Crunchy topped choux

As a brief respite from traveling, moving and trying to figure out where we're going to live, I wanted to prepare something for dessert for my Aunt Marian's birthday lunch.  Part of the reason Steve and I are transitioning back to Michigan is so we can be on the ground, as it were, to lend a hand to my Mom and her sibs and sibs-in-law, all of whom are aging as we speak.  But then, aren't we all??

At first I was going to turn to one of my standards - financier, a tart of some sort, shortbread - all the usual suspects.  And then my thoughts turned to choux!

Some years ago while visiting my pastry friend Misato in Mulhouse (Alsace) I was perusing one of her pastry books by Jean-Michel Perruchon.  I was intrigued by the recipes for crunchy topping for pâte à choux, as well as the different fruity variations of pastry cream - a whole new world opened up to me!

Since then I had tried the crunchy topping thing as well as a pear pastry cream version for a tart I created and found them very satisfying.  For some reason I put those ideas aside as other things in the pastry world seemed to grab my attention.

But now, as I reviewed Dorie Greenspan's "Baking Chez Moi", I found her recipes for "Crackle-Top Cream Puffs" and "Bubble Eclairs".  The wheels started spinning.

Inspired by raspberries on sale at Meijer for $1! per 6 oz, I decided to make a raspberry pastry cream to fill my version of "bubble-crackle-top eclairs".

OK - so let's get to it.

First - the crackle-top dough.  This is basically akin to a crumble - mix 64 gm cool, diced butter, 100 gm sugar (in this case brown sugar), 85 gm all-purpose flour, a pinch of salt and 3/4 tsp vanilla extract . . . .

les ingredients

and form a rough dough that just holds together.

crumbly but holds together when squeezed

Form a disc . . . .

and roll it to 1/16" thick between two sheets of parchment paper.

Freeze it for a couple of hours (or until ready to bake your choux puffs), then cut into rounds that will later top the puffs.  You can hold this dough frozen and wrapped for many days!

I wrapped the scraps and froze them for another time.

Second - the pastry cream.  The beauty of this is its make-ahead-by-a-day-or-two feature.

Initially I found the whole idea of a fruit version of pastry cream (hmmm, fruit puree and milk?) kind of odd.  But, as I thought about it, we use fruit purees and dairy in many ways -ice cream,  smoothies, cheesecake, mascarpone cream to name a few.  Instead of using only milk as the liquid base as is typical for standard pastry cream, one can create variations by using a combination of fruit puree and milk, proceeding with the very same process used to make pastry cream with egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch.  I like to think of it as a cross between pastry cream and curd.

I wasn't sure how much puree my 12 oz of fresh raspberries would yield, so I smooshed and strained them with a yield of 215 gm.  Now I could figure out the quantities for the remaining ingredients.

In Perruchon's recipes a greater proportion of fruit puree is used compared to the milk e.g. 500 gm puree + 100 gm milk.  I tweaked the proportions based on my 215 gm of raspberry puree, using equal weights of puree and milk.

To sum up, my recipe used 215 gm raspberry puree, 215 gm whole milk, 95 gm egg yolk, 77 gm sugar and 40 gm cornstarch; 20 gm butter is added at the end of the cooking process.  If you don't know the standard process for making pastry cream, you can find many sources on line to help you.

Once the raspberry pastry cream was made I covered and chilled it until I was ready to use it the next day.

Next up - pâte à choux.  For this I went with my standard recipe from Michel Roux - in a medium pan bring 125 gm milk, 125 gm water, 1 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 100 gm diced butter to a boil; remove from the heat and stir in 150 gm flour all at once; place back on the heat and stir for a minute or so to dry it (you'll see a thin film on the bottom of the pan); stir in 4 eggs, one at a time, until you have a smooth, silky paste.

Here is the panada (the paste before the eggs are added) . . . .

check out the thin coating on the bottom of the pan

and after the egg addition . . .

silky smooth

I piped out the puffs in series of three, each ball snuggling up to the next . . .

and topped them with the chilled crackle dough rounds.

ready for the oven

 Pretty cool!

Bake them at 375º for about 35 minutes until the tops are browned and the puffs are golden and firm to the touch.

Oh yeah - lookin' good!

Once the puffs are cooled it's time to garnish.

I typically lighten my pastry cream with a small percentage of whipped cream.  In this case I blended 100 gm whipped cream into my raspberry pastry cream.

whipped cream and pastry cream ready to be blended together

One can garnish puffs or eclairs in two different ways - slice the choux, pipe the cream decoratively on the bottom half and sandwich- OR fill the choux from the bottom.

the non crackle-top in the foreground was my practice version!

I opted for the fill-from-the-bottom technique, finding it much more user friendly than slicing each one in half.  Plus, I've filled a LARGE share of puffs and eclairs over the years, and it's like riding a bicycle.

Poke holes in the bottoms and, using a pastry bag with a 6 mm tip, fill each section until the cream starts to ooze out of the adjacent holes.  That way you know you've filled adequately.  Once you've done this multiple times you begin to understand what the "heft" of a well filled puff is all about.

I'm told that Parisians get mighty peeved if their eclairs and profiteroles aren't filled properly!

I scrape the excess off with a small offset spatula, place them crunch side up and dust them with powdered sugar.  And we're off to the races!

These were well received by the family, who had gathered at Uncle John's Clear Bottom Lake cottage to celebrate Aunt Marian's 86th birthday.  The crunchy top is such a wonderful contrast to the cool, creamy filling and the light as air choux.  I enjoyed the raspberry cream, although Steve still holds out for classic pastry cream (praline and chocolate are some of his faves too).

Happy Birthday Aunt Marian!

Moving, moving, moving and more hazelnut flour!

Wow - it seems like a long time since I've written about baking and delectable goodies!  I miss it but soon I'll be back in the saddle, as the old cowpokes say.

Steve and I are in the midst of our transition from Providence, RI to Grand Rapids, MI so my time spent in the kitchen has dropped pretty dramatically in recent weeks.  Yet . . .  I still have a few ingredients to use up, particularly the seemingly never ending supply of hazelnut flour in my freezer.

Soooooo - since we were planning on Memorial Day weekend supper at Dick and Dorothy's I developed a plan for dessert - the always popular pavé aux noisette, but this time with lime ice cream, blackberry sauce, fresh berries and toasted almonds.  YUM!

And, in addition, since making ice cream gives me egg whites to use up, I made a chocolate chunk hazelnut version of financier.  Delicious.

chocolate chunk hazelnut financier

hazelnut, lime, blackberry dessert

As the school year comes to a close and summer creeps up on us I suspect many of you will be spending more time out of doors and less time dealing with a hot oven.  It's only natural.

But for me, once we're settled in our new home (as yet to be determined), you can bet I'll be sharing my baking adventures with you.  Stay tuned!

A trio of treats for Sunday lunch at Mom's

Steve and I are currently in Grand Rapids spending time with my mom through the Mother's Day weekend.  She had planned a Sunday luncheon for a group of 12 lady friends so, of course, I had to make something for dessert!

The plan - blueberry financier, moelleux chocolat and Breton shortbread with orange mascarpone and fresh citrus garnish.

lovely colors for the plate

working on the plating

All in all pretty straightforward - chocolate, moist almond cake, buttery Breton, a bit of fruit and some orange zested cream.  What's not to like?

the final medley

It's always fun to put a trio together!

Gateau Basque from Christophe Felder

Hmmmm - Gateau Basque - now just what is that all about?  Well let me tell you.  It's a traditional Basque butter cake baked with a pastry cream filling and/or cherry jam (for those of you who like fruit in your desserts).  It's kind of a cross between a cake and a tart and leans toward either of those depending on which recipe you use.  More about that later.

Gateau Basque (let's call it GB) was one of the first cakes we made in the basic pastry curriculum at LCB in Paris.  We were told then that one can make it with pastry cream and cherries or can substitute prunes or dried apricots.  As I researched it online I found pictures of many variations for this cake - some with only pastry cream, some with only cherries (black cherry jam to be precise) - including a couple of chocolate versions and one with a pink tinged (cherry? strawberry? raspberry?) pastry cream filling.  Let's hear it for artistic license, eh?

Below are the individual versions of GB that I made in my pastry studio at Hope Artiste Village a couple of years ago.  I used the LCB recipe from my schooling days and baked them with pastry cream and dried tart cherries that had been plumped up first in hot water ( you could use cherry juice or liqueur if you wanted).

When I was reading up on the topic back then, I remember one source (can't for the life of me tell you where I found it!) advising that a good GB should be one in which the interior pastry cream layer becomes one with the dough during baking, sort of melding into it without being identifiable as a distinct layer.  That's how the above LCB versions came out, and they were tasty!  Buttery, crumbly, yet cake-like, not too sweet and oh-so-good with a cup of coffee or tea.

Now, as I review the topic again, I see many photos of the sliced cake showing very distinct pastry cream/fruit layers.  That seems to be the way of it.

On to the task at hand.

This time I opted to try Christophe Felder's GB recipe from his book Patisserie!.  His leçons focus on a particular component e.g. a type of dough or pâte and carry that through to a finished product.  I like that. 

As I compare his recipe with LCB's there are several variations - his has a bit less butter, less sugar, fewer eggs and calls for almond flour along with all purpose flour.

He treats this dough like a tart dough, whereas the LCB recipe uses it more as a batter (and a very thick one at that). 

les ingredients

For the pâte à gateau basque place 175 gm soft butter, 125 gm sugar, 85 gm almond flour and the zest of one lemon in a mixing bowl.  Blend it by hand with a spatula or in the mixer with the paddle attachment on low speed.  Then blend in one egg yolk plus 25 gm of beaten egg (1/2 an egg) followed by 225 gm all purpose flour and a pinch of salt.

I mixed it until it looked like large curds (as seen below),

then brought it together by hand.

Wrap it up and into the fridge it goes for a couple of hours.

In the meantime I made a batch of basic pastry cream in the usual fashion using 250 ml whole milk, 3 egg yolks, 45 gm sugar, 20 gm cornstarch and a tablespoon of hazelnut liqueur (in place of the recommended rum) whisked in after the cooking process.

crème pâtissière

I like to cool the pastry cream on a plastic lined quarter sheet pan, folding the plastic over it to eliminate air and pop it in the fridge.  It doesn't take long.

Next up - the cherries.  Since I preferred not having a jar of leftover cherry jam (Christophe calls for 150 gm confiture de griottes) on my hands, I roasted 150 gm of frozen cherries with a couple of tablespoons of raw sugar and a pinch of salt at 450º for about 8 minutes (watch carefully so they don't burn!).  Then I added a couple tablespoons of hazelnut liqueur and gave them another 5 minutes in the oven.

before roasting

after roasting

I poured the cherries onto a clean flat pan and let them cool to room temp which allowed the syrup to thicken up a bit.

Now for the assembly.

Remove the chilled pâte from the fridge and divide it in two.  Butter an 8-9" round pan, line the bottom with parchment and butter and flour that.

my nod to Mickey Mouse

Roll out each of the pieces of dough slightly larger than the diameter of your pan.

Trim off the excess and place one round into the prepared pan.  Roll the scraps into a long snake and place it around the periphery of the pan, gently pressing it in to adhere it to the sides of the pan and the bottom dough layer.

I piped a layer of pastry cream over the bottom, topped it with the cherries and finished off the cream over the cherries.

Note - you can put the cherries in first and pipe the cream over them, or pipe all the cream in and top with the cherries - it doesn't really matter.

Take the second round of dough and place it over the filling.  Tuck it in nicely around the edges and remove the excess.

I used most of the dough to create a nice rim all the way around, leaving very few scraps.

almost ready for the oven

Give the surface a brush with egg wash, pop it in the fridge for a few minutes, give a second coat of egg wash and create cross-hatch marks with a fork.

At LCB we were told that there are a variety of patterns one can use.  As I understand it, in true Basque fashion, certain surface markings indicate what type of filling is inside i.e. cream only or jam only.  I basically winged it with mine.

Bake in a 350º oven for approximately 40 minutes until golden.

Once cooled a bit, turn it out of the pan and let cool on a wire rack.

Whew!

I served this for dessert after a traditional Indonesian nasi goreng feast prepared by sister-in-law Dorothy's long time friend Jeanette from Toronto.  And what a feast it was!

What you see below are all of the cold portions of the meal which accompanied warm dishes of Indonesian fried rice, pork satay, coconut shrimp, beef with onions, chicken and various sauces.

My apologies Jeanette - I can't do the descriptions justice, but it was one delicious repast!

I felt almost too full for dessert, but the group was ready and willing so away we went.

Topped with crème chantilly and toasted almonds this was a delightful surprise.  While being in no way related to Indonesian food, it still seemed to fit the bill (more like a tart than a cake, not too sweet, buttery and cookie like) as a perfect ending to a meal full of flavorful contrasts.

The pastry cream/cherry layers remained distinct and certainly didn't detract from the overall experience, but in the future I think I'll go back to the LCB recipe.  In a nutshell its texture and overall flavor win out in my book.

And there you have it.

 

Glace à la ricotta et macarons craquelé aux noisettes

Making ice cream at home is a special treat, and now that spring weather has finally appeared here in Providence, it seemed right to make a batch of creamy goodness.

Hurray!!

For those of you who aren't familiar with them, many basic home ice cream makers (lets call them ICMs) come with a special insulated canister that has to be frozen before use.  I like to pop it into the freezer at least 24 hours ahead of when I intend to use it - it has to be brrrrrr cold.

My first ICM (many moons ago) was a Donvier brand, hand-crank version that had a simple handle that fit into the top and required turning every few minutes over the 20-25 minutes it took for the ice cream base to firm up.  It was a work horse and delivered some delicious stuff, but, of course, I couldn't wander off when I was supposed to be turning the crank.  Then I moved up to (and continue to use) a Cuisinart electric version that plugs in, turns on and churns the mixture for you.  It's been great.

But enough about that.

I had a container of ricotta in my fridge that was just begging to be used.  After considering a ricotta cake of some sort, a little light bulb went on . . . .  how about ice cream?!

For some years now I've been using a basic ice cream base recipe from David Lebovitz - it's delicious and can be "doctored" to create whatever flavor you might want.  He describes a ricotta version of it in a 2014 post, and I decided to run with it.

The base calls for 5 egg yolks, which means there are egg whites to be used later!!  Time for some rustic macarons to go with that ricotta ice cream.  Yes indeed.

First the ice cream.

les ingredients

David's standard base calls for 2 cups of cream and 1 cup of whole milk, whereas this ricotta version calls for 1 cup of cream and 2 cups of whole milk ricotta.

Start by making a basic crème anglaise.  Have 5 egg yolks ready in a separate bowl.  Warm 1 cup heavy cream with 1/2 cup sugar and a pinch of salt just until you see small bubbles forming around the edges.  Temper the warm mixture into the egg yolks then return it all to medium heat.  Cook while whisking until little bubbles form around the edges and the mixture just begins to thicken.  Don't boil!

Strain into a clean bowl placed in an ice bath and let cool, whisking periodically.

Once the mixture has cooled blend in 2 cups ricotta (see note below), 1/4 cup honey and a teaspoon of vanilla.

A note about ricotta - store bought varieties tend to be grainy, so to smooth it out I whizz it in my small Salton processor for a few minutes.

before whizzing

after whizzing

Still a bit grainy but definitely smoother.

Pour the finished mixture into a covered container and refrigerate.  I like to make my base a day ahead of the actual processing step - it thickens and matures in the fridge.

cover and pop into the fridge

When ready to "spin" the ice cream (as they say in the biz), just pull the canister from the freezer, set up the ICM, stir a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice into the base mixture . . .

pour it in and turn 'er on!

and away we go!

In about 20 minutes it becomes a lovely, thickened, creamy ice cream.  Yes.

et voila!

Planning for the use of my 5 egg whites and continuing to pare down my supply of hazelnut flour, I decided to make a rustic version of macarons.  I have always found the classic French macaron process to be fussy and often frustrating, so I definitely prefer a more "rough and tumble" end product that doesn't have to be so pristine and perfect.

Some years ago, while I was in the thick of macaron making at Gracie's, I purchased Stéphane Glacier's book un amour de macaron.  

After paging through the options I chose to make a noisette version of macaron craquelé aux amandes to accompany the ricotta ice cream.

Let's go.

les ingredients

Egg whites mount better when warm so I weighed out my 150 gm and let them sit a while in the mixing bowl at room temp while preparing the other ingredients.

Weigh out 125 gm powdered sugar and 125 gm hazelnut flour and whisk them up, breaking up any lumps with your fingers (alternatively you can sift the two together to achieve the same goal).

Weigh out 42 gm sugar in a small bowl, have a pinch of salt and 3/4 teaspoon lemon juice ready (for the egg whites).

Whisk the whites with the salt and lemon juice on low-med speed until they start to get foamy.  Then add the sugar and whisk on high to softly firm peaks.

love those peaks

Blend the dry ingredients into the whites in two steps, gently folding until just incorporated.

ready to pipe

Since I wanted a finished base on which to scoop the ricotta ice cream I piped out approximately 3 inch rounds on one sheet pan . . .

and smaller rounds (that would later be sandwiched with chocolate) on a second pan.

Into the oven they go (350º for about 15 minutes) until lightly browned and set.

little cuties

The beauty of these goodies is they hold extremely well in the freezer.  I made them a couple of days ahead of serving, so into the freezer they went.

On the day that I planned to serve this dessert, I sandwiched the little ones with a chocolate glaze (113 gm chocolate and 42 gm butter melted together over a bain marie).

I wanted some additional crunch so I baked up some honeyed hazelnuts for garnish.

It's time for dessert!

The ice cream was pretty firm, so I had to soften it up a bit for scooping.  Into the bottom of the bowl went a macaron round, followed by the glace à la ricotta (which got a little softer than I intended) and then a mixed berry and crunchy honeyed hazelnut garnish.  A couple of dainty chocolate sandwiched macarons along side and the deed was done.

et voila!

Now I'll admit that I snuck a taste of the ice cream right after processing it and, while the flavor was good, the texture was a tad grainy.  But somehow it smoothed out after a rest in the freezer for a day or two.

The final verdict - deeeeelicious!  The combination of fruity, nutty, crunchy and creamy was superb.  Just goes to show ya that it never hurts to try something new.

Cannelés Bordelais

cannelés Bordelais

I first made a Christophe Felder recipe for cannelés back in late winter/early spring of 2013 in my pastry studio at Hope Artiste Village in Pawtucket RI.  While the batter is trés simple I soon learned these delectable treats required baking in a hot oven (450-500º) for a good hour (or more!)   Since I couldn't justify dedicating the oven to one thing for that long, I didn't bake them on a regular basis.  But man are they good!

We're talking one tasty little tidbit.  With a custard like interior and darkly caramelized exterior they are a true taste and mouth-feel experience.

Also known as canelé de Bordeaux these babies are well known and very popular, not only in and around Bordeaux, but in many parts of France.  For years they have been baked traditionally in copper molds coated with beeswax, but, now that silicone molds are so prevalent, there's much less muss and fuss involved, especially for the home baker.

One of the big producers in France is Baillardran.  They have a shop in Paris, and when Steve and I were there in May, 2013 (soon after I had first made cannelés) we felt we HAD to try them.

yup - nicely caramelized

custardy pockets are de rigueur as I understand

Sad to say, we found them rather dry and unappealing, not like the delicious, custardy treats we had sampled at The French Tarte.

At any rate, fast forward 2 years to now.  Inspired by Dorie Greenspan's "Baking Chez Moi" it seemed only natural to try out her recipe for cannelés.

The batter preparation is straightforward and includes milk, sugar, butter, egg, flour, vanilla and usually rum.  Not being a rum fan, I substituted hazelnut liqueur.  Part of the planning involves making the batter at least a day before baking since it requires a good 12 hour (or more) rest in the fridge.

les ingredients

Here we go.  Bring 480 ml (2 cups milk), 150 gm (3/4 cup) sugar and 28 gm (2 TBSP) butter to a boil, stirring occasionally to make sure the sugar is dissolved.  Let it cool 10-15 minutes.

In a separate bowl sift 136 gm (1 cup) flour plus 100 gm (1/2 cup) sugar together.

Whisk 2 large eggs and 1 yolk in another bowl, then slowly add the warm milk mixture while whisking.  Then whisk in the flour/sugar mixture, beating vigorously as needed to blend everything.

ready to strain

Strain it into a clean bowl or pouring container and whisk in 2.5 TBSP rum (or liqueur of choice) and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

ready to cover and pop into the fridge

Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours (FYI - you can keep it in the fridge for several days).

On baking day brush the cannelé molds with melted butter and put them in the freezer for 30 minutes while heating the oven to 450º.

getting ready to butter the molds

When ready, take the batter out of the fridge and whisk it up, since the ingredients have a tendency to separate during their chilling time.  Fill each mold about 3/4 full.

ready for the oven

Bake at 450º for 30 minutes then lower the temp to 400º and bake another 30 minutes.  In my case I took Dorie's advice and removed one of the cannelé from the mold with a bamboo skewer so I could check the progress at about 40 minutes.

after a 40 minute bake

custardy pockets

I kept the remainder of the batch in the oven for another 10 minutes (total 50 minutes) and felt the browning was just right.

just out of the oven (the empty spot is the for the one I removed early)

Once out of the oven let them cool on a rack for 10 minutes before turning them out of the molds.

whoa baby!

not bad, eh?

Upon cutting one open the interior had the same custardy pockets as the one I had taken out of the oven ten minutes earlier.

So could I reduce the oven time in the future?  With these petite molds I say "yes"!  However, based on my previous experience a couple of years ago when I used a slightly larger mold, the cannelés required a full hour (if not more) in the oven.  Just remember that baking times vary depending on the size of the goods.

The moral of the story?  Pay attention to what's going on in your oven.

A quick note about the taste - firm and chewy on the outside yet with a moist and custardy interior.  In a word - delicious!

Steve took a bunch of these to work, later reporting that they were gone in 5 minutes and were enjoyed by all!

Yes, I would make these again (and again and again and again)!!

Hazelnut flour and Easter dessert Part 2: final assembly and tasting

Now for the finale of the 2015 Easter dessert!

But first a BIG thanks to Dick and Dorothy for a delicious Easter meal at their home.  Although the day dawned sunny and breezy it developed into a cloudy and (dare I say it) snow flurried afternoon.  Hey!  It's supposed to be spring already.

Just try and imagine the crocuses and tulips waiting to poke through the snow.

peering out of the sunroom windows

the Easter table

In my previous post I described the preparation of the various components for this hazelnut dessert.  So let's move on to the assembly, made so easy by having everything completed ahead of time.

I ended up using only one of the two hazelnut cakes I had baked, not wanting the final dessert to be too high.  After a thaw I split it into two layers, one for the bottom and one for the top.

Now it's a simple matter of building the stack.



I removed the still frozen custard/coulis/crumble layer (on the right in the photo above) from the form with a hot knife, then placed it on top of the cake.

After a short rest in the fridge to allow the custard to thaw and soften a bit, I added the second frozen custard layer and gently settled it in place.

On goes the top cake layer,

followed by a garnish of lightly sweetened whipped ricotta cream, a sprinkling of crumble,

and a few berries.

c'est fini

Now how about a little berry coulis and fresh blackberries with your dessert Ma'am?

The servings smushed a bit during the portioning part, but it didn't do the taste any harm.  A lovely combo of moist cake, smooth custard, somewhat tart berry and a hint of crumble crunch.

It seemed a bit sweeter than I was expecting but not excessively so - and the group gave it a thumbs up!

Not bad at all.

Thanks again D & D!

Hazelnut flour and Easter dessert Part 1: planning and components

As Steve and I get closer to our move back to Grand Rapids, Michigan in a handful of weeks I'm working on using up some of the ingredients in my larder.  My current focus is hazelnut flour.

I'm able to buy nut flours (primarily almond and hazelnut) here in Providence from the Virginia and Spanish Peanut Company, but they sell them in minimum 5 pound portions.  I go through almond flour fast, but I end up freezing the bulk of the hazelnut flour for periodic use.  I still have 3 lbs or so on hand, so I've been working on recipes that will help me reduce my stash before the move.

The other day I held a tart class during which we baked a hazelnut version of sablé Breton, garnished with an orange-zested, white chocolate pastry cream and some nut crumble.  Boy, was that tasty!

Being on tap for dessert for Easter dinner at Dick and Dorothy's, I turned to the recipes from my spring 2009 professional entremets course at LCB Paris.

I opted for my version of an almond-lemon-raspberry number, focusing on hazelnut-orange-fruits rouge as my flavor profile.  There's still a hint of winter in this combo, but, since Easter is on the early side this year, I figured this would be a last nod to late winter's tastes.  And besides, the weather hasn't figured out that it's spring yet!

Many chefs, whether savory or sweet, will sketch out a dish/dessert for assembly or plating.  I certainly don't claim to be an artist, but it's kinda' fun to draw out what one has in mind for a layered dessert (takes me back to those grade school coloring days).  It's all part of the mise en place.
    
In this case I was looking for a cake/custard/fruity/nutty ensemble.  Gotta have those contrasts!  And the good news is the components can be made several days ahead and frozen before final assembly.

First I created two 16 cm square cake "pans" by wrapping these bottomless forms in foil.  My intention was to make my components in the same square shape in which I would assemble them.

On to the prep!

les ingredients pour le pavé

For the pavé aux noisette blend 95 gm soft butter, 150 gm sugar, 2 gm salt and the zest of an orange.  Add half of 200 gm egg, then half of 190 gm ground hazelnuts; finish with remaining egg and ground hazelnuts, blending to smooth.

before the egg white addition

Whisk 100 gm egg white with 30 gm sugar to medium firm peaks . . .

and fold them into the butter/sugar/egg/nut mixture. 

finished batter

Butter the foil, divide the batter between the two forms . . .

ready for the oven

and bake at 375º for about 25 minutes (should look nicely browned and feel firmly spongy in the center).

nice!

Once the cakes cool, remove them from the molds, wrap and hold 1-2 days at room temp or up to 2 weeks in the freezer (the day before assembly place them in the fridge to thaw).

For the vanilla bean ricotta custard . . . .

les ingredients

blend 354 gm cream cheese, 177 gm ricotta, 112 gm sugar and the seeds scraped from one vanilla bean until smooth; blend in 2 eggs and 1 white, followed by 177 gm heavy cream until incorporated.  Pour into your chosen pan or ramekins.

I baked these in the same foil wrapped 16 cm square forms, placed in a water bath.  Steve was tickled that I had leftover custard to fill a handful of small ramekins to boot!

Bake at 300º for about 30 minutes until set.

Once the custard had cooled I put it in the freezer for 30 minutes or so, during which I made a mixed fruit coulis using IQF berries and cherries.

Thaw, puree and strain 227 gm/8 oz frozen fruit (yield 150 gm).  Warm the puree, add 20 gm sugar to dissolve, and whisk in 3 gm of bloomed sheet gelatin (softened in ice water and squeezed out).  Let the mixture cool a bit.

I poured it over one of the chilled custard squares, spreading evenly . . . .

and topped it with hazelnut/almond crumble, pressing it in gently.

Putting the crumble on the still liquid coulis and then into the freezer helps set the layers and keep them together for the final assembly.  The crumble will ultimately become the center layer of my creation (let's hope!)

Next up - final assembly and tasting!

Stay tuned.

Tarte aux fruits rouge pistache from Christophe Felder

Lately I've been delving into Christophe Felder's book Patisserie! in search of new recipes to try. Tarts being one of my favorite things, I settled on the first section of the book (Les Pates et Les Tartes)  and chose this one primarily because it uses a tart dough that I've never made.

Mmmmmm!

Even though I arrived at my list of favorite and regularly used tart doughs long ago, I can't resist trying a new one every now and then.  Just gotta' do it.

The array of tart dough recipes one can find is overwhelming, with so many variations on the theme, whether it's pâte brisée, pâte sablée, pâte sucrée or sablé Breton!  More butter? Granulated or confectioners sugar?  Greater butter to flour ratio?  Eggs, yolks?  Nut flour? A splash of cream?  The possibilities go on and on.

Felder's book has a great table at the beginning of the tart section giving an overall look at certain doughs' characteristics, how easy they are to make, what types of fillings work well with them, what oven temperature at which to bake them, etc.  Check it out if you get the chance.

Now on to the recipe for pâte brisée fondante and tarte aux fruits rouges pistache.  Let's go!  

The word fondante means "melting" which certainly gave me a clue as to how this might come out.  I compared the ingredients with a standard pâte brisée (flour, butter, water, salt and sometimes a little sugar) and found a higher ratio of butter to flour, plus a bit of egg yolk and milk in the fondante version.  And more butter definitely means "melt in your mouth".

Here's the dough:  mix 185 gm soft butter with 25 gm warm milk and 10 gm egg yolk; add a teaspoon fleur de sel and a teaspoon sugar; add 250 gm flour and mix just until it comes together.  Wrap the dough and chill it for a couple of hours.  (Note:  this dough amount was plenty for two 180 mm/7" tarts, plus probably one more).

When I took the dough out of the fridge and tapped it with my rolling pin to render it more malleable, I could appreciate the firmness of the buttery dough.  It rolled out pretty easily, although it was more stiff and breakable than other standard pâte sablée or pâte sucrée doughs I've used.

I lined the tart ring carefully (I made a 180 mm tart this time), pricked it with a fork and popped it into the freezer while I prepared the filling.

Now's the time to heat the oven to 350º.

I made 2/3 of the filling amount which turned out to be perfect for my 180 mm ring.

les ingredients

This is VERY easy!  For  2/3 recipe mix together 2 eggs, 16 gm almond flour, 66 gm sugar, 100 gm heavy cream, 16 gm melted butter, a splash of vanilla (the recipe actually calls for kirsch, but I don't keep that around) and a scant teaspoon flour.  In addition have 20 gm pistachios and 166 gm fruits rouges assortis ready to go.  I used a mixture of IQF raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and cherries.  Yum.

filling all mixed up

Sprinkle the pistachios and fruit into the shell (note - UNbaked shell!) . . .

love the colors

and pour the filling over.

ready for the oven

This baked about 40 minutes, pretty much on target with the recipe instructions.  You can tell it's ready when it nicely browned on top and the filling doesn't jiggle any more.

Once it's cool dust with some powdered sugar and serve it up!

Imagine my disappointment upon finding an unbaked center with a big dimple on the bottom - yuck!  That is one of my biggest pet peeves when baking tarts.

eeeuw!

When I read this recipe over the first time, I had a niggling sense in my brain that blind baking the crust was in order with this very liquid filling.  But Christophe Felder is a seasoned professional with an impressive resumé, so I decided to follow his lead.  Not.

The good news is that, in spite of the unbaked center, the tart was deeelicious and the crust definitely a "melt in your mouth" experience.

Not to be thwarted, I decided to take one more go at this one but with a blind baking approach.  Particularly with the lining step, one has to be very gentle and careful with this dough.

I started the bake with weights, but when I removed them there was a crack in the bottom crust.  I took a small piece of raw dough to patch it and finished off the blind bake.  Whew!  Is this really worth it??

Then, just to be sure, before putting the filling in, I brushed the bottom with egg white to seal it.  No leaks allowed here, folks.

c'est fini!

The crust developed a nice light golden color, although you can appreciate some cracking in parts of the periphery.

The good news is a well done, non-dimpled center bottom crust.  Now we're talking.

And it's still "melt in your mouth" delicious.

Moral of the story - blind bake first if you have a really loose, liquid filling!

Yes, I would make this again.

Mille-feuille chocolat - chocolate puff and other stuff

Before I start on the topic at hand, here are some pics of the delectable chocolate bread pudding I made using the left over chocolate croissant spirals from my last post.  I diced up the spirals, poured a basic chocolate custard over the pieces in my favorite square C&B ramekins, sprinkled on some vanilla sugar and baked 'em in a water bath.

just out of the oven

Just imagine one served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Yes, indeed.

Now on to the task at hand.  What most of us know as napoleon, mille-feuille (literally "a thousand leaves") is that classic combination of puff pastry layered with vanilla pastry cream.  Of course, as is true of pretty much any classic you can think of, there are a multitude of ways to create variations on the theme.

Years ago, before pastry school was even a gleam in my eye, I made versions of this dessert using good old Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets, cut into squares and baked, then simply layered with a cream or custard and fresh fruit and/or a fruit coulis.  Always good.

Once pastry school was under my belt and I experienced what Paris had to offer, mille-feuille was often on my tasting hit list.  During my stage at Pascal Pinaud's shop on rue Monge in the 5th, raspberry-lemon mille-feuille was offered as a special treat only on Sundays.

When done well, the combination of crisp, flaky, buttery puff and smooth and creamy custard can't be beat.

Flash forward to the spring of 2013 when I took a class at Christophe Felder's school in Paris on mille-feuille chocolat.  I purchased his pastry tome Patisserie! and have been drawn into it lately to refresh myself on the classics as well as get inspiration for some new ideas (new tart coming up soon!).  My eyes lit up at the recipe for mille-feuille chocolat and off I went on a trip down feuilletage chocolat lane.

This recipe calls for cocoa powder added to the détrempe, just as in my recent chocolate croissant experiment.

les ingredients

I made half a recipe:  250 gm flour, 30 gm cocoa powder, 130 ml cold water, 43 gm melted butter and 5 gm salt mixed together just until everything is incorporated.

the creature from the Black Lagoon!

The détrempe felt dry, and it looked a lot more blotchy than when I make regular puff pastry.  I gave it a couple hour rest in the fridge and prepared the 168 gm butter block.

ready for the beurrage

Once I completed the beurrage and started the folds/turns the dough in general started to look a little better, but still blotchy.

after the first two turns - yikes!

But once all the turns were complete the dough looked and felt better - there was hope after all.

after six turns

I held the dough in the fridge overnight for use the following day.  Otherwise I would typically pop it into the freezer for another time.

When rolling out the puff for mille-feuille, it's important to roll it about 2-3 mm thick.  I divided the dough in two and rolled each piece to fit a quarter sheet pan.

It's important to let the dough rest - otherwise it shrinks when baking (as you'll see in the upcoming pictures).  It's also a good rule to freeze the rolled out puff for 10 minutes or so before baking to help stabilize the dough.

ready to bake

For comparison I baked one quarter sheet with a cooling grid over the pan (seen above) to help limit the puff's rise and the second one topped with a piece of parchment and a second sheet pan to weigh it down (the generally recommended method to keep puff under control).

I did NOT prick either one with a fork, having found instructions on line with and without (Felder's approach) fork pricking.

What really happened in the oven?  The weighted down version puffed anyway, and I actually pushed it down a couple of times during baking to try and keep it flat.

The one with the grid over it puffed up to the limits of the grid, but it ended up more irregular with undulating waves across the surface.

And both of them shrank.

Having chosen the weighted down piece for my assembly, I trimmed the edges and cut it into thirds,

and then a dust of powdered sugar and under the broiler for a couple of minutes to caramelize.

On to the assembly!

I made a simple whipped ganache filling using 250 gm heavy cream and 70 gm chocolate.  While I was piping the first layer I was reminded of the radiatore pasta Steve and I had just eaten a couple of nights before - ruffles!

first whipped ganache layer

second puff layer

second whipped ganache layer

completed layers

Once all the layers were assembled I popped the whole thing into the fridge for 30 minutes before topping with a basic 1:1 ganache.

getting ready to spread the ganache

used a decorative comb for design

The result looked pretty cool, but the flavor of the puff was disappointing - rather boring and not terribly chocolatey.  I also felt the puff layers were too thick and should have been more crisp and flakey.

What would I do differently next time?  Use standard puff pastry (not chocolate), roll it more thinly, let it rest longer so as to reduce shrinkage, and prick the dough with a fork before weighing it down and baking it.

Steve's reaction?  "What's so special about mille-feuille?"

OK, OK - back to the drawing board!

Ahhhhh croissants - old favorites and a chocolate trial

I held a croissant class recently, and, in preparation for that event, I baked a couple of croissants and pains au chocolat for class tasting purposes.

Just imagine that flaky, crisp exterior and lovely airy, not-quite-bready interior.  So good.

And for a special treat I had to do croissant aux amandes, bien sûr.  A big hit with the group.

In addition to the classics, I'm periodically on a path of discovering different things to do with croissant dough.  On one of my morning walks I started thinking chocolate, and, since I had recently finished a batch of chocolate pâte feuilletée, it seemed only natural to try croissant dough with a chocolate twist.

I made a half batch of my usual recipe, adding in some Dutch process cocoa powder (10% by weight of my flour amount) with the dry ingredients.  I increased the milk just a bit, since I find that cocoa powder tends to have a drying effect on dough.

the détrempe

In addition I worked some hazelnut flour into my butter block hoping to give it a nutty flair.  Yup!  Definitely wingin' it!!

hazelnut butter block

Ready for the beurrage . . . .

Finished dough after the three turns . . . .

Not long ago I added a new flexi-mold to my Silikomart collection and was itching to use it.  I had visions of dough spirals dancing in my head.  Even though these silicone molds are non-stick, I brushed them with soft butter so I could coat them with vanilla sugar before placing the spirals in to rise.

I rolled the finished dough out to allow for shaping a couple of typical croissants . . . .

plus a block of dough topped with vanilla sugar and mini chocolate chips . . . .

that I cut into 3/4" strips, rolled up into spirals and popped into my buttered/sugared molds.

I gave them a 1.5 hour rise . . .

after the rise

after the rise

and then on to the bake!  One thing's for sure - the chocolate makes it much more difficult to assess whether they've baked long enough, but I could appreciate some browning and the croissants had the "feel" of being fully baked (once you've felt it, you just know).

rather interesting, eh?

 I wanted to give the spirals a bit longer in the oven to make sure the interior layers were done.  I took them out of the molds, drizzled them with caramel, baked 'em another 5-10 minutes and called it a day.

Taste test time!!

Cutting into the croissant resulted in the hoped for shower of crispy exterior shards.  The inner laminations looked OK and the texture was good, but the taste wasn't much different from a regular butter croissant (although Steve thought it on the dry side).  And this is the key for me - minimal (if any!) chocolate flavor and no hint of hazelnut.  So much for that.

The spirals, however, offered a pleasant, crispy caramelized texture and flavor, and the mini chips added just the right touch of chocolate.

.

In the end, this attempt at chocolate croissant dough was not worth the effort.

Perhaps an increase in the amount of cocoa powder, or adding the chocolate to the butter block rather than the détrempe might make a difference, but at this point I'll stick with the classic dough from here on out.

Chocolate bread pudding here I come!

Golden raisin toast apple tart, thanks to Janet and Dorie

There are some occasions when I buy an ingredient that I wouldn't normally keep on hand for day to day use.  Golden raisins are one of those.  I purchased them awhile back when I was preparing to make biscuits fondants amande et fruits épicés for my 1/14/15 post.  I used only a portion of the box and was eager to finish it off.  But what, pray tell, might I make?

It was thus that I turned to a book that Steve and I have owned for a number of years - "The Cheese Course" by Janet Fletcher.  While I don't pull it off the shelf very often it offers some great ideas for accompaniments to cheese, including breads, salads with light and simple vinaigrettes, fruits, nuts, honey, olives and more.

I recalled that it contained a recipe for golden raisin bread, so I decided to go for it.  The bread is meant to be toasted and served with Bellwether Farms' crescenza, described as a yeasty, creamy cheese, similar to Italian stracchino.  But I digress - on to the subject at hand.

 

Besides chomping at the bit to bake more bread, I've been wanting to make a not so run-of-the-mill tart - something with a Parisian twist.  I had my eye on an apple tart recipe in Dorie Greenspan's book "Paris Sweets" (one of my faves) that calls for toast points to be tucked in between apple slices before baking.  I was on my way to a new adventure.

First the bread.  Soak 2 cups of golden raisins in 2 cups warm water for an hour or so.  Drain them, reserving 320 ml (1 1/3 cups) of the raisin water (add additional water if you don't have quite enough).  I wanted a bit of je ne sais quoi, so I added the zest of an orange and pinches of nutmeg, allspice and coriander to the dry ingredients.

les ingredients

Weigh out 488 gm (3 3/4 cups) all purpose flour, holding 98 gm (3/4 cup) aside; whisk 390 gm (3 cups) flour with 8 gm (1.5 tsp) salt, 15 gm (1 TBSP) sugar, 8 gm (~ 2.5 tsp) instant yeast; stir in the tepid raisin water and 10 gm (2 tsp) soft butter.

When it becomes too stiff to stir, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead, adding in the remaining flour as you go.  Knead about 5 minutes until the dough is firm, smooth and elastic and shape it into a ball.

after the knead, ready for the first rise

Place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise about 1.5-2 hours.

after the rise

Pat the raisins dry and toss them in 3 tablespoons of flour.

Without punching the dough down turn it onto the work surface and pat it firmly into a 14" circle.  Top it with 1/3 of the raisins, pressing them gently into the dough.

Fold the sides of the dough toward the center (I folded it into thirds, just like with a laminated dough) and then roll into a cylinder.

the first cylinder

Again flatten the dough into a circle, add another 1/3 of the raisins, fold the sides into the center and roll again into a cylinder.  Cover and let rest for 15 minutes before you do the same thing a third time, finishing up the raisins and forming the final cylinder.

kinda rough and tumble I'd say

 
Now divide the dough in two and shape each half into a loaf about 12" long (mine came out shorter).

ready for the final rise

I will say these are not the most attractive loaves I've ever shaped.  The raisins made them all lumpy-bumpy, plus you have to keep the raisins tucked into the dough so they don't burn during baking.

Cover with a towel or lightly oiled plastic and let rise for an hour or so.  They look like some kind of funky subterranean creature!

after the rise, ready for the oven

Heat the oven to 400º, bake for 5 minutes, then lower the temp to 375º and continue baking about 30 minutes more.  They should be nicely golden brown and have that tell-tale hollow thump of doneness.

the end result

Once cooled, I sliced one for a taste test and was pleased with the hint of orange and spice, the plump raisins and the not too chewy texture.  I ultimately used about 1/2 loaf for the apple tart and froze the rest - lots of breakfast raisin toast coming up these next few weeks.  Yes!

So let's move on to the apple tart.  Dorie G's "Paris Sweets" recipe is an adaptation from Lenôtre and calls for the following components.

1.  Caramelized white bread (in my case golden raisin) toasts:  slice the bread, cut off the crusts, spread one side with a mixture of soft butter and light brown sugar (made by mixing 30 gm/2 TBSP butter with 30 gm/2 packed TBSP brown sugar) . . . .

then pop under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, flip over and broil another 2 minutes or so.  Pay close attention so they don't burn (if necessary, just scrape off any black edges with a sharp knife).

2.  A blind baked crust (I used my 240 mm / 9.5" tart ring and my favorite pâte d'amande dough) . . . .

waiting for weights and ready to blind bake

3.  Peeled, cored, cut-in-eighths Golden Delicious apples (4 of 'em) sautéed in butter, sugar and vanilla pulp . . .

4.  A custard mixture made by whisking together one large egg, 3 large yolks, 70 gm (1/3 cup) sugar and the pulp from 1/2 vanilla bean until somewhat thickened and pale.

Then boil 300 gm (1 1/4 cups) heavy cream (stovetop or microwave - you decide) and pour the hot cream over the egg mixture bit by bit while whisking constantly.  Try not to be too vigorous - you don't want a lot of bubbles (tapping the container on the counter will help dissipate any bubbles that may have formed).

On to the assembly.  Heat the oven to 325º.  Place the blind baked tart shell on its parchment lined pan onto a second sheet pan (this provides some insulation and more gentle heat).  Slice the toasts.

everything at the ready

This was definitely the clunky part.  The idea is to line the apple slices up in the tart shell, then tuck the toast triangles (or in my case, more like rounds) decoratively between the apples slices.  Easier said than done.

I had a few gaps into which I tucked smaller pieces of apple, and I did my best with the toast placement.  Pretty rustic.

Dorie calls for sprinkling a couple tablespoons each of walnut pieces and raisins over it all, but, since I was using raisin bread, I left them out.

Carefully pour about 1/3 of the custard over the apples, letting it find its way into the crevices.  Bake for 10 minutes to settle the custard a bit.  Then pour additional custard over until it reaches the tart rim - not too much or it will spill over (I didn't use all of mine).

the custard poured in

Bake for another 40-45 minutes until the custard is set.

interesting look, eh?

one more view

I served this for dessert that same evening, garnished with a dollop of chantilly and some nut crumble.  Despite my skepticism going in, this turned out to be one delicious tart!  Dick, Dor, Carl and Steve all thought so too.  And I still have golden raisin bread in the freezer - cool!

And next time?  I'm already envisioning thinner apple slices and a rectangular tart pan to allow for more attractive rows of apples and toast.  Yes, I would do this again.

And now for something completely different - Provolone rolls

As I gear up for more bread baking this year I like to play around with some of the variables involved in the process - refrigerated slow rising doughs, proofing and resting times, scoring patterns, creating steam in the oven, high heat "hearth" baking - you name it.  Lots to learn.

I have a recipe for prosciutto and provolone bread from the 2004 edition of CIA's "Baking and Pastry:  Mastering the Art and Craft".  I've made it a number of times over the years without the prosciutto, finding the sensa carne version made with a sharp provolone to be just the ticket with a hearty chili or beefy soup or stew.  The base recipe has a huge yield of almost 15 pounds of dough, so in previous preparations I've paired it down and made only a quarter recipe, dividing that amount of dough into four torpedoes or batards of about 370 gm (13 oz) each.

This time, since Steve was making a big pot of chili over the weekend, it seemed oh so right to make smaller provolone rolls to serve along side.  Based on the weight of my chunk of provolone (200 gm) I adjusted the recipe down even more with the plan to make ~60 gm size (a skosh over 2 oz) rolls.  This also brought the dough quantity into the perfect range for my 6 qt Kitchenaid.

This is a direct dough - no starter, preferment, poolish, biga or what-have-you - ingredients are combined, kneaded, given a bulk rise, then divided, pre-shaped, bench rested, final shaped, final proofed and, last but not least, baked!  Whew!

I've been drawn more and more to recipes that call for a longer, slower bulk fermentation in the refrigerator, so I decided to take that approach this time.

les ingredients

The recipe calls for bread flour, but this time I substituted all purpose flour for about a fourth of the flour amount.  I wanted to see how that would ultimately affect the crumb of the final roll.

So here's the recipe I ended up with:  combine 370 gm bread flour, 100 gm all purpose flour and 6 gm instant yeast; add 290 ml tepid water, 47 gm olive oil, 13 gm soft butter, and 11 gm salt.

ready to start mixing

Mix with dough hook on low speed for 4 minutes then medium speed for 2 minutes . . .

then add 200 gm grated provolone and mix 1 more minute on medium.

go provolone!

The dough looked and felt great - here it is in its early boule form.

My plan involved a short 30 minute room temp bulk ferment with a fold halfway through, then into the fridge in a lightly oiled covered container overnight.

On baking day I took the dough out of the fridge and let it hang out on the counter for about 30 minutes to acclimatize itself.  Then I divided it into seventeen 60 gm pieces which I then preshaped into boules.

After all the boules were preshaped I covered them with lightly oiled plastic wrap and gave them a 20-30 minute bench rest.  Then I "re-bouled" them into their final shape.  I could tell a difference in the feel of the dough after that bench rest - more relaxed and easier to manipulate.  I like that.

ready for final proofing

I put the sheet pans in my oven at the 85º proofing setting and gave them a solid 1.5 - 2 hours to rise.  I went for a simple crossed scissors snip on the top of each.

they feel just right!

With the oven heated to 425º I threw a splash of water in to create some steam and popped those babies in.  They baked about 20 minutes, looking nice and golden brown and offering a sign-of-doneness hollow thump when tapped.

can't wait to try 'em!

Next time I'd be a bit more aggressive with my scissor snips, but I was pretty happy with the final result.

I brushed a little melted butter on the warm rolls . . .

and lined them up to cool on a rack.

They were indeed the perfect accompaniment to a bowl of chili.  The texture was superb - I think the all purpose flour gave them a less chewy and somewhat gentler crumb, if you will.  While the exterior still had a hint of crustiness, it was easy to tear or bite into.  The provolone offered a subtle presence, so next time I'd add more of a sharper version than I had on hand for this go-around.  A delightful, well rounded roll.

Yes, I would make these again!

Semifreddo and a one dish composed dessert

On the prowl once again for a weekend supper dessert idea I decided to make a semifreddo to pair with something warm and fruity.

cherry berry pistacho crumble with vanilla almond semifreddo

Semifreddo is Italian for "half-cold" and is a molded, creamy dessert that's in the "still frozen" category, meaning it isn't churned like ice creams and sorbets before freezing.  There are numerous flavor possibilities with coffee, chocolate, citrus or a fruit purée of one's choosing among the many.

Its base is similar to an Italian zabaglione or French sabayon in which egg yolks, sugar and a liquid like Marsala (the classic in Italy), Champagne, Prosecco, red or white wine, citrus (or other fruit) juice or a liqueur are whisked over a bain marie until lightened, foamy and thickened.

In this case I whisked 80 ml (1/3 cup) vanilla simple syrup (essentially combining my sugar and liquid before hand) with 3 egg yolks until thickened and lighter.

at the start of cooking

thicker and more pale

A zabaglione or sabayon in its pristine form is often served warm just after preparation, perhaps with fresh fruit, but in this case I cooled it over an ice bath in preparation for the next step.

When you take a zabaglione/sabayon to the next level and fold either whipped cream or a meringue into the chilled base, it becomes a semifreddo (or a French parfait - confused yet?).
  

whip cream to nice soft peaks

all blended together

The mixture can be placed in one large plastic-wrap-lined mold such as a simple loaf pan or a fluted bowl, or can be portioned into small silicone molds, available in an appealing assortment of shapes and sizes.

cover with the plastic wrap and pop into the freezer

Freeze for a number of hours until firm.  Well wrapped it can sit in the freezer for several days, allowing at least that portion of the dessert to be made ahead (it's all about the planning, folks!).

A quick side note:  there are many terms in the cream/custard lexicon, and the word mousse is one that I've always found it a bit confusing.  The word literally means "froth" or "foam" and refers to a dish in which an aerator like whipped cream or meringue is folded into a base.  That base can be a fruit purée, a crème anglaise or crème pâtissiére, pudding or custard, curd, sabayon, or pâte à bombe (yet another French base made with just yolks and sugar).  However a mousse isn't necessarily frozen, so I guess that's one distinction from a semifreddo.

Just had to throw that in there!

As I was mentally concocting my composed dessert I knew I wanted some crunch.  The words crisp and crumble always speak to me of American desserts, yet, truth be told, the French are all over the crumble thing.  They're sold in many pâtisseries, and one can find books devoted solely to the subject of the crumble in librairies like Gibert Jeune et Librairie Gourmande in Paris.

I turned to my recipe binder from Pascal Pinaud's shop on rue Monge and resurrected a crumble recipe which calls for both almond and hazelnut flours (I was on a nut roll with this dessert).

A basic crumble is equal weights sugar, butter and flour.  You can add the same weight of a nut flour or even just chopped nuts.  The idea is to mix the dry ingredients, then sand in cold diced butter to create coarse crumbs.  For this batch I used 120 gm each sugar, butter and flour, plus a total of 120 gm of almond and hazelnut flours (I used 30 gm almond and 90 gm hazel - you can decide your own ratio).

les ingredients

bake it now or freeze it for later

Now you have a choice.  Your crumble can be baked ahead and used later as a crisp, buttery topping for whatever - a tart, a custard, some ice cream or fruit, or even your morning oatmeal.  Keeping the crumble separate and adding it as a topping just before serving keeps it from getting soggy.

Or you can bag up the raw mixture, freeze it and have it at the ready to simply throw on top of fruit, cake batter or anything else you can think of and bake it - it melts in a bit yet still provides a crispy baked topping to your dessert.

When I bake my crumble ahead, I do it at 350º for about 20 minutes, stirring it up every 5 minutes or so until lightly browned and set.

use a bench scraper to toss and separate the crumbs

all baked up

Mmmmm!

There is another option for a crumble which allows you to create coarser crumbs or even larger chunks to use as a garnish on a larger entremet type of dessert.  This one involves blending softened butter with sugar, then blending in the all purpose and nut flours, pretty much like a cookie dough.  Then shape the dough into a 1/2" (or so) thick square or round, cover and chill.  Then you can cut it or break it up into chunks and bake it as described above.  And they're not a bad pop-in-your-mouth snack either!

Now onto the fruit part.  So it's still winter, after all, but I was going for cherries and berries for this dessert.  That's the beauty of IQF (individually quick frozen) fruit that's available in the grocery stores all year round.

I have these great little square ramekins that I bought at Crate and Barrel some years back.  They hold just the right amount for a not too generous dessert portion.  To fill six of them I used 340 gm (12 oz) frozen pitted sweet cherries and about a cup and a half of mixed blueberries and raspberries.  I tossed them in a mixture of 85 gm (generous 1/3 cup) sugar, 10 gm (~ 1TBSP) cornstarch, the zest of half a lemon, a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon coriander.  Topped with some pistachio crumble that I had in my freezer (told you I was on a nut kick), they're ready for the oven.

Bake at 325º for about 40-45 minutes until the crumble is lightly browned and the fruit is bubbly.

When it came time for dessert, I scooped some semifreddo onto the still warm fruit, sprinkled some hazelnut-almond crumble on top and drizzled a bit of caramel over it all.

Delicious!

So use your imagination and create your own composed dessert.  Having the contrast in textures (creamy, fruity, crunchy) and temperatures (warm and cool) is oh so wonderful.  And remember -  it doesn't have to be fussy, difficult or fancy - just tasty!

Let's talk financiers

NOTE: recipe link below is an updated version as of 04/23/23.

Financiers are one of my favorite things, both to make and to eat.  The classic base is made with egg whites (you don't even have to whip them!), almond flour, all purpose flour, powdered sugar and browned butter (which gives these delectable treats a lovely nutty taste).

I've been using the recipe from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris for a number of years now, although, as is true with sooooo many things, you can find all sorts of recipe variations in pastry books or online.

The story goes that, back in the late 1800's, a pastry chef in the financial district in Paris (la Bourse) created a small rectangular (think gold ingot-like) cake that could be easily carried back to the office or eaten out of hand without any muss nor fuss.

The petite cake is classically baked in a shallow rectangular mold (lots of images available on the web), but I love the fact that it can be baked in any shape or size your little heart desires.  And the base batter can be made ahead and refrigerated for several days, allowing you to bake different flavor variants throughout the week if you're so inclined.  It's a true artistic palette for the creative baker.

Substitute ground hazelnuts, pistachios or walnuts for the almonds?  You bet!

Add your choice of citrus zest?  Bien sur!

Fold in or top with almost any fruit imaginable?  Absolument!

Garnish with ganache or mascarpone cream?  I think you know the answer!

The preparation is simple, with the most difficult (not really) step being browning the butter.  I can freely admit that I had never browned butter until making financiers in class at LCB.  I have since come to understand how it works, having done it over and over and over again.

For me the key is listening - yes, you heard me - lis-ten-ing.  When you're working in a pastry kitchen and have a bunch of things going on at one time, your senses are your friend.  Use them all!

Put the butter in a saucepan over low heat to start, then crank it up once the butter has melted. I keep a silicone spatula on hand to stir periodically particularly as the browning progresses.

Essentially the water in the butter evaporates off and the milk solids fall to the bottom of the pan and start to brown. As the butter cooks the bubbles will start to become more foamy, take on a finer appearance and start rising up in the pan.  Even if you're on the other side of the kitchen, you should be able to hear a change in the sound of the bubbling.  Once you hear it, pay attention!

Now I use my silicone spatula to stir and scrape those brown bits off the bottom, remove the pan from the heat and transfer the butter to another container. Remember the butter can continue to cook even off the heat and you don’t want burned butter, no sirree!

Now on to the preparation!

When making financiers, the amount of batter I make depends on the egg whites I have on hand.  Typically, if I'm making a custard or crème pâtissière that calls for egg yolks, I save the whites with the singular goal of making financiers.  You can keep the whites in the fridge for a number of days (remember, some macaron makers want their egg whites to be aging in the fridge for a week or so before using them).

What could be more perfect?

A reasonable recipe uses 180 g/6 egg whites (you can use liquid pasteurized whites without any problem) and will give you two dozen or so small 30 g/1 ounce cakes.  You can adjust your recipe by dividing or multiplying your ingredients based on the weight of egg whites you have. Without getting too technical here, once you've gotten used to weighing ingredients and adjusting your recipe to suit your needs, you're golden.

So, here goes.  Place 180 g/6 egg whites in a bowl, add a splash of vanilla extract and set aside.  In a separate bowl, large enough to mix all the ingredients, whisk together 200 gm/2 cups powdered sugar, 125 gm/1 1/4 cup almond flour and 95 gm/3/4 cup all purpose flour.  Brown 200 g/15 tablespoons unsalted butter and pour it over the dry ingredients (I scrape all the brown bits into the mix too). Let it sit for a minute or two, then add the egg whites and blend it all with a whisk until everything is incorporated.  It may be a bit lumpy, but that's OK.

The batter should be refrigerated before use. I pour it into a container, place plastic wrap directly on the surface, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to several days.

When you're ready to bake, be sure to stir up the batter before piping or pouring it into your molds. The longer the batter sits, the more the butter has a tendency to settle to the bottom, so just give it a good stir to reincorporate it.

I happened to have some silicone canelé flexi-molds with me during my recent visit with my mom and used those to bake up some financiers natures - just plain, no additions, no thrills, no chills, no frills.  Pipe the batter, filling the molds about 3/4 full.  Bake at 375º for about 15 minutes. Your baking time will vary depending on the size of your cakes (and your oven!), so, as always, pay attention to what's going on in there.

Here are just a few examples of what you can do with financier batter. Before I really got into using silicone molds I baked financiers in buttered and floured mini-muffins pans.  This version has a dollop of jam (peach, apricot or whatever) and some blueberries placed on top before baking.

Here you go!

The jam settles into the center and the berries stay on top - cool!

Here's a medley of pear ginger, pistachio orange crumble and matcha raspberry - some of my faves!

This one is dried cherry . . .

and this is cocoa hazelnut . . .

and I think this one is cranberry hazelnut.

Or you can bake the batter in loaf pans comme ça . . .  These are peach and blueberry mini-loaves.

I've also baked financier batter topped with plum slices and walnut crumble in a blind baked tart shell.  Or use peach slices or cherries. Delicious!

I could go on and on about financiers, but, alas, I must cease and desist.

But wait . . . just a few more parting thoughts.

How about adding lemon zest and berries (blue, black or rasp - you choose!) to the base batter, or drizzle finished cakes with caramel after baking and pop back into the oven for a few minutes to set the caramel.

Or fold in some pumpkin puree and spices like nutmeg, ginger and allspice to the base batter.

For some savory options fold in some grated cheddar and diced apples, or top with goat cheese and herbs of choice before baking.

OK enough.  Get in the kitchen and make your own special versions - you can do it!

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!