could have had a brighter,  more lemony flavor.

On to the sweets!

The tartlet was a pleasing combination of a smooth sweet potato custard filling, gooey marshmallow atop and a crisp crust, although the aftertaste of the crust was bland and not terribly flavorful.

The most disappointing of the group was the iced autumn spice cake - very dry with an unappealing mouth feel and little flavor.

The pecan shortbread was right up my alley - crisp, light and buttery!  Perfect with a cup of tea!

While the cranberry white chocolate cheesecake pop had a nice texture and flavor, the pop thing is a bit too trendy for my tastes.  But hey, that's just me!

All in all Dor and I found this tea experience a notch above the Boston Harbor Hotel (see my post from 9/24/14) in terms of the over all flavor of the food (especially the scones!).  The teas were delicious, but we noticed how quickly the hot water in our teapots became cold.  We missed the tiered food centerpiece and thought the service in general could have been a little more attentive.

Yes, The Reserve offers a calm and pleasant atmosphere, and afternoon tea is a great way to enjoy a relaxing couple of hours in Boston.

Chocolate crepe cake

Believe it or not, I had never made a crêpe until this past week.  And, since I was experimenting, I thought I'd take it a step further than just the simple crêpe- why not make a crêpe cake!

I must say I've contemplated this for awhile, after one of my former customers, Ting-Ting, asked me about making a matcha (green tea) version for her. Needless to say, it never happened, but I was nonetheless intrigued. She had such a focused interest on pastries and would often come into the shop with loads of questions about what I was offering that day, as well as reporting on various pastries she had discovered in Manhattan. The crêpe cake was one of them.

I began my research and opted for a chocolate version. I found a number of recipes on line and soon realized how easy the batter is for this classic treat - milk, melted butter, flour, vanilla, egg, a little sugar, chocolate - ingredients that most of us have in our pantries and fridges on any given day.

I chose two different recipes, one using Dutch process cocoa powder and one using melted chocolate, thinking it would be good to compare the flavors.

Above: ingredients for Dutch process version

Above: ingredients for melted chocolate version

I mixed each batter together with no muss nor fuss and refrigerated both overnight.

Above - getting ready to blend ingredients for the melted chocolate version . . . . .

and bringing it all together with an immersion blender.

When it came time to make the crêpes, I chose to make a 4-5" size, thinking I wanted a petite cake for my first attempt.  Steve and I have a small sauté pan (I think it's Calphalon) that we've had for years and rarely use.  It seemed just the thing for what I was about to do.

I heated the pan and started the process.  I soon understood what to watch for as the crépes began to set.  It didn't take long before I was into the rhythm of crêpe making - one after another I piled them onto the plate.

Above - starting to set . . . .

then after flipping, finishing it off. 

Especially when making small crêpes, I realized the seemingly inordinate amount of time it took to finish off all the batter (and I had made only half a recipe!).  At this point I could imagine having 3 or 4 pans going at once, flipping crêpes one after another in assembly line fashion!

I made a couple of crêpes from the Dutch process cocoa batter first.  I then switched over to the melted chocolate version, and, after doing a tasting of the two, decided to abandon the cocoa version, since it didn't have nearly as rich a flavor.

Once all of my crêpes were finished I layered them between sheets of parchment and put them in the fridge, since I was planning my assembly for the following day.

I decided to make a simple whipped chocolate ganache filling, using 3 parts cream to 1 part chocolate by weight.

Boil the cream, pour it over the chocolate, whisk gently, cover (plastic wrap directly on the surface to eliminate air) and refrigerate until nicely chilled.  It couldn't be easier!

When I was ready to begin the assembly, I pulled my plate of crêpes and my ganache from the fridge.

I whipped the ganache to medium firm peaks so it would be nicely spreadable . . .

and began the process.

Getting higher . . . .

and stacking until I had 21 (or was it 24?) layers (OK just try to count them!)

Into the fridge it went to set up before glazing.  My chocolate glaze is 113 gm of chocolate and 42 gm of butter melted over a bain marie.  Trés simple!

I held the finished cake, covered, in the fridge overnight.  When it was time to serve, I sliced it and garnished with caramel spiked chantilly and chopped toasted hazelnuts.

If I haven't mentioned this before, I toast nuts before using, no matter what I'm doing with them.  It brings out the flavor and adds so much to the final experience!

A note about chocolate:  for this project I used Valrhona's 64% Manjari, the chocolate I used regularly when working at Gracie's.  Since then I've come to really enjoy the flavor (and the price!) of Trader Joe's Belgian chocolate, typically mixing half-and-half of their "dark chocolate" and "72% dark chocolate".

I had made a mini-cake with leftover crêpe pieces and ganache for Steve and I to sample.  We both felt that the chocolate was too acidic and not necessarily an agreeable taste, so I was anticipating how we and our Saturday evening dinner guests, Magali and Guy, might react to the piéce de resistance.

We all enjoyed the texture and flavor, particularly with the chantilly and hazelnuts mellowing out the acid of the chocolate.  But, it was Magali who suggested a bit of orange, which reminded me that I had some candied orange peel in my fridge from an earlier project.  I put a couple of pieces of the peel on our desserts et voila!  It made ALL the difference.  What a delicious combination!

Thanks Miss Mag!

More than you'll ever want to know about shortbread

When asked what my favorite baked good is, my thoughts usually turn to a lovely, buttery shortbread. There is something so genteel about a cup of tea with a delicious crisp cookie along side.

The basic dough for classic shortbread is 1-2-3 dough, or 1 part sugar, 2 parts butter and 3 parts flour (by weight).  The word short refers to the high fat content of the dough as well as the limited mixing, which prevents long gluten strands from forming and keeps the dough tender.

In French the word sablé (sand) is used to describe this type of dough, and the sablage process involves simply mixing flour and sugar together, then blending (or "sanding") in diced, cool butter with your finger tips until a coarse, sandy texture is reached. At that point the dough can be pressed firmly into a pan and baked.

That's the method I use when I have a craving for fresh shortbread and want to make it quickly.  I line an 8 or 9" square pan with parchment and weigh out 75 gm sugar, 150 gm butter and 225 gm flour.  I dice the cool butter and sand it by hand into the flour and sugar until crumbly. I like to add the seeds scraped from one vanilla bean too - love to see those little brown specks! (I buy my beans in bulk from Beanilla).

Once the dough is pressed into the pan I bake at 300º convection, usually about 20-25 minutes. I like it lightly browned and well baked so it has a tender crumb but is still crispy too. With this approach it's important to cut the shortbread in the pan soon after it comes out of the oven. If you wait until it's completely cooled, it will tend to crack and won't cut evenly. But don't worry, it will still taste great!

You can also take the sablage a step further until the dough actually comes together, although it's easier with a mixer, especially if you're making a larger batch.  Just put your flour and sugar into the mixing bowl, throw in your diced butter and mix with the paddle on low speed. It usually takes about 5 minutes before it starts to form a cohesive ball. Then stop and don't over mix.

This allows you to shape the dough into a round, square or even triangular log or simply wrap and chill it for later rolling and cutting into desired shapes. It's the best approach when you're planning ahead and want to have a variety of flavors of dough ready in your fridge or freezer.

Some of my shortbread are made using another common mixing method - that of first blending soft butter with sugar and THEN adding the flour.  Please note that this is NOT the traditional creaming of butter and sugar that is meant to aerate and lighten, as one might do for a cake. You don't want to introduce air into the shortbread dough, just blend the butter and sugar together.

By now you're probably wondering why all this talk about mixing methods for such a simple cookie? It's the world of baking and pastry! And why might I use one method over another? It's really based on the various recipes I've discovered and adapted over the years. The results are all still delicious no matter what method you use, so have fun with it!

I found the following recipe some years ago on Clotilde Dusoulier's blog, "Chocolate and Zucchini".  She attributes it to Parisian chef Yves Camdeborde of Le Comptoir du Relais in the 5th arrondissement.

It varies a bit from the strict 1-2-3, using 90 gm coarsely ground raw sugar (gives it a great crunch!), 200 gm soft butter, and 250 gm flour (along with those important vanilla bean seeds). The higher ratio of butter and lower ratio of flour give these cookies a nice crispy texture.

First I smear the butter with my trusty spatula until smooth, then blend in the sugar (that's a mixture of vanilla sugar and coarse raw sugar above on the right).  I scrape my vanilla seeds into the mix, throw in a pinch of salt and then add the flour by cutting it in with a bowl scraper and gently blending it by hand until it comes together. You can see it still looks rough but holds together.

Divide the dough in quarters in preparation for log shaping. I first shape roughly . . .

and then do the final shaping with the dough wrapped in plastic.

Place the wrapped logs in the fridge for a good 1-2 hour (or overnight) chill. Once the dough has chilled, and you're ready to bake, heat your oven to 300ºF convection. With this particular recipe I roll the logs in raw sugar before slicing, then space the cookies out on parchment lined sheets.

I've gotten into the habit of freezing the cookies on the sheet pans for 10-15 minutes before baking.  It keeps the butter firm and helps maintain the shape during baking. Depending on your oven these may bake anywhere from 20 to 25 minutes - pay attention to what's happening in there, and don't forget to rotate and change shelf positions of your sheet pans about half way through.

Let's talk a bit about flavors.  Once you have a base recipe down, use your imagination to create your own variations.

One of my favorites is to brush the just baked cookies with my homemade caramel sauce, sprinkle them with sea salt and pop 'em back in the oven for 2-3 minutes to set the caramel.  Deeelish!

Or brush with honey and sprinkle with herbes de provence (Steve's idea!) and sea salt.

You can add citrus zest and a squeeze of fresh citrus juice as you're mixing . . . or mix some chopped crystallized ginger, dried tart cherries or cranberries into your dough . . . or add chopped, toasted nuts and your favorite spice like cinnamon, ginger or nutmeg . . . or replace 1/4 of your flour with ground nuts or cornmeal for varied textures . . . or dip your finished cookie in melted chocolate.

You get the idea.

One of the most popular offerings during market days at my pastry studio in Pawtucket RI was the shortbread bar - 12 different flavors, mix and match, pop 'em in a bag and go!

Mmmmmm - what an enticing array!

Now it’s your turn to create your own version of delicious buttery shortbread cookies! Have a ball!!